Fusion Factor

Q: Can I hide the timeline on the Apple TV when I pause?

I'm a big fan of documentaries and love to pause and read evidence that is flashed on the screen. Unfortunately the timeline that appears on the Apple TV when you pause has a huge thumbnail that obscures the screen (example below). Is there a way to hide this timeline while it is paused?

 

P.S. One workaround I have found is to pull down the settings menu from the top (which causes the timeline to disappear) and after about 15 seconds, the settings menu will hide as well. 

 

IMG_3962.JPG

iMac with Retina 5K display, OS X Yosemite (10.10)

Posted on Sep 19, 2016 2:31 AM

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Q: Can I hide the timeline on the Apple TV when I pause?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Winston Churchill,Helpful

    Winston Churchill Winston Churchill Sep 20, 2016 2:08 AM in response to Fusion Factor
    Level 10 (103,845 points)
    Apple TV
    Sep 20, 2016 2:08 AM in response to Fusion Factor

    But the timeline hides itself after 5 or 6 seconds anyway or at least it is doing so for me.

  • by Fusion Factor,

    Fusion Factor Fusion Factor Sep 19, 2016 3:49 AM in response to Winston Churchill
    Level 1 (120 points)
    Apple TV
    Sep 19, 2016 3:49 AM in response to Winston Churchill

    Really? That's interesting. For as long as I've owned it (since Nov 2015) the timeline on all of my 4th gen Apple TV apps (Netflix, Hulu, CBS) has always remained on the screen indefinitely during pause until I resume playing.

     

    Do you use a special remote?

    Do you recall changing any settings?

    Do you do anything beyond pausing for it to disappear?

  • by Winston Churchill,Helpful

    Winston Churchill Winston Churchill Sep 20, 2016 2:08 AM in response to Fusion Factor
    Level 10 (103,845 points)
    Apple TV
    Sep 20, 2016 2:08 AM in response to Fusion Factor

    No special remote or settings, I press pause, the movie stops, the timeline and playhead icon appear and after about 5 seconds they fade away, I can get it to reappear by swiping up on the touchpad.

  • by Fusion Factor,Solvedanswer

    Fusion Factor Fusion Factor Sep 20, 2016 2:10 AM in response to Winston Churchill
    Level 1 (120 points)
    Apple TV
    Sep 20, 2016 2:10 AM in response to Winston Churchill

    I tried using the ⏯ Play/Pause button on the Apple TV remote and that did the trick. As you stated, the timeline goes away after about 5 seconds.

     

    I realized that my issue is that I have been pausing one of two ways:

    (1) Clicking the trackpad on the Apple TV remote

    (2) Using a universal remote

     

    Neither involve the ⏯ Play/Pause button, and both methods keep the timeline on the screen indefinitely, presumably because the assumption is that you'll be skipping / rewinding / fast-forwarding.

     

    That said, this seems more like a bug with tvOS. Regardless of the way I pause, tvOS should realize after about 5 seconds that it's simply on pause and should clear the screen of the timeline — same way it does with the ⏯ Play/Pause button. Hopefully some tvOS engineers at Apple will see and fix this bug.

     

    Thanks for your assistance, Winston!