HomePod Home Theatre... Where is it?

[mallbritton]

Even this isn´t necessary (see my post above).

It actually is. As you can see at the bottom of this Apple KB article: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204069.

“Audio that you stream from Apple TV with AirPlay doesn't support Dolby Atmos or surround sound.” You need to set the default audio out in the Apple TV settings. This will route ALL the sounds of the Apple TV to the HomePods. If just using AirPlay then only the sound from an actively playing video is sent to the HomePods.

For example, when using AirPlay if you open the Extras for a purchased movie it isn’t possible to control the volume of the Extras on the HomePods using the remote. However, when using the Home Theater feature all the sound of the Apple TV can be controlled with the remote. If you are using only AirPlay you aren’t getting the fully immersive sound.

 

[Macguy31]

@Macguy31 leave the Audio Format and Audio Mode set to auto. You will not see any badges or any other indication that Atmos or 5.1, etc is being used. It is all automatic.

Thank you!

now if I could just get my HomePod to stop turning on my tv when I just want to listen to music, I’d be set! This only happens because the HomePod is the default - if I turn that off, the HomePod works to play music without turning on my AppleTV.

 

[mallbritton]

Hm. I’ve not experienced that. How are you playing music? For example I can play music, via AirPlay, from my laptop to my HomePods and I can tell Siri to “play that playlist” or something similar and my TV doesn’t come on.

 

[Macguy31]

Hm. I’ve not experienced that. How are you playing music? For example I can play music, via AirPlay, from my laptop to my HomePods and I can tell Siri to “play that playlist” or something similar and my TV doesn’t come on.

I play music by asking Siri to play something (either a specific track or album/playlist). If I do this new default audio thing, my TV and AppleTV come in when I ask Siri to play music.

 

[Macguy31]

Just did a test, if I play music via AirPlay, my tv and AppleTV do not turn on. If I use Siri, they will turn on and Siri will play whatever I’ve asked for.

 

[firewire9000]

Thank you!

now if I could just get my HomePod to stop turning on my tv when I just want to listen to music, I’d be set! This only happens because the HomePod is the default - if I turn that off, the HomePod works to play music without turning on my AppleTV.

It was super annoying, with the new update and setting the HomePod as the default audio source for the Apple TV, they no longer turn it on when you start playing music. Finally!!

 

[B/D]

It actually is. As you can see at the bottom of this Apple KB article: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204069.

“Audio that you stream from Apple TV with AirPlay doesn't support Dolby Atmos or surround sound.” You need to set the default audio out in the Apple TV settings. This will route ALL the sounds of the Apple TV to the HomePods. If just using AirPlay then only the sound from an actively playing video is sent to the HomePods.

For example, when using AirPlay if you open the Extras for a purchased movie it isn’t possible to control the volume of the Extras on the HomePods using the remote. However, when using the Home Theater feature all the sound of the Apple TV can be controlled with the remote. If you are using only AirPlay you aren’t getting the fully immersive sound.

This not apply to the Homepods on 14.2, only to third party airplay speakers, which doesn´t support the home theatre feature.


I´ve tested it, and again, the atmos logo appears during playback in Netflix and Itunes Movies/Apple TV+ when the Homepods are outputting the audio, which wasnt the case for me before 14.2 (I´ve been using the stereo homepods with the apple tv since the stereo pairing update came out).


Comparing the sound quality with the homepods set as the default apple tv speakers and the Homepods selected from the control center yield identical results, and the surround sound (and atmos sound, where available) is VERY noticeable and makes the whole experience much better than before the 14.2 update .

Regarding the volume issue, when I select the Homepods from the Control Center, a volume bar appears below, and I always put it to the maximum level with the Siri Remote. This way, volume stays at max in all video and music content.


Despite all this, like I said, I DO WANT to use my homepods as the default output of my ATV (that way i could sent apple arcade games audio to the homepods as well), but currently can´t because of two issues.


A). The crackling and loud popping noises that the Homepods make when navigating the UI of the Apple TV is annoying as hell. Luckily, it doesn´t happen during actual video content playback, but it is infuriating

B). Select the Homepods as the default output of the ATV kills my ATV wifi speeds and makes my ping go crazy. It goes from a rock solid 300/300 speed to a 1.2/2.4 speed, and the ping goes from 10ms to 120ms. I am not the only one with this issue here in Macrumors. No idea why this happens, but it makes my ATV4K unusable for watching high quality content. As soon as I choose my internal tv speakers as default and select the homepods from control center, the internet speeds of the apple tv return to normal.

 

[Macguy31]

I don’t believe it, I had automatic updates set on my AppleTV but the latest one never downloaded - downloading it now! I thought it was updated.

 

[Macguy31]

It was super annoying, with the new update and setting the HomePod as the default audio source for the Apple TV, they no longer turn on it when you start playing music. Finally!!

Hmm I wish it was fixed for me because it is very annoying!

 

[mallbritton]

@B/D I had a chance to dig into this a bit more and you are correct. You can choose the speakers via either the control center or in settings. Although, choosing the default audio out in the settings is, at least for me, the preferred method.

