While Apple revealed as part of its notes on the new iTunes 10.5.1 beta 2 released earlier today that iTunes Match is now available for testing on Apple TV, the option is appearing not just for developers but also for regular users. The general public is unable to activate the feature, however, as subscriptions to iTunes Match must be initiated through iTunes 10.5.1, which has yet to see a public release.
The second-generation Apple TV has lacked a "Music" section on its main menu page because Apple has not offered any streaming music services, although users are currently able to stream music content from their computers via Home Sharing in iTunes. That option is accessed through the "Computers" section on the main menu page.
Wednesday March 25, 2026 3:33 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple this week released tvOS 26.4, and the software update includes a handful of new features and changes for the Apple TV.
tvOS 26.4 is compatible with all Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD models released since 2015. To update your Apple TV, open the Settings app on the device, navigate to System → Software Updates, and select Update Software.
Below, we have recapped what is new in tvOS...
Apple has unveiled nine new products this month, but the wait continues for the next-generation Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini models.
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said new versions of the Apple TV and HomePod mini have been "ready" since last year, but he reiterated that Apple has held off on releasing them until the more personalized version of Siri and other...
Tuesday March 24, 2026 10:01 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today released tvOS 26.4, the fourth update to the tvOS operating system that came out last fall. tvOS 26.4 is available for the Apple TV 4K and the Apple TV HD, and it comes over a month after Apple released tvOS 26.3.
tvOS 26.4 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the Apple TV. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software. Apple ...
The best thing about iTunes Match on the AppleTV is it shows that Apple is not afraid to allow the service to stream music without requiring it to also download the music at the same time. While technically it streams to iOS devices just fine, it also downloads the music in the background, preventing you from using it as a stream-only service.
I think it just hints that you may be able to have other things streaming to the ATV (and other devices) "from the cloud" - IE movies and TV shows.
I think it just hints that you may be able to have other things streaming to the ATV (and other devices) "from the cloud" - IE movies and TV shows.
One could only hope.
Apple certainly wants to do it, but it's up to the studios, unfortunately. With any luck Steve Jobs taught Tim Cook a thing or two about strongarming suits into doing Apple's bidding.
It seems from what I am reading that with ATV2 and iTunes Match I can stream music from the cloud. If true thats awesome. My question is, my 2011 MBP has a cruddy 320gb HD, I could then conceivably delete all the music from my MBP and choose music from the cloud to my iPhone 4 right? My HD is full, mostly due to movies (iTunes should send me a thank you card lol) so my thought was when this goes live with movies, like it did with TV shows, I could, essentially, dump all the media from my physical drive and let it all come from the cloud.
Am I understanding correctly?
You could conceivably delete all your content but the danger in that is that there is a clause in iTunes Match that says that Apple will only allow you to re-download your music as long as it is still available in iTunes. If the distributer delists it, you're screwed.
A better decision would be to relocate your iTunes library to an external hard drive, disconnect it and store it in a safe place as insurance. Every now and then, update your physical library on the external as you buy new music.
You wouldn't. But they already have a record of the songs that you purchased through iTunes. You should at least be able to access those from your :apple:TV.
Ah, I get it. But if everything is purchased from iTunes (which I guess would be the case if you had iOS devices but never synced them to a computer) you wouldn't need match. It sounds like they just need to add support for listing purchased songs on the aTV if they don't have it already.
Accessed to music purchased through iTunes store is already available and has no extra charge, Match will only be needed for songs you got elsewhere.
