Airplay with AVQueuePlayer has gaps

Question

My app uses AVQueuePlayer to show video clips back to back. In testing on my AppleTV, it seems that when I switch to the next video in the queue, there is a small time gap where the Apple TV 'takes over' the screen and the home screen of the Apple TV is displayed. Is there any way to prevent this gap from happening, even a black screen or loading indicator would be a better experience.

Answer 1

I was having this exact same problem and was dismayed when I saw that no one had yet to find an answer.

The solution I ended up going with involved taking advantage of the multiple display support added in iOS 5. There are some helpful links in learning how to do this here:

https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/WindowsViews/Conceptual/WindowAndScreenGuide/Introduction/Introduction.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40012555-CH1-SW1

http://blog.redfin.com/devblog/2012/05/creating_a_dual-screen_airplay_experience_for_ios_and_apple_tv.html#.UjCe5mRATZY

The app I am designing will basically look for the availability of an external screen. If it finds one it will play the videos on the viewcontroller I provide for that external screen. That viewcontroller can have a black background so that any pause in between videos looks natural and no longer has the Apple TV home screen pop into view for a moment.