Mirror your iPhone, iPad, or Mac’s screen to your TV.Play music (or any other audio) on your TV and synchronize it to multiple AirPlay 2-compatible speakers elsewhere in your home.Show photos and videos from your iPhone on the TV, controlling the presentation on your phone.The TV will stream the content from the cloud. Browse for something to watch on Netflix, iTunes, or another service on your iPhone and send it to your TV, using your iPhone to control playback.Here are some things you can do with AirPlay: VLC already has built-in support for Chromecasting, too. But if that’s not your primary concern, then Chromecast wins out in pretty much every other metric, making this an easy recommendation.AirPlay isn’t officially supported on Windows, but VideoLAN has announced plans to integrate AirPlay support into a future version of the popular VLC Media Player. Most users will choose simply based on whether they have an Android or iPhone. Winner: Chromecast Bottom line: Pick Chromecast But the cheapest Apple TV with AirPlay 2 support starts at $149, and that doesn’t even include native 4K support, so it’s a significantly more expensive path. What sort of prices are you looking at to add the capability to your current home theater setup? Here again, Chromecast comes out on top: You can find a third-gen Chromecast dongle for $30 and you’re good to go as long as you’ve got a spare port on your TV. Let’s assume you don’t have a TV that has AirPlay 2 or Chromecast built-in. However, we will point out that Siri’s support for any paired smart speakers are limited to the Apple HomePod, while Google Assistant support includes both Nest speakers and a variety of smart speakers from brands like Sony and Onkyo. Google Assistant debate, so it probably depends on what voice assistant you feel more comfortable with. Winner: Chromecast Voice Assistant compatibility Apple’s descriptions may sometimes make AirPlay 2 sound like it can mirror video up to 4K with the Apple TV 4K, but it can’t - that’s innate support for media playing on the Apple 4K TV set-top box itself, not something AirPlay 2 can do. When it comes to mirroring video, both Chromecast and AirPlay 2 are limited to 1080p resolution and up to 60fps. If you enjoy dense audio files that are more packed with sound data than average, you’ll certainly want to go for Chromecast at this time. Once streaming, both services also have options for controlling volume and playback directly from your phone, turning it into your own smart controller.Ĭhromecast supports both multiroom audio and up to 24-bit/96Hz audio streams, something AirPlay 2 just can’t compete with using its 15/44.1 audio streams. A few minutes of practice, and you can quickly learn how to use either option. Airplay 2, meanwhile, shows up on certain TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, and Vizio.īoth services are very easy to use and generally intuitive, especially after you complete the initial setup and pairing processes. If you are buying a new TV, you can look for “Chromecast Built-in” or “AirPlay 2” to see if they come with included support - a wide range of brands do this now, including Sony, Sharp, Philips, Vizio, Toshiba, and Soniq. However, both Chromecast and AirPlay 2 are being increasingly built into many TVs nowadays. A separate device is a very straightforward way to give any display these capabilities. The latest entries in the Apple TV line, like the 2021 Apple TV 4k, likewise support AirPlay 2 (along with a variety of speakers for audio-only support). The Chromecast dongles using the Android TV or the Google TV platform are common examples, but Chromecast also works on many A/V receivers and other devices. However, third-party support is more limited as well: Spotify is getting AirPlay 2 support but doesn’t have it yet, while Netflix pointedly dropped support for AirPlay after TV manufacturers started adopting it (although it continues to support Chromecast).Īnother big question users have: Do you need a separate device, like a set-top box connected to your TV, to use Chromecast or AirPlay 2? Buying a separate device is a big ask for many users, so let’s break this down.Ĭhromecast and AirPlay 2 do exist on specific set-top devices that can connect to your TV. Android mobile devices don’t have much support, so an iOS device is generally required. As you would expect, AirPlay 2 started out focused only on Apple devices, and while Apple has been working to change that for the past couple of years, it’s still easy to see that AirPlay is a bit more limited.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |