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stokd · (This post was last modified: 2013-02-09, 22:27 by stokd.)

With the iOS5.2 update, the ATV allows audio to be output to AirPlay speakers. Has anyone had any success using that feature in XBMC after the new JB?

The reason for my question is probably not the usual case, in that I am trying to set up my iPhone as an AirPlay speaker so that I can use my headphones to listen to my movie/TV show playing on the ATV in the bedroom while the wife is sleeping. One of the hurdles I need to overcome this is to make sure that XBMC can actually make use of the new iOS feature. I also need to get the iOS device hooked up as an AirPlay Speaker (working on that, so far I've looked into AirView and AirFoil).

Any ideas for this or alternative solutions would be appreciated as well (i.e. somehow using DLNA or uPNP). There's mention of pointing a DLNA client to XBMC at http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=126362 but I had no luck with that.

**Memphiz** · 2013-02-10, 01:34

xbmc is not yet working at all on version 5.2 - read the sticky thread at the top of the forum about that.

stokd · 2013-02-17, 21:23

Looks like AirFloat is best the Cydia solution I found for turning the iPhone/iPad into an AirPlay speaker. Will post a tutorial once XBMC gets working on ATV 5.2 and I verify this works. Only thing that might hold the solution back is the ability to swap AirPlay devices while XBMC is running. I assume that might need to be done from the main ATV menu, so would require a restart of XBMC each time I want to do this.

cavamora · 2013-02-28, 16:05

XBMC is now running on 5.2. flawless, by the way...

any updates on this topic?
i would love to send the audio from my concerts to my airplay speaker, while keeping the video on the big tv.
obviously, everything synced...

searching on the forum I can see many questions about this same item: output audio to a airplay capable device.
can they be unified?

i am using this feature with netflix. its great!
also, tested with a JB iPhone, Airfloat and headphones.
I can also use XMBC on the iPhone as the airplay receiver!
But only with netflix and music...

Pezunion2004 · 2013-03-01, 09:59

Hi, I am also interested in this service. I love using my iPhone as wireless headphones for my appletv. I would love to share that experience with xbmc. xbmc airplay seems pretty rudimentary so far. Is there any way to encourage development of this?

yeawhatever · 2013-03-03, 20:33

I'd also really like this feature. I just updated my atv specifically to test this in its native apps. Works great just hope that xbmc can support it.

FYI I am using Android mobile and found app called airbubble that handles the airplay receiving of audio. Worked great with apples YouTube app. Thought I'd mention it if anyone else is after android alternative.

stokd · 2013-03-04, 05:34

Someone in the 5.2 discussion pointed out that you can pause airplay audio stream, open xbmc, and have it output to airplay. However this is a pain, the Audio does not sync, and the app I use has to stay open (doesn't run in background). For the trouble it's just not worth it to do that step but you can give it a try. Might have a standard offset that works for a regular airplay speaker

piyush2112 · 2013-03-05, 09:54

(2013-03-04, 05:34)stokd Wrote: Someone in the 5.2 discussion pointed out that you can pause airplay audio stream, open xbmc, and have it output to airplay. However this is a pain, the Audio does not sync, and the app I use has to stay open (doesn't run in background). For the trouble it's just not worth it to do that step but you can give it a try. Might have a standard offset that works for a regular airplay speaker

Hi,

I believe the guy who mentioned this workaround (to play audio from airplay enabled speakers) would be me.
I want this functionality very badly in XBMC as my speakers are far from my projector and running the analog wire degrades the audio quality.
If you just play music from your shared library and select airplay enabled speakers as output in the settings, the audio plays flawlessly.
Pause the music and open XBMC--> play your movie/ video/ audio--> the audio will play out from airplay enabled speakers.
The only problem is that there would be a noticeable lag between video and audio making it useless.
Eagerly;y waiting for the nightly that will enable airplay from XBMC to airplay speakers.

Thanks and Regards
Piyush

~~Ned Scott~~ · 2013-03-05, 12:51

Quote:...running the analog wire degrades the audio quality...

I've been an audio tech before for concerts and stuff, and that's really not true. One, speaker level wire doesn't even have to be shielded to have perfect quality, and line level just needs a nice shielded cable. However... where are you getting analog output from an ATV2?

**Memphiz** · 2013-03-06, 00:37

Its not doable at a first glance. Apple doesn't seem to expose the airplay devices as "normal" audiounits which we could access.

piyush2112 · 2013-03-06, 07:26

(2013-03-05, 12:51)Ned Scott Wrote:
Quote:...running the analog wire degrades the audio quality...

I've been an audio tech before for concerts and stuff, and that's really not true. One, speaker level wire doesn't even have to be shielded to have perfect quality, and line level just needs a nice shielded cable. However... where are you getting analog output from an ATV2?

I am taking it out from the analog out of my projector. From AppleTV to projector via HDMI and from projector to speakers using analog cable (yeah i agree its a cheap and unshielded cable with length of 5 meters).
Why this feature is so important is that i have connected my airport express to my speakers so that i can play music from my phone using airplay (which works great).
The problem is that if i want to use XBMC i have to remove the speaker cable from airport express and connect them to the analog wire coming from the projector.
Its not such a huge problem but is definitely inconvenient.
If XBMC starts supporting airplay i would not have to buy a shielded cable and get rid of this wire switching exercise.

I hope i made my point clear.

Thanks for all your help and support.

Regards
Piyush

**Memphiz** · 2013-03-06, 13:13

read my post, buy a cable, bye a y-adapter.

Fofer · (This post was last modified: 2013-03-12, 10:59 by Fofer.)

(2013-03-06, 00:37)Memphiz Wrote: Its not doable at a first glance. Apple doesn't seem to expose the airplay devices as "normal" audiounits which we could access.

Hmm... that's too bad. For what it's worth, there are at least three (non-iTunes) Mac apps out there that have reverse-engineered this protocol, allowing the output of video (as well as audio) just fine to any AirPlay destination they see broadcasting themselves on the network:

AirFlick (free, and Erica Sadun will likely share the source code)
Beamer (commercial product, slightly nicer interface, but $15)
HudTube (Sends YouTube links too, $4.99 in Mac App Store)

The browser extensions Media Center and ClickToFlash tread similar ground too...

**Memphiz** · 2013-03-12, 11:45

Your post is totally unrelated to what this is about. This is about audio only streaming (called airtunes) which is unrelated to Video+Audio Airplay. We will have to wait for more ios updates. I bet apple will integrate the airtunes output into their common audio frameworks so that XBMC can make use of it without to much trouble. But for now - no.

Fofer · (This post was last modified: 2013-03-12, 11:55 by Fofer.)

Gotcha. I was thinking about both sides (sending & receiving) but didn't realize that AirTunes was unrelated to Video+Audio Airplay. Thanks for the explanation!

I love AirPlay interaction between all my devices, makes things so versatile... but now better understand the spot XBMC is in. I'll "watch this space" with fingers crossed, hopefully Apple opens it up in the future so it works well from XBMC too! Thanks again.