AirPlay 2 and HomeKit Available on 2020 Toshiba and Insignia Fire TVs
Apple's AirPlay 2 and HomeKit features have been rolling out to a number of smart TVs, and as of today, the functionality is available on 2020 Toshiba and Insignia 4K UHD Smart Fire TVs.
AirPlay 2 is designed to allow iPhone, iPad, and Mac users to stream content to an AirPlay-compatible device, and with built-in support in Toshiba and Insignia TVs, an Apple TV is not required to use AirPlay 2.
AirPlay 2 also works across multiple devices for a whole home audio experience, and can be used for streaming TV shows, music, photos, and more to the television set.
With HomeKit, smart TV owners can control their television through Siri voice commands or through the Home app on iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Siri and the Home app can be used to turn the TV on or off, adjust the volume, and switch the TV input to another device.
To use HomeKit, the TV needs to be added as a HomeKit accessory, which can be done by going to the Settings menu on the TV, selecting Display and Sounds, and choosing the AirPlay and HomeKit option. From there, instructions are available on the setup process.
AirPlay and HomeKit are available on the Toshiba 4K UHD Smart Fire TV with Dolby Vision (2020 model) and the Insignia 4K UHD Smart Fire TV (2020 model).
Popular Stories
Apple made the first beta of iOS 17.2 available to developers in October. Since then we've seen two more betas, and with each iteration Apple continues to add more new features and changes, many of which users have been anticipating for quite a while. Below, we've listed 26 new things that are coming to your iPhone when the finalized version is publicly released in December. 1. Help You...
With all the discounted deals on Apple tech currently available, you might be thinking about upgrading your Apple Watch or buying one for the first time. But if your current smartwatch is doing its job just fine and it's only the idea of a good deal that's piqued your interest, it could be worth holding out until next year when Apple unveils its latest and greatest version. There are already ...
Black Friday is over and Cyber Monday has arrived, and discounts are still available on the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Best iPhone and Accessory Deals iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max...
iOS 18 is still over seven months away from being announced, but there are already a few rumors and expectations for the software update. iOS 18 should be announced at Apple's annual developers conference WWDC next June, and released to all users with a compatible iPhone in September. Below, we recap all of the rumors and information pertaining to the update so far. "Major New Features" ...
Black Friday 2023 has officially ended, but we're still tracking some of the best deals of the year on Apple products like AirPods, iPad, iPhone, MacBook, and many more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Specifically, in this article we're...
Over 800 days have passed since Apple last updated the iPad mini, as outlined in the MacRumors Buyer's Guide. Fortunately, a new iPad mini is rumored to be released next year, and we have outlined what to expect from the device below. Apple released the current iPad mini in September 2021, with new features at the time including a larger 8.3-inch display, a USB-C port, a Touch ID power...
Top Rated Comments
As an experiment I tried using apps like Prime on my LG and the whole experience was just awful compared to sticking with aTV all the time.
The HomeKit is mildly useful insofar as you can hook it up (at least I do) to auto power down the TV when I leave home, then restart it when I return; but even that can be done just as well using a SmartPlug, which was what I used to do before the LG.
My experience with AirPlaying to the aTV is
- it's not something I have done often
- only with video, never had a reason to do it for music
- the "technical" side has always been fine. Video has been at the quality level I expected, no dropouts I consider unreasonable.
BUT
- at the "protocol" level AirPlay sucks. Specifically it won't hold onto a connection for a long time. The way I watch content is very sporadic -- while I am eating, while I am doing chores like ironing, while I am exercising. This means I watch 5 minutes, pause, and start watching again a day later. This is a horror story for AirPlay, which forgets the connection after, I don't know, 15 minutes? And the sorts of sites where you are forced to use AirPlay because theyd on't offer a decent app are the same sites that lose your place when that AirPlay connection ends.
So, FOR MY USE CASES, AirPlay is something I only resort to under the most dire situations.
If YOUR use is something more like "start the movie, watch for 90 minutes till it is finished, end the movie; maybe with one 2 minute pee break" it might be fine.
Overall I am REALLY happy with aTV. I bought my first one as an experiment a few years ago, and somewhat expected I might be returning it to the Apple store (remember you get two weeks return, no questions asked). But it was an experiment that turned out really well!
But I neither game nor use AirPlay. For me, I use it as the UI for my TV, the way to watch
- Prime and aTV+ (TV+ free for now based on recent Apple purchases :-))
- Hoopla and Kanopy (free video services from my library)
- Tubi (IMHO the best by far of the free ad-supported streaming services)
- Peacock (free version)
- Channels DVR (Live TV if you care, and Live TV recording which is what I use, to my mac mini)
- Infuse (local content stored on the mac mini)
Point is, I can get all the content I want (local, live, streaming) via a single UI that I've found far more satisfactory than alternatives. But if you are happy with alternative UI's (built into your TV? Roku box?) aTV may not offer anything much beyond that? I can say that the aTV UI is ridiculously fluid and performant, whereas the alternatives I've tried seem slow and occasionally stuttery, and that's part of the package of "this just feels nicer" than I'm happy to pay for.