Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

HomePod AirPlay 2: airplaying from my Apple TV 4K to multiple AirPlay 2 speakers

V

ValO

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 16, 2012
1,747
687
Now with airplay 2:Would it be possible to stream to multiple HomePods from my Apple TV?

In a few hours we will be able to pair 2 homepods in stereo and have the Apple TV output sound to both.
So streaming/air playing to 1 pair of homepods from Apple TV will be fine, but.....

But since airplay 2 supports multi room audio playback, will it also be able to output sound to 2 PAIRS of homepods at the same time? Or to 1 pair of homepods and one single HomePod?
 
ValO said:
Now with airplay 2:Would it be possible to stream to multiple HomePods from my Apple TV?

In a few hours we will be able to pair 2 homepods in stereo and have the Apple TV output sound to both.
So streaming/air playing to 1 pair of homepods from Apple TV will be fine, but.....

But since airplay 2 supports multi room audio playback, will it also be able to output sound to 2 PAIRS of homepods at the same time? Or to 1 pair of homepods and one single HomePod?
Click to expand...


I want to airplay to 2 Homepods from my Apple TV instead of just one. We will find out soon enough if it works. I'm downloading 11.4 now :)
I'll have a stereo pair in the bedroom and want a stereo pair for Apple TV as well.
 
Can't wait to test this out. Already updated both HomePods remotely. I'm slapping them on either side of the bedroom TV when I get home to see if it works well. I'm curious as to how stereo pairing would work -would I have to indicate which HomePod is 'left' and which one is "right"? Is it automatic. I hope stability has improved too.
 
Ok so it's working for me. However not sure how to configure it for left/right ...
 
On the iPhone, you can use the Home app to configure left/right.

Home - Hold down on the paired HomePod - Details - Audio Settings
 
Well. I have 3 HomePods. I just setup two as a stereo pair and it shows as a single selection in the audio settings on Apple TV 4, as it’s now a pair. My single HomePod in the dining room shows up as a singular unit in my dining room. No issues at all going to all 3.

No other airplay devices.

In fact I just unplugged the Apple TV and it did reconnect.

What I need to figure out is a way to limit the connection songs always going to the Apple TV.
 
vtgeek said:
Well. I have 3 HomePods. I just setup two as a stereo pair and it shows as a single selection in the audio settings on Apple TV 4, as it’s now a pair. My single HomePod in the dining room shows up as a singular unit in my dining room. No issues at all going to all 3.

No other airplay devices.

In fact I just unplugged the Apple TV and it did reconnect.

What I need to figure out is a way to limit the connection songs always going to the Apple TV.
Click to expand...

So , from the apple tv interface itself you can select both the stereo pair and the singular unit at once? And have it play at the same sound at the same time?
 
ValO said:
So , from the apple tv interface itself you can select both the stereo pair and the singular unit at once? And have it play at the same sound at the same time?
Click to expand...

Yes! Works great.
 
marklemac said:
Loving the Airplay 2. Got my ATV4k pumping sound to my 5.1 system and the Homepod :)
Click to expand...

So from the same apple tv you can play sound by hdmi to your 5.1 system and airplay to the homepod? At the same time? So hdmi audio still works when outputting to the homepod?
 
ValO said:
So from the same apple tv you can play sound by hdmi to your 5.1 system and airplay to the homepod? At the same time? So hdmi audio still works when outputting to the homepod?
Click to expand...
His system is probably outputting directly through optical. My living room is set up that way. Although, if I use airplay to output to the HomePod in the living room I'm pretty sure optical would cut out.
 
ValO said:
So from the same apple tv you can play sound by hdmi to your 5.1 system and airplay to the homepod? At the same time? So hdmi audio still works when outputting to the homepod?
Click to expand...

Yes, my 5.1 is connected via HDMI to my ATV, not optical. You can select both the 5.1 and the homepod as audio outputs.
 
Just set my Apple TV up with a Stereo Pair of HomePod's as well - did anyone else notice music streams at a much higher volume than any video content ? I'm hoping Apple can fix this because it works wonderfully other than that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: zedsdead
marklemac said:
Yes, my 5.1 is connected via HDMI to my ATV, not optical. You can select both the 5.1 and the homepod as audio outputs.
Click to expand...
If you watch a 2.1 movie, do the homepods separate the channels? I want to know if replacing my 7.1 system with two homepods is viable... I know it's not going to be as good, but I am looking to simplify my setup. Although I did test it yesterday with my one HomePod, and it didn't sound anywhere near as good, or very loud either. Hopefully with two it would be better?
 
Last edited:
dpgx81 said:
Just set my Apple TV up with a Stereo Pair of HomePod's as well - did anyone else notice music streams at a much higher volume than any video content ? I'm hoping Apple can fix this because it works wonderfully other than that.
Click to expand...

