Alan Smithee

I've been loving Airplay ever since it got added to my Roku, since it lets me get around annoying interfaces on some services (shrinking end credits on Disney Plus for example) and also access stuff like Archive.org in high quality which doesn't even have an official Roku app. It is a bit glitchy though, often it won't work unless I restart the Roku and there have been a few cases where I've found videos that are supposed to support Airplay but they won't work at all- the loading circle appears for a few seconds then cuts to the Airplay home screen (happens on Crackle and Google Play Movies).

Since this is Apple's product, I'm wondering if it works better on an Apple TV unit? Specifically no glitches requiring multiple attempts to start playing or not working at all- also wondering if it passes Atmos on HBO Max movies that have it since it will not pass it on Airplay through the Roku (Atmos does get passed on other services like Disney.)

Meathead

It's seamless with the Apple TV. I've had no issues whatsoever streaming from an iPhone or iPad thru it.

I can't answer the Atmos part. I'm in an apartment and only have the TV speakers or I use my Airpods.

whotony

I try to avoid airplay and any other casting unless I have something that isn’t available anywhere but a website or a link someone provided.


If I have HBO Max I’ll just open that, why would I airplay or cast it if I have the app on my Roku or Atv?

Alan Smithee

HBO Max is one of the better interfaces (I watched two movies on it last night start to end with no intrusions) but they still show the annoying "Skip Intro" button and "Next Episode" menus onscreen during shows- Airplay can't overlay anything on the screen so I can watch those in peace with it. They've also been putting menus onscreen during movies that have extras- they let the entire end credits of Tom and Jerry play through uninterrupted but then had an Extras menu appear onscreen right when the after-credits scene started! I've since checked movies to make sure they have no extras before watching through their Roku app, problem is most of the "premiere" movies do and Airplay won't pass Atmos on them. I found out my old Chromecast passes Atmos on it and doesn't put any crap on the screen through HBO, so I might buy their newer 4K model if another movie with Atmos comes on that I want to watch and they haven't let Airplay pass it yet. A few times on HBO Max, Airplay has also randomly jumped ahead just a few seconds and triggered the time display onscreen which pissed me off, hasn't done that on any other service. That's why I'm wondering if it works any better on Apple TV units, though they're quite expensive and generally can't access as many services as Roku, the newer Chromecast is only 50 bucks.

Eddie W

Hey Alan, I had seen your questions before but I just picked up APTV4K this week. And I just tried streaming the new Space Jam movie on HBOMAX via AirPlay. And it does show up in Dolby Atmos/Dolby Vision.

I never really liked AirPlay on Roku. It's glitchy as hell & just doesn't work well. But almost everything works better on the Apple TV. There is always some irritating little issue with the dongles. Roku + doesn't have Dolby Vision, doesn't do Atmos on Netlfix. Android TV devices don't do 4k/5.1 on Hulu. FireStick also doesn't do Atmos on Netflix and occasional apps. But the Apple TV has the best version of every app & most importantly, it supports all the functionality each app offers. Plus it controls the on/off & volume for your TV/AVR simply by enabling it to do so. I held off for a long time because it seemed like the same thing for a lot more money. But it really is worth it.

Alan Smithee

I actually got an Apple TV a few weeks ago, Airplay does work better on it than on the Roku. There were some sites/services that support Airplay but would not load video onto the Roku but do on the Apple TV- also every movie on HBOMax that has Atmos comes through with it on the Apple but only certain ones do on the Roku and even then it's been inconsistent- some will work one day and not the other and vice versa.

The time bar showing onscreen when something starts is annoying- on the Roku you can make it go away with the Back button but there's no such control on the Apple- instead I just pause it right when it starts, wait for it to go away then start the movie with a clear screen. There really should be an on/off setting for that, I'd never want that time bar onscreen in any instance. On most apps the time bar appears at the start when it doesn't on the Roku. The overall control is a bit more awkward also. I actually still like the Roku better for a lot of things (with the Vudu app on the Apple TV you can't even buy or rent stuff through it, they want to push you to just use Itunes) but the Apple does work better for Airplay and I like the Music service with Atmos also which won't work through the Roku. It's the only streaming box I have with a wired internet connection and I've found that produces an artifact-free picture and no dropouts either stopping or going to lower quality as my wireless stuff often does. I still would not call it "The Ultimate Cinematic Experience" as the box claims.