How do I connect my iPad/iPhone to Sony Bravia TV via WiFi?

[Rod]

I like to kid myself that I'm usually pretty good at this stuff but this one has me completely fooled.
As a result/bonus of buying a new iPhone SE2 I got a free 1 year subscription to Apple TV. As a result I tried to connect my iPad/iPhone to our large bedroom TV, a 2017 Sony Bravia smart TV. I did the usual internet search for how to do this and read through the Sony manual but with no success.
There are lots of Apps on the App store as well which claim to perform the task but after trying the best rated one and still getting no result I'm a bit discouraged.
None of the internet instructions seem to correspond to the menu options on the TV although I can see WiFi Direct which is where I'm supposed to go but cannot work out how to connect as neither the iPhone or the TV seem to be able to see each other although they are on the same network.

Any experts out there?

 

[chscag]

I guess maybe we need to ask this first......

Do you have an Apple TV?

 

[Rod]

No. I have had one in the past, years ago, sold it when we moved to Bali. All of the web pages I've read claim that I can connect using Sony WiFi Direct, a built in function but I'm darned if I can get it to connect. Personally I think I need some sort of receiver like Chromecast or a MiBox.
I just thought since it was free now would be a good time to use it but i really don't want to spend more money. I can always resort to HDMI connection, it just means all of the controls are out of reach.

 

[chscag]

I may be out in left field on this one Rod, but I believe you will need some way to AirPlay to your Bravia. Maybe our astute moderator Slydude can provide some better information on how to do it. He's a lot smarter than me with that sort of thing.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

In the end you aren't going to be able to do what you want without having an intermediary device to stream to.

With WiFi Direct on your Sony TV, you would directly connect the iPhone to the TV. Then using something like iMediaShare you would 'share' media on your phone to the TV. The caveat is that the media you are sharing has to be on the phone, so photos, videos you have stored locally. You cannot stream from ATV+ and then broadcast to the TV.

If your TV had AirPlay support as Charlie suggested, then when you began playing the video on ATV+, you would get the option to share that to the TV. Apple TV (the device) connected to your TV will give you the same option.

 

[Slydude]

I took a cursory look at this last night before going to bed. It's the kind of puzzle I would usually spend a lot if time figuring out I was almost falling out of the chair l so I figured sleep was in order.

I'll take another look after work today but I think ultimately Raz0r is going to turn out to be right. IIRC AirPlay 2 is built into Sony's 2019 models with some plans to patch some older models to support it as well but I bet they won't go as far back as 2017.

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[badshoehabit]

I connect my MBP to my non-smart TV with an HDMI-USB cable to watch programs I can't get on any TV channels. This is an adapter for iPhone. Buy APPLE Digital AV Lightning to HDMI Adapter | Free Delivery | Currys (bad link removed)

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Sue, that works for the Mac, but Rod was looking for iPhone/iPad solutions I believe.

 

[Rod]

Well, thanks everybody, I give up. There are a couple of things I just cant change regarding the content and capabilities of this Sony Bravia model. Ashwin, you are correct, without IIRC AirPlay 2 there is no way to stream direct over WiFi without involving a third party app and even then there are problems. Either way I can't stream and caste at the same time and after investing in one app that looked promising I find that it doesnt work with Apple TV+ or Roku, Hulu etc because of DRM.

The other thing I didn't get was the source media has to be saved on the iPad/iPhone first. This is what had me fooled about HDMI. So Sue, I did already have a Lightening AV Digital Adaptor and once I actually downloaded the Movie I wanted from Apple TV it works for playback from the Apple TV app on iPad with no problems. I just can't stream and play at the same time. I didn't get that because in the past while travelling I have been able to connect my iPhone to most hotel TVs via HDMI and using a VPN mirror content from Australian Live TV and You Tube direct to the TV.
Anyway, the upshot of all this is I can definitely watch downloaded media on my TV with a Lightening AV Digital Adaptor and a HDMI cable its just not wireless and I cant do it with streaming content, I have to download it first.

Not a huge issue, its one of those "first world problems" like i have to get up off my *** to pause the movie I'm watching, poor me.