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    What AirPlay 2 Means for Your Listening Setup

    What AirPlay 2 Means for Your Listening Setup

     

     

    Apple has finally released the AirPlay 2 framework for streaming audio and video on a wi-fi network to compatible devices. Announced just about a year ago at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference, then delayed along with the HomePod, the first device to fully leverage this protocol, AirPlay 2 was released last week as part of iOS 11.4. It is not, however, available on macOS yet, nor on iTunes for Windows, and presumably a Mac update should follow soon. 

     

    If you're used to using AirPlay, you won't notice much of a difference, but there are some changes under the hood that should make your listening better. Here's an overview of how AirPlay 2 works. 

     

    iTunes has long been able to stream to multiple AirPlay devices, but AirPlay 2 brings this ability to the iPhone and iPad. You can now select two or more devices available on your wi-fi network and send music to them. Tap the AirPlay icon on any now playing screen, or, in Control Center, tap the small AirPlay icon on the playback widget. (On the Apple TV, swipe down from the top of the screen, then swipe to Audio to access these controls.) 

     

     

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    AirPlay 2 devices show a circle to the right of their names; the other devices in the list are older AirPlay compatible devices. To start streaming audio, tap a device; if it's an AirPlay 2 device, a check mark fills the circle. Note that you can adjust the volume for each device independently. 

     

     

    airplay2-jpg.jpg

     

     

     

    AirPlay 2 promises "perfect sync" between devices when you stream to more than one speaker. In the past, streaming from iTunes, the device may have been out of sync, depending on your network. AirPlay 2 increases the amount of music that is buffered, helping ensure that music stays in sync, and preventing glitches or dropouts. 

     

    AirPlay 2 is also independent of other audio on the device that you use to stream. If you get a phone call, for example, the audio will not stop, which could be annoying if you're streaming from your phone to an AirPlay speaker in another room during a party. 

     

    Since AirPlay 2 features a buffer that can be up to several minutes, you can start playing music and continue playback when the device you used to initiate the music is no longer on the network. I tried this with Apple Music on my iPhone: I started playing some music, then put the phone into airplane mode, and it continued playing, but only to the end of the song. You cannot, however, tell a device to buffer an album or playlist. 

     

    AirPlay 2 also supports a stereo pair of HomePods. In the above screenshot, you can see that Bedroom shows two HomePods. I have these devices set up as a stereo pair in my bedroom, and when I send music to them, AirPlay 2 manages the right and left channels, instead of playing the same merged mono signal through both devices. 

     

     

    homepods.png

     

     

     

    It's worth noting that while I found the sound from a single HomePod to be mediocre for much of the music I listened to, I'm greatly impressed by the results of a stereo pair of these devices

     

    You can use Siri on an iOS device to control AirPlay 2 playback. For example, I can say, "Play some Grateful Dead in the bedroom," and Siri will start playing music on my HomePods. You could also say, "Play Frank Sinatra's It Was a Very Good Year on all speakers," and even tell Siri to play one type of music on one speaker, and different music on another. 

     

    Other devices on a network will see what's playing on your AirPlay 2 speakers and be able to control playback and volume. Unfortunately, while you can set a password on an Apple TV to prevent people from streaming to the device, you cannot do this with an AirPlay 2 speaker. So you may find your kids playing around with their iPhones or iPads and stopping the music you're listening to, or changing what's playing. Other users can also add music to the Up Next queue, if they have an Apple Music subscription and have iCloud Music Library turned on. I have not been able to test this, as I don't know anyone else who has an Apple Music subscription nearby. 

     

    It's worth noting that this is not without issues. While it works fine when streaming music or podcasts from an iOS device, or even streaming the audio from a movie viewed in the TV app, I was unable to get audio to stream correctly when watching video on apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or Plex. With Netflix and Plex, the apps told me I didn't have enough bandwidth to stream the movies, whereas I got no sound at all streaming with the Amazon app. Since AirPlay 2 is a system framework, I'm surprised this was a problem; it suggests that apps need an update to fully support it. 

