Mastering the Apple TV remote

The aluminum remote that comes with the second-generation Apple TV has been praised for its sleek form and intentionally minimalist array of buttons, and while most of its functions are self-explanatory, there are a few tricks you should know if you want to get the most out of it.

For example, you can get to the main menu from anywhere just by holding down the “Menu” button. If you’re playing music and would like to start a Genius playlist based on the song you’re listening to, hold down the select button. When you’re watching video, you can tap the down button and then use the left or right buttons to skip through chapters. We could go on, but to be honest, there aren’t any tricks for the aluminum wand that will make it better than Apple’s excellent—and free—Remote app for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, so if you have an iOS device around the house, be sure to download and install Remote to take full advantage of your Apple TV.

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Comments

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A trick that has proven very useful for me is using the remote to reset the Apple TV when it becomes unresponsive (as it occasionally does). Press and hold Down and Menu for about six seconds and then release when the LED on the Apple TV begins to flash rapidly.

Posted by Aaron on August 4, 2011 at 7:52 AM (PDT)

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