The Apple TV app, screen by screen

These are pictures of the Apple TV app playing a demo playlist: Blender’s open movies and channels made up for this page. Kanema comes with nothing to watch until you add your own playlist.

Watch the film, on every Apple device

Setting up

The first question is what you’re adding: an Xtream Codes login, an M3U link, your own Plex, Jellyfin or Emby server, or an HDHomeRun tuner or Tvheadend server at home. When Apple TV wants text, scan the code beside the fields and type it on your phone instead, which saves pecking out a long password with the remote.

Kanema then fetches your channels, the guide, and any films and series. There’s no account to make first.

Adding a playlist on Apple TV, step 1, What are you adding?: five cards, Xtream Codes, M3U link, Media server for Plex, Jellyfin or Emby, HDHomeRun and Tvheadend, each with a line on what it asks for. Beside the TV, an Apple TV 4K and its Siri Remote.

Demo playlist: the films are Blender open movies (credits) and the channels are made up. Kanema comes with nothing to watch.

Home

Whatever you move to fills the screen behind, with its name and description over it. Underneath are the films and series you’re partway through, the channels you watch, what you saved for later, and what’s new.

Top Shelf shows the same things on the Apple TV Home Screen.

The Home screen on Apple TV: the film Charge fills the screen behind its title, genres and description, with Continue and More buttons, dots for the other titles in the carousel, and films in progress below.

Live TV

Categories are on the left. The channels of the one you’re on are on the right, each with what’s on now and how far through it is, and the list changes as you move down the categories.

Favourites are at the top. Hold Select on a channel or a category to see what else you can do with it.

Live TV on Apple TV: categories on the left, and the Cinema category’s channels on the right, each with what’s on now, its times and a bar showing how far in it is, lined up in one column, and what’s next.

TV guide

Channels go down the side and time goes across, each programme as wide as it is long, with a line at the current time. Select something on now to watch it, or something earlier to watch it back if your provider records that channel.

If the listings are an hour out, you can shift the whole guide, half an hour at a time.

The TV guide on Apple TV: channels down the side, programmes across in blocks as long as they run, and a line at the time now.

Catch-up

A list of the channels your provider records, with how many days each one keeps, and their programmes day by day with a picture from each. Pick one to watch it from the beginning, or from where you stopped.

Catch-up on Apple TV: the channels that are recorded, with how many days each keeps, and the programmes of the one selected, each with a picture from it.

Films and series

Category buttons run along the top with the posters underneath, and the first button shows everything. Films and series come with an Xtream Codes login or your own Plex, Jellyfin or Emby server.

Films on Apple TV: category buttons along the top and posters below. Beside the TV, an Apple TV 4K and its Siri Remote.
The page for Sintel on Apple TV, with its year, genres, running time and description, and a Play button.
A filmPlay is already selected when the page opens, so a film is two presses from its poster. If you’ve started it, the button says how much is left.
The page for Caminandes on Apple TV, with a Play button for the first episode and the episodes in a row below.
A seriesThe episodes of each season in a row, with the description of the one you’re on underneath.

Multi-view

Pick a channel for each pane and choose which one you hear. Play/Pause hides everything except the pictures.

Multi-view on Apple TV: two channels playing side by side, with the sound coming from the first.

Watching

Up and Down change channel. A click shows what’s on now and next, along with the stream’s resolution, frame rate, codecs and sound.

Playback runs on VLC, so MKV and AVI files play, and so do the audio formats Apple’s own player won’t open.

Charge on the Aurora Cinema channel, with the information panel along the bottom: what’s on now, its times and how long is left, Tears of Steel next, and the stream’s details. Beside the TV, an Apple TV 4K and its Siri Remote.

Also on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro

One App Store listing will cover all five Apple devices.

Coming soon to the App Store

Captured from the Apple TV app playing a demo playlist. The films are Blender open movies, © Blender Foundation, under Creative Commons licences (see the credits). The channels, their logos and their schedules are made up. Kanema doesn’t supply any content.