Fortunately, once it’s understood and configured, it’s easy, if a little time consuming, to manage. So as you run through the show, it’s a simple matter to make final edits to the shared album in preparation of the live performance.Īs I said before, the setup is confusing to many and is something that Apple will hopefully simplify with future updates. Any changes you make to your slideshow album will take effect next time Apple TV loads the shared library.Personally, I use a newer Mac Mini Server as a Time Machine backup and since it’s always powered up, and always connected to the network, it’s a perfect computer to store and share photos from. You may find this to be a good dedicated task for that old Mac Mini that you couldn’t get yourself to throw away. The slide show album can be created, managed and shared from any computer on your network.There are two main advantages to this setup: To test your slide show, click your way back to the main screen and wait until the screen saver starts (5 minutes by default but can be changed in Settings). Since iTunes is the app that speaks directly to the Apple TV, by selecting your custom-made album from the list and checking the appropriate box, the Apple TV will be able to find it on the network.įinally it’s time to move to your television and, in the Apple TV interface go to: Settings > Screen Saver > Choose Photos > Computers > Albums.

You probably guessed – you’ll have to open iTunes and under the Advanced menu, select Choose Photos to Share… – you’ll see something like this: I recommend sharing the specific album so that Apple TV will use only those photos for the screensaver (see below).Īt this point you might be thinking that we’re all configured and it’s time to go to your television and crank up the Apple TV.

I named the album Apple TV Slideshow but you can create any name you like.Īlso, while you’re in iPhoto – verify that your album will be shared. I wanted to display only photos from this year, so I chose New Smart Album… from the File menu and used theĭate > is after option and typed in. Let’s step through the setup and see if we can clear up some confusion: The SlideShow Album

Oddly, though the photo album is created and managed within iPhoto, the configuration requires iTunes which acts as an intermediary between the library you create and the way Apple TV displays it. After nearly a year of enjoying the slideshow on my new HD TV, it wasn’t until I created a custom album and tried to view it, that I realized I hadn’t gained full control over the Apple TV settings as I thought I had.

Shuffle photo order for slideshow mac