ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
B&O will support Airplay 2... good news.
Beoworld app with direct photo upload and emoticons.
"You think we can slap some oak on this thing?"
leogoeswild:Is AirPlay 2 a software or hardware update?
I think AirPlay 2 will require new hardware as it enables the hardware to "talk" to other Apple devices. You won't be able to download AirPlay 2 to, say, your A9.
My concerning (in terms of affecting B&O's future) for me would be HomePod. Looks like a significantly powerful home speaker for a very low price.
I hate to say it, but it probably will. Homekit integration usually needs hardware support for the encryption. Rendering all of the Airplay compatible kit out there obsolete sounds like a bad business plan to me, so maybe they'll loosen those requirements instead. I have my doubts though.
leogoeswild:Is AirPlay a software or hardware update?
This is what an Apple note (see actual apple site about the new features in iOS11) says to this:
'AirPlay 2 may require a software update to existing speakers or new hardware depending on speaker manufacturer'
So I guess, that we will have to wait B&O to get the right answer, when it comes to their devices - for which products will be updateable?
MM
There is a tv - and there is a BV
Millemissen: leogoeswild:Is AirPlay a software or hardware update? This is what an Apple note (see actual apple site about the new features in iOS11) says to this: 'AirPlay 2 may require a software update to existing speakers or new hardware depending on speaker manufacturer' So I guess, that we will have to wait B&O to get the right answer, when it comes to their devices - for which products will be updateable? MM
If it needs a hardware update I thing I'll sell my BS2 and forget about B&O
Beosound Stage, Beovision 8-40, Beolit 20, Beosound Explore.
benoit: If it needs a hardware update I thing I'll sell my BS2 and forget about B&O
Easy now!
Finally real multiroom with airplay.
Apple have been soooo behind here.
Office: Beomaster 3000-2 with Beovox P45 (all in white)
Living room: Beomaster 7000 and Beogram 7000 with Beovox RL 7000 (all in white)
Kitchen: Beocenter 2300 with Beovox 4500 (not available in white :-(
Of course it will - AirPlay 2 requires the hardware to support the software. You can't reengineer new standards back in to old hardware. But, you can't blame B&O. How can you? It's an Apple standard and it's them that moved the goalposts.
Besides, your BS2 isn't suddenly unusable, any different. Just means it won't support some of the AirPlay 2 functionality. In exactly the same way that my iPad Air 2 won't support some of the forthcoming iOS 11 features.
jimcaj:.. and kudos to Naim. They already announced support on named devices: http://forums.naimaudio.com/topic/apple-announces-new-functionality-airplay-2 Fingers crossed for my new M5.
http://forums.naimaudio.com/topic/apple-announces-new-functionality-airplay-2
Fingers crossed for my new M5.
I'm not sure but I understand that it's not an update for existing devices but a new integration for the new speakers... In this case it's not a good omen ...
Would this kill the current AirPlay functionality in the B&O products? I would be happy just to have the functionality I have now.
New standards are engineered into old hardware all the time with software and firmware updates. And when a hardware update is required, some vendors have a solution for that too. But until Apple post the spec for Airplay 2 on their developer side we can only guess what's required.
...unless someone from B&O tells us.
They ought to know by now.
Chris Townsend:That's it, I'm done. Bluetooth is also about to change to 5, from 4.2. Yet more new kit needed.
You can continue using your stuff as you do today. I am curious about the HomePod, and it is very agressively priced. Very interesting with competition in the field.
Beolab 50, Beolab 8000 x 2, Beolab 4000 x 2, BeoSound Core, BeoSound 9000, BeoSound Century, BeoLit 15, BeoPlay A1, BeoPlay P2, BeoPlay H9 3rd Gen, BeoPlay H6, EarSet 3i, BeoVision Eclipse Gen 2 55", BeoPlay V1-40, BeoCom 6000 and so much else :)
Michael: I am curious about the HomePod, and it is very agressively priced. Very interesting with competition in the field.
I was just over at MacRumors and it seems that everyone there thinks it is very overpriced! They wanted it priced around $200. I guess they are not the target audience for the BeoSound 1 or 2!
leogoeswild:Maybe we should hear how it sounds first
There's a first opinion here: https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/5/15743886/homepod-audio-quality-demo-echo-sonos-bass
Good news that Amazon Prime is coming later this year to all Apple TV's - no more having to stream it - makes the Apple TV, for me anyway, an all in one solution with no need for anything else connected to my TV.
Well.. according to the B&O posting it should be OK...
"In Bang & Olufsen, we put people before technology - catering for the way people live. So, we are naturally extremely pleased that all Apple users can now get the opportunity to play music in a multiroom setting via AirPlay2 to get the full Bang & Olufsen experience"
... probably there's already some Airplay2 hardware in the "newer" devices... activated through some soft/firmware update?
Karel.
I know the January firmware update for the BeoSound 1/2, Essence Mk II, BeoSound 35, and BeoPlay A6/A9 had a similar multi-room update:
- Apple AirPlay can now be distributed over BeoLink Multiroom. It requires an activation via the product settings.
