When I AirPlay video it's flawless; when I AirPlay audio it ain't. Why?

[Ggvfvgbffbf]

So, yeah, I regularly AirPlay video from an iPad 3 / iPhone 6 to my ATV to watch on my big screen. I'm talking about UK TV catch-up apps -(BBC iplayer, ITV Player, 4oD), and also YouTube.

I've done this for years and it's absolutely flawless. Every time. No buffering, no pausing, no interruptions. It's great and has been literally 100% of the time whatever version of iOS.

However I also AirPlay audio to the ATV which is connected to my hifi via an optical cable. I use the TuneIn and Spotify apps to AirPlay over radio and music. Its not bad, but it's far from flawless. I'll get occasional pauses, I'll get moments of silence, I'll get drop outs, I'll get buffering. It's always been this way and I doubt it's anything to do with the apps or my setup.

I don't get it. Surely AirPlaying HD video uses a hell of a lot more bandwidth / processing power and puts more strain on my old iPad 3 than a 128k audio stream? Why is video always flawless but audio isn't?

Thanks.

 

[smitt]

It actually sounds like an issue with the apps. Experiment with the built-in Music app over Airplay and check for dropouts. If none, then check for updates on the other apps, and nudge the developers to optimize for Airplay. Sometimes they fall behind.

Also, try rebooting your router just for the sake of eliminating potential network gremlins.

 

[Ggvfvgbffbf]

It actually sounds like an issue with the apps. Experiment with the built-in Music app over Airplay and check for dropouts. If none, then check for updates on the other apps, and nudge the developers to optimize for Airplay. Sometimes they fall behind.

Well I gave it a shot with the stock music app but the same happens. It's not the apps either as these are well-known, (Spotify, TuneIn, Radioplayer), long standing apps that have been AirPlay optimised for years.

It's not a massive deal cos I can cope with a pause every hour or so but I still don't get why a much more demanding HD video stream can be AirPlayed for several hours without a glitch.

Maybe it's an iOS QOS thing? More system resources are allocated to maintaining the AirPlay service when it's video rather than audio?

 

[GM1980]

Hi,

I have a similar problem, when streaming music from my iPhone, iOS 8 to my ATV 3 it drops out once and hour or so. When checking the phone the AirPlay option has disabled itself.

Strangely this only really happens when streaming via the stock Apple Music app, Spotify seems fine which I don't understand as there are more network variables involved.

OP, I read your other thread, do you know how I can try the peer to peer AirPlay? Is it just a matter of enabling Bluetooth on the iPhone then selecting AirPlay?

Thanks
Greg

 

[freemannnn]

When I AirPlay video it's flawless; when I AirPlay audio it ain't. Why?

Has anyone try to stream with bluetooth only?
Because i have same drop outs when using wifi in my iphone 6 ios8. My apple tv is connected with lan cable

 

[Ggvfvgbffbf]

OP, I read your other thread, do you know how I can try the peer to peer AirPlay? Is it just a matter of enabling Bluetooth on the iPhone then selecting AirPlay?

It's not something I've done -(you need the 2nd gen ATV3 which I don't have), but there's info from Apple: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204289

Use peer-to-peer AirPlay
With peer-to-peer AirPlay, your iOS device and Apple TV don't have to be on the same Wi-Fi network.
To use peer-to-peer AirPlay, you need one of these devices with iOS 8 or later:
iPhone 5 or later
iPad mini or iPad (4th generation or later)
iPod touch (5th generation or later)
You can stream content to your Apple TV (3rd generation rev A, model A1469 or later) with software version 7.0 or later. Find out which Apple TV model you have.
Make sure that both devices have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on.

 

[GM1980]

Ok, I've checked my ATV model number and it should be compatible with peer to peer AirPlay, so I'll enable Bluetooth when streaming music over the next few days and let you know how I get on!

Cheers
Greg

 

[GM1980]

Well it definitely seems a bit better using peer to peer, not 100% though.

Problems still only occur when using the Apple music app, never on Spotify - strange to say the least!

Greg

 

[freemannnn]

When I AirPlay video it's flawless; when I AirPlay audio it ain't. Why?

So you have to be disconnected from wifi and lan in apple tv and iphone not connected to wifi to connect peer to peer? And bluetooth on?

 

[cosmic68]

AirPlay audio is choppy for me also and has been since iOS 8. I stream to a B&W A7.

 

[GM1980]

So you have to be disconnected from wifi and lan in apple tv and iphone not connected to wifi to connect peer to peer? And bluetooth on?

The way I understand it, you can be connected to the same wifi network, but as long as you enable bluetooth you will be connected via peer to peer - but I am happy to be corrected!

 

[freemannnn]

I have to disconnect lan cable from apple tv and turn off wifi in my iphone to be able to connect p2p

 

[Ggvfvgbffbf]

Just thought I'd update this thread as the OP.

I'd convinced myself that the prob wasn't anything to do with my setup but it turns out it was...

I changed broadband supplier last week and that included a new router. My old one was a few years old and only did 2.4ghz. The new one is more powerful and is also dual band.

Anyway, audio via AirPlay is now flawless. It's great now with no interruptions. So I guess my old router wasn't as good and that was the reason for the dropouts. Still doesn't explain why video via AirPlay was fine though...!

I was also hopeful that my ATV would wake from sleep like its supposed to do when you AirPlay something to it. Alas, that bug is still present...

 

[FriednTested]

For me it's the other way around.