One of the new features of Apple’s fourth-generation Apple TV is a dedicated App Store where you can download apps and games for Apple’s new tvOS just like you already do for your iPhone, iPad or Mac. This opens up a host of new entertainment options; however, two popular apps – Spotify and Amazon Video – are not available on the Apple TV App Store.
In the meantime, you can enjoy both Spotify and Amazon Video on your new Apple TV by streaming content from these apps to your Apple TV using AirPlay from your iOS device or Mac. If you own an iPhone, iPad, or iPad Touch-and an AppleTV, AirPort Express, or AirPlay-enabled system-you probably already know that you can play the music from any Apple AirPlay-enabled app. Here we might lean on Apple’s iOS/MacOS-restricted AirPlay technology – or Bluetooth – to pull audio stream from the cloud but through the phone to arrive at our hi-fi rack-based network streamer. Unlike Spotify Connect and Roon, the music stops if the phone is powered down or is moved out of range. Spotify is a digital music service that gives you access to millions of songs. Spotify is all the music you’ll ever need. Skip to content. Spotify Click the install file to finish up. If your download didn't start, try again. Bring your music to mobile and tablet, too. The feature is similar in many ways to Apple's AirPlay standard, and supports background streaming to allow users to continue using their devices for other tasks while streaming music.
Neither Spotify nor Amazon.com Inc. have revealed plans to release Apple TV versions of their apps in the near future, but that does not mean they won’t roll our support for Apple’s new platform at some future date.
In the meantime, you can enjoy both Spotify and Amazon Video on your new Apple TV by streaming content from these apps to your Apple TV using AirPlay from your iOS device or Mac.
How to enable AirPlay on Apple TV
Before you can stream content from your iOS device or Mac to your Apple TV, you need to enable AirPlay on your Apple TV. Go to Settings > AirPlay > turn AirPlay on.
Next, you want to make sure that your Apple TV and the iOS device or Mac you’ll be streaming from are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. To check which Wi-Fi network your Apple TV is connected to, go to Settings > Network > check that the Wi-Fi network name matches the one your iOS device or Mac is connected to – if you only have one home Wi-Fi network this won’t be an issue.
How to stream content from your Mac to Apple TV using AirPlay
To view your Mac’s screen on your Apple TV, click the AirPlay logo in the top right of the Mac menu bar and select the name of the Apple TV you want to use. If you have more than one Apple TV, learn how to rename your fourth-generation Apple TV to prevent sending content to the wrong TV with a unique name for each one.
Now, to watch videos from Amazon all you have to do is open the Amazon Video web page on your Mac, select the video you want to watch and make it full screen.
To stream your Spotify music to your Apple TV from your Mac, you can send just the audio from the Mac to your Apple TV instead of mirroring the screen. To listen to only the audio from your Mac on your Apple TV, option-click the Sound icon in your Mac’s menu bar and select your Apple TV in the Output Device list. You music will be played through your TV or AV receiver speakers.
How to stream content from your iPhone or iPad to Apple TV using AirPlay
To stream Amazon Video content from your iPhone or iPad to your Apple TV using AirpLay, open the Amazon Video app on your phone or tablet, play the video you want to watch, tap the AirPlay logo in the top right corner and select your Apple TV.
Streaming Spotify music to Apple TV is equally simple. Open the Spotify app on your iPhone or iPad, pick the song, playlist or album you want to listen to, tap on “devices available,” tap “more devices” and select your Apple TV.
How to fix a cropped AirPlay image
If your AirPlay video appears cropped on your Apple TV, you can correct this by applying underscan to show the entire image. Go to Settings > AirPlay > AirPlay Display Underscan. If there are black bars around your video, turn underscan off.
Using AirPlay, you can enjoy your Spotify music and watch your favorite Amazon Video shows without the need for a dedicated app, but it’s worth noting you can also use AirPlay to stream just about anything to your Apple TV from your iOS device or Mac.
Sources: Apple; Spotify community; Appledystopia
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The streaming revolution has brought a world of convenience to music lovers everywhere. Not only can you create playlists and discover great artists you’ve never heard of before, most streaming services also allow you to download music straight to your mobile device or computer. But not all services offer the same level of connectivity options.
Yamaha MusicCast provides wireless multi-room control over music playback and streaming with the use of a free downloadable app called MusicCast Controller, available for iOS and Android™. This lets you focus on the enjoyment of your music (in both stereo and surround sound) and not on the technology behind it.
A wide range of MusicCast-enabled products — receivers, speakers, sound bars and even turntables — offer a variety of options to set up an easy-to-use networked audio system. For those who like to use Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri, MusicCast offers even more ways to take hands-free control of your music and entertainment. It also supports Bluetooth® streaming and Apple® Airplay® … and now, with a simple (and free) firmware update, many MusicCast devices are now compatible with the latest version of Spotify Connect too, which includes the use of a Spotify free account!
This latest update provides a major advantage in that Spotify Connect streams to your system via Wi-Fi® and not Bluetooth, offering better quality audio and a wider range, with fewer dropouts. Establishing a direct connection between your receiver and the internet means that your audio system streams music from Spotify directly, rather than via your phone, which instead acts simply as your remote control. By comparison, AirPlay (which also uses Wi-Fi) and Bluetooth stream music directly from your phone to the receiving device, which unfortunately also causes your phone battery to run down more quickly.
Spotify Connect is the brainchild of Spotify, the popular on-demand music service with more than 35 million songs. There are numerous levels of service available, including Spotify free, Spotify Premium, Premium for Family, Spotify for Students and Spotify Gaming — all of which offer a variety of free or paid tiers for your music and entertainment needs. Spotify free, as its name implies, is no-cost, although there are occasional ad interruptions, whereas Spotify Premium (price plans vary by country) offers unlimited high-quality streaming and no ads. Premium for Family allows you and up to five family members to use their own Premium accounts for one fixed price, while Premium for Students offers a 50% discount for a year. Spotify Gaming will play though your PS4™ PlayStation®.
There are a few other differences between the services. Spotify free streams AAC files at up to 160kbps, while Spotify Premium members have the option to stream their music at up to 320kbps. The Spotify Web player (which works through your browser) streams the free version at 128kbps and Premium at 256kbps, whereas the standalone desktop, mobile and tablet players stream Spotify free at 160 kbps and Premium at up to 320kbps.
Whichever service you choose, Spotify Connect will stream your music to up to three linked MusicCast devices simultaneously, all at CD-quality. This drops to a compressed format once you add a fourth device (or more). Up to ten devices can be used simultaneously at that compressed format.
Bear in mind that when using Spotify Connect with your MusicCast-enabled device, you have to connect directly from the Spotify app (not the MusicCast Controller app), as shown in the sequence below:
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Note: There may be times when your MusicCast device will not appear in the “devices available” menu within the Spotify app, even when the phone and receiver are connected to the same network. This can generally be corrected by unplugging AC power for a few seconds.
Spotify App For Mac Desktop
For a list of Yamaha MusicCast devices compatible with the current firmware update, click here.
Click here for more information about Yamaha MusicCast.
![Spotify Via Airplay Mac Spotify Via Airplay Mac](/uploads/1/3/4/0/134051728/448087031.png)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rich Tozzoli is a Grammy-nominated producer/mixer/composer based in the New York area. His credits include work with artists such as Ace Frehley, Hall & Oates, Omar Hakim and Al DiMeola. Rich's music has appeared in over a thousand TV series in 36 countries, and he has written for such shows as Live PD, Pawn Stars, Counting Cars, Duck Dynasty and NBC Olympics. Tozzoli has also authored numerous articles on audio production and technology as well as a book on surround sound mixing.