Control what’s playing on Apple TV
Whether you’re watching a TV show or a movie, or listening to music or a podcast, you’re in control.
Play or pause
Siri Remote (2nd generation): Press the clickpad centre, or press the Play/Pause button .
Siri Remote (1st generation): Press the touch surface, or press the Play/Pause button .
When you pause playback, playback controls appear, showing elapsed and remaining time.
Show onscreen playback controls
When a movie or show is playing, you can display onscreen controls that show elapsed time, remaining time and other options.
Siri Remote (2nd generation): Press up on the clickpad ring or rest your finger on the clickpad.
Siri Remote (1st generation): Rest your finger on the touch surface.
For more information on the playback options shown, see Turn on subtitles and closed captioning (if available), Turn on Picture in Picture viewing or Change audio options during playback.
Rewind or fast-forward
You can move rapidly forwards or backwards through video in several ways. During playback, use the Siri Remote to do any of the following:
Skip backwards or forwards 10 seconds Press left or right on the clickpad ring (second-generation Siri Remote) or rest your finger on the touch surface, then press left or right (first-generation Siri Remote). Press again to skip another 10 seconds.
Continuously rewind or fast-forward: Press and hold left or right on the clickpad ring (second-generation Siri Remote) or touch surface (first-generation Siri Remote). Press left or right repeatedly to cycle through rewind or fast-forward speed options (2x, 3x, 4x). Press the clickpad centre or the Play/Pause button to resume playback.
Scrub video backwards or forwards on the playback timeline
You can scrub through video thumbnails backwards or forwards on the playback timeline to find a scene.
Pause the video by pressing the Play/Pause button , or by pressing the clickpad centre (second-generation Siri Remote) or touch surface (first-generation Siri Remote).
A small preview thumbnail appears above the playback timeline at the bottom of the screen.
Do either of the following:
Siri Remote (2nd generation): Swipe left or right to scrub backward or forward in time. For more precise control, circle your finger anticlockwise or clockwise around the clickpad ring.
Siri Remote (1st generation): Swipe left or right to scrub backward or forward in time.
Do either of the following:
Start playback at the new position: Press the clickpad centre or touch surface.
Cancel and return to the original position: Press the Back button (second-generation Siri Remote) or the button (first-generation Siri Remote).
Get more info or go to Up Next
During playback, you can get more information about a movie or TV show or go directly to your Up Next watchlist.
Siri Remote (2nd generation): Press down on the clickpad ring to go directly to the Info tab, or rest your finger on the clickpad to show playback controls, then swipe down to show the Info and Up Next tabs.
Siri Remote (1st generation): Show playback controls, then swipe down to show the Info and Up Next tabs.
Some movies contain a Chapters tab, which appears when the Info tab is shown. To skip to a chapter, navigate to Chapters, then select a chapter.
Turn on subtitles and closed captioning (if available)
During playback, you can turn on subtitles or closed captioning.
Siri Remote (2nd generation): Show playback controls, then select the Subtitles button and choose the option you prefer.
Siri Remote (1st generation): Show playback controls, then select the Subtitles button and choose the option you prefer.
Turn on Picture in Picture viewing
You can play movies or TV shows in a small viewer that runs in the foreground while you play or browse other content on Apple TV.
Note: Picture in Picture may not be available in all apps. Check with your app’s developer to see if it’s supported.
In the Apple TV app or app of your choice, choose a movie or TV show to begin playing.
During playback, do either of the following:
Siri Remote (2nd generation): Show playback controls, then select the Picture in Picture button .
Siri Remote (1st generation): Show playback controls, then select the Picture in Picture button .
The currently playing movie or TV show moves to a small viewer in the corner of the screen.
In the main area of the screen, navigate to and select another TV show or movie to play simultaneously.
The new video plays in full screen behind the small corner viewer.
During playback, do any of the following to control Picture in Picture from the smaller picture:
Swap audio from the larger to the smaller picture: Press the TV button on the Siri Remote. To swap audio back to the larger picture, press the Back button (second-generation Siri Remote) or button (first-generation Siri Remote).
Move the viewer to any corner of the screen: Press the TV button on the Siri Remote, then select the onscreen move button to relocate the viewer to a new corner. Select again to move it to the next corner, and so on.
Return to viewing full screen: Press the TV button on the Siri Remote, then select the full-screen button .
Stop playback and close the viewer: Press the TV button on the Siri Remote, then select the close button .
To control Picture in Picture from the larger picture, show playback controls, then select the Picture in Picture button and do any of the following:
Swap the larger picture with the smaller picture: Select Swap from the pop-up menu.
Move the viewer to any corner of the screen: Select Move from the pop-up menu to relocate the viewer to a new corner. Select again to move it to the next corner, and so on.
Close the smaller picture: Select Close from the pop-up menu.
To continue watching in Picture in Picture mode, press the Back button (second-generation Siri Remote) or button (first-generation Siri Remote).