Watch on the television
A phone is a fine place to find a channel and a poor place to watch a film on. AirPlay moves the picture to the television and leaves the phone as the remote — when the stream allows it. Some do not, and the difference is worth understanding before you assume something is broken.
Start the channel, then press AirPlay
Open the channel first and let it play, then use the AirPlay button in the player controls and choose your Apple TV. The video moves to the television and the phone keeps the controls: pause, tracks, the guide. This is real AirPlay — the television receives the stream, so the picture stays sharp and you can lock the phone without stopping playback.
When the sound arrives but the picture does not
Some streams cannot be played by the system's own player — older MPEG-TS channels in particular — so Tivsy decodes them itself. A stream decoded inside the app is drawn on the phone's screen, and AirPlay has nothing to send the television except the audio. It is not a fault in your network or your Apple TV. Tivsy says so on screen when it happens rather than leaving you guessing.
What to do about that channel
Two things work. If your provider offers the same channel as an HLS address — one ending in .m3u8 — use that one; the system can play it, and AirPlay carries the picture. Otherwise play it on the television itself: Tivsy on Apple TV opens the same playlist and decodes on the Apple TV, so nothing has to travel from the phone at all.
Screen Mirroring is not the same thing
Mirroring from Control Centre sends a copy of the whole screen, including the battery and the notifications, at a lower resolution and with a delay. For video it is the worse route even when it works: AirPlay sends the stream, mirroring sends a photograph of your phone sixty times a second.
Common questions
Do I need the Apple TV app to use AirPlay?
No. AirPlay works from the iPhone and iPad app to any Apple TV or AirPlay 2 television. The Apple TV app is the better route for channels the system cannot play, because nothing has to be sent at all.
Why does my other IPTV app mirror the picture?
Because it is mirroring, not AirPlaying. Mirroring always shows something; it also always costs latency and resolution, and it keeps the phone screen on.
Does the phone have to stay awake?
Not with AirPlay — the television is playing the stream. With mirroring, yes, the screen has to stay on.
Will the subtitles I chose follow to the television?
Yes. The track choice belongs to the channel, not to the screen, so it applies wherever the channel opens.
AirPlay for what the system can play, Apple TV for everything else.