Why won't Apple allow streaming to multiple ATV's simultaneously?

[Black Diesel]

I have (3) surround sound receivers in 3 different parts of the house and I would like to have whole house music. If I had an ATV at each home theatre location and I was able to stream to all (3) simulataneously then I would have a simple solution to whole house music.

I believe the only workaround is to use iTunes to possibly do this, but what about using some other app like pandora, spotify, amazon music, etc?

If apple allow streaming simultaneously they would sell a ton to people who want whole house music with different zones on a budget.

Let me know if there is any simple solution to my problem of wanting to use (3) different receivers around the house to power different sets of speakers simultaneously.

 

[Julien]

https://rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/mac/

 

[waw74]

i second airfoil.
although with the update for appleTV that just came out, airfoil no longer works with appleTV.

it still works with other airplay devices though (I've got a couple airplay speakers, an old airport with speakers attached, and my AV receiver has airplay)

with airfoil they also have a receiver program, so you can
phone --> airfoil speakers on your computer -->> multiple airplay receivers

but there is a few second delay when doing that

 

[shaunp]

This was one of the reasons I chose Sonos for music streaming. I can have different music in each room, put some into groups or all of them into groups. Spotify will also steam different music to different Sonos devices at the same time from a single account. Google Chromecast and Amazon Echo both probably do this too. Apple is very good for video, but for music it's just not so flexible.

 

[rluvbeach]

I use the whaale app to stream music from my ipad air 2 to multiple locations using apple tv and airport express

http://www.whaale.com/

 

[Uofmtiger]

Just some info about the Airfoil, since it was brought up:

https://weblog.rogueamoeba.com/

"Summary: To prevent loss of connectivity with Airfoil, Apple TV users should not upgrade to tvOS 10.2 at this time.

On March 27th, Apple released tvOS 10.2 for the latest generation of Apple TV. Changes made by Apple in this update have broken Airfoil’s ability to transmit audio to the newest generation of Apple TV. This issue affects both Airfoil for Mac and Airfoil for Windows, and prevents Airfoil from successfully sending audio to the Apple TV. If your Apple TV is still running tvOS 10.1.1 (or lower), stick with that for now to maintain connectivity with Airfoil.

Next Steps
We’re currently researching this problem, and hope to work around Apple’s changes with a future update. In the meantime, Airfoil users should avoid tvOS 10.2, sticking with their current version of tvOS instead. Be sure to disable automatic updates on the Apple TV as well. You can do this by going to Settings -> System -> Software Updates, and toggling “Automatically Update” to Off."

 

[Black Diesel]

I use the whaale app to stream music from my ipad air 2 to multiple locations using apple tv and airport express

http://www.whaale.com/

When you say multiple locations, do,you mean multiple apple TVs that are connected to multiple amplifiers that power multiple (wired) speakers?

I have 3 different receivers that power (3) different sets of wired speakers. If I connected an Apple TV to each receiver would whaale allow me to stream to all (3) Apple TVs simultaneously which would then able me to control whole house music from a single IOS device?

 

[mistersandman]

I'm trying to output the audio from 1 Apple TV to another Apple TV using airplay and it's not working. It keeps defaulting to the airplay speakers connected to it locally. Does anyone know if what I'm trying to do is the same thing as what the OP is taking about?

In other words what I'm trying to do is output the Apple TV audio from the backyard patio TV to the Apple TV in the house connected to speakers powered by an amplifier. That amp powers the entire house system.

 

[Uofmtiger]

I'm trying to output the audio from 1 Apple TV to another Apple TV using airplay and it's not working. It keeps defaulting to the airplay speakers connected to it locally. Does anyone know if what I'm trying to do is the same thing as what the OP is taking about?

In other words what I'm trying to do is output the Apple TV audio from the backyard patio TV to the Apple TV in the house connected to speakers powered by an amplifier. That amp powers the entire house system.

They added new security to AirPlay in the Appletv, so you have to type in a security code to make them connect. That being said, my receiving Appletv puts a code up on the screen, yet I could not find any way to enter it on the sending Appletv. I am not sure if this is a glitch with this new update or if I am just missing something. It works fine with my other AirPlay devices, but none of my other device require a security code.

 

[techwarrior]

What about AirParrot2? http://www.airsquirrels.com/airparrot/

You can try for free to see if it will work for you, though the free version limits the streaming time. Added benefit of AP2 is that you can multicast audio and\or video to multiple ATV. And you don't have to mirror the entire desktop, most apps can be designated as the streaming app and it offers Audio only option.

It would be nice if Apple supported this directly with the built in Mac Airplay, the only multi-device Airplay Apple offers is iTunes and for that, audio only.

 

[Tech198]

I figure this can be a mixed between a features of a PVR, and a actual PVR like your cable box.. With Apple TV 4 including the same set of features of a PVR, i guess it would come to issues around copyright, sice Apple TV is "not a cable box"

 

[keviha]

I really wish Apple would add as a feature. I have ATV 4 and ATV1...and use the ATV1 with it's built in AirTunes thruout my house. I've tried using Airfoil...but there is some lag...and I don't like having to turn on my computer. I'd just assume stream from my ATV4 to Airport Express's scattered about. Sigh.