Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 3-11
A selected device in the Airfoil app
One of the major drawbacks of AirPlay on iOS devices is its limitation of streaming to a single
AirPlay speaker. If, however, you take my advice and buy a copy of Airfoil, you can stream audio from
an iOS device back to your computer and then from there to as many AirPlay devices as you want.
For example, you can access music from iTunes on your iOS device as well as playlists from stream-
ing music services like Spotify and Rdio.
However, this technique works only for music, audiobooks, and podcasts because there is a four-
second delay before the audio reaches the AirPlay speakers — this audio delay would make a video
unwatchable. This delay is due to the audio being delayed by around two seconds to your computer
and then another two seconds to the AirPlay speakers.
1. Launch both Airfoil and Airfoil Speakers on your computer.
2. On the iOS device you're streaming from, launch the app whose audio you want to stream.
3. Tap the AirPlay button ( ) in that app to choose the computer running Airfoil Speakers
and Airfoil from the list of devices. If the app doesn't have an AirPlay button, use the AirPlay
control in the multitasking dock instead.
4. Begin playing the audio you want to stream.
5. On the computer that the audio is streaming to, use Airfoil to send that audio to available
AirPlay devices, as described earlier in this chapter.
6. In the Airfoil app on your computer, choose Input > Airfoil to stream the audio from your
iOS device that Airfoil Speakers is receiving.
7. The audio from your iOS device will now play to all the AirPlay speakers you selected in Air-
foil.
Stream audio from TVs, radios, and other analog devices via a
computer
If you use Airfoil, you can connect other audio sources to your computer to stream their audio to
your AirPlay speakers. This technique is particularly close to my heart as it includes three of my fa-
vorite things: food, sports, and technology.
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