The Apple TV is a great streaming device, but it doesn’t allow you to take screenshots easily. Until Apple adds that feature to tvOS, you need to use a Mac to take Apple TV screenshots.

We’ll walk you through how to use this method, along with its limitations.

How to Take Apple TV Screenshots Using Your Mac

Before you can begin taking screenshots, make sure your Apple TV and your Mac are on the same Wi-Fi network. Once you’ve done that, follow these steps:

  1. Open QuickTime Player on your Mac. If you can’t find it, hit Cmd + Space and type QuickTime.
  2. In QuickTime Player, go to File > New Movie Recording.
  3. This will fire up your webcam and you’ll see yourself on screen. Ignore that, and click the down arrow next to the red record button.
  4. Under Camera, select your Apple TV. In our case, the Apple TV is called Living Room but the name may differ for you.
  5. On your Apple TV, you will now see an AirPlay passcode. Enter this passcode on your Mac.
  6. You’ll now see your Apple TV’s display mirrored onto your Mac.
  7. Just take a screenshot on your Mac and you’re done. To do that, press Cmd + Shift + 4 followed by hitting the space bar to bring up a camera icon. Just move your cursor to the QuickTime window and click once to capture a screenshot.
Select your Apple TV via QuickTime Player

You can now use your Apple TV remote to navigate to the apps or menus that you want to capture, and use this method to take as many screenshots as you’d like.

The Limitations of Apple TV Screenshots

Unfortunately, you cannot take screenshots of DRM-protected content such as videos from Netflix or similar streaming apps.

The Apple TV is primarily a device for streaming your favorite TV shows and movies, so this is a bit of a bummer. However, you can take screenshots of games, your Home screen, and system settings.

Related: What Is an Apple TV and How Does It Work?

The other limitation is that you need a Mac to get the job done, which isn’t something that everyone has access to.

Unleash the Power of the Apple TV

The Apple TV can do some powerful things, such as screen mirroring your iPhone or iPad to a TV. Even if you don’t want to do that, there are lots of great streaming apps and games that you might want to check out, in order to make the most of your Apple TV.