AirPlay is one of the sweetest updates ever to grace iOS. Simple and elegant, AirPlay makes it a one-tap snap to share and stream video, audio, or photo content residing on your iOS device, Apple TV, or third-party AirPlay compatible device.
As great as AirPlay is, you can make it even better by tweaking it to suit your individual needs. To make sure that you're getting the maximum amount of awesome out of AirPlay possible, we've put together this quick list of tips on how to tweak your hardware and AirPlay-compatible content to make your AirPlay experience just that much better.
Don't get rid of your trusty Apple TV Take Two because it doesn't run AirPlay right out of the box--bend it to your will. Thanks to aTV Flash, and Remote HD, not only will you be able to get AirPlay up and running on it, but you'll also be able to give it other great features including a web browser, the ability to connect an external drive, and rock your living room with installations of XBMC and Boxee. You can find Mac|Life's guide to cracking your old school Apple TV open like a nut here.
Why should your iOS devices and home entertainment system have all the fun? Thanks to Erica Sadun's AirPlayer for Mac, you'll be able to send AirPlay content to an Apple desktop or laptop the same as you would any other AirPlay-compatible device. That means you can share content from your iOS device on a buddy's computer without having to sync or authorize it. Nice!
Your Photos and Music will look and sound great when sent from an iOS device to your home entertainment system via AirPlay. Why should your video be any different? If you buy the bulk of your television and movies from iTunes, you're ready for action. If you have an extensive DVD collection, however, you'll want to rip it in such a way that it looks good on every device you own. If you use Handbrake to rip your DVDs (and why wouldn't you, it's both free and awesome), consider using the application's Apple Universal setting to keep your rips looking their best, no matter what you view them on. While using the Universal setting might make for slightly larger files than you're used to, you're sure to be happy with the results.
Sure AirPlay's ability to throw photos from your last vacation up on a TV screen is great for wowing the folks at home, but what good is it out in the real world?
Quite a lot, actually.
You'd be hard pressed not to find a television set in most office or educational environments these days. The next time you're set to give a presentation for work or school, instead of turning to Keynote or QuickOffice, consider putting together a custom photo gallery of the images and screen shots you want to use. In doing so, you'll save yourself scads of time by by having your iPhone or iPad take care of putting the transitions and music into the mix for you automatically as opposed to doing it yourself. Once your photo sideshow is ready for prime-time, pack your iOS device and your Apple TV in a bag and take it your show on the road. Finally, to really drive your presentation home, you can even include AirPlay compatible video and audio into the mix.
Consumers aren't the only ones who think AirPlay's revolutionary: A lot of well-known hardware manufacturers are jumping at the opportunity to make sure that their products can benefit from the wireless marvel as well. Currently, Denon, Marantz, Bowers & Wilkins, JBL, and iHome all offer AirPlay compatible hardware. There's little doubt that other hardware manufacturers will hop on the AirPlay bandwagon in the near future, so be sure to keep compatibility in mind the next time you search for new home audio or video hardware.
If you've already invested in some high-end Denon audio gear, thanks to a $49.99 firmware upgrade, your pricey amp or receiver can be made AirPlay-ready in minutes. Check out the company's AirPlay blog for details.
Follow this article's author, Seamus Bellamy on Twitter
kaki4125
July 02, 2012 at 8:49pm
Airplay can only work with those files that can be added to iTunes including MP4, MOV, and M4V. Any format iTunes cannot support like AVI, MKV, WMV, DivX, XviD, MPEG, and FLV video format, Airplay will not steam. However, You can easily convert any media into the format of your choice with ifunia free video converter
achelms
July 12, 2011 at 9:16pm
Okay, I am not a genius at all this stuff so still a little confused. I have an iphone 3 currently and a MacBook Pro. I want to be able to play the movies on both on my TV so what do I need to make that happen. Do I have to have some special device or software to make it happen?
scottsimeon
March 13, 2011 at 3:23pm
Airplayer doesn't work for me. I downloaded it, opened it, and got nothing.
on my iPhone, I saw that now airplay works, and gives me the choice to play youtube videos on my home iMac, but nothing actually played on the iMac. Not to mention, iPod music/movies from my iPhone don't work either. The AirPlay option doesn't show up.
Anyone else have that problem??Oh, and don't get me started on aTV Flash installation on my "old generation" Apple TV! I had to do a system restore after the aTV Flash totally screwed up my Apple TV. It installed properly at first, and the new "aTV Flash" items showed up on the home menu on my Apple TV. But then out of the blue, the screen went black, and I couldn't see anything. A hard reset on the Apple TV showed me the little "start up Apple TV video", but then NOTHING! BLACK SCREEN.
I'm through screwing with these 3rd party apps!
ilikeimac
March 11, 2011 at 12:25pm
Also worth mentioning: some free but still kinda experimental software from Erica Sadun. AirFlick lets your Mac be either an AirPlayer server or client. h t t p : / / ericasadun.com/ftp/AirPlay/
purplemaizenjm
March 11, 2011 at 12:15pm
I don't have air player on my iphone, it was not installed 3GS
