ACCESSING A CORE COMPONENT OF APPLE TV -

INTERNET RADIO

JACKIE BROWN

When I first heard about Apple TV, I thought it only comprised films and other genres that wouldn't interest me at all, that is until I discovered its Internet Radio function. But with VoiceOver turned on, I now have a fully accessible facility to access thousands of stations around the world...

WHAT'S IN THE BOX

Apple TV is a small square box no bigger than the size of an external hard drive. A power lead, small remote control, and documentation, all accompany the unit in the familiar Apple packaging.

SETTING UP APPLE TV

I must confess to cheating a little when I purchased my Apple TV recently. I went to an Apple Store, and asked the salesman to turn on VoiceOver for me as this can be somewhat tricky to achieve from the outset without sight. Having done this by entering Settings from the main menu, and finding Accessibility to turn on VoiceOver, I was ready to continue with setup. I put in my Apple ID and password so that I could access my already purchased items from my iPad Mini and iPhone, or buy direct from Apple TV. In order to enter your Apple credentials, you use the remote control.

As I set up the Apple TV with assistance in the shop, I had to wait until I got home to put in my WiFi key. You do this by using the remote control, and I was soon up and running.

EXPLORING APPLE TV

There are no controls on the Apple TV, so everything is done from the tiny remote control. On the rear of the Apple TV, from right to left, there is a mains outlet, HDMI port, optical socket, and Ethernet port. You must purchase an HDMI cable if you intend using Apple TV on your television as most people tend to do. I never purchased mine for the purposes of using its TV features, however, so I bought a digital to analogue converter from Maplin in order to use the device through my hifi system as an Internet radio.

The remote control contains a circular joypad towards the top with up and down presses at 12 and 6 o'clock, and left and right presses at 9 and 3 o'clock, respectively. The centre button is the enter or ok button. Below the arrow keys are two buttons, the left of which takes you back a level at a time when in any of the menus, while the right button will put you in Stand-By mode.

APPLE TV FEATURES

Don't make the mistake of thinking Apple TV is a glorified Freeview box, it isn't. Apple TV essentially offers NetFlix and some other subscription facilities. But you can also access YouTube, the iTunes Store and, for me at least, its best function...

When you enter Radio from the main menu, you can choose from a whole host of genres such as 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, Ambient, Classical, Country, International World, Reggae, and so it goes on. If you enter any of these selections, you can arrow through a list of stations relating to the genre you have chosen. To listen to any station, press the centre button of the arrow keys on the remote control, and the station will load immediately. Press the centre button to pause the station, and use the left button of the two below the arrow keys to back out of that station. If you like the station and wish to save it, hold down the centre button of the arrow keys to add it to Favourites. When you next visit the Radio section, your favourites will be at the top of the list for you to access.

You can adjust the speed of VoiceOver by going into Settings and Accessibility from the main menu. You can also change the default voice from Daniel to one of the others in Dialect. You may add a Bluetooth keyboard to make searching for something on some features of Apple TV much easier. And you can make purchases from iTunes and share them with your other iOS devices, or mirror your iPhone to work in conjunction with the Apple TV.

Because I purchased Apple TV primarily for its excellent Internet Radio facility, I had to buy a small box that would allow the digital signal to be converted to analogue so I could use it on my hifi system. Essentially, the small box is mains powered. Using a cable with an optical plug on both ends, and a phono lead, it enables me to listen to Apple TV in stereo on my sound system without it being connected to a television at all. I also purchased an HDMI cable so that I could hook Apple TV up to my television in the event of VoiceOver clamming up, which would then require sighted assistance!

CONCLUSION AND PRICING

Apple TV isn't for everyone, and perhaps America benefits more than the UK does in terms of what is on offer to watch. But it has a fantastic Internet Radio facility which is fully accessible, and contains thousands of stations to choose from. Whether you listen to Apple TV via your television or a hifi system, it is fully accessible with VoiceOver, and not a bad price at £79.

I am able to add the purchases I made on my iPad Mini, browse and preview new releases in the iTunes Store, and search for clips to watch on YouTube.

For more information on Apple TV, visit

Should you wish to do as I have, and use Apple TV on a sound system, you will need a digital to analogue converter which can be purchased at a suitable store like Maplin for around £40. You will also need an optical cable, and a phono-to-phono cable, all sold separately, and an HDMI cable if you intend using Apple TV on your television.

For more information on audio accessories, visit