Problem w/ Airplay from MBP when TV is off

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Level 1

5 points

Problem w/ Airplay from MBP when TV is off

I just got a new 4k TV. My previous TV was an LCD and this set up worked fine. I plugged my ATV to my receiver and connected the out of my receiver to my TV. This let me to stream using Apple TV and also play music from both my macs' itunes libraries to the stereo with the television turned off.

With my new system, I have the same setup but now when the TV is turned off, I get intermittent interruptions in the music accompanied by "no signal" flashing on my receiver. Basically the only way to listen to music seamless from my mac to my receiver is to have the TV on which I don't want to do.

Has anyone experienced anything similar? Any suggestions? Is there another way to play music from my macbook to my receiver besides Apple TV.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Sep 2, 2016 5:45 PM

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Answer 1

Sep 2, 2016 5:51 PM in response to lintriago

The device that Apple have created for audio only is the airport express.

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Answer 2

lintriago Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 13, 2016 5:46 AM in response to Winston Churchill

I don't have wireless speakers so this won't work. I'm happy with a wire that would connect my imac and macbook pro to my receiver so I can play music with the TV off.

I'd appreciate options.

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Answer 3

Rudegar

Level 10

181,026 points

Sep 13, 2016 7:35 AM in response to lintriago

he mean that the airport express has a audio out minijack connector which one can connect headset or speakers or a streo which use minijack

you can connect a minijack from your macbook pro's headphone connector to the receiver if the receiver does not have minijack audio input you can use a cable with a minijack connector in 1 end and RCA connectors in the other

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Answer 4

Sep 13, 2016 6:42 PM in response to lintriago

Try disabling HDMI-CEC and enabling IR remote control of your receiver. There are some obvious tradeoffs but it's possible that this will resolve your issue.

Navigate to: Settings -> Remotes and Devices -> Home Theater Control
Set Control TVs and Receivers to: Off
Set Volume Control to: Receiver via IR

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Answer 5

lintriago Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 13, 2016 6:43 PM in response to Ankush Narula

Thanks. I SO wanted that to work but it didn't. I'm still getting the "no signal" intermittently when the TV is off.

Do you know of any other way to play my macbook pro to (onkyo) receiver aside from the airport express?

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Answer 6

Sep 13, 2016 8:15 PM in response to lintriago

There are several methods of streaming audio other than Airplay to Airport Express or Apple TV:

Bluetooth Transmitter/Receiver - I am using this $40 TaoTronics model as a receiver to stream audio via Bluetooth in the other direction from my Apple TV (4th Generation) to my headphones at night but it will also fit your use case. (NOTE: There are other similar models available from different Chinese brands such as MPow, Rockrok, and TROND but ultimately they are just repackaging and re-marketing the same underlying electronics). This solution has the benefit of being well proven and it also compatible with most Bluetooth devices.
AirPlay Receivers:
- Sabrent WF-RADU is a hardware Airplay receiver that will "Add Apple Air Play support to any speaker system - including your car, boat, home stereo/receiver or old iPhone/iPod dock." This solution works over WiFi and uses Airplay. It is probably the most straight forward and highest quality audio solution (depending on your WiFi) but it does limit you to AirPlay capable transmission sources.
- AirServer Universal from App Dynamic is a software Airplay receiver for Mac/PC/Linux. This is a very inefficient solution but it might work for you if you have an old computer laying around.
- Reflector for Android by Air Squirrels is an Airplay receivers for Android. This solution is more efficient than using a PC since cheap single-tasking Android devices use little or no power.
- What about an AirPlay receiver for iOS? Apple will not allow Airplay receivers in the App Store.
Airfoil for Mac and Airfoil Satellite for iOS by Rogue Amoeba - if you have an old iPhone/iPad you could install Airfoil Satellite on it and stream audio to the iOS device from Airfoil for Mac. This approach does use WiFi but does not use Apple's Airplay protocol since Apple will not allow Airplay receivers in the App Store. It's a convoluted approach but it will work.

Please let us know the solution you choose and how well it works for you. Good luck!

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