     

    What if you already have some AirPlay speakers; will they be able to use AirPlay 2? This protocol is currently compatible with the Apple TV 4th generation or later, and with the HomePod. While AirPlay 2 is backward compatible with all AirPlay speakers, their use with the new protocol will require firmware updates from their manufacturers. AirPlay 2 speakers not only need to manage audio playback, but they also need to be compatible with HomeKit, Apple's framework for home automation products. Apple has published a list of some speakers whose manufacturers have announced coming upgrades. It seems that not all AirPlay devices will be upgradable, due to limitations of memory or the devices, and it's not clear how many hardware manufacturers will want to make the upgrade. 

     

    AirPlay 2 is a solid update to a protocol that has been around for many years (remember AirTunes?). It offers some interesting features, and should resolve the problems that many people encounter with latency and dropouts, but only on devices that are updated to support this framework. If you have a third-party AirPlay speaker, it may be some time before its manufacturer provides support, if at all. 

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Kirkheadsmall1.jpg

    Kirk McElhearn writes about Macs, iPods, iTunes, books, music and more. As a Senior Contributor to Macworld for more than 15 years, he has written hundreds of articles, including the Ask the iTunes Guy column and the Hey Apple, Fix This! column. He is also a regular contributor to the Mac Security BlogTidBITS, as well as several other web sites and magazines. He is co-host of The Next TrackPhotoActiveThe Committed, and The Intego Mac Podcast.

     




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    iTunes was designed by geniuses so that even stoners could run it.

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    I wonder about dropouts: I used to only get them once in a while with AirPort Extreme base. Then they happened more frequently. Over time I changed the WiFi frequency and finally got an Orbi. 

     

    I still get the occasional drop out. Is it cell phone signals? Is it neighboring WiFi (there are a lot of networks despite this being an urban neighborhood in Seattle)? 

     

    The only thing left to do is to turn up the power, right? Assuming that’s an option... Or just wait for AirPlay 2. 

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    21 hours ago, AudioDoctor said:

    Nothing.  That's what it means.

     

    Thank you, doctor! ?

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    On 6/4/2018 at 9:06 AM, kirkmc said:

    The problem is lots of devices can serve as HomeKit "hubs," but it's not clear what any of them do other than centralize a somewhat limited interface for controlling devices. The HomePod doesn't have an interface at all, and the Apple TV is limited to use when a TV is on, which isn't practical. What is needed is a HomeKit hub that allows more than just basic controls and settings, something that can store apps that can then be accessed by other devices, which would provide the functionality that Chris is talking about. 

     

    The current concept of the HomeKit hub is amorphous, and quite confusing. I have not set up my Apple TV or HomePod as a "hub," and control everything from my iPhone (or even my Apple Watch) which cannot be a HomeKit hub, according to Apple. 

    There are only three devices that can act as a HomeKit hub.

    iPad, HomePod, and Apple TV.

    You don't need an interface for the HomeKit hub only an ability to turn it on and off which is dead simple.

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/ht207057

    I have no idea what you find confusing about it.

     

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    On 6/4/2018 at 9:47 AM, loop7 said:

    Mirroring Chris's remark, I wonder if Apple will ever evolve their approach to where a phone or tablet is simply a remote and configuration component and not part of the actual stream. 

     

    I use "play something I like" with my Homepods all the time and it goes directly to the cloud not needing any device connected to it.

    I also use Pandora or Apple Music from my Apple TV.

    I rarely find the need to connect my iPhone or iPad via Airplay and even if I did it's not exactly a huge issue.

     

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    On 6/4/2018 at 5:28 PM, PeterG said:

     

    Ummm...I'm not the expert, you are.  So let's not put too much weight on why I might think something.  But since you asked--as I understand it, AirPlay2 relies upon some combination of iPhone, iPad and HomePod--all produced by a company that has pushed great products with sound quality that is typically far below comparable stuff from competitors such as Naim, Klipsch, and (even) Bose.  So most CA readers are going to have a fundamental concern--will the sound be good enough, or am I just going to find this irritating?

     

    I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks this.  Note that Archimago asks about a very important Apple weakness in the very next question.  He's more specific (and kind?) than I am, but our overriding concern is the same.

     

    Archimago writes alot of nonsense and obviously delights in reaching different conclusions from every one else.

    Why on earth are you comparing Apple to companies that make audio products and nothing else?

