AirPlay: Operation, Content Streaming and Control with Siri

What is AirPlay?

AirPlay is a proprietary Apple technology that allows you to play different multimedia content such as videos, songs or photos on a compatible device. Among the devices to which we can send this content, Apple TV, speakers and televisions that include this connectivity technology stand out. Obviously, this content transmission is carried out with all the guarantees of privacy, so that you can sit on your sofa and enjoy yourself.

The truth is that this technology can be compared to sending content to a Chromecast, but in this case we do it to Apple TV. The operation is quite similar as we will check in this article.

AirPlay Compatible Televisions and Speakers

As we have said, there are many Smart TVs that are compatible with AirPlay 2. Among the televisions compatible with AirPlay 2 , the brands of Samsung, Sony, VIZIO or LG stand out above all. This is a technology that is gradually spreading in this sector. The same occurs in the altaoves that to the surprise of many there are several brands that are working in this regard such as Bang & Olufsen, Bluesound or Libratone.

Stream video with AirPlay

Stream from iPhone, iPad, and Mac

If we have in our Photo gallery an image or a video that we want to enjoy on the big screen we can do it in a really simple way. Previously, it is important to have the iPhone or iPad on the same WiFi network as the compatible Apple TV or Smart TV. Once we have verified this, simply follow the following steps:

1. Enter Photos and find the video you want to broadcast.
2. Click the share button, which is represented as a box with an up arrow.
3. Press the section that says ‘AirPlay’, marked with a box and an arrow in black.
4. Select the AirPlay compatible device where you want to stream the content.

In these cases it is possible that if it is a video and not an image, the AirPlay icon will appear automatically, although it will depend on the application. This time we have focused on the Photos app, but there are many others that are compatible with this technology, and even some web pages that in a simple way allow us to share a clip through AirPlay.

This same operation can be done from the Mac itself in a really simple way. We simply have to open the app where we have the content to broadcast or on the compatible website and look for the AirPlay icon. Clicking on it will ask us to report on which team we want to broadcast the content.

Mirror iPhone screen

But if what we want to share on the big screen is not a specific video, but we want to tour different parts of our iPhone or iPad, we can transmit the screen . In this way, everything we are doing with our iPhone will be seen on the screen. To achieve this, without the need for cables, we will follow the following steps:

1. Make sure you have the iPhone on the same WiFi network as the Apple TV or the Smart TV.
2. Open the control center from the top right corner or from top to bottom, depending on the iOS version.
3. In the control center we will see a section that says ‘Duplicate screen’ where we must press.
4. Select the AirPlay team you want to stream to.
5. Enter the code that appears on the TV on the iPhone or iPad.

Keep in mind that on television you will see the iPhone as you have it in your hands, that is, that a priori the entire screen will not be filled . In order to get a better vision, the best thing to do can be to turn the phone and use it in a horizontal way.

Mirror the Mac screen

The same can also be done on the Mac. In this operating system, when there is a compatible computer on the same internet network, the AirPlay icon will appear in the toolbar . When you press on it, different options will appear to be able to duplicate the screen or use the television as a totally independent screen.

If this icon does not appear, and there is a compatible Apple TV or Smart TV on your network, you must follow these steps:

1. Enter System Preferences.
2. Go to the ‘Screens’ section.
3. At the bottom select ‘Show duplication options’.

Stream music

Although it is tremendously useful to stream a photo gallery or video clip here AirPlay options run out. Music and podcasts also play a fundamental role in this broadcast system, being able to have our music on any computer.

Stream audio from iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch

If you are listening to an audio on your mobile such as a song on Spotify, you can pass it to a television and even to a compatible speaker in a simple way. Simply follow these steps:

1. Go to the iPhone or iPad control center.
2. In the upper right corner, press and hold the player where the audio you are playing appears.
3. Click on the AirPlay icon.
4. Select the speaker or television where you want to stream the audio.

Stream audio from Mac

As we are used to, the Apple ecosystem works together in an exquisite way. That is why we can do this same audio sharing process from our desktop or MacBook. If we are playing audio outside the Music application, simply do the following:

1. Click on the speaker icon that we find in the toolbar where we adjust the volume.
2. Select the equipment where you want to play the sound of the equipment.

In the case that we are listening to a song through Apple Music, in the upper right part of the app we will have the AirPlay icon next to the volume control. By clicking here a list will appear with the compatible equipment that we have in a new network and where we can retransmit this song.

Multiroom audio

Apple is not limited to giving the options to play audio on only one of the speakers, but we can make it play on several at once. This makes us have a sound in our home that floods our house in all its corners. This is a function that is activated from the iPhone as we have previously explained and that requires two HomePods or two AirPlay 2 smart speakers.

Use Siri as a remote control

Thanks to AirPlay technology we will have control of all content in our hands, being able to forget about the television remote control. After all, Apple TV and Smart TVs compatible with AirPlay 2, as well as smart speakers, can be controlled through Siri. Among the controls that you can use it highlights for example:

• “Turn on the TV in the living room.”
• “For the bedroom Apple TV”.
• “Plays on the Apple TV in the bedroom.”
• “Jump 30 seconds on the TV in the living room.”
• “Play this on the Apple TV in the bedroom.”
• “Play the latest episode of Game of Thrones on the bedroom Apple TV.”

Obviously all these commands work if both the iPhone or the iPad are linked to the same WiFi network as the Apple TV or the television. This function is also well thought out if we have a HomePod in our home, which acts as the general administrator of all the home automation.

But Siri is not a simple command, since it will also make recommendations for the content that we can reproduce depending on our recent searches. When a suggestion appears, you should click on it so that it automatically plays on the computer that we normally use in that time slot.

Manage all your AirPlay equipment in ‘Home’

If you have a new equipment that works through AirPlay 2 such as a television, a speaker or a simple Apple TV, you must link them through the Home application. At first we can think that this is an application that is only intended for smart plugs or lights but opens to all these products. In the end what we are doing is controlling the television or the loudspeaker from another equipment so it becomes a de facto home automation equipment . Among the options that it gives us when we add a new device, it is important to choose the room where we have it. It is important because for voice controls it is essential, since we can distinguish between the Apple TV in the dining room and the bedroom for example.

Privacy is also an important aspect in this app. In the Home application, following the path Edit> Edit home, we can choose who has access to the televisions and speakers. It gives us three different options:

• Everything s: anyone can control what is heard or seen in the products with AirPlay.
• Anyone on the same network : only those of us who have access to the WiFi network where those products are can control the products. Here guests who enter our WiFi password enter.
• Only those who share this house : at Casa we can choose who are the members of our home, so that only those can handle the different products and nobody else.

As you can see, the operation of the products with AirPlay is extremely comfortable. This technology is obviously very focused to take advantage of the entire Apple ecosystem that we have, but they are already opening up to third-party products to break this limitation.