The Apple TV is a great device to have attached to your TV. Not only can you rent or purchase movies, music, TV shows and more from Apple's iTunes store directly from the device, but you can also stream your existing library, listen to the radio, use it as a receiver for an iPhone, iPad or Mac, use it to watch Netflix and so much more. If you don't already have an Apple TV, the $99 price tag is a bargain.
When the original Apple TV was launched, there were a limited number of apps available. Now, it seems like Apple is releasing a new app about every week. On one hand, it's great to have all those apps, but on the other hand, the more apps there are, the more cluttered your Home screen can become (making it difficult to quickly launch the apps you want). Here are two tips to solving this problem.
Reduce the number of apps you see
The easiest and most effective way to organize your Apple TV menu is to reduce the number of app icons that are on your Home screen. As of right now there are 40 apps available for the Apple TV. Chances are, you aren't using all 40. Me... I use about 10 or so. To hide the apps you don't want to see, go to Settings > General > Restrictions. Scroll down, and you will see a complete list of apps. Simple highlight the one you want to hide, then click the Select (center) button on your remote. This will toggle the option from "Show" to "Hide". Don't worry, you can always go back and unhide the apps by following these same steps.
Organize the apps in the order that makes sense to you
Now that you've hidden the apps that you aren't using, it's time to organize the remaining apps in an order that makes the most sense to you. For most people, the most commonly-used apps will be at the top of the list. To change the order of your apps, simply highlight an icon you want to move, then press and hold the center button on the remote. After a couple seconds, the app icon will start to wiggle. Now, use the remote to move the icon up, down, left and right... until it's in the location where you want to put it. When you're ready, click the center button again, and the app icon will rest peacefully in its new home. Repeat this process until your app icons are in the order you want them.
