Apple seeded the third beta of the Apple TV 5.4, a couple of days back with a few minor bug fixes. Internet connection issues, iTunes Radio bugs, problems while switching between multiple accounts, playback issues and a huge number of AirPlay music bugs have been resolved

But these routine changes are not the ones that have caught the headlines. Two major additions have brought Apple TV to the front.

First, the ability to purchase music from iTunes is back. You might remember that this feature was initially available on the first gen Apple TV and had disappeared when the next one was released. So, the next update will bring back this feature and to be honest, I don’t know why it was removed in the first place.

Next to something more exciting. You won’t need your infrared remote anymore to control your Apple TV via the iOS Remote app. Now, you can pair your iDevice directly with your Apple TV and control it via Bluetooth. As the feature requires Bluetooth 4.0, only newer iOS devices are supported. We’ve been seeing a similar feature on Android mobiles recently using the NFC.

So look out for the final release to enjoy these new and improved features.

Here is the full release note:

You can now use an iOS 7 device to set up an Apple TV after restoring or resetting all settings. (iPhone 4 and iPad 2 are not supported.)

Fixed in Seed 3
• Apple TV may not connect to the Internet on first boot after an iTunes Restore when using Ethernet.
• Music playback may skip over tracks when AirPlay is engaged.
• AirPlay of audio from the Music app may fail to start up properly.
• Attempting to delete a station in iTunes Radio may cause Apple TV to crash.
• Switching between Apple IDs may cause music libraries to fail to load.
• Audio volume may increase dramatically during AirPlay.
• When using AirPlay to send music to Apple TV, advancing to the next track may fail.
• You may notice these issues when fast-forwarding 3rd party content:
• Audio continues to play while video is fast-forwarding.
• Resuming playback after fast-forwarding can result in a temporarily stuck video frame.
• Apple TV may become sluggish or unresponsive immediately after signing in to an iTunes Store account.
• iTunes Match or Purchased music content may not be listed alphabetically. Use Search as an alternative
for finding content.

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Released to developers along with the iOS 7 beta, Apple TV software update 5.4 beta 1 brings some new features to our little black boxes: a long-awaited iTunes Radio, Conference Room Display option, automatic updates in the background and customizable subtitles.

We haven’t installed the latest beta on our devices yet but in the below video by Isaac from Isaac’s Computer Tips you can see what’s changed in iOS 7 for Apple TV.

The Conference Room Display mode is intended primarily for meeting rooms and it allows to create screen instructions for the attendees on how they can connect their iOS device to the Apple TV via AirPlay. You can set a custom message and a background image. The instructions are then displayed as a screensaver.

Here are two videos by Pierre Dandumont from journaldulapin.com.

Conference Room Display:

Customizable subtitles:

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