Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Master AirPlay
WithAirPlay,youcanplayaudioandvideocontentfromyourMacoriOSdeviceonyourApple
TV. You can also mirror your entire screen to the Apple TV, so whatever you see and hear on
yourdevice,youalsoseeandhearthroughtheAppleTV.And,in10.9Mavericksyoucanturn
theTVattachedtoyourAppleTVintoanotherdisplayforyourMac,justlikeanyotherextern-
aldisplay.Infact,AirPlayissuchagreatfeaturethatI'vedecidedtouseitasaverb—it'smore
elegant to write “you can AirPlay a video to your Apple TV” than “you can stream a video to
your Apple TV using AirPlay.”
Inthischapter,Ishowyouhowto
AirPlayfromiOS
,
AirPlayfromMacApps
,
and
Mirrorfrom
aMac
,
plushowto
ExtendaMavericksDesktop
toanAppleTV.Ieventalkaboutmakingyour
Apple TV the
source
of an AirPlay stream, in
AirPlay from an Apple TV
.
The Two AirPlays
In practice, AirPlay has two primary forms: content streaming and display mirroring.
With content, AirPlay streams media directly from a single app, while AirPlay Mirroring
streams all audio and video from an entire device, so what you see and hear on the
Apple TV is exactly what you see and hear on the device. (In 10.9 Mavericks, AirPlay
Mirroring is called AirPlay Display.)
Lock Down AirPlay
AirPlay is great, but unless you take preventive measures, anyone connected to your Wi-Fi
network can AirPlay to your Apple TV. AirPlay always takes precedence, so if you're trying to
watch a movie, a merry prankster could butt in with a
music video
.
YoucankeepinterlopersoutofyourTVusingeithertheOnscreenCodeoptionorapassword.
These options are quite different:
•
Code:
With a code, when you initiate AirPlay on your device, a 4-digit code ap-
pears on your TV screen, where everyone else on the couch can see it too—but
notyourneighborsinthenextapartment.Youenterthecodeonyourdevice,and
playback begins. The code is different each time.
•
Password:
With a password, when you AirPlay to your Apple TV, you are asked
to enter the password. The password remains the same each time; it's whatever
you've set up, so it keeps out everyone who doesn't know it.
