AirParrot: Airplay Mirroring from Mac to ATV

[dgalvan123]

I tried the free trial of AirParrot.

Some notes:

-In the AirParrot menu you can choose "Display 1" or "Extend Desktop". IF you use "Display 1", then your mac's monitor will keep the same resolution you had before, but the mirrored version on your HDTV will not take up the whole screen. If you choose "Extend Desktop", then your mac's display will get compressed to HDTV aspect ratio at 720p resolution, but the up side is that the mirrored version on your HDTV will now take up the whole screen. I did not find any way to actually make your HDTV act like a second monitor, such that I could drag things from my mac desktop to a second desktop on the ATV/HDTV display. So perhaps I made a wrong assumption about what "extended desktop" meant. The point: only mirroring appears to be supported, just like is promised in ML.

-The resolution looks great on my HDTV, and when I'm just using the finder the fps is great too. But when I play a full-screen movie from either EyeTV or iMovie, the HDTV drops frames and does not play very smoothly. (I'm using a MBP mid-2009 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz with 8 GB RAM.) I would consider it watchable though.

-IMPORTANT AUDIO NOTE: The "enable audio" option, when selected tells me that transmitting the audio as well requires functionality that is built into OS 10.7 Lion, which means that I cannot use this feature since I am running OS 10.6 Snow Leopard. The point: Enabling audio requires OS 10.7 lion or higher. Snow leopard can't do audio mirroring, just video.

To sum up: I don't really want to upgrade to Lion, and the quality of the experience when watching an iMovie home movie is good but not as good as watching it on the computer screen due to the (admittedly slight) choppiness. Still, this functionality is a nice trick to have up your sleeve for those times when the thing you want to watch on your TV just isn't easy to get there.

I wonder if my experience being choppy means the ML implementation of this feature will also be choppy. I imagine there are hardware limitations involved.

 

[marc11]

The online demos I have seen of the ML implementation of AirPlay looked great; however I am not sure which hardware Apple will implement it on.

 

[evansls]

@dgalvan123 -- There's an updated version of Airparrot that was released tonight. The good news is the update now supports audio for Snow Leopard just like it does for Lion users.

Do a 'check for updates' within the app to get the latest version!

Version 1.2 offers:
- Audio for Snow Leopard
- Faster and more stable
- Volume Control from mac to apple tv
- Now supports wake up apple tv when mirror is activated and stays awake
- Drastically improved performance and CPU usage
- Extended Display now mirrors your extended mac to your TV. (awesome feature btw)
- Fixed several issues that was crashing the app
- Fixed issue with colored lines appearing within certain conditions were met using underscan
- many more bug fixes

I've been using it now for about a half hour on my 2009 macbook pro and I've noticed the improved performance with the update. I'm enjoying the extended display the most with this update because I can now mirror a movie to my tv that is playing on my extended display while still browsing the internet or work on a document on my macbook screen. That is a feature mountain lion doesn't offer or advertised at least.

Evan

 

[redfirebird08]

@dgalvan123 -- There's an updated version of Airparrot that was released tonight. The good news is the update now supports audio for Snow Leopard just like it does for Lion users.

Do a 'check for updates' within the app to get the latest version!

Version 1.2 offers:
- Audio for Snow Leopard
- Faster and more stable
- Volume Control from mac to apple tv
- Now supports wake up apple tv when mirror is activated and stays awake
- Drastically improved performance and CPU usage
- Extended Display now mirrors your extended mac to your TV. (awesome feature btw)
- Fixed several issues that was crashing the app
- Fixed issue with colored lines appearing within certain conditions were met using underscan
- many more bug fixes

I've been using it now for about a half hour on my 2009 macbook pro and I've noticed the improved performance with the update. I'm enjoying the extended display the most with this update because I can now mirror a movie to my tv that is playing on my extended display while still browsing the internet or work on a document on my macbook screen. That is a feature mountain lion doesn't offer or advertised at least.

Evan

That sounds pretty cool. I like the fact that they are constantly improving the program. Might have to check it out at some point. I still don't own Apple TV yet though. Waiting to see what they announce next week. Hopefully it will have 1080p support.

 

[DaveNinja]

this app sounds great, i'll have to give it a try tonight. I was just complaing to someone today about not being able to AirPlay from my iMac to my ATV2

 

[dgalvan123]

@dgalvan123 -- There's an updated version of Airparrot that was released tonight. The good news is the update now supports audio for Snow Leopard just like it does for Lion users.

