13' Air vs 13' rMBP - which is better for streaming & airplay

[hotttnickkk]

Hi there - long time lurker and new poster here.

I've been using a 15' HP notebook / desktop replacement for about 4 years. It's showing its age.. so I'm thinking about getting a Mac instead just for a change.

So I'm currently comparing the '13 Air and 13' rMBP as they're both within my price range.

I'll be using it mainly for:

- Surfing internet, youtube, streaming shows on demand

- Word processing, some photo processing, some video processing

- The function I'm really interested in is using the Airplay capability with Apple TV and using TV as a dual monitor, i.e., watching a streaming show or Youtube video on the TV and at the same time doing some work on the notebook.

So my question is would the 13' Air be suitable for this? Or would the task be too intensive? Would the 13' rMBP be any better? I see that it also doesn't have a dedicated graphics driver...

 

[2IS]

I would think they'd both be able to do it equally well. I don't see why one would be any better than the other for that feature tbh

 

[hotttnickkk]

I would think they'd both be able to do it equally well. I don't see why one would be any better than the other for that feature tbh

Have you tried this feature on the Air? I've read somewhere that when you're streaming video & trying to work on other things, the computer becomes really laggy - does anyone know if there's any truths to this?

 

[JoeyCloverfield]

…

- The function I'm really interested in is using the Airplay capability with Apple TV and using TV as a dual monitor, i.e., watching a streaming show or Youtube video on the TV and at the same time doing some work on the notebook.

...

I don't think you can create a dual display setup with Airplay. I think it's only capable of mirroring.

 

[hotttnickkk]

I don't think you can create a dual display setup with Airplay. I think it's only capable of mirroring.

I think through programme like AirParrot you can "extend" the desktop, instead of just straight mirroring?

http://www.airsquirrels.com/airparrot/

Has nobody used this function before? Coming from a PC user perspective this function seems really great... surprised nobody has used it.

 

[Sean Dempsey]

Retina. The air only beats it by a tiny size margin.

There's no reason to not get the retina.

 

[hotttnickkk]

Retina. The air only beats it by a tiny size margin.

There's no reason to not get the retina.

This is interesting.. I posted the same question in the MBP forum and they suggest getting the Air...

Then you guys in the Air forum are suggesting I get the rMBP...

Very very interesting.. LOL