Sadly we still can't play through all the speakers in the room simultaneously like we can on iOS.
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How to Use Two HomePods With a Mac for Stereo Audio Output
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Can you perhaps list some brands that are good? I'm ignorant of what the good bookshelf speaker brands are, and I'd like to give this a try with my Apple TV 4k.
I’ve actually stopped playing music from my Mac Mini to the HomePod Mini as every time I do the network drops on my Mac and I can’t get it back online without a hard reboot
I’ve moved to playing from iPhone for now but I can’t pinpoint why it happens at all
anyone else had this?
I’ve moved to playing from iPhone for now but I can’t pinpoint why it happens at all
anyone else had this?
I heard/read this was possible, but I'm not sure if it is or not because I don't own an Apple TV.
tvOS 14.2 on Apple TV 4K supports wireless game audio with HomePods
And possibly other AirPlay 2 + HomeKit speakerswww.flatpanelshd.com
I would be interested to hear from someone who can clarify this though, because if it's possible on AppleTV, it should be possible through MacOS.
It's also worth mentioning that the delay is not only present on MacOS but also on iOS devices too. Basically anything that buffers is good; anything immediate has the delay.
Correction, I was wrong! I found out my homepods were connected to my ATV but not actually set to theater mode this whole time. I didn’t know that required additional action, but apparently that was why my system and game sounds weren’t working. After being set in theater mode, they now work and with no obvious lag.
This is puzzling to my understanding of airplay. I had always experienced major lag when mirroring live video streams from my iPad to the atv and assumed that was just a limitation of airplay. The live stream website I usually use is not live at the moment so I can’t test it, but I tried a live YouTube channel and there was no noticeable lag. Assuming the channel was indeed real time, this is quite surprising. The only explanation I can think of as to why there is no lag, is that Apple made a change to how the atv connects to the homepods via airplay, in that the “real time” audio now primarily uses Bluetooth, since airplay can make use of both WiFi and bluetooth. So I assume the sound quality is worse than normal airplay, but it’s hard to know with things like system sounds. I’d have to do some testing with music etc.
But this does beg the question as ersan said, if it’s possible for the atv, what’s to stop it from working on the Mac. Perhaps it is coming.
I think there are several points in your post I’d like to address:
1. A lag with sound delivery to the Airplay 2 speakers doesn’t mean that the sound has to lag behind the video. Apple developed an algorithm that calculates the lag with sound delivery in Airplay and delays the video by the same delta, effectively synchronizing audio with video. This trick works with all kinds of content, including live content like live TV - as long as the content is not interactive where a 2-second delay in audio delivery (even if synced with video) is not tolerated well by the users.
2. The case of game sounds being delivered to the HomePods in Home Theater Mode is a good example of an interactive application, where a 2-second delay (with the audio only or with both the audio and the video) is not acceptable. So, if game sounds are, in fact, delivered to HomePods without any noticeable lag, Apple has a trick up their sleeve with Home Theater Mode. This trick, as you mentioned in your post, is most likely Bluetooth delivery of the sound or, perhaps, it’s a dual-protocol delivery of the sound, where the Airplay 2 protocol determines if the application is interactive or not and uses Bluetooth for interactive applications, while using Wi-Fi for non-interactive applications (such as music or movie streaming). Another piece of evidence to support the Bluetooth delivery of the sound in Home Theater mode is the requirement to place the Homepod(s) in the same room with the Apple TV to enable Home Theater mode.
3. HomePod Mini is not compatible with Home Theater mode even after the release of tvOS 14.5 and HomePod firmware 14.5. Home Theater Mode works exclusively with full size HomePod(s) and no other kind of Airplay 2 speaker (made by Apple or a third party). There’s an Apple support document on enabling Home Theater Mode that mentions that.
4. When using the HomePod Mini as a speakerphone for a phone call from the iPhone, there is no lag with audio delivery, so I’m 99% sure that in the case of using the HomePod / HomePod Mini as a speakerphone for a phone call, Bluetooth is used instead of Wi-Fi.
5. Even though the HomePod Mini has Bluetooth capability, for whatever reason Apple hasn’t enabled Home Theater mode with the HomePod Mini(s). There’s absolutely no guarantee that Apple is planning to do so in the future, as the release of HomePod firmware 14.5 would have been the opportune moment to enable lag-less audio delivery to the HomePod Mini. Especially, because macOS 11.3, released on the same day, made it possible to send audio system-wide from the Mac to a stereo pair of HomePods / HomePods Mini rather than to individual HomePods only, as it was in previous macOS versions.