Someone in a thread on Reddit said that if you have a stereo pair, go into the Apple TV audio settings and change the sound quality from Best Available to Stereo. Give that a try and see if it equalises the volume
 
  • Like
Reactions: dpgx81
So I have gotten to use this new Airplay2 feature and I have noticed when watching a movie like "Deadpool" the speakers don't give as much "umph" when turned all the way too 100% as say it would if I was just listening to just music alone
Endorphine88 said:
So two pods as a stereo pair sounds amazing! I am so happy with the result. Picking up two more after work today :)
Click to expand...

how are you getting the HomePods too raise the volume to a reasonable level? when playing the Apple TV with the home pods the volume is exponentially lower than when playing music.......any help?
[doublepost=1527733971][/doublepost]
dpgx81 said:
Thank you I’ll give that a shot!
Click to expand...
did it work?
 
Endorphine88 said:
His system is probably outputting directly through optical. My living room is set up that way. Although, if I use airplay to output to the HomePod in the living room I'm pretty sure optical would cut out.
Click to expand...
Yeah, but that would be
marklemac said:
Yes, my 5.1 is connected via HDMI to my ATV, not optical. You can select both the 5.1 and the homepod as audio outputs.
Click to expand...

Ok, sorry, just to make sure. You can select both from the Apple TV menu?
Or are you doing this from your iPhone or iPad?
 
clg82 said:
So I have gotten to use this new Airplay2 feature and I have noticed when watching a movie like "Deadpool" the speakers don't give as much "umph" when turned all the way too 100% as say it would if I was just listening to just music alone


how are you getting the HomePods too raise the volume to a reasonable level? when playing the Apple TV with the home pods the volume is exponentially lower than when playing music.......any help?
[doublepost=1527733971][/doublepost]
did it work?
Click to expand...
It is useable with the setting changed but there is still a significant delta in max volume from music to video volume play back.
 
clg82 said:
how are you getting the HomePods too raise the volume to a reasonable level? when playing the Apple TV with the home pods the volume is exponentially lower than when playing music.......any help?
Click to expand...

I'm not getting any kind of issues with volume like that. I pair the two pods and then from my AppleTV I just select them as the output and I can control the volume of both with the remote from that point on. Maybe try unplugging both, removing from Home app and going through pairing again? That is supposed to calibrate them
[doublepost=1527772224][/doublepost]
Jamie0003 said:
If you watch a 2.1 movie, do the homepods separate the channels? I want to know if replacing my 7.1 system with two homepods is viable... I know it's not going to be as good, but I am looking to simplify my setup. Although I did test it yesterday with my one HomePod, and it didn't sound anywhere near as good, or very loud either. Hopefully with two it would be better?
Click to expand...
I don't think it would be unless you have a sub-par 7.1 system. The HomePods sound ridiculously good, but they can't match my Soundbar (Bose Soundtouch 300) in the living room and that's not even a full 5.1 or 7.1 system. Unless Apple makes it possible to configure complicated channels and full on surround sound (5 HomePods separating channels and distributing audio around the room? WHAAAT?). All you're looking at right now is a really satisfying stereo system that works perfectly with all your Apple gadgets.
 
Last edited:
Endorphine88 said:
I'm not getting any kind of issues with volume like that. I pair the two pods and then from my AppleTV I just select them as the output and I can control the volume of both with the remote from that point on. Maybe try unplugging both, removing from Home app and going through pairing again? That is supposed to calibrate them
[doublepost=1527772224][/doublepost]
I don't think it would be unless you have a sub-par 7.1 system. The HomePods sound ridiculously good, but they can't match my Soundbar (Bose Soundtouch 300) in the living room and that's not even a full 5.1 or 7.1 system. Unless Apple makes it possible to configure complicated channels and full on surround sound (5 HomePods separating channels and distributing audio around the room? WHAAAT?). All you're looking at right now is a really satisfying stereo system that works perfectly with all your Apple gadgets.
Click to expand...

So the sound is the same volume at 90% when listening to music as it is when you watch a movie on AppleTV? You must be in the minority then, because after doing some research that is the number one complaint thus far...
 
clg82 said:
So the sound is the same volume at 90% when listening to music as it is when you watch a movie on AppleTV? You must be in the minority then, because after doing some research that is the number one complaint thus far...
Click to expand...
Well, 90% would be quite loud so I rarely go that high, but I havent noticed a significant difference from Airplay from the TV to just listening to music independently. I do see a lot of people are complaining about the volume levels though.
 
ValO said:
Yeah, but that would be


Ok, sorry, just to make sure. You can select both from the Apple TV menu?
Or are you doing this from your iPhone or iPad?
Click to expand...


From the ATV itself, just pull down the menu, and click all the devices you want to output the sound too. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back