Apple makes quality products, so it’s easy to get caught up in their ecosystem. Apple TV has been one of their least popular items (how can you compete with an iPhone or MacBook?), but those who own one enjoy the perks of this being compatible with their beloved Apple devices.
If you have an Apple TV or plan on buying one, you can also use it to stream music to your flat screen TV. Depending on what components you already have, or are willing to buy, you can create an entire wireless speaker system throughout your home.
Sources for Streaming Music
- Apps on Apple TV
- Apps on compatible iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad via AirPlay or mirroring
- Mac or PC iTunes collection via AirPlay
Apple TV Apps
- Music App – Select Purchased, to play back music you have bought from iTunes.
- iTunes Radio App – Choose a station to listen to. You can add stations by genre.
- Computers App – Open iTunes on your computer and select Home Sharing. File> Home Sharing > Turn On Home Sharing. If necessary, create a playlist. Go to your Apple TV Computers App and select playlist*.
iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad Apps
- Spotify
- Pandora
- iHeartRadio
- Beats Music
- Amazon Music with Prime Music
- Songza
- TuneIn Radio
- Rdio Music
A Single Apple TV
Select Computers App on Apple TV, choose the Specific Library (if more than one computer has iTunes open) > Music > Playlist* > Name of Specific Playlist.
*You can also choose music from a particular artist, album, genre, etc.
Multiple Apple TVs
If you are using multiple Apple TVs, you can repeat the above on each device to play different music through each flat screen TV.
Synchronized Music
If you would prefer to play the same music in every room you have an Apple TV, you must first start on your computer.
Open iTunes > AirPlay Symbol > Multiple > Select Apple TVs (all must be turned on to make selection). You can also use your computer as an additional playback option.
Improved Sound
Connect a sound bar or other powered speaker to your system. Connect an optical cable from your Apple TV to your speaker so you can play back audio without turning on the flat screen. If you are also using your computer for music playback, connect speakers to them as well.
Without Flat Screen
After you use a monitor to set up the Apple TV and name it, you can simply connect it to a powered speaker using an optical cable and you’re ready to stream your music to any room via iTunes. Of course, at any time, you can connect that Apple TV to any flat screen to watch movies and TV shows.
Other iTunes Options
- Crossfade (no silence between songs) – iTunes > Preferences > Playback > Crossfade Songs > Slide to number of seconds it will take to transition to next song
- Repeat Playlist – Controls > Repeat > All
Advantages
This is an inexpensive option for a multi-room speaker system (with perks) if you already have speakers in place. It works seamlessly with Apple products. You can use a PC via iTunes. The Apple TV 3 has been reduced to $69 making it a more affordable option for this system.
Disadvantages
You can only connect an Apple TV to a flat screen TV with an HDMI input. Unfortunately, you cannot mirror non-Apple devices to an Apple TV.
If the music library is on a your networked Mac then the solution is even simpler. iTunes on OS X allows for the streaming of music to multiple Airport Express ($79) devices. I have three in my home all connected in a mesh network via WDS. and connected to speakers. I can also stream that music to my Apple TV (4th gen) connected to my home theatre receiver.
If you don’t have Apple TV and don’t want to invest in Apple Airports, but you have iPhone or iPod Touch that dock in a bluetooth speaker, the Airfoil>($29) app will allow you to stream ANY media source to any iPhone, iPad, etc.
Now that you have me explaining all this, I think I feel a blog post in the making. 🙂