Airplay mirroring @ 1080p works but...

[amdhunter]

Is there any way to extend the desktop, rather than mirror it? I'm at my parents house today and brought my MBA to try it on their Apple TV and I am considering buying an Apple TV now.

It dropped a few frames, but I am not sure if it was the wireless connection. Is anyone using this kind of setup? Is it 100% smooth using Ethernet?

EDIT: Don't think there is a way.

 

[runawayprisoner]

AirParrot allows extending, but performance is not very good on anything that's less than quad-core i7.

But performance does get a lot better with 5GHz wireless or Ethernet. Short of the host Mac being under powered, you can actually stream video games at 1080p wirelessly with almost zero lag.

I use it with my MBP to do slideshows and presentations without having to tether a bunch of things...

 

[amdhunter]

AirParrot allows extending, but performance is not very good on anything that's less than quad-core i7.

But performance does get a lot better with 5GHz wireless or Ethernet. Short of the host Mac being under powered, you can actually stream video games at 1080p wirelessly with almost zero lag.

I use it with my MBP to do slideshows and presentations without having to tether a bunch of things...

I am cruising Craigslist for an ATV. Damn, I didn't realize the older ones go for so much. I'm tempted to take my moms and sell it and replace hers with a new one...lol.

 

[runawayprisoner]

The ATV2 goes for more than the new model because it can be jailbroken, and... cool stuffs can be out on it that makes it a more... useful standalone device than the new Apple TV.

But I think the new Apple TV coupled with a Mac that has high resolution is inherently more useable... if for nothing but that you can stream pure 1080p contents over to it at minimal or no lag (depending heavily on the connection quality, by the way).

That and it does Netflix in HD.

 

[amdhunter]

The ATV2 goes for more than the new model because it can be jailbroken, and... cool stuffs can be out on it that makes it a more... useful standalone device than the new Apple TV.

But I think the new Apple TV coupled with a Mac that has high resolution is inherently more useable... if for nothing but that you can stream pure 1080p contents over to it at minimal or no lag (depending heavily on the connection quality, by the way).

That and it does Netflix in HD.

I'll probably buy one tomorrow.

 

[runawayprisoner]

I was about to direct you to Amazon, which had the new Apple TV for $10 cheaper, but... the price went back up.

I guess people realized 1080p is more important than having the ability to run XBMC...

 

[amdhunter]

I bought one yesterday, and for the most part it works. 2 things I immediately noticed that sucks big time.

One, the MacBook Air doesn't seem to have an infrared sensor like my Macbook Pro did. I guess this isn't that big a deal since I am not tethered to the TV.

Two, I can notice artifacting in fast moving, or sudden screen changes. Enough to be annoying once you spot it. I thought connecting to Ethernet would solve this, but it doesn't seem like it's fixable. It's much less noticeable on my 720 plasma than my 1080 LCD panel, but still annoying.

I was also a little annoyed at the lid of the MBA having to remain open while I use Airplay, but I got a little "caffeine" styled program that took care of that.

The small artifacting is annoying, but I am happy to be streaming 10-bit encoded anime to my TV without breaking the bank. And for the most part, it does look perfect. Hopefully a jailbreak will come out soon for it, but I am not holding my breath.

 

[dawks]

Yea sending the a pre-rendered screen over Ethernet just doesn't work so well. Your best bet would be to re-encode the videos to h.264 mov so Apple TV can play the file natively. Or, buy a WDTV and stream the files to it and play them natively (without re-encoding). WDTV plays just about any file, and does an amazing job of it. Overall I'd say its better than the Apple TV, with two exceptions, Airplay and a nicer UI. But the file format flexibility is killer.

 

[Phanuel]

I'm using Air Video to stream stuff to my ATV, but that requires a decent computer to re-encode on the fly and then (I think) something, like an iPad running the app, to AirPlay it to the ATV.

 

[TheStu]

I'm using Air Video to stream stuff to my ATV, but that requires a decent computer to re-encode on the fly and then (I think) something, like an iPad running the app, to AirPlay it to the ATV.

Yes. And in that case it is transcoding a lot of it. It works, but it isn't the best quality in the world.

But, it works.

 

[runawayprisoner]

I bought one yesterday, and for the most part it works. 2 things I immediately noticed that sucks big time.

