HomePod Can You Make HomePod The "Master" and Apple TV The "Slave"?

[boltjames]

Have had an Apple TV and upgraded each generation since the beginning but just got my first HomePod.

I use my Apple TV as the hub for Apple Music because I like the big screen for navigation and I like the album art on the screen when I'm hosting a party. I'll now have a few HomePod speakers connected to Apple TV- one out by the back deck, one in the dining room, etc.

Let's say I'm hosting a party and I'm in the backyard....can I walk up to one of my HomePod's, tell Siri to "play the Songs Of Summer playlist everywhere" and have it do exactly that for the other HomePod's as well as the Apple TV?

Or do I really have to get up, go into the house, pick up the remote, and navigate through Apple TV to change the music to a different playlist? Can I use one of the HomePod's to make that change not only to the other HomePod's but also to the Apple TV standing out by the pool using only my voice?

 

[boltjames]

Answering my own question in case it may help others in the future:

I had neglected to add both the HomePod and the Apple TV to the Home app on the iPhone. Once I did that and once I went into the Apple TV and enabled both itself and the HomePod as active playback sources what I was looking for worked.

I can now be in the kitchen and say "Siri, play Frank Sinatra" to my HomePod and it will turn on my Apple TV in the great room and start playing music on both the HomePod and the Apple TV simultaneously. And at future parties, I can speak to the HomePod by the pool and have it change songs or playlists on the entire system back in the house, outside, etc.

So now my HomePod is not just a standalone speaker but using Siri also the best way to tell my Apple TV what to do without having to use any buttons on the remote control.

 

[Joeboy116]

Answering my own question in case it may help others in the future:

I had neglected to add both the HomePod and the Apple TV to the Home app on the iPhone. Once I did that and once I went into the Apple TV and enabled both itself and the HomePod as active playback sources what I was looking for worked.

I can now be in the kitchen and say "Siri, play Frank Sinatra" to my HomePod and it will turn on my Apple TV in the great room and start playing music on both the HomePod and the Apple TV simultaneously. And at future parties, I can speak to the HomePod by the pool and have it change songs or playlists on the entire system back in the house, outside, etc.

So now my HomePod is not just a standalone speaker but using Siri also the best way to tell my Apple TV what to do without having to use any buttons on the remote control.

[doublepost=1534449843][/doublepost]Hey there, I was happy to find your question, and answer here. I've been trying to ask this same question and the only answers I ever get are regarding using the HomePod as a speaker for the Apple TV. People can't seem to understand that I want to say "Hey Siri, play The Beatles" and have it come out of the HomePod and the AppleTV at the same time.

Your answer makes sense except when I go into my Apple TV settings I can't find where in the Apple TV to make both units "active playback sources" as you've indicated.

Can you please let me know where in the menu that is?

Thanks

 

[boltjames]

[doublepost=1534449843][/doublepost]Hey there, I was happy to find your question, and answer here. I've been trying to ask this same question and the only answers I ever get are regarding using the HomePod as a speaker for the Apple TV. People can't seem to understand that I want to say "Hey Siri, play The Beatles" and have it come out of the HomePod and the AppleTV at the same time.

Your answer makes sense except when I go into my Apple TV settings I can't find where in the Apple TV to make both units "active playback sources" as you've indicated.

Can you please let me know where in the menu that is?

Thanks

Glad I was able to help.

First start playing a song in Apple Music on the Apple TV. Then rest your finger on the touchpad (rest, not press) and in the upper left corner you should see something that says "Apple TV" scroll onto that and click it wait a second and all your connected airplay devices including the HomePod should appear. Click the circle on the HomePod and now the words at the top of the screen should change to "Apple TV + HomePod" and you are all set. Using the volume control on the Apple TV will also change the volume on the HomePod.

There is another way to access that speaker activation menu and that is on the Home screen- press and hold the play button and it will come up.

Note that all devices must be updated to the most recent iOS version in order for this to work. The Airplay 2 protocol was on the last update.

 

[Joeboy116]

Glad I was able to help.

First start playing a song in Apple Music on the Apple TV. Then rest your finger on the touchpad (rest, not press) and in the upper left corner you should see something that says "Apple TV" scroll onto that and click it wait a second and all your connected airplay devices including the HomePod should appear. Click the circle on the HomePod and now the words at the top of the screen should change to "Apple TV + HomePod" and you are all set. Using the volume control on the Apple TV will also change the volume on the HomePod.

There is another way to access that speaker activation menu and that is on the Home screen- press and hold the play button and it will come up.

Note that all devices must be updated to the most recent iOS version in order for this to work. The Airplay 2 protocol was on the last update.

[doublepost=1534512391][/doublepost]Thanks so much for this info. I love the fact that there's always something new to find out.
This works well and solves a lot of the issues. In fact the people at the Apple store were surprised to this out.

I have two wishes that would further this.

I wish, instead of having to go into the Apple TV to make the connection, we could just tell Siri on the HomePod to join with the Apple TV.

and, it would be nice if when you we join the Apple TV and the HomePod together to play music, they would uncouple when you switch to something else like watching a movie.

Thanks again!

 

[boltjames]

[doublepost=1534512391][/doublepost]Thanks so much for this info. I love the fact that there's always something new to find out.
This works well and solves a lot of the issues. In fact the people at the Apple store were surprised to this out.

I have two wishes that would further this.

I wish, instead of having to go into the Apple TV to make the connection, we could just tell Siri on the HomePod to join with the Apple TV.

and, it would be nice if when you we join the Apple TV and the HomePod together to play music, they would uncouple when you switch to something else like watching a movie.

Thanks again!

Glad I could help. Apple Store people aren't always well informed on products not named iPhone.

Agreed it's annoying that they don't uncouple when something other than the Music app is being used. That said it's pretty amazing that when I say 'hey Siri' at my HomePod with my iPhone in my hand that my iPhone ignores the command and only the HomePod responds. Apple got a lot of it right.

You can tell Siri at the HomePod to "play Maroon 5 everywhere" and by using the word "everywhere" it should connect with the Apple TV without you having to go into the Apple TV to connect them:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208724

Play music everywhere

You can ask Siri to play music in multiple rooms, control the playback volume, and ask questions about the music. Say "Hey Siri," then:

• "Play the Rolling Stones everywhere."
• "Stop playing music everywhere."
• "Set the dining room volume to 10 percent."
• "What’s playing in the kitchen?"

Control where it's playing

You can also play your music in specific rooms, and control which speakers are connected to your system. For example, you can ask Siri to:

• "Play a song I like in the kitchen."
• "Add the living room speaker."
• "Remove the music from the kitchen."
• "Move the music to the den."