6. I don’t have a full-size HomePod to try to send audio from macOS 11.3 to the HomePod to see if there’s a 2-second lag in interactive applications, so I don’t know if Apple has solved this problem with the full-size HomePod, but I have a pair of HomePod Minis, and I know for a fact the 2-second lag is present when using the HomePod Mini stereo pair as computer speakers. And again, there is absolutely no guarantee that Apple will resolve this issue any time soon, if ever, or if it’s even technically feasible to deliver lag-less audio to the HomePod Mini from macOS or from tvOS.
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Yep, so “live” tv channels on the atv have always been able to have synced video/audio with homepods. The interactive system and game sounds never worked at all and are now working and laglessly which is the surprise. The live streaming site i usually use has a chat side window which I’m assuming is why the atv and homepods weren’t able to sync the video and audio when I tried to mirror them from my ipad before. That’s why I’m not sure if the “live” YouTube channel I tested is truly live, as in “no delay at all”. I don’t know if there exists shorthand terminology to differentiate between possibly slightly delayed live and absolutely zero delay live, but it sure would be helpful.
Yeah I agree, I think HTM (home theater mode) switches between bluetooth and WiFi depending on the type of video/audio. I didn’t know there was a requirement to have the atv and homepods in the same room for HTM, that probably does indicate bluetooth dependency.
See 5 response.
Agreed, bluetooth.
Yeah it’s not obvious or immediately apparent what the difference is between the regular vs mini HomePod hardware that makes HTM possible for the regular but not mini. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is that the mini homepods aren’t as good sounding as the regulars, so Apple doesn’t think people should use them for home theater. ?♂️
I don’t have macOS 11.3 so I can’t test, but since there doesn’t seem to be an underlying technical difference between the regular and mini, I’d think it wouldn’t work for either in this case (ie. both would lag). Maybe someone else has tested and posted about this.
But yes, I make a lot of conjecture. Who really knows if there’s an underlying technical difference, or what Apple will do technical difference or not.
I got the Creative Pebble V3 speakers. For $40 they are incredible! Does the pair of HomePods Mini sound better as a stereo pair than a pair of Pebble V3 speakers? I think so. Do they sound 600% better (based on the price difference)? Not at all! They may sound about 40% better as a stereo pair, but I know it only because I compared them side by side, and I do have audiophile hearing.
I also compared them with the Pebble V1 speakers that I bought a while back, and they sound significantly better than Pebble V1. Additionally, they have absolutely no static (unlike Pebble V2, which I tried and returned last summer).
I tested Pebble V3 with the USB cord (using the DAC in the speakers), using the Aux cable that leverages the DAC in the MacBook Air, and by using the Bluetooth connection. To me, all three methods of connecting the Pebble V3 speakers sounded about the same. So, I chose to connect via Bluetooth to reduce clutter from an extra cable.
I am blown away by the quality of the sound and the reliability of the Bluetooth connection. It stays connected through the day, and it reconnects instantly when I wake up the M1 MacBook Air. And even more surprisingly, there is no noticeable lag at all over Bluetooth with interactive applications. I spent 4 hours today on Zoom calls, and there was no lag in audio whatsoever.
All the crazy issues I have been having with a pair of HomePods Mini as computer speakers are gone! And I shipped the HonePods Mini back to the vendor today.
This is one example when Apple overcomplicates their tech and cannot deliver a functional product. All they needed to do is to unlock Bluetooth on the HomePod Minis and utilize Bluetooth for interactive applications running on macOS.
I also compared them with the Pebble V1 speakers that I bought a while back, and they sound significantly better than Pebble V1. Additionally, they have absolutely no static (unlike Pebble V2, which I tried and returned last summer).
I tested Pebble V3 with the USB cord (using the DAC in the speakers), using the Aux cable that leverages the DAC in the MacBook Air, and by using the Bluetooth connection. To me, all three methods of connecting the Pebble V3 speakers sounded about the same. So, I chose to connect via Bluetooth to reduce clutter from an extra cable.
I am blown away by the quality of the sound and the reliability of the Bluetooth connection. It stays connected through the day, and it reconnects instantly when I wake up the M1 MacBook Air. And even more surprisingly, there is no noticeable lag at all over Bluetooth with interactive applications. I spent 4 hours today on Zoom calls, and there was no lag in audio whatsoever.
