Airplay video from Mac to AppleTV needs an internet connection?

I want to Airplay pre-recorded video from my Mac to AppleTV – because my internet connection is down right now.


AppleTV says: "The Internet must be connected to use AirPlay."


Why is an internet connection needed to stream a video from Mac to AppleTV over ethernet?

Apple TV 4K, tvOS 16

Posted on Jul 22, 2023 7:08 PM

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Posted on Jul 25, 2023 9:16 PM

You can download on “authorized” computers, so that it is available offline, and then it wouldn’t need to call home.

Connecting the TV to the Mac by HDMI would not have any AirPlay restrictions. The TV would be like a secondary monitor. It wouldn’t need to call home.

5 replies

Jul 22, 2023 9:49 PM in response to jimdoc01

Commercial content, such as a movie from the iTunes Store, will need to contact online servers for authentication, when playback is not on the device where it was downloaded to (such as with AirPlay).

For non-DRM content, if you home network (router) is functionally active, you should be able to use AirPlay without internet connectivity.

Jul 22, 2023 10:00 PM in response to Urquhart1244

I figured that was the most likely explanation for purchased movies or TV episodes (although it still seems a stretch when I am playing the video on the machine that purchased and downloaded it) – but it won't even let me Airplay a home video that I took on my own camera / iPhone (unless I have an internet connection).


In fact, I was unable even to SET UP Airplay on my LG TV without an internet connection!


I have not yet tried to tell the AppleTV or the LG TV to use my iPhone hotspot – I don't even know if that is possible. If we are talking of "certifying" video that is already on my hard drive, that would not require much data transfer at all.

Airplay video from Mac to AppleTV needs an internet connection?

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