I read that with the new ios5 you can mirror wirelessly with airplay to apple tv with ipad2 and iphone 4s, but is this possible with the newest MBA? I just bought mine yesterday and am considering getting Apple TV. Trying to figure out the most efficient way to stream my computer's screen to the TV.
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Mirror MBA to TV via apple TV and AirPlay?
- Thread starter enesta
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Believe me! I wish it could. I have an Apple TV which I purchased before my Macbook Air.
You cannot use Mirror Airplay but you can always buy the minidisplayport -> hdmi or thunderbolt->hdmi to get it on your TV.
You cannot use Mirror Airplay but you can always buy the minidisplayport -> hdmi or thunderbolt->hdmi to get it on your TV.
For some odd reason the Display mirroring only works from iPad2. That said, you can stream Youtube videos straight from Safari or Music or other Videos with an original iPad, just not full Display mirroring.
Hopefully some clever person comes out with a program that lets you mirror your entire display on any Apple device!
Hopefully some clever person comes out with a program that lets you mirror your entire display on any Apple device!
Not true, it now works on iPhone 4S too!
Good idea not having to connect your mac to the tv... that'd be handy.
....and likely the 2012 MBA will get this feature and for whatever reason this won't be supported. I saw this feature on a acer on the shopping network.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)
I wish you could mirror Macs in Apple TV. I don't know if Apple will allow this because it would cut into their profits. For example, instead of buying from iTunes, you can get content on Hulu or Amazon. The difference with iOS devices is Apple gets a cut of the revenue and they control the content more.
I wish you could mirror Macs in Apple TV. I don't know if Apple will allow this because it would cut into their profits. For example, instead of buying from iTunes, you can get content on Hulu or Amazon. The difference with iOS devices is Apple gets a cut of the revenue and they control the content more.
Apple gets a cut from Netflix? Because otherwise they sure as heck aren't getting much out of me. I think I've rented three movies from iTunes in the last two months.
Hulu and Amazon is also one reason I'm considering just buying a base Mac mini to put at the TV. There are some things about the AppleTV that really bother me.
That's actually a really good idea - then just get a wireless keyboard/mouse and the TV could act as a CPU so I wouldn't have to worry about mirroring or anything. Now I just have to come up with 5-600 extra dollars.
you probably don't need a new one. perhaps a used or refurbished one?
On CL they sell around 300-400 for a decent one.
My thought process behind that was when I went to buy an external HDD for backups of my MBP/MBA, and then I still haven't actually bought the AppleTV, I've just been using a company unit for the past several months. Those two devices alone put me $225 in the hole. So why not sink few hundred more and get even more capabilities?
I'm just not sure what to do about KB+Mouse in a living room. I did it once before with a PC and it wasn't that great. Since I have an iphone 4 and ipad 1 I suppose they could always be used as controllers.
Anyway, I'm not sure what I'm going to do, I'm just throwing it out there because I do think a Mac mini hung off of a TV for streaming content and to function as a NAS, media PC and backup server is a viable option.
Yeah I agree for sure. And it's portable enough to unplug and bring to a monitor to work on. What's wrong with using a keyboard and mouse in living room? The wireless mac keyboard/mouse seems to have a long range from what I've read.
I ended up going with the Apple TV because I couldn't justify the money for an mac mini. It turns out I can't even stream .avi files I download or use the wireless keyboard (which bestbuy wrongly told me among other things, continually get screwed by those guys). Now I'm considering taking it back and saving for an imac.
LOL, I hear you. It's a tough decision. It helps that I've been able to run an AppleTV for several months now without paying for it. It's pros are cost, and seamless integration with Netflix and Airplay from iOS devices and iTunes running on a Mac in your house. It is nice to be able to just grab the little remote and navigate around and pick what you want. Typing on it is obnoxious though.
If you aren't a big user of Netflix or iTunes then it's probably not the right choice. I am concerned about the tack Netflix has taken these past months, which is why I really am thinking that a full blown computer at a TV is the best choice. At least it will be more "future proof". The cons are cost, and your interface to said device. Which is why I'm not crazy about a keyboard and mouse. It's hard to use both from a couch. i.e. Navigating Hulu...
The best options I've found are;
* A regular wireless keyboard with a trackball built in. Probably the best cheap method. There are plenty on the market that can be had for around $50 give or take.
* As far as keyboard/mouse go this is probably the best choice out there, at least what I have tested myself: http://www.logitech.com/en-us/keyboards/keyboard/devices/3848 Pricey though. Sometimes they can be found for under $100.
* One thing I've experimented with are using iOS devices instead. iPhone and iPad work great for remote controlling a computer hooked up to a TV. I think it's a viable alternative if you have one or more already. I would like to get my hands on an iPod touch and see how it is using that. Might be the best cheap method as a dedicated touch device.
As you can see the biggest hindrance to a setup like that is cost. So consider your options carefully. If you have any qualms about the AppleTV I'd recommend taking it back while you can and then create a list of goals you wish to accomplish, then budget it out and do it right the first time.
Thanks for the reply, make some great points. I definitely use itunes and netflix a lot - but I download movies just as much and they're usually .avi files. Streaming video on websites is also pretty big for me. I do like the convenience of the remote and having everything work pretty seamlessly. Realistically the best option is a mac mini, but even more realistically is that I probably shouldn't even be spending as much as I am on AppleTV - so it creates issues obviously! Would the mac mini connect to the TV with just an HDMI cable?
Yes jailbreaking would help. But right now apparently the only way to do that is a tethered setup. And once I am able to do it the right way, it seems like a huge hassle to have to deal with it with every update. Or maybe I'm overestimating its difficulty?
Your only potential issue with the current model Mac mini is audio. So to answer your question, yes - the caveat being check your model of TV to see if anyone has had issues using it with a Mac mini, and make sure you get a decent HDMI cable that explicitly supports audio. I think they have become more rare, but I'm pretty sure you can still buy a bum cable.
Oh yeah, and I discovered that
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Im surprised there isnt an app that lets you use your iphone/ipad/ipod touch as a keyboard or mouse yet? that would seem to make the most sense
I'm assuming you have the latest version of iOS running on it? If yes, then you're correct. But likely that will change fairly soon so don't give up on the piece of exquisite-ness ATV2 is.
I'd say you are. I was planning to get an ATV2 and jb it, as a result of which I subbed to a relevant youtube channel a few weeks back. I could provide the link if you're interested.
To answer your question, the jailbreaking process is quite simple, and the extras you can install afterwards are so worth the (negligible) effort. It's not THAT often that iOS updates come out for ATV and even if it were, only applying them after a new jb has been released is not enough of a hassle to give up on such a pretty little thing that packs so much punch for so little money.
At the end of the day I was lucky enough to get an ATV2 that's running iOS 4-point-something and is already jailbroken (was handed to me 2 hours ago, haven't unboxed it yet) but the youtube guy is very thorough in also covering the various addons so I'm not unsubbing.
In short, keep your ATV2, jailbreak it as soon as an untethered jb comes out and don't spend any more money on a media center. (I won't try to discourage you from eventually getting an iMac, but in terms of TV watching you really don't need to wait until you save up for one when you already own an ATV2.)