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Level 2

165 points

How does one use Airplay while the TV is on?

It seems I can't use Airplay when the TV is on, and I'm not sure if that's possible or what setting I need to change if it is. Anyone know?

I have a receiver hooked up to the TV and Apple TV, and once I turn the TV on, Airplay shuts off. When I turn the TV off, Airplay does not come back, I have to hit play again on my iOS device/Mac.

Also, when I use Airplay, it skips every 5 seconds, but not when I play music directly through Apple TV. Maybe it's all related.

I really don't want to have a screensaver or music menu filling the wall every time I play music, and I'd rather play music through my phone or Mac without any TV presence at all.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11), Early-2013

Posted on Nov 14, 2015 6:55 AM

17 replies

Nov 16, 2015 2:35 PM in response to Tux Kapono

I think I figured out what the problem is and it has to do with the HDMI/HDCP handshake. The HDMI/HDCP handshake is the initial handshake between HMDI connected devices related to Digital Rights Management (DRM). When HDMI connected devices turn on they have to perform this initial handshake that essentially is telling the rest of the HDMI devices it is authorized to play the content being delivered over the HMDI chain. I've experienced this handshake interference before when I turn on my home theatre components. If the last thing I turn on is the TV, the sound coming out of the A/V receiver will be temporarily interrupted until the screen comes on.

So, what is happening in your case, and I experienced it as well, is that when you turn on the TV, the HDMI/HDCP handshake is interrupting the audio from your Apple TV and once the handshake is complete the audio flow is not being recovered.

If you do a Google search for HDMI handshake you will find plenty of posts by people describing this type of interference and and how some device do not recover from it.

Tux Kapono Author

Level 2

165 points

Nov 16, 2015 2:37 PM in response to Gino_Cerullo

Oops, I check the wrong post as 'this solved my question' - it was the last message on this second page, not the previous page. Anyway, thanks for the answer, that seems to explain what's going on!

How does one use Airplay while the TV is on?