Picture-in-Picture mode has been an option on Apple’s streaming media device, the Apple TV, for a few years now. But with the recent tvOS 15.4 updateApple has made it easier to watch a live feed of HomeKit cameras in a small window on top of everything else you’re playing on your Apple TV.
This is a handy feature if you want to keep an eye on the nursery while you watch a movie, or keep an eye on the front door for that special delivery during a big game.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to enabling and using Apple TV’s picture-in-picture mode to view a live feed from a HomeKit camera. For this we used the Siri Remote second generation; it is also possible to use the first generation remote control, which uses a touch surface instead of a click pad.
- While watching a show, long-press the TV button on Apple TV’s Siri Remote to open the Apple TV Control Center.
- Use the clickpad ring to scroll to the HomeKit icon.
- Select the icon by pressing the click pad and browse your cameras to choose the feed you want to watch.
- You can also press the Siri button on the remote and ask to view the camera by name, as in “Show me the Arlo porch camera”.
- The live camera feed is displayed in full screen.
- Now use the clickpad ring to navigate to the picture-in-picture icon in the lower right corner of the screen.
- Select the icon and your camera will enter picture-in-picture mode before the content you were previously playing.
- To operate the mode from the smaller picture, press the TV button to display additional controls on the picture-in-picture screen.
- Here you can switch to full screen, close picture-in-picture or move it to any of the four corners of the TV screen.
- In full screen mode, you can choose to view all your compatible cameras and switch to another one.
- You can also switch to viewing your camera in full screen and your show in picture-in-picture by swiping up on the clickpad to reveal the playback controls on the main screen (including picture-in-picture).