AirPlay video: Direct connection to online video sources?

Thanks. But how do we know this? After all, a direct connection might reduce the traffic at the router, no? Without it, every packet of data would have to go, first, Internet->router->iPad and then, second, iPad->router->Apple TV. That might cause bottlenecks at the router, which might lead to the kind of playback woes my friends are seeing.

I just ran across a discussion which suggests a direct connection is possible:

http://www.flatpanelshd.com/focus.php?subaction=showfull&id=1347605891

It says:

"When using internet sources for watching video (such as YouTube or Netflix), something else happens when using AirPlay. When streaming from an internet source and pressing the AirPlay button on your iOS device, your AirPlay-enabled Apple TV box will open a direct connection to the internet source. Your Apple TV is being authorized to access the internet source and no streaming occurs between the iOS device and Apple TV, thus no loss of quality. The video or music quality is as good as the streaming service allows.

"With this approach some natural challenges arise. For example, how can an Apple TV box get permission to stream music or video from an internet subscription service without have to authorize itself or log in? And how can the AirPlay system avoid pirating of content? All this is possible because iOS devices and the AirPlay receives establishes a secure connection through AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), which is said to be one of the most secure encryption methods that not even the most powerful computers can crack."

I realize the English is dicey here, but it seems to say the Apple TV is permitted to establish a direct connection to online streaming sources when AirPlay is used. Is this just not correct? Thanks.

I gather we're thinking, then, that there is definitely a direct online-to-Apple-TV connection when AirPlaying ITunes Store content; there may be a direct connection when AirPlaying content from streaming sources like Netflix that exist on the Apple TV; but there isn't a direct connection for sources the Apple TV doesn't already know about. My friends' use of the iPad RTVE.es app falls in that third category.

OK, thanks. You've answered my question. The AirPlay connection for RTVE.es video on my friends' iPad to the Apple TV is not a direct one between the Apple TV and the RTVE site. The streaming video packets, once received by the iPad app, have to be sent back from the iPad through the router to the Apple TV. That redundant use of router bandwidth can cause performance issues. It's not clear that that's specifically what's causing playback freezes for my friends, but it is certainly a possibility. And it tells me that Apple ought to change the way AirPlay works so as to avoid the redundant router bandwidth usage.