Airplay and the AppleTV. What are the causes that prevent a video from showing the Airplay icon in Quicktime?

Question

Airplay and the AppleTV. What are the causes that prevent a video from showing the Airplay icon in Quicktime?

There are no documents that I can find anywhere on Apple's support sites that mention the requirements for a video to be able to be played over Airplay from one Apple Mac device to an AppleTV.

I'm trying to find out WHY a video (or many) is prevented from displaying the AirPlay icon. Which properties of the video are defeating AirPlay from being enabled within Quicktime on my 2023 16" MBP with 32 GB of RAM?

At our house in Namibia, Africa, I have one of my older AppleTVs hooked up to a Samsung 60" TV. We shot some video with a drone and wanted to play it back to the audience. Annoyingly, when we opened the video in QuickTime, we couldn't because there was no AirPlay indicator. We had to mirror the whole screen to the AppleTV which worked just fine.

When back at my other house in the US, I could open the video on the same computer in QuickTime, the AirPlay icon showed up and I could AirPlay it to the TV just fine.

I know that there are KB/s requirements to enabling the AirPlay icon in the QuickTime Player, but this is the SAME FILE on the SAME COMPUTER. So, why is it functioning in one area and not another.

The problem gets more annoying too. On some of my computers, AirPlay is not enabled for some videos and on other Macs, it appears enabled as expected

Just yesterday, I used 4KDownloader to download this video at what I thought was 1080p.

Note: Name of video is included because this is what you do when reporting an issue that you expect any person helping you to try and reproduce the issue.

"Keynote Presentation The Outlook for Vanadium Supply Demand Projections and Analysis"

I open the file up in the QuickTime Player and there's no AirPlay icon. So, I decide to run a test and compare file size and resolution against whether the QuickTime Player displays the AirPlay icon or doesn't.

Since I had specified the video to be downloaded at 1080p, I label the video as such and then export copies at 720p and 480p from QuickTime Player.

Names, file sizes and average bitrate are supplied below.

For the record, I am looking directly at the TV and typing on the MBP (Which has 32 GB of RAM).

File name

Keynote Presentation The Outlook for Vanadium Supply Demand Projections and Analysis

WHAT?

OK. It turns out that the video on YouTube only goes up to 720p in resolution. Neither the original or the exported 720p file allow AirPlay when opened in the QuickTime Player. But exporting it as 480p, the file size and bitrate is 3x what the larger dimension files are!! And oddly enough it's the file with this 3x greater bandwidth where AirPlay actually is enabled!

What? How? WHY?! This is counterintuitive. The 3x bitrate file allows AirPlay while the smaller ones don't?

Is the AirPlay option displayed when the file is opened in QuickTime on my 2023 MBP?

WHAT?

Of the two files exported from the QuickTime Player, the one with the bandwidth that is 3x larger than the source file and whose dimensions are the smallest is the only one that works on my Apple TV which is hooked up to a 4K 72" display? WHAT?

OK. So I have multiple Macs, but this MBP is my studliest. Let's copy the files over to my 2020 Mac Mini which has 16 GB of RAM and test if the AirPlay icon is displayed in the QuickTime Player for the same files.

Is the AirPlay option displayed when the file is opened in QuickTime on my 2020 Mac Mini?

WHAT?!

On the weaker machine, ALL VIDEOS have AirPlay enabled!

How? Why?!

Mind boggling. On my most overpowered machine, AirPlay is not enabled in QuickTime for the SAME FILES and is enabled for all of the files on an older weaker Mac?

Can you see why I'm trying to determine just what the requirements are for AirPlay to be enabled within the QuickTime Player?

The requirements for Airplay don't even seem to be documented anywhere on Apple's sites either.

I'm trying to use AirPlay to demo to business partners just how competent our Apple solution is and not only are the criteria of what the requirements are are undocumented, it's maddening trying to figure out if your videos are AirPlay enabled AND they vary depending on which device is used to attempt to initiate AirPlay!

