This trick got my Xbox and Blu-rays to play nice with my HomePods

The most effective makes use of of Apple’s HomePod is not as a traditional

smart speaker
, like an Amazon Echo, which you are often meant to set on tables, cabinets, and counters for music and

smart home
management. As a substitute, a rising variety of folks — judging from anecdotes — are selecting to make use of HomePods as wi-fi audio system for his or her

Apple TV 4K
. It is not at all times essentially the most cost-effective house theater possibility, however it’s good to get rid of litter, and even a pair of HomePod minis can sound surprisingly good. A pair of full-size HomePods taking part in Dolby Atmos materials is a factor to behold.

Some folks do not understand, although, that you could funnel audio from extra sources than simply your Apple TV. In actual fact, absolutely anything related to your TV ought to work, together with cable containers, recreation consoles, and Blu-ray gamers. The catch is that you just want a selected {hardware} and software program setup for all the pieces to work correctly — and as soon as you have acquired it going, you might end up caught within the Apple ecosystem except you are prepared to shell out much more money for a substitute. I am going to clarify all the pieces you could know.

What {hardware} do you could get began?

Excellent news and unhealthy information on this one

Apple

Earlier than the rest, you may want a TV with an ARC or eARC port. ARC stands for Audio Return Channel, and the brief clarification is that it permits audio system and different audio gear to ship their content material by way of

HDMI
, relatively than devoted audio cables.

eARC
is an up to date commonplace based mostly on HDMI 2.1, the profit being a lot greater bandwidth — at its greatest providing uncompressed, 192kHz, 24-bit sound. So, whereas each ARC and eARC assist frequent codecs like Dolby Atmos, you will not get essentially the most out of your TV with out eARC. Test the labels in your TV’s HDMI ports to see what you are geared up for.

Unavoidably, you may additionally want a second- (2021) or third-generation (2022) Apple TV 4K. The primary-gen mannequin merely is not appropriate with Apple’s pass-through tech, and there is no technique to attach HomePods on to a TV. As a substitute, they have to be arrange within the

Apple Home
app, then chosen as audio output on the Apple TV.

Make sure to use the appropriate HDMI cable, too. You may want an HDMI 1.4 cable or higher for ARC, and HDMI 2.1 or later for eARC. There must be some model marking on the cable you are utilizing. If not, you have solely acquired two choices: testing a cable to see what it is able to, or shopping for a substitute you already know is appropriate.

You should use both one or two HomePods, however when you plan to make use of a pair, they have to be the identical mannequin and era — you’ll be able to’t hyperlink a full-size HomePod and a HomePod mini, for instance, or a first-gen and a second-gen. I would strongly suggest shopping for a pair — it is the one method to allow stereo and

Dolby Atmos
playback. After all, you may additionally have to examine if a specific app, video, or music is encoded for Atmos.

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The best way to get recreation consoles and Blu-rays to play via your HomePods

All of the steps you could know

Apple

So that you’re conscious, I am not going to run via the complete setup processes for Apple TVs, HomePods, or the Apple Dwelling app. That may prolong issues needlessly, since Apple offers fundamental setup data within the Apple TV and HomePod containers. I’ll point out when every setup must occur, although, because you could be unboxing all the pieces for the primary time.

Observe the steps under. Should you’ve already acquired one or two HomePods linked to your Apple TV, skip forward to step 10.

1. Replace your iPhone or iPad to the newest software program by way of Settings > Basic > Software program Replace.
2. Join your Apple TV 4K (second- or third-generation) to your TV’s ARC or eARC HDMI port utilizing an applicable cable. Keep in mind, you want at the least HDMI 1.4 for ARC, and HDMI 2.1 for eARC.
3. If you could, end organising your Apple TV, together with assigning it to a room in Apple Dwelling. If you have not already arrange Apple Dwelling, use the app in your iPhone or iPad first.
4. Replace your Apple TV to the newest model of tvOS by going to Settings > System > Software program Updates and clicking Replace Software program.
5. Flip off your Apple TV utilizing the Siri Distant.
6. Set up the HomePod(s) you are going to use, placing one on all sides of your TV when you’ve acquired a stereo pair. Within the Dwelling app, be sure you assign your speaker(s) to the identical room as your Apple TV.
7. Nonetheless in Dwelling, go to … > Dwelling Settings > Software program Replace to ensure your HomePod software program is present. Be affected person.
8. When your HomePods are prepared, flip the Apple TV again on.
9. You need to be routinely prompted to make use of your HomePod(s) for TV audio. If not, use Settings > Video and Audio > Audio Output choices as an alternative.
10. Be sure all of the secondary peripherals you wish to use HomePod output (consoles, Blu-ray gamers, and many others.) are related to your TV.
11. Again in your Apple TV’s Settings > Video and Audio > Audio Output menu, choose Play Tv Audio beneath Audio Return Channel.

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Further notes

Troubleshooting, and the downsides of utilizing HomePods

Should you’re nonetheless having bother, examine that ARC, eARC, and/or HDMI-CEC are enabled in your TV’s native settings menu (not the one in your Apple TV). You might also have to double-check the model in your HDMI cable, and whether or not it is plugged into the correct port. Most TVs have a number of HDMI ports, however just one geared up for ARC or eARC.

The most important draw back of utilizing HomePods as a do-it-all audio supply is, after all, that your Apple TV has to stay completely related. Should you pull it out of the loop, a HomePod will lose its reference to the TV. That is a significant discouragement to leaving the Apple ecosystem, so that you may wish to select a traditional soundbar as an alternative when you’re not an Apple die-hard.

As a result of the connection between a HomePod and an Apple TV shouldn’t be solely wi-fi, however linked to Apple Dwelling, there’s additionally the potential for issues from wi-fi interference or unhealthy settings within the Dwelling app. To repeat, your Apple TV and HomePod(s) must be assigned to the identical room in the identical house — if not, they will not be capable to see one another.

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