For Music Classroom - Airport or Apple TV?

[Italianblend]

I am a music teacher and I use itunes from my computer for most of my recorded music and albums. I have my computer (Windows) hooked up to a smart board, which I use as my classroom speakers.

I would like to move to a wireless system in my classroom. I'm thinking either an ipod or possibly an ipad mini (although now that I'm thinking out loud, maybe an iphone 6+ without carrier - would give me a bigger screen without having to go to an ipad) to wirelessly broadcast my music to the smart board. This would also allow me to show video, etc on the smart board.

What kind of setup would I need/use? Should I get an airport express, airport extreme, or Apple TV?

Can I have some personal opinions/advice about how you would set this up?

Thanks.

 

[Fabian90]

Airport Express can play audio, the Extreme can not. Apple TV only has HDMI out (the new one) or optical out. The Airport Express has 3,5 inch jack out. It depends on what inputs you can use. The Airport Express would do the job just fine and is cheaper...

 

[bluespark]

Airport Express can play audio, the Extreme can not. Apple TV only has HDMI out (the new one) or optical out. The Airport Express has 3,5 inch jack out. It depends on what inputs you can use. The Airport Express would do the job just fine and is cheaper...

Fabian90 is right, but to clarify one thing, the 3.5" jack on the Airport Express will output either an analog or an optical digital signal depending on what type of cable is plugged in. For audio only, this is the best call, and a setup where you are controlling the music selections with a 6+ or iPad Mini would work very well. This would not do video, however. If video capability also is required, I would suggest an AppleTV other than the newest one. The newest one lacks audio out other than via HDMI.

By the way, music teachers do more than just about anyone to make the world a better place. Hats off to you.

 

[Longkeg]

A word of warning if you are working in a large district that manages its own LAN. I teach music in a very large (county wide) district in South Florida. The IT Gods here have decided to disable Bonjour in all district wifi. Bonjour is Apples way of getting its devices all talking to one another. I can only get them working at school if they are connected to the network via Ethernet. Before you make the investment make sure your school's wifi supports Bonjour.

Now, getting back to your original question, I would need to know more about your Smart Board. What type of AV inputs, projector resolution... that sort of thing. You probably don't want to hear this but I'd stay away from the iPhone 6+ and even the iPad. From a classroom management standpoint I don't want to be looking away from my kids for too long. I mirror my whole desktop up on the screen for the whole class to see. Easy to do with a Mac and an ATV3. Not sure if you could do that with a Windows box though.