AirPlay
Send a channel, movie or episode from your iPhone or iPad to the big screen.
AirPlay is in Theia for iPhone and iPad. It needs an Apple TV or an AirPlay-compatible TV on the same Wi-Fi as your phone.
Theia for iPhone and iPad is in beta; the App Store release is coming.
Playing on your TV
- Open a channel, movie or episode.
- Tap the AirPlay button in the player’s top bar, then pick your TV.
- The picture moves to the TV. Your phone shows Playing on and the TV’s name, with Stop.
Tap Stop to end it on the TV. To bring the sound back to the phone, pick iPhone in the same AirPlay button.
It only takes one connection
When the TV starts playing, Theia stops its own copy of the stream on the phone, so your source still counts one stream. A recording on the same account keeps playing, and Theia then plays the channel on the phone instead of sending it to the TV.
Direct, or through your iPhone
Most of the time the TV gets the stream straight from your provider, and the details say Direct to the TV. Your TV doesn’t use your phone’s VPN, so Theia sends the stream through this iPhone instead when:
- a VPN is on for the phone,
- your source needs more than a plain connection to play, or
- playing it directly has already failed on that TV.
You don’t set this. While it’s on, keep Theia open and the iPhone on Wi-Fi. The details show Sent through this iPhone.
When the TV can’t play it
An AirPlay TV can’t play every kind of channel. Some sources send streams only the phone can open, and some movie files and programs from the archive have no form a TV accepts. Some TVs play fewer formats than an Apple TV.
When that happens, Theia says Screen Mirroring can show it. To use it:
- Open Control Center on the phone.
- Tap Screen Mirroring and pick your TV.
Screen Mirroring shows whatever is on the phone, so it works for every channel. It’s also the way to put multiview on a TV.
If it won’t play
- “Your VPN blocks the TV’s name from reaching this iPhone.” Allow local network access in your VPN app, or use Screen Mirroring.
- The TV doesn’t show up. Check that the phone and the TV are on the same Wi-Fi, and that AirPlay is on in the TV’s settings.
- Sound is a little behind the picture. AirPlay adds a short delay. Theia lines the sound up for you when the TV starts.
Still stuck? Send a report from Settings > Support > Report a problem.