How to Use the Apple TV App

If you're used to buying TV shows and movies in iTunes on Mac, you'll find that the program is missing with the upgrade to macOS Catalina.

In its place is the new Apple TV, a dedicated TV app that offers access to your existing library of TV shows and movies. It also allows you to buy and rent videos or watch a curated selection of content.

If you subscribe to Apple TV+, the streaming service lives inside the TV app, where you can catch Apple's original shows, including Dickinson, The Elephant Queen, For All Mankind, Ghostwriter, Helpsters, Oprah's Book Club, The Morning Show, See, and Snoopy in Space.

If you're just updating to Catalina now, you will see a TV app icon in the dock. Here's how to use the Apple TV app.

Watch Now

Under the Watch Now heading, Apple serves up recommendations and a list of shows and movies you already started watching. This is also where the app offers subscriptions to its own Apple TV+ service, as well as other streaming services like HBO, Starz, Showtime, and CBS All Access.

Navigating the App

The app's heading includes sections for Movies, TV Shows, and Kids. Click Movies to buy and rent different films. Under TV Shows, you can buy or rent individual episodes from different series or access Apple TV+ content, if you are a subscriber. You can also activate free trial subscriptions with other services and channels such as Amazon Prime Video, CBS All Access, ESPN+, HBO, Hulu, Showtime, and Starz.

Under the Kids heading is where you will find all the kid-friendly TV shows and movies on the service. You can buy or rent movies such as Toy Story and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and TV shows such as A Charlie Brown Christmas and Sesame Street.

If you subscribe to a service through Apple TV that offers live sports, a section called Sports will appear. Under this tab, you can find live sports games, save games to your Up Next list, and follow specific sports teams.

View Library

Click the Library heading to access your existing collection of purchased movies and TV shows. You can then filter what you see by clicking on different categories on the side panel. View recently added media, movies, TV shows, and downloads, or search titles based on genres, including Action & Adventure, Comedy, Kids & Family, and Sci-Fi & Fantasy.

Manage Titles

Click the image of a movie or TV show to view information about the title. Click Play to start watching. To manage a title, click the ellipsis icon or right-click the image.

From the pop-up menu, you can mark the item as watched or unwatched, add it to a playlist, get info on it, copy the title, show the location of the video in Finder, or delete the video from your library.

Cast With AirPlay

You can use Apple's AirPlay feature to send videos to different devices, like media streamers and smart TVs. To do this before you start a video, click the AirPlay icon on the Mac's menu bar and select the device to which you want to mirror your screen. To do this while a video is playing, click the AirPlay icon in the lower left of the screen and then select the device to which you want to stream your current video.

Full Screen Mode

If you're watching the video in a small screen and wish to enlarge it, click the View menu and select the option to Enter Full Screen. To return to the size of your previous screen, click the Esc key.

Create Playlists

You can create a playlist for your favorite videos by clicking File > New > Playlist in the top menu. Under this menu you can also create a Smart Playlist, which will update automatically based on rules that you set, such as the date added.

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About Our Expert

Lance Whitney

Contributor

My Experience

I've been working for PCMag since early 2016 writing tutorials, how-to pieces, and other articles on consumer technology. Beyond PCMag, I've written news stories and tutorials for a variety of other websites and publications, including CNET, ZDNet, TechRepublic, Macworld, PC World, Time, US News & World Report, and AARP Magazine. I spent seven years writing breaking news for CNET as one of the site’s East Coast reporters. I've also written two books for Wiley & Sons—Windows 8: Five Minutes at a Time and Teach Yourself Visually LinkedIn.

My Areas of Expertise

I've used Windows, Office, and other Microsoft products for years so I'm well versed in that world. I also know the Mac quite well. I'm always working with iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and Android on my various mobile devices. And these days, I write a lot about AI, so that's become another key area for me.

The Tech I Use

My wife always jokes about all the tech products we have around the house, but I manage to put them to good use for my articles. I like Lenovo computers, so I own a couple of Lenovo desktops and several laptops. I have three MacBooks and a Mac mini. For my mobile life and work, I use an iPhone 16 Pro, iPad Pro, and iPad mini as well as an Apple Watch. But since I write about Android, I own several Android phones and tablets. Like any tech person, I have a cabinet full of cables, wires, and assorted mysterious gadgets. And when it's time to take a break from writing, I have an old Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, both of which I use for exercise and fitness games.

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