Amongst the Big News like iPods and iOSs and iTunes and iTVs Apple TVs and the latest iPod accessories, Steve Jobs briefly mentioned AirPlay, a replacement for the AirTunes music streaming system used in the Airport Express multi-purpose device. Many users have built their home audio solutions around AirTunes, pimped by certain iPod accessories so this was, for some, the most interesting thing Apple announced. Details on how the system will actually work are rather thin so far but some Apple devotees have been sleuthing around to try and figure out what we can.
Jobs showed an iPad (running the forthcoming 4.2 version of iOS) being fired up, pressing a few buttons, iPod accessories and streaming its output to a big screen TV via an Apple TV. This addresses the number one complaint: a friend comes to your house, you show them the Airport Express system, you show them the Remote app and iPod accessories so they can use their iPhone accessories to control my iTunes and other... and they ask me why they can't also stream their own music directly from their device. iPod accessories.Sure, this is going to be tough on battery life, but it's not like I'm short of chargers. They want to listen to their own music and if you could see inside my iTunes you'd know why. And now they will be able to!
Despite the brief concerned that this jazzy new functionality would not work with the existing Airport Express devices andd older iPod accessories. Fortunately, Apple's sneak peak at iOS 4.2 confirms that an Airport Express will be able to receive a stream from any iOS 4.2 device, so more good news there too.
My biggest second gripe is the lack of sync. If I play the same music on two Airport Expresses (that word does not pluralise nicely), one in the lounge and one in the kitchen, they can be out of sync by a second or so. iPod accessories. This produces some rather trippy pseudo-echo effects if you stand in between the two rooms. Apple's Airplay page notes "For the ultimate sonic panorama, you can stream your tunes to more than one room simultaneously" -- I'm hoping this means they've put robust syncing into the streaming protocol. Rogue Ameoba's AirFoil software, alongside iPod accessories, can sync streams to multiple Airport Expresses at once, so it's certainly a solvable problem with iPod accessories.
And then there is third-party device support. Apple lists a number of vendors who will be shipping AirPlay compatible equipment, though so far we haven't seen anything from most of them. iHome however is teasing an AirPlay speaker set, although we only get an image and a "submit your email address for more information" link. Referring back to Apple's product and Apple iPod accessories info page with iPod accessories, these third-party devices and iPod accessories will now be able to receive song metadata like title, artist, and even album art and present a much richer interface to control your music.
And finally, the nifty ability to stream video and photo content as well as sound to the Apple TV with iPod accessories. Frankly, that alone is worth buying one, despite recent whining that it is too expensive in the UK and a lukewarm reception from certain critics. iPod accessories
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