The HomePod is not intended to interact with the Apple TV, although it is possible to give it other uses than sending music from an iOS device or the Mac. Everything seems to think that the AirPlay 2 function will make it possible to connect the HomePod as an external speaker of the Apple TV or send music in the same way as we would from iOS or a MAC, allocating these for other tasks.
The idea makes sense. Therefore, we value Advantages and disadvantages of using the HomePod as an Apple TV speaker and the stability of the connection between them.
First of all, if your Apple TV is on the main television in a house and it has a high fidelity sound system, this option does not contribute anything. Surely this equipment will have more features, as the HomePod is intended as a speaker for a secondary room, such as the kitchen or a bedroom.
In second place, the HomePod will likely work only with Apple TVs that allow an external connection. We are talking about the fourth generation Apple TV of 2015 and the Apple TV 4k that was released in 2017. With these premises, let's see how it works.
With Apple TV and HomePod connected on the same network, the connection between the two will be the same as the connection with the AirPods- Swipe down to display the info panel and go to Audio. HomePod should appear as the audio output source. Remember that a faster way since iOS 11 to pair external devices is to leave the device without playing anything. Now press and hold the Play / Pause button from the controller and you will access the same tab.
After pairing, we must take into account how is the sound transmission through AirPlay2. Initially, this system has some latency, at most two seconds, but this would make this option unfeasible. In any case, using native programs like iTunes Movies or Plex, fix this lagbecause the tvOS software is ready for it. On the other hand, if you play games, we do not recommend at least for now using the HomePod connected to Apple TV.
For the rest, in some moments, especially when it is paused and we resume playing, it sometimes disconnects, but these are errors that will be polished in future updates.
