If playback is a tough word to wrap your head around, then the word streaming quality won’t be.

You must have received content with different streaming qualities if you’ve been enjoying streaming services on various over-the-top platforms. Playback is simply playing back what has been recorded. This article will show you how to change the playback quality of Apple TV Plus. But before that, get a glimpse of what it is (if you don’t know yet).

 

What exactly is Apple TV Plus?

Apple TV Plus (+) is a development by Apple Inc. that offers Apple’s movies and shows at $4.99 a month (after a 7-day free trial). It is currently showing Apple Originals, such as the comedic animation Central Park. Apple TV Plus can be compared to Netflix and Hulu.

It is accessible in over a hundred countries, a significant number in global outreach. To enjoy Apple TV Plus content, you use Apple’s website (any browser, any OS) or on iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch (through the Apple TV app).

Apple TV Plus also has Ultra HD (or 4K) capabilities. How about that!

Why change the playback quality?

You always want to get uninterrupted and quality media whenever you stream content such as a movie or a show from the Internet (as in through Apple TV). While this is good, you should also know that the better the quality, the more data consumed (or bandwidth as referred to technically). When things look too clear, too much data is being exchanged. This pinch is felt when you are using mobile data instead of Wi-Fi.

To save on data, you should consider changing the playback quality. The article will focus on Apple TV Plus usage on iPhone, iPad, and Mac to show you how to change playback quality settings.

Doing it on iPhone and iPad.

1. On your device, tap on the ‘Settings app to launch it.
2. Navigate to the ‘TV’ button and tap it. It should be below ‘Music.’
3. When the ‘TV’ screen displays, tap on the standalone button “iTunes Videos.”
4. The “Playback Quality” section will be shown. The two most common streaming options, Wi-Fi and Mobile Data, will be displayed.
5. If you want to change the ‘Mobile Data’ settings since it affects your cell’s bandwidth consumption, tap on it. Two options will be available, ‘Best Available’ and ‘Good.’
6. Since you want to use less data, tap on ‘Good’ and make sure a blue tick appears next to it.

The quality will now be lowered, but the rate at which your bandwidth is consumed will decrease.

Doing it on a Mac

Consider the following steps if you are using Apple TV Plus on macOS:

1. On your Mac, open the Apple TV app.
2. On ‘TV,’ navigate to preferences. The “Playback” pane will be displayed.
3. The option of interest is “Stream Quality.” You are supposed to choose between the following options – ‘Best Available,’ ‘Better,’ or ‘Good.’
4. Pick the option you want and make the change.

Recapping things

Knowing how to change the playback quality of Apple TV Plus is very important, especially if you’re using an iPhone or iPad and your primary Internet connectivity option is mobile or cellular data (that you buy with your own money).

It would be disappointing to know that the hours you spent on Apple TV Plus took away 2GB of your bandwidth, while it could have taken less had you made a playback quality change.