MBA 11" i5/i7 AirPlay mirroring performance?

[dol4n]

Hi!

Next week I'm planning to order a MBA 11" from the Apple Store.
But I have a question that I don't seem to find the answer for, I've searched the forums but ended up empty handed.

What I wonder is how well does the 11" MBA (2012) handle AirPlay mirroring to a AppleTV? I will use it to stream 720p and 1080p movies to my Full HD TV.

Does it run like a charm or is lag to be expected?

Would it make any difference to upgrade to the Core i7?
(I'm going with 8GB RAM either way).

Thanks!
/dol4n

 

[Wokis]

I haven't used airplay but to my knowledge the HD4000 is clocked at the same speed on both the i5 and i7. Since Airplay uses QuickSync (which in turn runs on a subset of the HD4000), the performance between the two should be the same.

 

[Mike in Kansas]

Hi!


Would it make any difference to upgrade to the Core i7?
(I'm going with 8GB RAM either way).

Thanks!
/dol4n

The 8GB of RAM is the key, as the 8GB RAM allows you to have 512MB of v-RAM available. The 4GB of RAM models only allow for 384MB (or some amount close to that; I can't find that figure somewhere but it's less).

 

[dol4n]

Thx guys for the replies so far...

But isn't there anyone who actually have tried streaming full HD content to your television using AirPlay mirroring with MBA 11"?

/dol4n

 

[xSPRINTERx]

It's good.

I can't fully answer your question.

I have the base model 2012 MacBook air & the apple tv (first gen little black box).

My understanding is the ATV I have, only supports and out puts 720p.

I have a number of HD video files that are 1080p (recorded from my Nikon D7000).

Playing these on the air and mirroring to the tv at the same time no problem at all. Using QuickTime.

 

[chris566]

My 2012 MBA 11.6 i5 airplays to a 3rd gen apple tv streaming various 1080p formats just fine.

 

[boto]

Any new or 2011 model Macbooks will function perfectly with Airplay. The only thing I would be concerned about is the distance between your router, MBA, and Apple TV. I have experienced no stuttering/lag as long as it meets this condition and I would suggest using an ethernet cable for your Apple TV to router for the best connection when using the features on the Apple TV besides Airplay.

 

[matbal]

I've got a 3rd Gen Apple TV and 11" i5 MBA and use it pretty regularly. There's a slight delay between the notebook screen and TV screen but the TV is butter smooth, hi-res, and the audio is in sync. Just turn AirPlay Mirroring on, hit play, set the computer down, and enjoy the show.

 

[dol4n]

Thank you so much for your input guys!

Sounds like I have nothing to worry about =)

Will place my order today or tomorrow!

/dol4n

 

[mattpreston11]

I'd reccomend you go and look at it in action before purchasing.

I used an iPad with airplay mirroring with an Apple TV in the Apple store and I thought the quality was really poor..

 

[Wokis]

Must rely a bit on wifi speed too. 60 fps 1920x1080 in H.264 of some sort of low complexity.. got to be at least an 16mbit stream to look good and then I'm being generous.

Given that many routers have really poor wifi speed I don't see it as an impossibility that some could have quality problems with airplay.