How to get AppleTV screensavers on macOS
Apple products have always had a beautiful UI. Regardless of which Apple product you use, an iPhone, a Mac, an iPad, the Apple Watch, or the AppleTV, you will always find a gorgeous interface.
The AppleTV has some excellent screensavers. They’re short, HD videos that play on the screen with information on where they were shot/recorded. If you like these screensavers, you can use them on your Mac with the help of a third-party app called Aerials.
AppleTV screensaver on macOS
To use AppleTV screensavers on macOS, you need to install Aerials. Follow these steps to install the app.
- Make sure the System Preferences app is not open.
- Download Aerials from Github.
- Extract the zipped file (it will extract automatically if you downloaded the file in Safari).
- Double-click the extracted file.
- The System Preferences app will open asking how you want to install the screensaver: single user or all users. Pick the option that suits you and the app will be installed.
Configure AppleTV screensaver on macOS
You now need to configure the screensaver. It isn’t complicated but since the videos are large in size, you can choose which ones to download in 4K and which ones to disable. You can also customize what information is shown on the screensaver.
- Open System Preferences.
- Select Desktop & Screen Saver.
- Select the ‘Aerials’ screensaver.
- Click ‘Screen Saver Options’.
- On the options panel, go to the Videos tab.
- Click the plus button next to the an image to download it in 4K.
- Uncheck an image/video and it will not be shown in the screensaver.
- Go to the Displays tab, and select which display(s) the screensaver should appear on. It can appear on multiple/all displays.
- On the Info tab, add a message, a clock, the date, location, battery information, weather, a countdown, or a timer to the screensaver.
- You can configure screensaver videos for day and night time from the Time tab.
Set custom video
If you have a custom video that you’d like to use as the screensaver, you can set it using Aerial.
- Open System Preferences.
- Go to Desktop & Screen Saver.
- Select Aerials.
- Click ‘Screen Saver Options’.
- On the Videos tab, click the cog wheel button at the bottom of the left column.
- Select ‘Custom video’.
- Select the video you want to use.
Conclusion
Aerials does an excellent job of bringing AppleTV screensavers to macOS. It’s a shame Apple doesn’t make it easier for users to access cross-platform wallpapers and screensavers. You will find that Aerials is light-weight and far more customizable than most screensaver apps.
