HomePods now play well with AppleTV...

[subjonas]

Quick question: if homepods are used as speakers for ATV, I assume the only way to change volume is Siri? Remote doesn’t do anything?

You can get lossless up to 4K HDR without the need for conversion (.mkv from the MakeMKV app) if you use Plex or Infuse on your Apple TV Plex has a ton of options but requires a Plex server on your Mac, NAS, etc. Infuse is much simpler and does not require a server if you use SMB access, but it will also stream from a Plex server.

Ok I’ll have to check out those options. From what I’ve seen though, ripping doesn’t seem very straightforward. I heard you need a certain type of blu ray drive (UHD “friendly” but not a UHD drive), and it’s not always clear which file needs to be ripped from the disc so it’s trial and error, but each rip also take forever to do. Also does it include special features, subtitles, etc?
As far as I can tell, DRM has no effect on piracy, except that it frustrates purchasing consumers like me to the point of wanting to turn to piracy (just for the digital versions of purchased blu rays).

 

[cynics]

I did a little testing and here is when it works for me.

1. With the output set to the HomePods, turn off your system. I generally do this using the Apple TV Remote as I have the Apple TV set to control the tv.
2. Turn on your system using the Apple TV's remote
3. Go directly to iTunes and start a movie

I did the above after having my tv off for a night and the sound played through the HomePods. If I play something on YouTube (haven't tested other apps), the sound plays through the tv's speakers. I'm sure there are other methods that may but I haven't tested all the options.

This might be unrelated but is this an older TV and/or a TV/Monitor that uses a HDMI to DVI cable?

I have that issue playing Youtube specifically when using an older monitor that uses DVI. iTunes, Netflix, etc (anything that uses Apples video player) all work fine. Apps that have there own player generally will not AirPlay.

If I take that AppleTV and connect it to a more modern monitor or TV (HDMI to HDMI with HDCP) it AirPlay works just fine.

Just something I've discovered, might help you out.

 

[DaveN]

This might be unrelated but is this an older TV and/or a TV/Monitor that uses a HDMI to DVI cable?

I have that issue playing Youtube specifically when using an older monitor that uses DVI. iTunes, Netflix, etc (anything that uses Apples video player) all work fine. Apps that have there own player generally will not AirPlay.

If I take that AppleTV and connect it to a more modern monitor or TV (HDMI to HDMI with HDCP) it AirPlay works just fine.

Just something I've discovered, might help you out.

Mine is an older TV (10+ years) but it does use and HDMI cable with HDCP. I know it has HDCP because I can play copyrighted videos on it which require HDCP and the AppleTV is set to turn the TV on and off when the AppleTV is turned on/off. Good to know it works for you. I'm ok with what I have especially now that the days are getting longer in the northern hemisphere and I watch less TV. For me, more daylight = more time outside.

 

[subjonas]

Quick question: if homepods are used as speakers for ATV, I assume the only way to change volume is Siri? Remote doesn’t do anything?

Tested it myself and I found the atv remote controls the HomePod volume (rather than TV volume) when atv is airplaying to HomePod. This is the kind of thing I really appreciate about the Apple ecosystem.

 

[HDFan]

From what I’ve seen though, ripping doesn’t seem very straightforward. I heard you need a certain type of blu ray drive (UHD “friendly” but not a UHD drive), and it’s not always clear which file needs to be ripped from the disc so it’s trial and error, but each rip also take forever to do. Also does it include special features, subtitles, etc?

Ripping is really easy. The only hard part is getting a drive that support it. You go to

Ripping UHD 4k discs with Makemkv: Instructions How-to

Newer Update: Doesn't look like you need to download the hashed keys file manually anymore. MakeMKV will download the necessary info on its own. Makemkv download (pretty straight-forward to install): http://www.makemkv.com/download/ Update: Starting from version 1.14.0 MakeMKV can read...

www.avsforum.com

and get yourself a compatible drive. You just put a disk into the drive, fire up makemkv and let it rip. The rip may take a while, but you just do something else while it is in progress.

It's not really trial and error. In most cases the largest title is the movie, smaller titles are extras or things like copyright notices.

In this case it is clear that the 34.2 GB title is the move, and the other 2 are extras. In the simplest case all show up as separate movies. Integrating extras as extras depends upon the client you are using.

Subtitles and audio tracks are selectable, client dependent.