Do a 'check for updates' within the app to get the latest version!

Version 1.2 offers:
- Audio for Snow Leopard
- Faster and more stable
- Volume Control from mac to apple tv
- Now supports wake up apple tv when mirror is activated and stays awake
- Drastically improved performance and CPU usage
- Extended Display now mirrors your extended mac to your TV. (awesome feature btw)
- Fixed several issues that was crashing the app
- Fixed issue with colored lines appearing within certain conditions were met using underscan
- many more bug fixes

I've been using it now for about a half hour on my 2009 macbook pro and I've noticed the improved performance with the update. I'm enjoying the extended display the most with this update because I can now mirror a movie to my tv that is playing on my extended display while still browsing the internet or work on a document on my macbook screen. That is a feature mountain lion doesn't offer or advertised at least.

Evan

Excellent! I'll try it out tonight! (luckily it seems one can re-download the trial and re-install to get another 20 minutes of trial use before it nags you to purchase the full version.)

 

[tippman]

Does this Airplay all content from your Mac to ATV2? Just wondering how it works with Slingbox.

 

[evansls]

Does this Airplay all content from your Mac to ATV2? Just wondering how it works with Slingbox.

Good idea! I tried mirroring my mac that is streaming my TV content to it from my slingbox and the results were fantastic!

Demo: http://goo.gl/OvmHR

Evan

 

[dgalvan123]

Tried the updated AirParrot. The audio feature works well now (I'm on Snow Leopard). As does the extended desktop.

I tried out projecting EyeTV to my HDTV. It works well, but the frame rate is still just a little below optimal. Not sure if I can improve that somehow, but I wasn't running anything else besides EyeTV and EyeTV wasn't doing anything besides playing a live TV channel.

I could see using this for live TV events that we'd want to pause and watch the same day, like the Oscars or political debates or something.

 

[Ronin64]

Quick question for anyone with AirParrot.
How much memory does AirParrot use? I don't have an AppleTV to test it on, I'm waiting for the next gen of AppleTV to buy one.

Thanks in advance.

 

[tivoboy]

pc

I tried this on my mac, worked well. Is there something that will do this for a pc? Share my screen with my apple tv.

 

[evansls]

new beta released - massive performance improvements

airparrot posted a new beta build [1.3b2]

download it here: http://goo.gl/kPygV

since this is a beta, you have to physically download this version using the link above instead of 'check for update' therefore this version may be a bit buggy. once the bugs are worked out from user feedback, the update will be available via the update function. if you're looking for a much better performance when mirroring, then i would suggest downloading it. at least for me, the fans on my macbook pro no longer kick on when i mirror with a "low (fast)" video quality.

AirParrot 1.3 beta new features
- 1080p apple tv 3 mirroring
- massive performance improvements
- better audio
- specific app mirroring (like only mirror safari instead of entire screen)
- faster loading
- user interface improvements
- and more

also, don't forget about the 'extend desktop' mode where you can use your tv as an extended monitor. i noticed when i use this mode, the resolution is native to my apple tv therefore provides a better experience while mirroring full screen movies or simply mirroring whatever.

 

[elpmas]

airparrot posted a new beta build [1.3b2]

download it here: http://goo.gl/kPygV

since this is a beta, you have to physically download this version using the link above instead of 'check for update' therefore this version may be a bit buggy. once the bugs are worked out from user feedback, the update will be available via the update function. if you're looking for a much better performance when mirroring, then i would suggest downloading it. at least for me, the fans on my macbook pro no longer kick on when i mirror with a "low (fast)" video quality.

AirParrot 1.3 beta new features
- 1080p apple tv 3 mirroring
- massive performance improvements
- better audio
- specific app mirroring (like only mirror safari instead of entire screen)
- faster loading
- user interface improvements
- and more

also, don't forget about the 'extend desktop' mode where you can use your tv as an extended monitor. i noticed when i use this mode, the resolution is native to my apple tv therefore provides a better experience while mirroring full screen movies or simply mirroring whatever.

Great, thanks. I hope this fixes the lagginess

 

[knux11]

Great, thanks. I hope this fixes the lagginess

did it fix the lagginess?

I bought the app, then got a refund after the choppiness was unacceptable. unfortunately i won't be able to test the new beta out until at least sunday, but if it works i'd repurchase the app even though my purchase key still works.

 

[elpmas]

did it fix the lagginess?

