Playlist Organization on TV Screen
Answered
We've heard from our staff that having some sort of folder structure on the TV screen would be very beneficial.
We have multiple ministries sharing class room spaces which run several multi week classes concurrently. That can make it difficult to find what you're looking for if it not on the first section of playlists.
Yes, you could restrict by week. However, our staff would like a broader selection available to equip volunteers to do rehearsals of instructor led content.
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Official comment
We are starting to toy around with this concept. Our designer is mocking up a few ideas. The trick will be the UI to set up the folders in the manage tool.
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Maybe introduce the concept of top-level series or topics with album covers? I think one level would be fine to start with
I almost made a new feature request today.
This is becoming a big pain point on screens which are used several days during the week with content from several studies, trainings, etc. Hard to navigate with 15+ playlists on the screen.
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Will, we are getting ready to start group content in our Next Steps rooms and will probably have 30+ playlists per screen. Some for staff lead environments and a bunch more for volunteer lead ones. I love this idea a ton.
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We have 42 Playlists across 5+ ministry's and are receiving internal feedback and feeling the tension of having too many Playlists in 1 list on the Home Screen. It would be extremely helpful to have some kind of folder organization, color coding the playlists name based on the Tag color, or separate alphabetical lists on the Home Screen to organize and separate out our ministry's content to avoid confusion and mistakes.
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Update on this card… Here's the deal: We can see how adding a folder system on the Apple TV would help streamline access and improve organization for your teams. While this is a fantastic idea, I want to give you insight into the scope of work required to implement a feature like this, as it is a significant and complex project.
Scope of Work for Apple TV Folders
1. Backend System Changes:
• We’d need to build a system to support folder creation, folder assignment, and organization of playlists into those folders.
• This involves modifying how playlists and content are stored and retrieved, ensuring they can be grouped dynamically while maintaining existing functionality.
2. Control/Setup Tool Enhancements:
• The Control/Setup interface would require new features to let users create and manage folders.
• Admins would need an intuitive way to drag-and-drop playlists into folders or assign playlists to categories.
3. Apple TV App Redesign:
• The Apple TV app would need a UI overhaul to support folder navigation, ensuring it remains easy to use while introducing this new level of complexity.
• This includes designing folder icons, navigation paths, and layouts for different screen sizes.
4. Testing:
• We’d need to thoroughly test the system to ensure it works across a variety of Apple TV models, environments, and configurations.
• Folders must load efficiently, especially when dealing with large amounts of content, to avoid impacting performance.
5. Rollout and User Training:
• A change like this would impact how content is displayed for all Apple TV users.
• We’d provide documentation or walkthroughs to help teams transition to the new folder-based system.
Estimated Timeline
Based on similar projects, the development, testing, and rollout of this feature would likely take 8–12 weeks, depending on competing priorities and complexity during implementation.
2025 Next Steps
We’ve added this idea to our feature request backlog, and it will help us prioritize improvements for future updates.
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I've thought a lot about this idea for the last few days.
How could we cut down the requirements so developments and testing produce an MVP?
Here is one idea:
What Can Be Removed:• Folder Management in Control/Setup:
Auto-generate folders based on existing metadata like tags (e.g., “Preschool,” “Elementary”). No need for manual creation.
• Role-Based Access to Folders:
Skip permissions for folders initially. Allow all users to see all folders tied to their assigned playlists.
• Custom Folder Ordering:
Use a default alphabetical or creation-date sort for simplicity.
Would this work?0 -
Grant,
I can't speak for the others, but this is a fantastic start. In the simplest form, I am looking for a way to knock down complexity for the end users, and this does that. I think we will always ask for more features as we continue to roll it out more and more, but you guys expect that and welcome it. Thanks for thinking on this more and coming back to the well.
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For us, auto generating based on very generic tags would not be beneficial. Our use case is for rooms used by multiple ministries and classes.
I think the most scaled back version of this I can think of is introducing the concept of collections.
Collections would be an optional tag on playlists that you could use or not. Potentially even a new section in manager for collections to help create and curate. Could this be behind an “enable collections” toggle in org settings? Eventually, we would need to think of a way to set pretty titles… V2 and beyond description, poster art, etc.
I would see the Screen App displaying collections alphabetically first with playlists not in a collection displayed as they are currently. If no collections active for the screen, the home display for the screen would look the same as it does today.
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I like the customizable folder structure that we are currently using within the Playlist Manager and Media Managers. We sort the Root Folders by Ministry and sub-folders within them by Series, Location, Weekend Dates or Project names. Organizing by Tags sounds like it would mess up our current folder structure and organization.
I wouldn't want that to change the existing customizable back-end organization feature unless absolutely necessary to create additional organizational functionality for the end user on an Apple TV Screen beyond the single alphabetical list.
Also FYI, a small hack I've discovered is that I've used Emoji's and Spaces to re-order Playlists on the Apple TV's current single alphabetical list.
Emoji's push a Playlist to the bottom of the alphabetical list on the Apple TV Playlister Home Screen. Adding a "Space" to the beginning of a Playlist makes that playlist appear at the top of the alphabetical list. Adding two "Spaces" to the beginning of a playlist name makes that playlist appear before the Playlists with only an individual initial “space” before the Playlist name.0 -
John, Will, and Tyler,
Thank you all for your detailed feedback and for sharing how you’re using Playlister in unique ways. It’s clear that improved organization on the Apple TV is a shared goal, but each of you has slightly different needs, which helps us better understand how to design a flexible solution.
Here’s how we’re thinking about this feature:
1. Optional Collections: We’re exploring a feature where collections can be enabled as an opt-in option in organization settings. For users like Will, this would provide a way to group playlists into collections (e.g., “Parent Meetings” or “Training”) without disrupting workflows for others who prefer the current alphabetical list. We need to play around with some designs for this.
2. No Disruption to Existing Structures: Tyler, we understand how important your existing custom folder structure is. Our goal is to ensure collections on the Apple TV won’t interfere with how you currently organize content in the backend.
3. Iterative Approach: As a first step, we’re focusing on basic functionality—such as grouping playlists alphabetically by tags or categories, as Will suggested, or by creating simple collections. Advanced features like customizable visuals, sub-folders, or detailed hierarchy will be considered for future iterations.
Your feedback is invaluable as we build this feature, and we’ll continue to keep you updated as we make progress. If you have further thoughts or ideas, we’d love to hear them!
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We wanted to share an update regarding the Folders for Apple TV feature. Our team will be focusing on the design of this feature starting in February. While we’re excited about the potential impact this can have, we recognize that this is a high-value but high-risk project due to the complexities of getting the UI & UX just right.
As we progress, we’d love to involve our heroes in providing feedback on the designs and functionality. Your insights will be invaluable in ensuring the feature meets your needs and delivers the best experience possible. Thank you for your patience as we work through this exciting initiative!
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Grant, we would be more than happy to provide feedback over here. Just reach out to us when you are ready.
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We'd be happy to provide feedback as well. I can run prototypes by our internal Playlisters User Group as well.
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Thank you both for agreeing to take a look at the designs! Your feedback will be invaluable. While we’re excited about the potential impact this can have for organizing playlists, we do have some concerns about the designs and how they might perform on Apple TVs, especially with the folder-based approach. Apple TVs have specific hardware limitations, and we want to ensure the user experience remains seamless & responsive, even with complex organizational structures. We really appreciate your partnership in this process & look forward to hearing your thoughts.
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