SPOTLIGHT Apple TV4k TIPS, TRICKS and TRAPS

[stereoptic]

On your MacBook, in the Music app, click the Airplay icon and under all the speakers there should be a "switch to" section. If you select your AppleTV there, it will show the content accessible on the AppleTV and what is playing there. Playing Next, etc. will all be the AppleTV. I think that is what you are looking for.

If you don't have those options you may need to update you Mac and/or AppleTV to the latest version.

Thanks. My Macbook is on 12.6.3 Monterey. I'm not seeing the "switch to" section. I see all my players that are Airplay compatible.

 

[Cheezmo]

Thanks. My Macbook is on 12.6.3 Monterey. I'm not seeing the "switch to" section. I see all my players that are Airplay compatible.

View attachment 88808

It may well be a Ventura feature....

 

[stereoptic]

It may well be a Ventura feature....

Yeah, thanks, I was thinking that might be a reason. I'll search around and dig a little deeper.

 

[Cheezmo]

Yeah, thanks, I was thinking that might be a reason. I'll search around and dig a little deeper.

You may have to have Media/Home Sharing turned on on both the MacBook and the AppleTV. Something to check in case you don't.

 

[elee532]

Apple strikes again. With the Apple remote, you swipe to navigate the songs in the Now Playing list...indeed, clicking starts the next song. Just tried it out. You may have to use the OE remote. Not very helpful in your case and the Control4.

What is the OE remote?

 

[JediJoker]

What is the OE remote?

OE = original equipment; in this case, the Apple remote. You can get one here (not cheap @ $60).

 

[stereoptic]

You may have to have Media/Home Sharing turned on on both the MacBook and the AppleTV. Something to check in case you don't.

Thanks, yeah I tried that as well. I found this over in the Apple Discussions board; evidently I need to have "Apple Receiver" as an option under sharing and I don't see it.

Update:
I did get a little further, but output was still stereo and it went through HEOS instead of the A4KTV! More research needs to be done!

 

[Cheezmo]

Thanks, yeah I tried that as well. I found this over in the Apple Discussions board; evidently I need to have "Apple Receiver" as an option under sharing and I don't see it.
View attachment 88835View attachment 88836

Update:
I did get a little further, but output was still stereo and it went through HEOS instead of the A4KTV! More research needs to be done!
View attachment 88841

But you can't "Switch to:" your AppleTV, which to me indicates you don't have something on the AppleTV set up right. Double check that on you AppleTV user Users and Accounts, you are signed in to Home Sharing with the same AppleID that you have Media Sharing enable on your MacBook.

 

[stereoptic]

But you can't "Switch to:" your AppleTV, which to me indicates you don't have something on the AppleTV set up right. Double check that on you AppleTV user Users and Accounts, you are signed in to Home Sharing with the same AppleID that you have Media Sharing enable on your MacBook.

Thanks again for the reply. I had both the A4KTV and the Macbook Home Sharing, same userid (I even made sure I was on the same wi-fi). I logged out of HEOS thinking that may be interfering. (I never used it anyway). Restarted the Apple.
I'm getting close - so will check everything again.

 

[Cheezmo]

Thanks again for the reply. I had both the A4KTV and the Macbook Home Sharing, same userid (I even made sure I was on the same wi-fi). I logged out of HEOS thinking that may be interfering. (I never used it anyway). Restarted the Apple.
I'm getting close - so will check everything again.

Also, seems obvious, but make sure that both the MacBook and the AppleTV are signed in to Apple Music with the same account.

 

[Misterbee]

Thanks again for the reply. I had both the A4KTV and the Macbook Home Sharing, same userid (I even made sure I was on the same wi-fi). I logged out of HEOS thinking that may be interfering. (I never used it anyway). Restarted the Apple.
I'm getting close - so will check everything again.

Here is a lengthy explainer on how to control Apple TV with an iphone, ipad, or Mac. In the Mac section it states that the Mac OS can only be used to pause and resume playback of an Apple TV.

It then goes on to recommend a third party Mac app that gives you full control of an Apple TV.

https://www.switchingtomac.com/tuto...ple-tv-from-iphone-ipad-and-mac/?noamp=mobile

 

[Cheezmo]

Here is a lengthy explainer on how to control Apple TV with an iphone, ipad, or Mac. In the Mac section it states that the Mac OS can only be used to pause and resume playback of an Apple TV.

It then goes on to recommend a third party Mac app that gives you full control of an Apple TV.

https://www.switchingtomac.com/tuto...ple-tv-from-iphone-ipad-and-mac/?noamp=mobile

It is inaccurate.

I just opened my MacBook Pro and turned on my TV with the AppleTV.

I opened Music on the MacBook Pro, selected the Airplay button and chose Switch To: Downstairs (the AppleTV). I then went to a playlist (on the Mac) and chose Shuffle. The AppleTV started shuffling that playlist.

That article is either out of date or just wrong if it suggests you can't fully control music playback and selection from the MacBook. I just did it.

I just read the article and it seems to be oblivious to using the Music app on the Mac to control the AppleTV as it only refers to the Home app (which indeed can only pause and resume).

 

[stereoptic]

Here is a lengthy explainer on how to control Apple TV with an iphone, ipad, or Mac. In the Mac section it states that the Mac OS can only be used to pause and resume playback of an Apple TV.

It then goes on to recommend a third party Mac app that gives you full control of an Apple TV.

https://www.switchingtomac.com/tuto...ple-tv-from-iphone-ipad-and-mac/?noamp=mobile

It is inaccurate.

I just opened my MacBook Pro and turned on my TV with the AppleTV.