    Also you are ignoring, or ignorant of what Apple has done in audio for both file types and file quality as well as eliminating DRM.

    Not to mention the iPod.  Heard of it?

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    what nonsense re Apple?

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    1 hour ago, DarwinOSX said:

     

    Archimago writes alot of nonsense and obviously delights in reaching different conclusions from every one else.

    Why on earth are you comparing Apple to companies that make audio products and nothing else?

    Also you are ignoring, or ignorant of what Apple has done in audio for both file types and file quality as well as eliminating DRM.

    Not to mention the iPod.  Heard of it?

     

    This is a website devoted to music not corporate policy, so Apple should not get a free pass on the quality of its audio products simply because they make other products.  Actually, if I think about the extraordinarily vast resources available to Apple, compared to the ENTIRE high end audio industry, maybe we should hold them to a higher standard.?

     

    I do not ignore Apple's other contributions.  I am ambivalent about them.  As I think I posted on another thread, I do not believe that computer audiophiledom would exist in it's current form without the iPod, iTunes, etc.  But those same products have pushed people toward low res files and away from lossless audio, away from albums and toward singles, and generally away from fidelity and toward convenience.?

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    11 hours ago, DarwinOSX said:

    There are only three devices that can act as a HomeKit hub.

    iPad, HomePod, and Apple TV.

    You don't need an interface for the HomeKit hub only an ability to turn it on and off which is dead simple.

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/ht207057

    I have no idea what you find confusing about it.

     

     

    I have an iPad, an Apple TV, and two HomePods. I have never explicitly set any of them up as HomeKit hubs, yet I use HomeKit stuff (smart lights). I control my devices from my iPhone, my Apple Watch, or my iPad. There is nothing that tells me that a device is the HomeKit hub, and nothing that allows me to do anything with that hub. When I look in the Home app on any device, nothing tells me that one of my devices is the hub. 

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    On 6/10/2018 at 3:49 PM, feelingears said:

    I wonder about dropouts: I used to only get them once in a while with AirPort Extreme base. Then they happened more frequently. Over time I changed the WiFi frequency and finally got an Orbi. 

     

    I still get the occasional drop out. Is it cell phone signals? Is it neighboring WiFi (there are a lot of networks despite this being an urban neighborhood in Seattle)? 

     

    The only thing left to do is to turn up the power, right? Assuming that’s an option... Or just wait for AirPlay 2. 

     

    It’s most likely some sort of interference causing the dropouts. Things like microwave ovens can create all sorts of noise in the WiFi channels. You could also be running into problems with other WiFi networks using the same channel you are. I live in an apartment complex and I can see over 30 other networks. Despite having a strong signal I suffered from WiFi dropouts all the time. I have since gotten a router (Portal) that uses channels that almost no one else does and have not suffered a drop out since. 

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    On 7/4/2018 at 3:02 AM, kirkmc said:

     

    I have an iPad, an Apple TV, and two HomePods. I have never explicitly set any of them up as HomeKit hubs, yet I use HomeKit stuff (smart lights). I control my devices from my iPhone, my Apple Watch, or my iPad. There is nothing that tells me that a device is the HomeKit hub, and nothing that allows me to do anything with that hub. When I look in the Home app on any device, nothing tells me that one of my devices is the hub. 

     

     

    If you turn your smart lights on when not at home either your Apple TV or IPad or both are acting as the hub. You can use the Phillips Hue app and bridge independent of HomeKit. When using the HomeKit app it designates what’s your HomeKit hub in your “home” window. Mine says “Mancave” Apple TV and “TJ iPad”. I don’t have a HomePod so not sure about that. 

     

    Under ipad-privacy- see if use iPad as HomeKit hub is flipped on. I imagine it is Kirk. 

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    Inspired by your article and saw Airplay 2 has now been released on Marantz. I was excited to go out and buy a bunch of Sonos and Apple HomePods and the AV to see how they work around the house. There’s always a sync issue with the Marantz and the rest of the speakers around the house. I have very fast internet. If I have sonos on round the house they sync fine together but the Marantz slightly off. Same with the Homepods. If I have Apple and sonos linked together they are way off. Can airplay 2 not seamlessly sync with different brands ? Any other ideas folks ? Would like a whole house system.  

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