I bought the app, then got a refund after the choppiness was unacceptable. unfortunately i won't be able to test the new beta out until at least sunday, but if it works i'd repurchase the app even though my purchase key still works.

Nope. Still super choppy! I'm thinking the ATV3 can handle it well enough, but the app isn't so great...

 

[knux11]

Nope. Still super choppy! I'm thinking the ATV3 can handle it well enough, but the app isn't so great...

hmm. i was able to try it out for a few minutes thursday. the video had lost it's choppiness for me, but i couldn't get the audio to work for some reason. I do like how u can select only an app to display though. vlc on the screen while surfing the web is good, espn3 on safari while emailing/surfing on chrome is even better!

 

[elpmas]

hmm. i was able to try it out for a few minutes thursday. the video had lost it's choppiness for me, but i couldn't get the audio to work for some reason. I do like how u can select only an app to display though. vlc on the screen while surfing the web is good, espn3 on safari while emailing/surfing on chrome is even better!

When I move my mouse, the display is choppy and laggy at times...lol. How far is your ATV away from your modem? Mine is about ~35ft, give or take a few.

 

[knux11]

When I move my mouse, the display is choppy and laggy at times...lol. How far is your ATV away from your modem? Mine is about ~35ft, give or take a few.

you're not on wifi with the atv r u? I'm hardwired, but my source mbp was on 5ghz 802.11n wifi about 3 feet from my time capsule. I wasn't really moving my mouse when i tested it though, just watching. didn't notice any lag when i tried to fix the audio though, maybe it'll get worse once it's streaming audio as well.

 

[elpmas]

you're not on wifi with the atv r u? I'm hardwired, but my source mbp was on 5ghz 802.11n wifi about 3 feet from my time capsule. I wasn't really moving my mouse when i tested it though, just watching. didn't notice any lag when i tried to fix the audio though, maybe it'll get worse once it's streaming audio as well.

I tried hardwire and it couldn't detect it...so I thought I couldn't use it through that method. Been trying wifi only.

 

[jdmagoo1]

This works fine for me with the new apple tv 3, however the audio whilst watching movies is a little out of sync. If this could be fixed I will purchase for sure.

 

[marc11]

No matter what I try this software will not connect to my apple tv. Anyone using it where both the computer and apple tv are hard wired?

 

[ayala421]

Audio problems...

you're not on wifi with the atv r u? I'm hardwired, but my source mbp was on 5ghz 802.11n wifi about 3 feet from my time capsule. I wasn't really moving my mouse when i tested it though, just watching. didn't notice any lag when i tried to fix the audio though, maybe it'll get worse once it's streaming audio as well.

So were you able to get the audio to work? The audio was working just fine for me during the demo but that was on the previous release and now this latest update (1080p mirroring) seems to not work with my audio.

The mirroring doesn't seem to be as choppy like it was on the previous release demo though.

FYI - AIRPARROT EMPLOYEES SEEM TO RESPOND FAIRLY QUICKLY ON TWITTER. SO MAYBE ITS SMART TO FOLLOW THEM.

 

[knux11]

So were you able to get the audio to work? The audio was working just fine for me during the demo but that was on the previous release and now this latest update (1080p mirroring) seems to not work with my audio.

The mirroring doesn't seem to be as choppy like it was on the previous release demo though.

FYI - AIRPARROT EMPLOYEES SEEM TO RESPOND FAIRLY QUICKLY ON TWITTER. SO MAYBE ITS SMART TO FOLLOW THEM.

actually i did get it to work. on vlc (the app i was trying to use with it) i just had to select airparrot under audio device. worked fine after that. and yeah, the video was much smoother too with the beta update.

 

[ayala421]

actually i did get it to work. on vlc (the app i was trying to use with it) i just had to select airparrot under audio device. worked fine after that. and yeah, the video was much smoother too with the beta update.

Ok, thanks for the quick response. I'm trying to make the audio work with chrome (ice films) and I also set the audio device to air parrot but that wasn't working for me.

I suspect I am missing a simple setting, but I'll figure it out eventually.

 

[knux11]

Ok, thanks for the quick response. I'm trying to make the audio work with chrome (ice films) and I also set the audio device to air parrot but that wasn't working for me.

I suspect I am missing a simple setting, but I'll figure it out eventually.

mine worked right away with chrome (put the nba game on the tv-no cable), but I've found it's usually just some setting somewhere- be it airparrot, the app you're using (ie-chrome), or even osx's settings, that don't necessarily stay the same each time you go to use airparrot. just keep tinkering.