Which Apple TV generations support the use of AirPods?

Question

Does anyone know from experience whether AirPods work with the Apple TV 3rd generation?

Answer 1

I have both 3rd and 4th gen. AirPods only work with 4th unfortunately

Answer 2

I do not have personal experience with this, but I did some research.

According to various reports from this thread on iMore, AirPods currently work fine with the Apple TV fourth generation (though they need to be paired with it like a standard Bluetooth device) but many people have reported that it does not work with the second- or third-generation Apple TV. A question and answer on the Apple store website also agree that it only works with the Apple TV 4 (and, presumably, versions to come).