If your audio plays through a receiver, which the atv is plugged into then turning the tv off shouldn't affect it. When I am not using the tv I keep the receiver on with the atv input selected so I can play music whenever I want without having to turn it on. I actually programmed my harmony remote so when I turn the tv off it leaves the receiver on and switches to the atv input. Then the speakers are ready to stream music whenever we want. works really well.