You Can Also Use Apple AirPlay to Stream From a Windows PC
AirPlay lets you stream music from your Apple device to your HomePod or display video content from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac on the big screen. As long as all devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network, AirPlay really works well in the Apple ecosystem. But even if your primary computer is a Windows PC, you can still use AirPlay to stream to other devices—even from within Windows. Here’s how.
Use iTunes to stream to AirPlay-enabled devices
The Apple iTunes app still works on Windows, and you can download it for free to make your computer work with AirPlay devices. After adding media to iTunes, you can click the AirPlay icon on its top bar (next to the media controls) and select the device you want to stream to.
With this feature, you can use your HomePod as a Windows PC speaker. Similarly, you can connect any other AirPlay enabled device to your computer. This method can also let you stream movies from iTunes to your TV if you have an Apple TV or AirPlay 2 enabled device to stream – your TV’s speakers or a home theater system connected to your TV will serve as the audio. device while the Apple TV or TV itself plays the video.
However, your results may vary. You may find that iTunes doesn’t see your HomePod in the AirPlay window, or that it fails when you try to stream video to your Apple TV. Also, using iTunes in general is a little tedious. A few other apps like MusicBee, Plex, and VLC Media Player do a much better job of managing and playing your media. If you don’t already have a library of music and other media in iTunes, don’t add everything to your AirPlay-only library.
Try third-party apps for AirPlay on Windows
If you don’t want to deal with the eccentricities of iTunes, there are better ways to use AirPlay with any app on Windows. All you need is a third-party app that, once installed, will allow you to stream to any AirPlay-enabled device from any Windows app.
Tuneblade is our favorite AirPlay app for Windows. It opens a tiny window next to the system tray and displays all the AirPlay devices on your Wi-Fi network. Just select the one you want to stream to and play the media on your PC.
Depending on the task you have chosen, you may need to change your Tuneblade settings. The app has several delay modes in the AirPlay streaming settings, and you can choose a different mode if the default (Normal delay: 2 seconds) doesn’t suit you. Normal delay is fine for music and movies, but may not work for games or video calls; you can opt for live streaming to minimize latency. Avoid AirPlay if you’re into competitive online gaming because of this delay, but otherwise Tuneblade has all the bases covered. Its interface is quite simple, but it’s an app you set up once and forget.
Tuneblade’s free tier allows you to stream to any device for up to 10 minutes. You can reconnect every 10 minutes to keep using the app without paying. It’s annoying, so you’ll probably want to shell out – the full version costs $10.
While Tuneblade is a great AirPlay app for most people, power users might also want to consider AirParrot . It has a better interface and gives you more control over your AirPlay experience. Niche use cases like mirroring just one screen from your multi-monitor setup or using AirPlay with just one app on your computer are better served by AirParrot. You can try it for free for a week and it costs $15 for a license.