Family Sharing is probably one of the few awesome features on iOS 8, which are mostly directed towards users and not developers. Unsurprisingly, the Apple TV 7.0 update, being the biggest one yet for Apple’s set-top box, brings the feature to Apple TV 3 too.

Family Sharing comprises of two main features.

The first is the ability to link up to six family members to one account, so that everyone can share the same credit card and download all the purchases the family makes. On Apple TV, you can now access all the purchases (movies, tv shows, music, etc.) made by others in your Family Sharing group, even if they were made on iPhone or iPad.

Because all your purchases are stored in iCloud, whenever one person buys a movie or TV show, everyone in your family can enjoy it on Apple TV or whichever device they’re using.

The second part of Family Sharing provides for children below 13 years of age the possibility to have their own iTunes account. But every purchase they try to make on Apple TV will have to be approved by a parent before it is completed (Ask to buy feature). That ought to prevent lawsuits like this one in the future.

How to enable Family Sharing for Apple TV?

Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to set up Family Sharing directly from the Apple TV. The screen just shows a notification to read more about it from the Apple website. So you’ll have to set it up from an iOS 8 device, and then access it on Apple TV.

Just go to your iPhone or iPad Settings -> Choose iCloud -> You’ll find a “Family” tab on top -> Go in there and choose “Add Family Member”.

An invitation will be sent to the person. If the recipient is sitting next to you, you can let him enter his password on your iPhone to accept it or else he can accept it from his own device. From this screen, you can create an iTunes account for your child and also set another family member as the parent who can approve the purchases your child makes.

Now go into your Apple TV Settings and make sure you are logged in with the same account which is included in the Family Sharing group. There isn’t much left to do here. Go into your Movies channel and choose the Purchased tab. You’ll find a Family Sharing option here, which will show all the accounts in the group (image on the top). You can select someone and access all his purchases.

Read more on the Apple TV 7.0 update and Family Sharing.

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

The post How Family Sharing works on Apple TV appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Holiday Gift Guide 2015: Best Accessories for Apple TV

Though Apple TV 7.0 software update is one of the most evident overhauls the set-top box has received lately, most users are a bit skeptical about it. Especially those relying on OpenPlex and PlexConnect to broadcast Plex from their Mac or PC, fearing that the hacks would be patched in the update. In fact, most of the comments and mails we received after the 7.0 release, were regarding Plex.

It has been confirmed short after the release of Apple TV 7.0 that OpenPlex and PlexConnect are working on a new firmware. However, while Trailers and WSJ channels work well just as they worked on the previous software versions and can be hijacked as usual to serve Plex streams, hijacking iMovie Theatre doesn’t work anymore in the common way.

Fortunately, @Baa, the developer behind PlexConnect, has already updated GitHub with the latest fix, so if you were hijacking iMovie Theatre to access Plex, the best way to get it working again after 7.0 update is to restore your Apple TV and install Plex by following on of these tutorials:

• How to install Plex Apple TV 3 – Mac tutorial
• How to install Plex Apple TV 3 – Windows tutorial

Learn more on Plex working on Apple TV 7.0 on the related thread on the official Plex forum.

In short, the happy days of Apple TV Plexing are not over yet. All you Plex guys can breathe, as you’ll be able to enjoy all your 1080 movies via PlexConnect and still get the latest Apple TV firmware.

Go ahead and hit that update now or read more about the new changes in Apple TV 7.0 here.

Holiday Gift Guide 2015: Best Accessories for Apple TV

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

The post How to get Plex working again on Apple TV 3 after the 7.0 update appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.