So…1st time on Zwift yesterday. Right now just running it thru my iphone and mirroring Zwift to a TV. Trainer is an Elite Direto. I may down the road go the Apple TV route so I can use the companion app & phone separately.
I currently do not have a HR monitor and before I go out and buy one, is it possible to use/connect my Garmin Vivoactive to be used as my HR monitor?
…and if not, any recommendations for an inexpensive HR Monitor? I am running power and cadence directly thru the Direto (not using a dongle) so it’s my understanding that I can add a HR monitor without needing anything else…correct?
Looks like the Vivoactive has Bluetooth (not just ANT+) so that should work.
One thing to keep in mind is that Apple TV supports a limited number of bluetooth connections, and the remote takes up one of I think 3. Depending how your trainer works you may or may not have enough connections there.
GPLama has an Apple TV video where he talks about that.
As has been said, that should work. Another option is the BLE bridge that transmits an ANT+ signal to a BLE signal - this is what I use for my HR strap and cadence sensor using an Apple TV.
Thanks…I was able to find this deep in the Garmin forums. My Garmin battery is dead right now so I’ll try later today and see if it works. The Vivoactive does have Bluetooth as that is how activities get sent to Garmin Connect on my phone, but below is saying ANT+ so not sure it will work.
Broadcasting Heart Rate to Garmin® Devices
You can broadcast your heart rate data from your vÃvoactive® HR device and view it on paired Garmin devices. For example, you can broadcast your heart rate data to an Edge® device while cycling, or to a VIRB® action camera during an activity.
NOTE: Broadcasting heart rate data decreases battery life.
Hold .
Select Settings > Sensors > Heart Rate. Select an option:
Select Broadcast In Activity to broadcast heart rate data during timed activities (Starting an Activity).
Select Broadcast to start broadcasting heart rate data now.
Pair your vÃvoactive HR device with your Garmin ANTâ€+® compatible device.
NOTE: The pairing instructions differ for each Garmin compatible device. See your owner’s manual.
Unfortunately, if I’m understanding what you want to do correctly - it won’t work.
The Vivoactve HR/3 have the ability to broadcast your heart rate out via ANT+, but not via Bluetooth Smart. While the Vivoactive series has Bluetooth Smart in it, it’s only for connecting to your phone (in the VA3, it can also connect to sensors, but not broadcast itself as a sensor).
Since you’re using Apple TV, like iOS, it can’t connect to ANT+ sensors (an iOS device can with a separate accessory dongle though). So basically, in the configuration you have, neither device can talk to each other. Two different languages if you will.
Your choice at this point are:
A) New HR strap (dual ANT+/BLE ideally, like a Wahoo TICKR, 4iiii Viiiiva, etc…)
B) ANT+ to BLE Bridge (NPE Cable and 4iiii Viiiiva are the main ones)
Going the Viiiiva route means you get a HR strap and bridge as one item for basically the same price as the CABLE. On the flip side, that means you need to wear a HR strap, whereas the CABLE will basically just sit there near your bike until you have to change it’s battery a year from now.
Unfortunately, if I’m understanding what you want to do correctly - it won’t work.
The Vivoactve HR/3 have the ability to broadcast your heart rate out via ANT+, but not via Bluetooth Smart. While the Vivoactive series has Bluetooth Smart in it, it’s only for connecting to your phone (in the VA3, it can also connect to sensors, but not broadcast itself as a sensor).
Since you’re using Apple TV, like iOS, it can’t connect to ANT+ sensors (an iOS device can with a separate accessory dongle though). So basically, in the configuration you have, neither device can talk to each other. Two different languages if you will.
Your choice at this point are:
A) New HR strap (dual ANT+/BLE ideally, like a Wahoo TICKR, 4iiii Viiiiva, etc…)
B) ANT+ to BLE Bridge (NPE Cable and 4iiii Viiiiva are the main ones)
Going the Viiiiva route means you get a HR strap and bridge as one item for basically the same price as the CABLE. On the flip side, that means you need to wear a HR strap, whereas the CABLE will basically just sit there near your bike until you have to change it’s battery a year from now.
Thanks and appreciate the details explanation…you are correct in what I was looking to see if was possible, but it’s not (figures). So…just to keep life simple I’ll look to get a new HR strap…
I use a Vivoactive HR with Zwift for heart rate data, and it works just fine.
Based on Ray’s (dcrainmaker’s) reply, you’re probably running Zwift on a PC or Mac with an ANT+ dongle, and not on an iOS device (iPad, iPhone, Apple TV).
As noted, the vivoactive has BT and uses it to connect to your phone. It only projects the HR data in Ant+ and not BT because Garmin wants to support its Ant+ ecosystem, not because it theoretically couldn’t.
Another option is the Mio Link. It’s an optical hrm puck that also does BT/Ant+ bridging. Comes with a wrist strap, but I just place the puck under the leg of my bike shorts and it reads fine off my quad.
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