I opened Music on the MacBook Pro, selected the Airplay button and chose Switch To: Downstairs (the AppleTV). I then went to a playlist (on the Mac) and chose Shuffle. The AppleTV started shuffling that playlist.

That article is either out of date or just wrong if it suggests you can't fully control music playback and selection from the MacBook. I just did it.

I just read the article and it seems to be oblivious to using the Music app on the Mac to control the AppleTV as it only refers to the Home app (which indeed can only pause and resume).

Thanks for the replies. I'll read through it and see how far I get.

 

[johnbs]

Thanks for the replies. I'll read through it and see how far I get.

I just checked on my MacBook Pro running MacOS 12.6.3 and when I click on the Airplay button in Music (top right corner), I see both my Apple TVs as options under Switch to:

Similarly on my iPhone (iOS 16.3.1), if I choose Airplay from the lock screen, there is an option for Control Other Speakers & TVs that shows both Apple TVs.

It should work fine.

 

[AYanguas]

After some years being with TIDAL/Atmos/Fire TV I have finally entered the Apple world. I subscribed to Apple One, and bought an Apple TV 4K, and today just starting to config and check how it works.

I have found a curious thing, compared with the other streaming Dolby Atmos services, like TIDAL and the recent Amazon Music.

I do get Dolby Atmos from Apple Music, but it looks a little different to my AVR.

Input Signal:

With others, my AVR see “Dolby Atmos/DD+” from streaming or “Dolby Atmos /True HD” for Blu-ray sources.

But now, with the Apple TV 4K, the AVR just shows “Dolby Atmos”

No distinction of DD+

AVR Sound Options:

With others I could select different Options such as “Stereo”, Dolby Digital, Neural:X, etc. Auro-3D / 2D, etc.

But with the Apple TV 4K, the options are limited to “Stereo”, “Dolby Atmos”, “All Channels Stereo”.

When playing other sources such as TV, Netflix, Prime, the Input Signal and Sound Options are completed as before.

Questions:

Is there something in the Apple TV 4K settings that would change that behaviour?

Is this a “known feature” of Apple TV 4K / Apple Music in Atmos?

What the Apple TV 4K streamer could do with the encoded signal to show only “Dolby Atmos” to the AVR ?

I assume Apple would stream the same “Dolby Atmos DD+” (E-AC-3 with Joint Object Coding), as Tidal or Amazon Music. Or is it a "different" Dolby Atmos codec?

 

[himey]

After some years being with TIDAL/Atmos/Fire TV I have finally entered the Apple world. I subscribed to Apple One, and bought an Apple TV 4K, and today just starting to config and check how it works.

I have found a curious thing, compared with the other streaming Dolby Atmos services, like TIDAL and the recent Amazon Music.

I do get Dolby Atmos from Apple Music, but it looks a little different to my AVR.

Input Signal:

With others, my AVR see “Dolby Atmos/DD+” from streaming or “Dolby Atmos /True HD” for Blu-ray sources.

But now, with the Apple TV 4K, the AVR just shows “Dolby Atmos”

No distinction of DD+

AVR Sound Options:

With others I could select different Options such as “Stereo”, Dolby Digital, Neural:X, etc. Auro-3D / 2D, etc.

But with the Apple TV 4K, the options are limited to “Stereo”, “Dolby Atmos”, “All Channels Stereo”.

When playing other sources such as TV, Netflix, Prime, the Input Signal and Sound Options are completed as before.

Questions:

Is there something in the Apple TV 4K settings that would change that behaviour?

Is this a “known feature” of Apple TV 4K / Apple Music in Atmos?

What the Apple TV 4K streamer could do with the encoded signal to show only “Dolby Atmos” to the AVR ?

I assume Apple would stream the same “Dolby Atmos DD+” (E-AC-3 with Joint Object Coding), as Tidal or Amazon Music. Or is it a "different" Dolby Atmos codec?

Apple Music outputs Atmos in a Dolby MAT container. It has been discussed here.

 

[cdheer]

With others, my AVR see “Dolby Atmos/DD+” from streaming or “Dolby Atmos /True HD” for Blu-ray sources.

But now, with the Apple TV 4K, the AVR just shows “Dolby Atmos”

No distinction of DD+

Unlike most other devices, the AppleTV outputs everything as LPCM, with the streaming form of Atmos using Dolby MAT.

You will notice that you don't get Atmos from TrueHD sources (Blu-rays) if you try to play them with Plex or Kodi or the like. That's a limitation of the Apple device.

 

[stereoptic]

I just checked on my MacBook Pro running MacOS 12.6.3 and when I click on the Airplay button in Music (top right corner), I see both my Apple TVs as options under Switch to:

Similarly on my iPhone (iOS 16.3.1), if I choose Airplay from the lock screen, there is an option for Control Other Speakers & TVs that shows both Apple TVs.

It should work fine.

Well, I finally had some time to check this out. I now have success with controlling the A4KTV from the Macbook! I am not using the HOME app, it never found the A4KTV.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

tvOS 16.3.3

https://www.cultofmac.com/808239/tvos-16-3-3-fixes-pesky-remote-bug-on-latest-apple-tv-4k/amp/

 

[Discollector]

Anybody having trouble with their Apple TV 4K cutting out and flickering the TV every 2-20 minutes? Just started in the last 2 weeks. It’s hooked up to a new Samsung TV via Marantz Cimema 60. Waiting for a new fancy HDMI cable to be delivered. Tried switching it with another to no avail. The marantz plays everything else perfectly - Fire stick, turntable, blu ray player. I’ve messed with the setting of the marantz, tv and Apple box but nothing works.