Just where are the AirPlay requirements documented and what are they? I can't use this to stream to from Mac to TV for business partners if it's going to be a crapshoot whether it works or not!

Can anyone help solve this and point me to the actual requirements for a video that allow AirPlay to be enabled within the QuickTime Player??

Thank you. This is beyond frustrating.

[Edited by Moderator]

MacBook Pro (M2 Max, 2023)

Posted on Oct 24, 2024 5:11 PM

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Answer 1

Nov 2, 2024 9:25 AM in response to Alex Zavatone

I'm trying to find out WHY a video (or many) is prevented from displaying the AirPlay icon. Which properties of the video are defeating AirPlay from being enabled within Quicktime on my 2023 16" MBP with 32 GB of RAM?

AirPlay compatible streams are in H.264 video (H.265 may work with some setups), preferably with AAC audio, compatible with the source device (Mac) and the destination device (Apple TV box model). 1080p SDR should work for resolution always, 4K and HDR may have additional requirements. Files can be optimized for streaming by interweaving video and audio with an optimal interval, and by writing the meta data at the beginning of the file (end of file is easier and thus default). Then it requires less buffering and more (older) receiving devices are supported. E.g. an app like Subler can repack an .mp4 file as optimized [as simple as open-save as], although it has more functions. But there are others too.

At our house in Namibia, Africa, I have one of my older AppleTVs hooked up to a Samsung 60" TV.

How old? Which exact model?

Identify your Apple TV model - Apple Support

Find your Apple TV model number - Apple Support

Older models will want a 1080p SDR stream (or lower), while 4K models can handle 4K HDR.

Similarly, older models support older codecs (MPEG-4 Part 2, H.264 AVC), while newer models support newer codecs (H.264 AVC, H.265 HEVC). H.264 AVC seems like a save bet for all models — although not all H.264 AVC is the encoded the same.

We shot some video with a drone and wanted to play it back to the audience. Annoyingly, when we opened the video in QuickTime, we couldn't because there was no AirPlay indicator. We had to mirror the whole screen to the AppleTV which worked just fine.

What were the video properties of that file? Use Invisor Lite or similar if unsure. Especially interested in codecs, and if you can find it: some details on the encoding settings from the source recording.

When back at my other house in the US, I could open the video on the same computer in QuickTime, the AirPlay icon showed up and I could AirPlay it to the TV just fine.

To what model Apple TV box, or to what model AirPlay-enabled smart TV? A more modern device can receive more higher end content.

Just yesterday, I used 4KDownloader to download this video at what I thought was 1080p.

I am not familiar with that tool, but I suppose it helps you download videos from YouTube? I use YT-DLP for that.

"Keynote Presentation The Outlook for Vanadium Supply Demand Projections and Analysis"

YouTube is a whole different can of worms. If your primary goal doesn’t involve YouTube, then don’t even go there for comparison or testing. Any YT video is available in a multitude of streams with different codecs and resolutions, some of which may not be natively AirPlay compatible without converting. YouTube tends to avoid H.264 (but not 100%) these days in favor of VP9 (for the higher settings), which has impact on AirPlay. They really want to phase out non-free licensed codecs, I suppose for the cost that it brings with it.

A single video on YouTube has 12 pre-rendered source streams associated with it, in this example. Others may have more.

I'm trying to use AirPlay to demo to business partners just how competent our Apple solution is and not only are the criteria of what the requirements are are undocumented, it's maddening trying to figure out if your videos are AirPlay enabled AND they vary depending on which device is used to attempt to initiate AirPlay!

Professional streaming uses multiple sources at multiple specifications, so that each model device can get the optional stream for that device. YouTube does this too, in a way.

Just where are the AirPlay requirements documented and what are they? I can't use this to stream to from Mac to TV for business partners if it's going to be a crapshoot whether it works or not!

Well, it depends. AirPlay is much more than streaming from QuickTime Player, so you may have to wade through a tons of information that is not applicable to your situation, or not specific to your questions. Don’t expect a one page spec sheet.