 

[subjonas]

Ripping is really easy. The only hard part is getting a drive that support it. You go to

Ripping UHD 4k discs with Makemkv: Instructions How-to

Newer Update: Doesn't look like you need to download the hashed keys file manually anymore. MakeMKV will download the necessary info on its own. Makemkv download (pretty straight-forward to install): http://www.makemkv.com/download/ Update: Starting from version 1.14.0 MakeMKV can read...

www.avsforum.com

and get yourself a compatible drive. You just put a disk into the drive, fire up makemkv and let it rip. The rip may take a while, but you just do something else while it is in progress.

It's not really trial and error. In most cases the largest title is the movie, smaller titles are extras or things like copyright notices.

View attachment 897030

In this case it is clear that the 34.2 GB title is the move, and the other 2 are extras. In the simplest case all show up as separate movies. Integrating extras as extras depends upon the client you are using.

Subtitles and audio tracks are selectable, client dependent.

Thanks for the info. From what I heard though, sometimes there are multiple large files on the disc that are the same size. Not sure if this is a DRM tactic? I don’t know much about this since I haven’t done it yet (still need to do step one and get the right drive). I guess the main thing is I need to figure out which client is best for my situation.

 

[subjonas]

Tested it myself and I found the atv remote controls the HomePod volume (rather than TV volume) when atv is airplaying to HomePod. This is the kind of thing I really appreciate about the Apple ecosystem.

Need to add- the remote control volume buttons seem to only work for the HomePod volume when the HomePod is the only sound output selected, and a full-on video is playing. Otherwise, it doesn’t work. In other words, the remote control volume buttons don’t work for the homepod if the hdmi tv is also selected as a sound output, nor during things like automatic previews and navigation sounds, which is a bummer.

FYI after testing my existing single HomePod with my ATV, I found that if I had a stereo pair, right now for me the advantages would probably outweigh the disadvantages (compared to a dedicated amp and speakers). The recent $199 USD sale pushed me over the edge and I went ahead and got another homepod, putting my former plans on hold. I’ll probably revisit them at some point in the future, but I think this will work pretty well for now. They sounded very good playing Netflix yesterday and it was nice to being able to do things like control the volume with my phone.

One weird thing though- as I adjusted the volume, some of the sound (especially the dialogue) seemed to flip flop sides with each volume increment, noticeably favoring one side over the other (even though the speaking character was centered in the screen) or sometimes it was centered. It was definitely changing with the volume increments, it was not part of the movie. Strange.

 

[andyw715]

FYI Homepods are still $199 at best buy

 

[HDFan]

From what I heard though, sometimes there are multiple large files on the disc that are the same size.

Yes, occasionally there will be different tracks of the same size which have different features. Usually the one with the "main feature" description is the one you want. If in doubt you just rip all of them. You play them, and discard the ones that you don't want.

 

[subjonas]

Does anyone know what voice command to tell the HomePod to bring the ATV out of screensaver? When I tell siri to play, it plays only the audio from the show/movie and the tv screensaver continues.

 

[philMBP]

Does anyone know what voice command to tell the HomePod to bring the ATV out of screensaver? When I tell siri to play, it plays only the audio from the show/movie and the tv screensaver continues.

Right? Same problem here.

 

[chrisandersen]

Mine is reverting back to the HDMI when I start up. Seems to be app dependent. Meaning that different apps switch the input and others do not.

 

[DarwinOSX]

I disagree. As setting HomePod audio out on AppleTV is an option, it is feature they should support. After all, the HomePod audio option remains selected on AppleTV when the AppleTV is reawakened from sleep so it should still output to the selected option.

People keep saying Apple doesn't intend HomePods to be used this way and they are wrong. They provide detailed and clear instructions in multiple support documents for connecting HomePods to Apple TV.

 

[subjonas]

A couple recent findings...

One bad thing for ATV gamers who want to use Homepod speakers—I just found it doesn’t work, it’s just silent. I guess games can’t airplay their audio. But they probably wouldn’t want to anyway since with airplay there would be lag between the video and audio, and you can’t sync them in games like you can for movies and shows by delaying the video too, since games need to be responsive. To play with sound I had to switch to my TV‘s built-in speakers, which is fine for me since I barely ever play games.

ATV seems to send audio to the Homepod via Airplay on a play by play basis. It only connects and streams when you hit ‘play’ for each individual video. The only exception to that is it also plays live tv channels, which can play automatically when you open an app. But it doesn’t do any sound outside of that, such as for games, navigation, and good or bad, automatic previews and some commercials.

Also I recently found that when playing a video on your Apple device and mirroring it to the ATV with Homepod as sound output, the audio gets way out of sync. I had to switch to my TV’s built-in speakers.

