I really wish Apple would add this option. Airplay is garbage and Home Sharing doesn't work half the time. Also the UI on the ATV to search for and play music is horrible. I have over 6,500 songs. To scroll through that on the tiny remote track pad is insane. Hopefully Apple will add this in a future update. It's a sensible option.
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Pairing Mac with ATV via bluetooth
- Thread starter bigpoppamac31
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I've been able to AirPlay my iTunes music library to my ATV4 from my MacBook Pro since I got my ATV4. I've also been able to initiate my iTunes music library playback from my ATV4 directly. Sounds like a call to Apple tech support might be of benefit to you.
I'm not going to bother with that. Worse case I'm just gonna get a bluetooth adapter for my AV receiver. I'll use that to stream my music. If I'm listening to music I'm gonna be in the same room anyways. If Apple was smart they would enable BT pairing between the Mac and ATV.
My ultimate goal I think is to eventually get a 4K TV and use that as my external monitor for my 13" rMBP 2014. Then I'll just connect my mac to the AV Receiver for audio. Wired connection never fails.
That'll work, but you'll be streaming over BT instead of WiFi, if that matters...
That fine for me. I'll never understand why streaming music has to go through the internet anyways. If I'm listening to music I'll be in the same room so direct pairing (call it bluetooth or whatever) makes more sense.
It's more like WiFi Direct, nothing to do with and doesn't require the internet. Similar to Bluetooth, but the signal goes over your WiFi network instead for peer-to-peer connectivity. The benefit being increased bandwidth and no loss of audio quality.
Well it just seems many times the ATV doesn't connect with my iTunes on my Mac. Plus the UI on the ATV is really not great for searching for and playing music. I can search for and play what I want much faster using iTunes directly on my Mac. Search on the ATV in general is crap. Whoever thought of putting the alphabet in one long line across the screen was a nut. Should have arranged it "qwerty" style. Also the "Music" app on the ATV doesn't show all my songs hence I use the Home Sharing app. But many times it won't connect the first try. Long term I'm likely gonna have my Mac connected to a 4K TV and my receiver. That'll be my external monitor. I'll just be on the couch with my wireless keyboard and trackpad.
I have the Remote app. It's decent but is kind of a battery hog. Plus for some reason it's hard for all my devices to be on the same network. I have an Airport Extreme with simultaneous dual band. I prefer to be on the 5GHz band but apparently it's not so great when going through walls into other rooms. You almost need direct line of sight which is weird. But the 5GHz band is generally faster then 2.4GHz. Lots of times the device won't detect both wifi bands.
Many are fine with Bluetooth as their audio streaming method and can't detect the degraded audio quality, 'sounds' like you're amongst them. I like the flexibility and sound quality of playing my library within iTunes on my ATV4 or AirPlaying from my iPhone or MacBook Pro to my ATV4...
Many are fine with Bluetooth as their audio streaming method and can't detect the degraded audio quality, 'sounds' like you're amongst them. I like the flexibility and sound quality of playing my library within iTunes on my ATV4 or AirPlaying from my iPhone or MacBook Pro to my ATV4...
I like the sound quality when it works. But the UI is not so great. Even the arrangement of my songs is sometimes awkward. Plus with almost 7,000 songs it's a lot to scroll through on the remote or the iPhone app. I may have my Mac connected to my home theatre via HDMI anyways once I get a 4K tv. A 43" 1080p TV doesn't give a sharp enough picture. My rMBP has a far clearer and sharper picture. Especially for text. I may get rid of the ATV all together as I don't use it often enough. I'm still mulling things over but we'll see.
opponent
Seemes like AirPlaying from your Mac to your ATV4 is ideal then, but, whatever works out best for you
opponent
Seemes like AirPlaying from your Mac to your ATV4 is ideal then, but, whatever works out best for you
I've tried Airplay but the connection is crap. Does it still go through wi-fi?
Probably something with your hardware or configuation -- excellent connetivity on my end. Yes, it goes via WiFi -- you might want to do an internet search on how AirPlay works (maybe even WiFi in general), from what you've typed, it seems unfamiliar to you.
Well I'm giving Airplay another go and it seems to work fine so far. But I may look into a wifi extender just in case. I've seen that the Airport Express can be used as an extender but how do I do that?
Yes it does but its performance is linked to your wireless router. To get better performance you can connect P2P. This uses wifi but connects directly to your AppleTV. Simply disconnect your Mac from your router but keep wifi turned on.
Google is your friend, for example: "setting up airport express to extend wifi"
The AirPort Express user documentation explains the process as well.
So I'll have no internet connection on my Mac. How do I link the Mac and ATV via wifi without my router?
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I heard it was better to connect both base stations together via ethernet for better signal strength.
Whatever works best for you -- good luck!
Well that's just what I heard. Would it make sense to do that?
You would connect the same way. ATV supports Peer 2 Peer. It still uses wifi. You just need to disconnect your Mac from your router.
It's not perfect but it's a solution when your home network isn't quick enough. I used to have the same problem until I upgraded my wireless router.
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I don't think it's an issue of speed. It may just be an issue of placement in my apartment which is very linear. The living room is at one end and my bedroom is at the other end. Also maybe the wifi signal can't go through my walls very well. my apartment building was built in the 1960's if that means anything. Even my dad has issues with his ATV4 and his is in the same room as the Airport Extreme.