Airplay adapter?

[thedon1]

I have a home cinema set up with a Yamaha receiver that handles all my inputs.

Is there a way i can get an adapter to use airplay with this receiver? I can't go out and buy a new receiver as this one cost a lot but using airplay to listen to music via my 5.1 system would be nice.

 

[waw74]

http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/

 

[Azzin]

http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/

I'll second the Airport Express.

I had a nightmare getting it to work, but the issue turned out to be with my PC.

Anyway, all's good now and I can stream music from my PC's iTunes library, my iPhone, or my iPad and my Wife can stream music from her iPhone or her iTunes library to our speakers in the living room courtesy of the AE that's connected to my Onkyo amp.

One of the best bits of kit I've ever purchased.

 

[grawk]

The appletv also makes a good "airplay adapter". Decide between them based on whether you think you'll need a travel wifi router/network extender/print server or if you think you'll ever use the video, or if your receiver does a better job with hdmi than optical, etc.

 

[Jtut10]

I have a home cinema set up with a Yamaha receiver that handles all my inputs.

Is there a way i can get an adapter to use airplay with this receiver? I can't go out and buy a new receiver as this one cost a lot but using airplay to listen to music via my 5.1 system would be nice.

If your Yamaha has HDMI switching or optical input, you can use Airplay to stream to your ATV2 and it will play through your AV receiver.

 

[jlasoon]

For $99 the TV is your best option.

 

[adbe]

For $99 the TV is your best option.

I'd qualify this with "For $99 the TV is your best option, since it's going to be next to the TV."

One major advantage of the expresses is remote admin. The aTV requires a TV to maintain and update. AEs simply need a computer on the same subnet.

 

[thedon1]

Apple TV seems like a really good deal, especially considering it can do other things like airplay pictures.

One major thing though, because it's going to be used mainly for music, what's the quality like? Any degredation due to it being wireless? It's going into to a Yamaha system (via HDMI) and being outputed through 5.1 speakers.

 

[Jtut10]

Apple TV seems like a really good deal, especially considering it can do other things like airplay pictures.

One major thing though, because it's going to be used mainly for music, what's the quality like? Any degredation due to it being wireless? It's going into to a Yamaha system (via HDMI) and being outputed through 5.1 speakers.

I use it everyday with my Marantz AV receiver, sounds great! The video quality is also really good with content purchased from iTunes and streams without a hitch! Its also nice to be able to control the volume through the phone as you walk around the house..

 

[waw74]

what's the quality like?

Both devices use apple lossless for audio only. so what you hear at the source is what you hear at the other end. Although you are subject to drop outs, I have an airport express in my kitchen, it joins my wireless network, and i've learned that i have no music when i run the microwave, once the mirco is done the music picks back up. and occasionally it just randomly stutters, not sure why. guessing it's wireless interference of some kind.

Not sure what is used for audio/video. but apparently it's a completely different system than audio only. Which is why you've seen people able to duplicate the appleTV for receiving audio/video, but not just audio. even though audio only has been out for several years, while a/v is only a few months old.

 

[adbe]

not sure why. guessing it's wireless interference of some kind.

Kitchens are full of devices that are hard on WiFi.

Microwaves are by far the worst offenders as you've found as they emit a lot of 2.4GHz radiation. Spending a little extra on a microwave can help 'cos mostly the issue is poor shielding and, on cheaper models, an especially noisy 2.4GHz waveform.

Cordless phones commonly use the 2.4GHz band as well, and this can cause issues.

Sometimes just flipping the channel that your WiFi network uses will clear problems.


OT: Personally, I went in completely the opposite direction and set up a cluster (four at present) of AEs in my basement, and wired them direct to the router. Four auto-sensing amps are connected to the AEs, and speaker cabling is run to in-ceiling speakers throughout the house and pool area. I also have an aTV in the living room, so I can use my phone to play music to pretty much anywhere in the house, without needing to turn amps on or off.

It's a shame most people have no idea how useful AEs are. As a networking device, they are fantastic little swiss-army knives that can be used to easily solve a whole slew of common problems.

As a home audio device, they rock. If I'd have used off the shelf whole house audio components from Bose, or any of the standard home automation companies such as Control4, I'd have spent easily three to four times as much as I have, for less utility, flexibility, and far more lock in than even Apple manage to exert.

 

[thedon1]

If i'm airplaying music to my apple, will it output 5.1?

Does this depend on the amp rather than apple tv?

 

[adbe]

Does this depend on the amp rather than apple tv?

Typically. The music is only two channel to start with. The aTV AFAIK (I have a v1 only) doesn't convert to 5.1. Most receivers will map stereo audio into any one of a number of speaker configurations. Most of which IMHO sound substantially poorer than just getting the audio out of the two front speakers with an assist from the sub.

I should add, higher end receivers will often 'remember' your choices on a per device basis, and be smart enough to understand that a device may transmit both 5.1 and 2.0 and to handle them differently according to your last specified preference. Dumber devices, even if they have per-device profiles will require you to toggle the speaker mode each time you flip from movies to music. Check the manual for your receiver.