We currently have an older 720p television and AppleTV 3. I'm thinking of purchasing a Vizio television that supports AirPlay 2. Some apps we already use are on Vizio TVs, but there are some streaming services we may want to try that are not, such as AppleTV+ or Disney+. I'd like to avoid springing for a new ATV4K, because the primary thing we use our ATV3 is for AirPlay. So here's my question: If I AirPlay, say, AppleTV+ from an iPhone to an AirPlay enabled Vizio TV, will the resolution and sound quality be downgraded? Can I watch 4K programming via AirPlay assuming the target device is 4K?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
AirPlay 2 resolution and audio quality
- Thread starter Benjer
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It depends on what you are playing. When playing iTunes or Apple TV+ content, the phone will hand off the stream to the Airplay target device, i.e. the data will not flow through the phone but be directly streamed by the target device. In this case 4K and HDR/DV are fully supported. When using third party apps or playing content that is locally stored on your phone (i.e. recorded videos) this may not be possible, and you may be be limited to 1080p. I don't know if it works with Disney+.
it sounds like if you got an aTV 4, you'd use it for more than airplay.
if your new TV is HDR/Dolby vision, you'll never get either of those signals over airplay
airplay tops out at 1080 and stereo sound.
and if you get a new aTV, the first year of appleTV+ is free, (a $50 or $60 value depending on if you paid monthly or yearly)