It is not a crapshoot. There is a logic to it, even though you don’t see that yet. Your videos have to be encoded in a certain way, and then it will work. That might be different than what your drone does, and there might be nothing you can change in the recording phase. And it may change in the future.

I don’t recall such a link being mentioned on these forums in the past, else I would have bookmarked it. Maybe registered Apple developers have access to such documentation? Maybe ask Apple staff directly?

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Answer 2

Nov 2, 2024 10:15 AM in response to Urquhart1244

Thanks for the time you spent to reply. I actually had Invisor Lite 3.17 open when this happened and will look at them in Invisor Lite before the end of this reply.

We also filmed a video in Africa at 2K from a drone on an iPhone and I exported it from QuickTime at 1080p, 720p and 480p. None of them were able to be airplayed to the Apple TV from my M2 Pro Max MacBook Pro 16" with 32 GB of RAM over the summer EXCEPT the 480p one, so this is not limited to videos downloaded from YouTube.

The issue with the video I mentioned and downloaded can be clarified by removing a few variables.

The video I mentioned that I downloaded from YouTube about Vanadium didn't play through AirPlay to my AppleTV which is running tvOS 18.0. After I plug in Xcode, I'll get the model number, but that's not crucial. If you look at my first data and export charts, you can see that I exported from QuickTime at 720p and 480p. We can ignore that the downloaded MP4 video didn't play on the AppleTV for the moment. Both of these were exported as .mov files from QuickTime Player. Now look at the data rates for the 720p and 480p videos. The QuickTime Player DID NOT display the AirPlay icon for the 720p video but DID for the 480p video and the 480p video's data rate was 3x what the 720p video was. Both were exported from QuickTime and the larger one that had a smaller data rate did not display the AirPlay icon on this 2023 MBP.

Also, when I copied them over to my M1 Mac Mini with 16 GB of RAM, ALL of the 3 videos were able to be AirPlayed to the AppleTV.

Why?

> Don’t expect a one page spec sheet.

But there needs to be a one page spec sheet. Basically, list of requirements for videos to be able to be played over AirPlay and through QuickTime Player. Nothing I've seen simply lists requirements for AirPlay to be enabled for a video. Even now, videos that didn't display the icon now do. Why? Apple isn't providing a list of "make sure that your video adheres to these conditions for AirPlay to be enabled" and isn't providing a list of "reasons why AirPlay may now be enabled for your video".

I can't determine if a video will or will not be able to be AirPlayed. And whether it can or not changes on the same machine. Furthermore weaker machines have greater success enabling AirPlay. And there is no documentation explaining why.

Now, as I type my reply on the 2023 MPB, QuickTime Player displays the Airplay icon for all 3 videos, the downloaded .mp4, the 720p .mov and the 480p .mov.

Now, I have them all open in Invisor Lite. Which details do you want? You know long the details are. Note that QuickTime Player now displays AirPlay for all of the videos that I reported back on Oct 24th.

If we focus on the 720p and 480p, the short results are below.

720p

VideoAVC, 1280x720, 29.970 fps, 175 kb/s - Core Media Video
AudioAAC, 128 kb/s VBR, 44.1 kHz, Stereo - Core Media Audio

480p

VideoAVC, 640x360, 29.970 fps, 819 kb/s - Core Media Video
AudioAAC, 128 kb/s VBR, 44.1 kHz, Stereo - Core Media Audio

And both of these now do display the icon now when only the 480p one did before. How can I rely on this to impress clients if it's a crapshoot if it will be enabled or not? And with no requirements presented, Apple isn't helping me.

I appreciate the links you provided and will look into building the source for yt-dlp. I am doubtful that Apple Support will be able to provide actual requirements for AirPlay to be enabled for videos, especially since it's so intermittent but I guess with such a repeated failure rate that's the only choice we've got.

Thank you.

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Answer 3

Nov 2, 2024 10:20 AM in response to Urquhart1244

Oh, I forgot to answer this.

> Maybe registered Apple developers have access to such documentation?

I am a registered Apple Developer and have been for well over 15 years. That's how I earn my living.

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