Thanks to support for Siri in some markets, Apple’s fourth-generation Apple TV lets you search for your favorite shows and get information on movies and actors with nothing but your voice. You can even control playback, open apps, get sports scores, weather updates and check on your stock portfolio using Siri.

Unlike on your iPhone, Siri won’t answer you, but she’ll do what you ask and show the results on your TV screen. To control your Apple TV using Siri, simply press and hold the Siri button on your Siri Remote and start talking – release the button and let Siri work her magic.

If you press and release the Siri button, Siri will display a list of tips and suggestions to help you make the most out of Siri on Apple TV. Below is a collection of our favorite ways to use Siri on the Apple TV.

How to search movies and TV shows using Siri

With Siri on Apple TV, you can find TV shows and movies by searching by titles, genres, your favorite actors, directors, show ratings, age appropriateness and you can even search for “good” or “popular” results.

Examples of searches you can ask Siri to perform include:

• “What should I watch tonight?”
• “Find The Boxtrolls”
• “Play Episode 3 of Season 1 of Homeland”
• “Show me popular comedies”
• “Find Benedict Cumberbatch movies”
• “Watch great dramas”
• “Find me some TV Shows that are good for kids”
• “Show PG-13 movies”

Siri even lets you combine genres. Ask Siri:

• “Find me some funny horror movies”
• “Show me independent foreign films”
• “Search for crime documentaries”

Siri will search across multiple apps to display all the results matching your search so that you can pick the show you want to further narrow down your search. If your search matches a specific title, Siri takes you directly to the page for that video, showing you details and more options.

Your Siri search results on Apple TV

Siri will display your search results at the bottom of your TV screen. Using the Touch surface, navigate to the show you want and press to access details. Swipe down on each section to watch a trailer, read a synopsis, see ratings, view the cast, and see which apps the video can be viewed on.

Narrow down your Siri search results on Apple TV

If you see too many results matching your search, you can refine your search by asking Siri for a subset of your initial search results. For example, if you asked Siri to search for Jason Bateman movies, you can ask her: “Just show me the ones from this year” or “Only the dramas” or “Just the best ones.”

Use Siri to navigate Apple TV and control video playback

Siri on Apple TV is not limited to merely helping you find something to watch. You can also ask Siri to open apps, switch apps, pause, play, and rewind or fast forward a video, to show you info about actors and directors, and more.

Use Siri to navigate Apple TV

To use Siri to help you navigate your Apple TV, ask her to “Open App Store,” select an app by asking her to “Launch Netflix,” or switch apps by telling Siri to “Go to Photos.”

Use Siri to control video playback

You can control video playback using your voice by issuing Siri commands. Playback options include:

• “Pause this”
• “Play from the beginning”
• “Skip forward 90 seconds”
• “Jump back 10 minutes”
• “Turn on closed captioning”
• “Turn on French subtitles”
• “What did she just say?” (For this command, Siri skips the video back 15 seconds and turn on subtitles for the segment you missed.)

Ask Siri for more information on shows and movies

While watching a show or movie, you can ask Siri for more information on actors, directors, ratings, and more. Try asking Siri “Who stars in this?” or “Who directed this?” or “What’s this rated?” or “When was this released?”

Ask Siri for other information

Siri can also give you information on a number of other things like sports, weather, or stocks.

Try asking Siri:

• “Who won the World Series?”
• “Who are the Mavericks playing tomorrow?”
• “Who’s the starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs?”
• “How’s the weather?”
• “What’s the weather in Vancouver?”
• “When is sunset in Paris?”
• “Where’s the NASDAQ today?”
• “How’s Apple’s stock?”

Siri will display the results along the bottom on your TV screen and, where available, you can get more information by swiping up on the Touch surface of the Siri Remote.

Ask Siri to read onscreen labels and change Apple TV settings

Siri recognizes onscreen labels, such as items in the menu bar in the iTunes Movies store, so you can navigate apps by simply saying the name of an onscreen label while pressing and holding the Siri button.

Additionally, you can also use Siri to change your Apple TV’s settings. While in Settings, press and hold the Siri button and say a command you see onscreen to open or activate the setting.

Turn Siri on or off

If you want to turn Siri on or off – assuming you skipped this at setup – go to Settings > General > Siri.

Right now, Siri is only available in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, Japan, Spanish, France, and Germany.

Source: Apple; MacRumors

Image via Apple.com