So here is a summary of the pros and cons that I’ve found regarding the Homepod as a ATV speaker (vs traditional wired speakers)...

Pros:
- Can use iDevice or Homepod (as well as ATV remote as long as other audio outputs are disabled) to control audio (edit- I mean volume)
- Easier to use Homepod to control the ATV (you can actually use the Homepod to control your ATV even if it’s not connected as the ATV audio output, but you have to use more detailed language in your commands, eg. “Hey Siri, pause the tv” vs. “Hey Siri, pause”)
- Sounds great, especially as stereo pair (depending which speaker system you compare to)
- Looks great
- Small
- Also an Apple Music and Airplay speaker
- Also a Siri assistant

Cons:
- Only works for ATV, so you’ll need to use your TV‘s built-in speakers or other external speakers for any other video sources
- No sound for games, navigation, and automatic previews and some commercials (if you like those)
- ATV and Homepod disconnect from each other when you Airplay to the Homepod from other devices.
- When mirroring video from another device, the audio is a few seconds out of sync

My conclusion:
The Homepod paired with the ATV (especially in a stereo pair) provides a great experience, minus having to give up some nice little things like navigation sound. But the 4 conditions of a great experience are: 1) you’re not a big ATV gamer, 2) you don’t need to connect other home entertainment sources besides the ATV, 3) you don’t often Airplay to the Homepod from other devices, because having to reconnect the ATV and Homepod could get annoying if you have to do it often, and 4) you don’t often mirror video+audio to your ATV.

 

[subjonas]

Right? Same problem here.

I found the best you can do is tell Siri to turn off the tv, then tell it to turn it back on. It works well enough if you don’t have your remote on hand.

 

[andyw715]

It appears the Homepod will now run on tv os, maybe that will position Homepods better as a speaker system to complement Apple TVs.

 

[subjonas]

It appears the Homepod will now run on tv os, maybe that will position Homepods better as a speaker system to complement Apple TVs.

It’s an interesting move. We’ll see. Hope so.

 

[andyw715]

It’s an interesting move. We’ll see. Hope so.

With the rumors of a smaller Homepod, I think it would be interesting to have a new Apple TV and 2 small Homepod package. A nice little stereo setup. Or even include a full size Homepod as a sub.

 

[subjonas]

With the rumors of a smaller Homepod, I think it would be interesting to have a new Apple TV and 2 small Homepod package. A nice little stereo setup. Or even include a full size Homepod as a sub.

Yeah or maybe different combinations—two big homepods, or two big+two small, etc.
There is also speculation the ATV might be combined/built into a homepod. Interesting idea.

 

[ErikGrim]

Bought another two homepods hoping they’d fixed Apple TV interoperability. They haven’t. Sure, you don’t have to reconnect every time you wake from sleep anymore – unless you’ve literally used the HomePods for anything else in the meantime - which they most definitely always have.

This is a fundamental flaw in how AP2 is designed. There’s no sense of “reconnect” from device. There’s only an active connection when requested. Same thing with AirPods. Switch to a Mac, then you’ll have to initiate a reconnect from your phone next time you want to use them.

If devices were allowed to automatically try reconnecting once they’ve lost connection, unless the AP2 device (i.e. HomePod or AP) are in active use by another device, that would be a far far superior user experience.

 

[subjonas]

Bought another two homepods hoping they’d fixed Apple TV interoperability. They haven’t. Sure, you don’t have to reconnect every time you wake from sleep anymore – unless you’ve literally used the HomePods for anything else in the meantime - which they most definitely always have.

This is a fundamental flaw in how AP2 is designed. There’s no sense of “reconnect” from device. There’s only an active connection when requested. Same thing with AirPods. Switch to a Mac, then you’ll have to initiate a reconnect from your phone next time you want to use them.

If devices were allowed to automatically try reconnecting once they’ve lost connection, unless the AP2 device (i.e. HomePod or AP) are in active use by another device, that would be a far far superior user experience.

Auto reconnect would be a very appreciated option, but I think the main instance where it would be useful is when using Homepods as ATV speakers. So if Apple decided it was worth it, rather than implementing the feature in the Airplay protocol itself, they may just make it a setting specific to the ATV when connected to a Homepod. But either way, I think they aren’t going to bother looking into it until they see a big demand for this use case—or in true Apple fashion, if they decide they want to create demand for this use case.
Or they might just introduce a wired connection into future Homepods, though that doesn’t seem likely. Or they might combine ATV and homepod into one device somehow.