To solve your WiFi/crackling issues have you tried doing a reset on the HomePods?

 

[B/D]

@B/D I had a chance to dig into this a bit more and you are correct. You can choose the speakers via either the control center or in settings. Although, choosing the default audio out in the settings is, at least for me, the preferred method.

To solve your WiFi/crackling issues have you tried doing a reset on the HomePods?

Sadly, no, this doesn´t dlve it. It´s a bug. Like Siri starting albums in completely random order. A fix is necessary.

Despite all this, my main problem with making the Homepods the default speaker of the ATV is the fact that when the ATV is sleeping, they do not operate independently. For example, if I ask Siri to play music, they will turn on the Apple TV, start the Music app, and start playing the song from there (although my TV remain turned off, thats and improvement from before 14.2). I don´t want this.

 

[bwfc0907]

I need some help. When selected to be used with the AppleTV the HomePod stops working independently. Is this a known issue? On my HomeKit it shows my Apple TV and HomePod in the same icon.
Was thinking of buying a second HomePod as the sound is great but if I can no longer use just for music doesn’t seem much point.

Seems to me I can either link to AppleTV and have no independent HomePod or dont link to AppleTV and have a HomePod for music but not both?

 

[B/D]

@bwfc0907

This no longer happens to me. Solved it disabling CEC/Simplink in my TV settings. But I quote myself from a reddit post below
(detailed explanation). If its still not working correctly for you, try rebooting both the homepods or the ATV.


LG OLED C8 user here. Everything working fine here. I don´t use CEC because I dont like my TV to be turned off when I put the Apple TV to sleep. What if I want to play a videogame on my game console afterwards?. Or watch a live TV program?.

I also have my ATV "desactivated" as a hub (it still appears on the home app), since I was told by apple support that is better for homekit performance not to have many things active as a hub at the same time. In my case, the Homepods are the hubs of my network.

Now, taking all of this into account, this is what happens in my case.

When the Homepods are selected as the default output speaker of the ATV and I put it to sleep, if I ask the homepods (via siri) to play some music, they DO without turning the Apple TV or the TV on. Good!

If I go to the Airplay menu of an IOS device, the linked homepods are no longer there, only my Apple TV (with a little homepod icon by its side), but I can send airplay music directly from that device (downloaded songs) or from the cloud AND both the TV and the Apple TV remain off while the homepods play.

I can even turn off the IOS device and the music keep playing on the Homepods. Great!

However, If I send an airplay video from an app on said IOS device, it turns the Apple TV on.

So it seems to detect automatically if you are airplaying music from apple music to the homepods linked to an Apple TV, in which case the speakers play it directly from apple servers, or if you are airplaying a video, in which case it turns the ATV on.

Fantastic! Awesome!

In all cases, however, the home app says that the apple tv is in use... even when the homepods are playing music and the ATV itself remain off. Very curious.

 

[bwfc0907]

@bwfc0907

This no longer happens to me. Solved it disabling CEC/Simplink in my TV settings. But I quote myself from a reddit post below
(detailed explanation). If its still not working correctly for you, try rebooting both the homepods or the ATV.


LG OLED C8 user here. Everything working fine here. I don´t use CEC because I dont like my TV to be turned off when I put the Apple TV to sleep. What if I want to play a videogame on my game console afterwards?. Or watch a live TV program?.

I also have my ATV "desactivated" as a hub (it still appears on the home app), since I was told by apple support that is better for homekit performance not to have many things active as a hub at the same time. In my case, the Homepods are the hubs of my network.

Now, taking all of this into account, this is what happens in my case.

When the Homepods are selected as the default output speaker of the ATV and I put it to sleep, if I ask the homepods (via siri) to play some music, they DO without turning the Apple TV or the TV on. Good!

If I go to the Airplay menu of an IOS device, the linked homepods are no longer there, only my Apple TV (with a little homepod icon by its side), but I can send airplay music directly from that device (downloaded songs) or from the cloud AND both the TV and the Apple TV remain off while the homepods play.

I can even turn off the IOS device and the music keep playing on the Homepods. Great!

However, If I send an airplay video from an app on said IOS device, it turns the Apple TV on.

So it seems to detect automatically if you are airplaying music from apple music to the homepods linked to an Apple TV, in which case the speakers play it directly from apple servers, or if you are airplaying a video, in which case it turns the ATV on.

Fantastic! Awesome!

In all cases, however, the home app says that the apple tv is in use... even when the homepods are playing music and the ATV itself remain off. Very curious.

I tried to turn the CEC off but it stopped my 5.1 surround sound from kicking in and went to TV speakers.

I love the HomePod sound, just need to get it isolated from the AppleTV when needed.

if the AppleTV hub is turned off what will be the impact?

 

[B/D]

I tried to turn the CEC off but it stopped my 5.1 surround sound from kicking in and went to TV speakers.

I love the HomePod sound, just need to get it isolated from the AppleTV when needed.

if the AppleTV hub is turned off what will be the impact?

None because then the Homepod will act as the hub.