What Can Be Streamed Where
With every new iteration of iOS, and every new model in the Apple TV line, the visual map of what can be streamed where gets a little more complicated. In fact, it's so perplexing already, that it's worth taking a look at the specifics. For example, the Apple TV 2 is required to accomplish a few feats that the original Apple TV cannot.
Unfortunately, neither a NAS drive nor a Time Capsule can be used to stream from unless a host computer is online and running iTunes. I'm hoping that Apple removes the middleman in a future update, but if you absolutely have to tap into a NAS library of music, Sonos' systems may be a better option.
In any situation, it's important to remember that your iPhone software and Apple TV software (and even your AirPort Express firmware) are up to date. Some of the more advanced streaming functions are enabled only when everything in the streaming family is running the latest software, and if you're still facing troubles, you may want to temporarily disable firewalls (both network and local) as well as security software. Also, ensure that two or more devices aren't trying to connect or stream to a single AirPlay-enabled device. It's also worth disabling your Bluetooth radio (found in Settings → General → Bluetooth) to prevent any unforeseen interference or connection confusion issues.
Home Sharing
What if you'd like to use your iPhone to stream audio to a wireless speaker setup, but you have only 16GB of onboard storage. Perhaps even more importantly, the bulk of your favorite tunes are stored on your Mac or PC. So, you're left with two options. You can either use your Mac or PC (and the accompanying iTunes library), or, you can take advantage of the Home Sharing library (shown in Figure below).
Home Sharing is a relatively new technology that's pretty involved to start, but once you're established, using it is simple. You'll need a computer with the latest build of iTunes (one that's logged in using your Apple ID) as well as an iOS device (that's where your iPhone comes in).
You can also use another Mac or PC (or even an Apple TV 2) in place of the iOS device if you feel like streaming to something other than your iPhone.
The key is to match the Apple ID on your iTunes with the one on your iPhone. To get this squared away, you'll need to visit the Preferences section within iTunes → Sharing → Share My Library on Local Network. Then, on the iPhone, head to Settings → Music and input the same Apple ID and password. From there, ensure that your iTunes computer and phone are both online, and then open the Music app. To switch to a shared library, you'll need to tap More → Shared and locate the library that you just made available. It's not exactly obvious, but it'll be there if the right inputs were given. Apple has a fairly robust startup guide and FAQ on Home Sharing here: www.apple.com/support/homesharing.
Tip:
Tip Make sure the iTunes computer that's sharing its library doesn't fall asleep or go offline while you're streaming. None of that library is stored locally on your iPhone; if the host drops out, all you get is silence.
Extra Functionality Out of AirPlay
Apple, like any for-profit company, cannot reasonably support an aging product forever, and at some point, the updates simply have to cease. The original Apple TV was always dubbed a "hobby" by the late Steve Jobs, but the Apple TV 2 seems to be much more than that. Thankfully, the hacker community has found a way to add AirPlay support to the original, and if you're mildly familiar with coding and have the ability to follow step-by-step directions, there's a solution waiting.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, AirPlay isn't exactly buddy-buddy with Windows, either. But even more unsurprisingly, there's a workaround for that, too. Here, a few hacks that are absolutely out-of-bounds for those who aren't into voiding extended warranties, but pack an awful lot of fun for those who are fond of throwing caution to the wind.
- Thanks to a clever hack from the folks responsible for the Remote HD plugin, AirPlay functionality can indeed be shoehorned onto the original Apple TV. Accomplishing this isn't for those who lack courage. It'll take a fair bit of underhanded tinkering, and while the warranty on your original Apple TV has long since expired, meddling with the code inside of one's Apple TV has been known to leave the device unusable. If you're still interested, you can unearth the complete how-to guide at: www.appletvhacks.net/2011/01/05/ airplay-streaming-hacked-into-the-old-apple-tv.
- If you already have a Windows-based PC connected to your TV, or you'd simply rather broadcast video from your iPhone to a Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7-based rig instead of an Apple TV 2-good luck. Apple doesn't natively support it, but an older project dubbed AirMediaPlayer does enable it. You don't have to jailbreak your iPhone to pull this off, but locating download links for the software itself could take a bit of Googling-it's not hosted on a centralized FTP due to its unapproved status. Check here for a how-to install guide: http://compixels.com/8974/enable-airplay-onwindows- pc-to-wirelessly-stream-audio-video-from-ios-devices.
- iTunes for Windows will stream audio from your PC library to any AirPlaycompatible device, but if you want to stream music to a PC from your iPhone, you'll need a handy piece of freeware called Shairport4w. Ensure you have the latest version of iTunes, download the software from http://sourceforge. net/projects/shairport4w/, and make sure that your PC is on the same Wi-Fi network as your iPhone. If done properly, your PC will show on your iPhone as an AirPlay-compatible device to stream to.
- If you're also dabbling in the world of Android, you can install the DoubleTwist AirSync add-in from the Android Market ($4.99) in order to stream audiovisual material from your Android device to an Apple TV 2. Twonky Mobile is a free alternative, but it lacks the tight iTunes integration that AirSync has.
- AirPlay for Windows Media Center is a free piece of software that enables your iPhone to beam content directly to your Media Center PC. It's perhaps the perfect mix of Apple and Windows, and the install instructions can be found here: http://thomaspleasance.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/ airplay-for-windows-media-center-beta-1/.
- If you're comfortable jailbreaking your iPhone and you need to pipe all manners of content from your phone and onto your Mac, AirServer has you covered. It's a $7.99 app, and can be downloaded from here: www.airserverapp.com/?page_id=182.