In my school we want to put apple tvs into every classroom and use the airplay instead of the desktop. Instead of seeing every single apple tv when they enter a classroom want them to see only the apple tv in that classroom. I have been successful in having the Ipads connected to a separate network to the Apple tvs when bluetooth is turned on it can only see the Apple tvs that are in range. However if they are all on the same network we end up seeing every apple tv connected. Is there a way to only see the Apple tvs that are only in bluetooth range regardless of whether they are on the same network.
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Apple TV in School
- Thread starter risherwani
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I have similar interests and have thus far been unsuccessful in finding a way around it. The best tip I can give is to make sure to rename all of the apple TV's to the particular room name or number (You probably already have but just to make sure). I will continue to look for a way to do this and post here if I do find one.
The scaling and lag would be a deal break for me.
A direct connection to a device or projector as a second screen is the way to go. The shared/second desktop would be the only one visible so wouldn't be an issue.
ATV shares the WHOLE primary screen, so you would see everything.
A direct connection to a device or projector as a second screen is the way to go. The shared/second desktop would be the only one visible so wouldn't be an issue.
ATV shares the WHOLE primary screen, so you would see everything.
In principle, you are correct. Unfortunately there are problems with direct connections many times also. It requires the cabling to be run properly and then additional adapters to be purchased either by the teachers or by the school (on top of that what if I want to show something on my macbook then on my iPad, two different adapters).
Anther problem is also the physical limitations of direct connection. You can't walk around the room with your iPad if it is connected to the projector. Some people have desktops that need to be connected at the back of the room, but if they want their iPad connected it needs to be at the front of the room.
There are other examples but the point is simply that the apple TV has some distinct advantages despite its potential drawbacks (think wired internet vs. wireless internet). It is honestly a school by school and in some cases a classroom by classroom decision with each option having its advantages and disadvantages.
Yeah, no ideal solution as anyone could share at anytime to the ATV and it becomes pandemonium (even from another class room).
You could get around the classroom issue by using subnet masks to dedicated a network for each classroom (you'd need a DHCP server on the tutors device). 30 hosts for example would be 255.255.255.224, messy but avoids ATV ping pong hell!!!!
Or go with something like team view, I've used it before, works ok - but cost no doubt is more than an ATV. (i have no affiliation to the product -just so we are clear)https://www.teamviewer.com/en/products/online-meeting.aspx
You could get around the classroom issue by using subnet masks to dedicated a network for each classroom (you'd need a DHCP server on the tutors device). 30 hosts for example would be 255.255.255.224, messy but avoids ATV ping pong hell!!!!
Or go with something like team view, I've used it before, works ok - but cost no doubt is more than an ATV. (i have no affiliation to the product -just so we are clear)https://www.teamviewer.com/en/products/online-meeting.aspx
Interesting thought that may end up working out. Going to take some serious experimenting but definitely an idea worth experimenting on.
We use AirServer app on our macs to create a 'virtual AppleTV'. The macs are already directly connected to the projectors. The user has the option of setting up a unique userID and password. This prevents unwanted visitors for jumping in. The best thing is that you don't need to hang hardware, just purchase a $10US app for your computer.
I believe there are other apps as well, reflector comes to mind. I only have experience with AirServer.
This might be more trouble than it's worth, but can you make each classroom it's own subnet on the network? If I remember correctly, AirPlay doesn't work across subnets, so only the computer and the AppleTV on the same subnet would see eachother. However, there are a few downsides to this approach...
Definitely worth a try for any rooms or teachers with a mac. I like how simple that could be in many ways, but for my needs it still doesn't completely account for the ability to walk around with an iPad while showing whats on the screen. Really good thought though and I will probably give it a try in a couple places I'm already thinking about.
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Any particular downsides that you have experienced or could automatically think of (other than it being a pain in the tail to set up and make sure everything is always running smoothly)?
I have thought about this approach, but want to be sure there aren't any unexpected problems.
The major downside I can think of is that portable devices won't be able to see every ATV, or won't necessarily see the ATV for the room it is in. For example, if an iPad or Macbook is configured to be in the same subnet as the ATV in room 123, and then that device is brought into room 456, it won't see ATV for room 456. As the sysadmin, you wouldn't be able to configure a master device that can see all the ATVs.
Works with Ubuntu / OSX / Windows. Yes it completely accounts for the ability to walk around with an iPad. I do it everyday. I must be missing a scenario you are thinking of.
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There's other things you can do as well. You use your mac or pc to create it's own network. As the students walk in with their iPads they connect directly to the device that says 'Mr. AwesomeProfessor'. Mr. AwesomeProfessor has MAMP or WAMP running locally, displaying a Wordpress sight with today's syllabus and a couple of pages of notes and discussion points. Mr. AwesomeProfessor also has already download any necessary movies to his computer locally, so students can play them without killing ( or even touching ) the network.
'Flick a switch' wordpress ( or any simple CMS ) slides to the left and Mr. AwesomeProfessor's iPad displays on the the same screen. So now students are scrolling through the CMS and taking notes while Mr. AwesomeProfessor is controlling the right side of the screen with his iPad.
So many options! Through a little WebDav with input ( read-only ) folder for student work turnin, and and output folder for pdf ( or whatever ) distribution.
Good luck.
'Flick a switch' wordpress ( or any simple CMS ) slides to the left and Mr. AwesomeProfessor's iPad displays on the the same screen. So now students are scrolling through the CMS and taking notes while Mr. AwesomeProfessor is controlling the right side of the screen with his iPad.
So many options! Through a little WebDav with input ( read-only ) folder for student work turnin, and and output folder for pdf ( or whatever ) distribution.
Good luck.
It works when the IPADs and the Apple TVs are connected to separate networks. When bluetooth is turned on the IPAD it will only discover the Apple TV that are within the bluetooth range which is what we want. We want a teacher to enter a room and see only the Apple tv's within bluetooth range and having them on the same network without setting up a complicated series of subnets.
Sorry I misspoke (or rather mis wrote). I didn't realize it would also work with a pc because most of the computers at my school are still pcs. That takes care of the problem I am thinking of. Thanks a lot, sounds like something I will look into.