I don't know if this means all these are good-to-go for AirPlay 2, or does the "newer" devices only extend to the BeoSound 1/2, or does it go back a couple of years to the Essence Mk II generation. While I wouldn't mind eventually upgrading my Essence Mk II, I don't want to have to upgrade the A6 just yet.
Actually it sounds like B&O's statement is more about how they are ok with Apple coming up with their own version of multi-room, rather than a statement about backward compatibility with their current systems. I can only hope that Apple would have designed AirPlay 2 without obsoleting the original AirPlay. I don't know how long B&O knew about the specs of AirPlay 2 to have designed it into BeoSound 1/2 and M5.
moxxey:Of course it will - AirPlay 2 requires the hardware to support the software. You can't reengineer new standards back in to old hardware. But, you can't blame B&O. How can you? It's an Apple standard and it's them that moved the goalposts. Besides, your BS2 isn't suddenly unusable, any different. Just means it won't support some of the AirPlay 2 functionality. In exactly the same way that my iPad Air 2 won't support some of the forthcoming iOS 11 features.
Michael:You can continue using your stuff as you do today. I am curious about the HomePod, and it is very agressively priced. Very interesting with competition in the field.
It would seem unlikely to me that those companies would sign up as Airplay 2 partners without having at least a look at the spec. I would not be surprised if they also had input. I have hopes that B&O were able to get whatever they needed into the spec to allow for tighter integration of Airplay and Beolink.
The way things work now is clunky; If someone is using Beolink to play something on a speaker the same speaker shows up in iTunes as "available" for example. And when streaming Airplay to a B&O device there is no metadata (track, album, artist, etc) but that could be specific to B&O.
BeoNut since '75
Andrew:Good news that Amazon Prime is coming later this year to all Apple TV's - no more having to stream it - makes the Apple TV, for me anyway, an all in one solution with no need for anything else connected to my TV.
My old BeoLit 12 with AirPlay-only can only be trusted with a lightning cable between it and my iPhone - the other devices with Bluetooth, however, always work. If AirPlay 2 is about catching up with Bluetooth, making it reliable, and adding multiroom (which I can do today via the old AirPlay if I stream from my iMac, and don't mind the dropouts).
Sounds like Apple is trying to catch up, not move the game on - and if that also excludes Spotify and Deezer from Multiroom (HomePod seems to be Apple Music only), then I am not worried about not having the "2" behind Airplay.
And as English is not my native language I could not care less about voice control. Siri in Norwegian is more frustrating than helpful.
But Apple is very good at selling this - as this thread proves.
Roger
reading a write up on Macworld, the HomePod is designed to work with Apple Music, which is completely unsurprising.......so while it may allow airplay to the HomePod from other streaming services on your iDevice, its largely a move to support their Apple Music business.......i really wouldn't worry as a B&O customer, perhaps some existing and newer B&O speakers will support Airplay 2, but probably only the multi-room aspect.....i wouldn't expect the voice activation aspects to be present in anything other than the HomePod....so if voice control isn't your thing (me too), the HomePod / Airplay 2 announcement isn't that consequential......and thats before even considering NAS stored DLNA music........
Sandyb: i really wouldn't worry as a B&O customer, perhaps some existing and newer B&O speakers will support Airplay 2, but probably only the multi-room aspect.....i wouldn't expect the voice activation aspects to be present in anything other than the HomePod...
i really wouldn't worry as a B&O customer, perhaps some existing and newer B&O speakers will support Airplay 2, but probably only the multi-room aspect.....i wouldn't expect the voice activation aspects to be present in anything other than the HomePod...
As I understand it, direct voice activation (Siri) is not really a part of the AirPlay 2 spec – it's specifically a feature of the HomePod, because it has appropriate hardware and software built into it.
However, being that AirPlay 2 speakers should play nice with HomeKit, and HomeKit works with Siri, I would guess any AirPlay 2 speaker would allow control via Siri through iOS devices: "Hey Siri, play my favourites on the living room BeoSound 2"
— Tuomas | Bang & Olufsen | Bang & Olufsen Create
my dealer just sent me a message, that B&O is about to support AirPlay 2 with all wireless speaker-systems, so don´t panic. as far as i understand will Siri be another remote for e.g. the BeoSound 2 - cool!!!
Wohnzimmer: BeoVision Avant 55", BeoLab 11, 12-2 und 12-3 für 5.1-Sound + appleTV 4K und Philips BluRay-Player; BeoSound 2, BeoSound 3000 (fast nur noch Deko)////Schlafzimmer: BeoEssence MkII, BeoLab 4000 + Samsung 46"-TV////Büro: BLC NL/ML, BeoSound 35, Thorens TD320MkII, Samsung 32"-TV, WesternDigital 4TB-Server////Bad: BeoLab 2000; alles CAT7 verkabelt////Küche: M5 (drahtlos) plus diverse apple-Geräte (imac, macbook, ipads, iphones, timecapsule, watch)