All the crazy issues I have been having with a pair of HomePods Mini as computer speakers are gone! And I shipped the HonePods Mini back to the vendor today.
This is one example when Apple overcomplicates their tech and cannot deliver a functional product. All they needed to do is to unlock Bluetooth on the HomePod Minis and utilize Bluetooth for interactive applications running on macOS.
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That’s fine, I hope they reported it. I’ve never seen it mentioned before and I’m on this sub daily.
It’s not a joke. I’ve never heard of it nor experienced it nor seen it mentioned. People love to come here and complain and never take a minute to file a bug report with apple.
Is it doubling down or tripling down on an unfortune post?
Over neatly 16 years of me being a Mac user, I have filed several dozen bug reports with Apple. Each took hours of my time, multiple calls with Apple support, back and forth with engineering, and the bug was never squashed.
The 2-second audio delay with HomePods Mini used as Mac speakers when using interactive applications is reality. Your assertion that this delay doesn’t exist is pure fantasy.
For some reason, it doesn't work at all on my iMac Pro using macOS 11.3. I have configured the pair and the iphone works fine with it but mot macOS! I can select the pair as output but nothing goes out of the speakers and the song playing stops few seconds later.
I tried resetting both homepods (both are on version 14.5) and created a new pair but I still have those issues. I give it a week to work otherwise Ill return them get wired speakers that works.
I tried resetting both homepods (both are on version 14.5) and created a new pair but I still have those issues. I give it a week to work otherwise Ill return them get wired speakers that works.
Stop being petty. Not everyone experiences this issue, I don’t, my friends haven’t. Im simply telling people to make sure they report it instead of crying on a forum that Apple doesn’t read.
You are the one who is being petty. You probably don't even have HomePods or HomePods Mini. You are just here to be argumentative like a true Apple fanboy.
I read the preceding posts. I hope I didn't miss comments on the issues I'm having. Every time I choose the stereo paired HomePod minis with my M1 MacMini the computer looses the connection if I pause a YouTube video, or the computer falls asleep.
The MacMini always default to my USB connected headphone amp/DAC combo. So I have to go a select the HomePod minis over and over again.
Also, as others have mentioned there is a lag starting or stopping sound. But what is more irritating is that when playing videos YouTube, Amazon Prime etc. the actors lips more often than not do not synchronize with the dialog sound. I have to restart the computer to get it to work!
Anyone else having the lost connection and lip synchronization issues?
The MacMini always default to my USB connected headphone amp/DAC combo. So I have to go a select the HomePod minis over and over again.
Also, as others have mentioned there is a lag starting or stopping sound. But what is more irritating is that when playing videos YouTube, Amazon Prime etc. the actors lips more often than not do not synchronize with the dialog sound. I have to restart the computer to get it to work!
Anyone else having the lost connection and lip synchronization issues?
You don’t have any of them. You are making sh*t up. Read the post above your “we’re done here” temper tantrum. You seem to be the only one to claim that there is no issue with the lag in audio from a Mac.
The HomePod Mini connect to the Mac over WiFi not Bluetooth, which explains the 2-3 second lag. It's stupid since they have Bluetooth. Apple should enable it for sound output WITHOUT airplay.
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This works with the Mini which is not discontinued. There are lots of wired speakers that aren't as good as some non wired. Its not an all or nothing statement.
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It doesn't use bluetooth and from a phone is an entirely different application. It looks like apple tossed this into the capability of acting as a Mac speaker because they could. Probably should have just left it alone. I had 8 OG HomePods and when apple decided they were done with them I was too. Sold them and spent $3500 on Sonos. I have two minis for voice control but now wondering if I should even stick with HomeKit.
Amusing that you think Apple is stupid but good thing they know you are on top of it and can tell them how they should do things. There are multiple reasons why bluetooth would suck in this application but it would be stupid to tell you since you know everything already.
They should. They should have a long time ago. They’ve lost me as a buyer of the HomePod Mini.
It seems like they still do not support AirPlay 2 on macOS, because there is abstolutely zero lag when playing from iOS or when using Apple branded apps on macOS (TV, Music etc.)
Can anyone confirm?
Can anyone confirm?
Yeah it still doesn’t have airplay 2 as main output even on macos 12 it’s shocking apple hasn’t done this