Is there any way to control the volume on my Apple TV?

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Level 1

15 points

Is there any way to control the volume on my Apple TV?

Here's the scenario: I have a small amplifier under my couch that controls the speakers connected to my Apple TV. When I use Airplay from my iPhone to listen to music, I'm able to control the volume right from the music App on my phone- this is perfect because I don't like to reach under the couch to change the volume. However, there are two scenarios when I cannot seem to adjust the volume anywhere except on the amp. These are:

First: Using Airplay while playing a video from my MacBook Pro to the Apple TV. In this case, the volume slider in iTunes suddenly has a little lock icon on it and is unadjustable. Is there any way to unlock the volume?
Second: When using the Apple TV directly to play any media- music or movies. The volume up and down buttons on the Apple TV don't control the volume. I'm forced to reach under the couch to adjust the volume- which happens quite frequently. Is there any way to control the output volume of the Apple TV?

The lack of volume control has been super disappointing. I've been a (multiple) airport express user for years so kind of expected Airplay to work the same for video- with the ability to control the volume from whatever device was transmitting. Can anyone help me?

MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2011), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)

Posted on Oct 27, 2013 4:35 PM

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Answer 1

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vazandrew

Level 8

40,348 points

Oct 27, 2013 6:42 PM in response to ejdub

The Apple TV has no volume control, the same as other such devices (DVD/Blu-Ray, Consoles etc). When using airplay from an IOS device you are controlling the volume on that device. It should also work when playing from MBP too. Are you using the remote app?

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Answer 2

ejdub Author

Level 1

15 points

Oct 29, 2013 6:44 PM in response to vazandrew

Andrew- this is how I would expect things to work. However, when I use airplay from my iPhone to say, play a youtube video, the volume on the phone is suddenly rendered useless and I'm forced to adjust the amplifier. When I just play audio from the phone, the volume works.

It's the same on my macbook pro. If I mirror the screen, my computer's volume affects the speakers volume. However, if I am in itunes and play a movie and use airplay for that, I get a lock on the volume. Is this a setting somewhere?

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Answer 3

vazandrew

Level 8

40,348 points

Oct 29, 2013 6:53 PM in response to ejdub

Can't say I've ever experienced that, let me have a look

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Answer 4

Nimuie

Level 1

5 points

Mar 8, 2014 10:23 AM in response to ejdub

i kinda have the same problem here...

when streaming from my iTunes library on my MBP E2011 the video is great but, because i set the apple TV to use the airplay speakers that are connected to the airport express the volume in itunes is blocked and although i set the volume of the speakers to max i can barely hear the movie...

anybody got any ideas?

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