Apple TV

The Apple TV no longer has any internal storage. Some of the early models did, but that has been discontinued. The Apple TV can stream media from your iOS devices like your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, as well as from your Mac or PC. Anything you want stored, you would store on one of these devices. You can also access your iCloud account from Apple TV, so that is another storage alternative. Any media you stream from subscription services such as HBO Now, Netflix, Hulu, etc., is stored on their servers, not on your local hardware.

Now that Apple has lowered the price of Apple TV to just $69 and has introduced HBO Now, a stand alone subscription streaming service for the network's content, the Apple TV looks a lot more appealing. If you are thinking about picking one up, here's what you'll need:

The iPhone or iPad can be used in place of an Apple TV remote. This is especially handy when typing text on Apple TV, which can take some time when using the Apple TV remote. The included remote can only be used to select letters individually.

To type directly from an iPhone to the Apple TV get the free app Remote from the iOS App Store.

By default, Apple TV automatically sets screen resolution to match the capability of the connected display.

Resolution can be manually selected to reduce bandwidth usage or improve picture quality. Higher resolution normally requires faster connection speeds and increased data throughput.

To manually adjust Apple TV output resolution:

Yes, the Apple TV can learn to use a third-party remote control. The remote included with the Apple TV is not required.

To use another remote with Apple TV follow these steps:

1. On the Apple TV navigate to Settings -> General -> Remotes -> Learn Remote.
2. Select a button or setting that doesn't control another device.
3. Click Start to teach Apple TV which buttons to use on the new remote.