You get an update! And you get an update! —

Apple TV gains iTunes account switching, subtitle support

That's in addition to movie times, new screen savers, and more.

The Apple TV has just become slightly less frustrating to use—especially if you use it in a house where there are multiple iTunes accounts. Apple pushed a software update to its set-top box on Monday that brings the ability to easily switch between multiple iTunes accounts, allowing you to purchase or watch TV shows from those accounts without having to re-enter a password every time you switch. The Apple TV also gained support for shared Photo Streams (introduced to iOS devices last week as part of iOS 6), subtitle support for the hard-of-hearing, and a handful of other features.

In addition to the features mentioned above, the Apple TV can now stream AirPlay audio to another Airplay-enabled device (such as external speakers). This could be useful if you have a set of AirPlay-enabled speakers you want to use with a movie but don't have those directly connected to your TV set. You can now also search movie trailers and see show times in local theaters, set up "advanced networking options," and choose a handful of new screen savers. Apple says the update also comes with "general performance and stability improvements."

Monday's update is only supported on Apple's second- and third-generation Apple TVs—if you own an original Apple TV, you'll unfortunately miss out. Still, some of these changes have been a long time coming. Aside from iTunes account switching, support for SDH subtitles has been an oft-requested feature—and may be a sign that Apple is taking its current TV offering more seriously. Users can force the download by going to Settings > General > Update, or just wait until the Apple TV prompts you to perform the update.

Channel Ars Technica