AppleTV: can i use Airplay without the TV switched on?

[Europe calling]

Hi,

Can AppleTV be used in a similar way as an AirportExpress? If i were to have it connected to my stereo though its optical audio output. Can i then play my iTunes music without having the TV on?
I could control it with the Remote app on my iPhone?

Does anyone have any experience with this?

 

[bp1000]

Yes, it will pass through audio without having the TV on.

I believe the previous update broke this functionality, requiring the TV to be on, but it was a temporary bug and soon patched as it created a lot of upset people.

Be aware that if this is for high quality audio for hi-end hifi, it resamples to 48Khz from 44.1Khz as it is primarily a Video device.