One, the MacBook Air doesn't seem to have an infrared sensor like my Macbook Pro did. I guess this isn't that big a deal since I am not tethered to the TV.

Two, I can notice artifacting in fast moving, or sudden screen changes. Enough to be annoying once you spot it. I thought connecting to Ethernet would solve this, but it doesn't seem like it's fixable. It's much less noticeable on my 720 plasma than my 1080 LCD panel, but still annoying.

I was also a little annoyed at the lid of the MBA having to remain open while I use Airplay, but I got a little "caffeine" styled program that took care of that.

The small artifacting is annoying, but I am happy to be streaming 10-bit encoded anime to my TV without breaking the bank. And for the most part, it does look perfect. Hopefully a jailbreak will come out soon for it, but I am not holding my breath.

Well, like I said, if you have anything less than a quad-core i7, prepare to be in a world of pain...

The computer is the bottleneck here, not the Apple TV.

And one other bottleneck that's annoying: if your Mac's screen is less than 1920 x 1080, then the highest resolution the MacBook Air will stream is your Mac's maximum resolution upscaled to 1080p.

 

[Phanuel]

Yes. And in that case it is transcoding a lot of it. It works, but it isn't the best quality in the world.

But, it works.

Not denying this at all. I really should re-encode everything as a more compatible format but I'm so lazy.

 

[scootermaster]

What about audio? If I'm watching a DVD, or DVD rip, and it's got 5.1 audio, and I did the airplay doohickey, what sort of audio would the aTV send out to my receiver?

 

[runawayprisoner]

2.0 from last I tried.

If you have an MP4 h.264 movie with AC3 5.1, and you try to stream it through AirPlay, then it'll do 5.1.

 

[amdhunter]

Well, like I said, if you have anything less than a quad-core i7, prepare to be in a world of pain...

The computer is the bottleneck here, not the Apple TV.

And one other bottleneck that's annoying: if your Mac's screen is less than 1920 x 1080, then the highest resolution the MacBook Air will stream is your Mac's maximum resolution upscaled to 1080p.

I didn't realize everything was upscaling. That's kind of a downer. It's fine for my purposes I guess.

As for the WDTV comment, I had one already and it couldn't play any of the newer anime encodes I have.

I didn't realize the ATV works with Air Video (which I use on my iPad/iPhone4 a bit.) How?
edit: I see people are streaming to their iPad and then Airplay? Going to try it later.

 

[TheStu]

I didn't realize everything was upscaling. That's kind of a downer. It's fine for my purposes I guess.

As for the WDTV comment, I had one already and it couldn't play any of the newer anime encodes I have.

I didn't realize the ATV works with Air Video (which I use on my iPad/iPhone4 a bit.) How?
edit: I see people are streaming to their iPad and then Airplay? Going to try it later.

Yes, AirVideo on the iPad, and then AirPlay that to the aTV. A little kludgy, but passable.

 

[amdhunter]

Hmm. I am trying AirParrot and liking it a LOT. Before I actually shell out $10 bucks for it, is there no such things as full screen on separate monitors?

I can't seem to make VLC full screen on an extended desktop without the primary screen going black. WTH, is Apple really preventing people from running 2 apps side by side?

 

[runawayprisoner]

With VLC, I vaguely recall that you can go into the Preferences and set it so that it doesn't use "Lion style full screen". If you uncheck that option, it'll just fill the desktop without going full screen.

But if you are trying "Lion full screen" on separate monitors, then... well, no. With an external display, you are limited to 2 desktops only.

 

[amdhunter]

With VLC, I vaguely recall that you can go into the Preferences and set it so that it doesn't use "Lion style full screen". If you uncheck that option, it'll just fill the desktop without going full screen.

But if you are trying "Lion full screen" on separate monitors, then... well, no. With an external display, you are limited to 2 desktops only.

Yeah. AirParrot is emulating a 2nd screen, so it is blacking out the laptop as well.

I am currently using Air Video and throwing it to the TV, and it is seriously kicking ass. I am extremely happy with the result.

 

[runawayprisoner]

Well, then I guess... go with that.

I might have to give Air Video a try myself... once I have some free time. I've been looking for a viable solution to stream 1080p without going Mirror when I'm at home.

Mirror is only useful when I need to present something at work.