Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
To control Airfoil on your computer with Reemote, you need to install Reemote Server, which is
available only for Macs (at
www.reemoteapp.com
)
. If you own a Mac, however, it couldn't be simpler
to control your Airfoil streaming than with Reemote. From the iOS app, you can access Airfoil on
your computer from anywhere in your home, choose which app to stream from, and choose which
speakers to stream to. Brilliantly, several apps — including Spotify, iTunes, Pandora, Rdio, and
Last.fm — can be controlled from Reemote, so you can play and pause audio and skip tracks.
If you're a Mac user, I highly recommend the $5 Reemote for Airfoil for the iOS device you use
most frequently. It really completes your AirPlay and Airfoil setup. If you're a Windows PC user,
check out the section on remote controls in
Chapter 9
.
Stream Video via AirPlay
There are many ways to stream audio with AirPlay, but fewer ways to stream video (and the au-
dio that goes with it). The most common uses of AirPlay and video (in fact, the only official methods)
are between an iOS device and an Apple TV and between iTunes on a Mac or PC and an Apple TV.
The Apple TV of course must be connected to a TV for you to watch the streamed video.
You can stream video from an iOS device in any app where the AirPlay button ( ) appears.
On an iPad 2 or later, or on an iPhone 4S or later, you can mirror the entire screen via AirPlay as well
to an Apple TV. You can also stream video from iTunes on your Mac or Windows PC using its AirPlay
button ( ). You can stream your Mac's screen to an Apple TV if you have a compatible Mac run-
ning OS X Mountain Lion — a great way to get Amazon Instant Video, Netflix, YouTube, website, or
other video streams onto your TV.
There are, however, other methods to stream video via AirPlay if you are using a PC or incompat-
ible Mac or if you don't have an Apple TV; I describe these later in this chapter.
Stream video stored on an iOS device to an Apple TV
The default video streaming via AirPlay from an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch involves a fairly
locked-down system that requires key parts of the Apple ecosystem to function. Beyond your iOS
device, you also need an Apple TV and video content from the iTunes Store or content that has been
properly converted to an iTunes-compatible format. Once in iTunes, you can play it via an Apple TV
directly from iTunes on your computer, or you can sync it to your iOS device and play it from the
Videos app there.
Once you have video content stored on your device and are ready to stream it to an Apple TV
make sure your iOS device and Apple TV are connected to the same network and that the Apple TV is
switched on. At this point you're ready to send video to your Apple TV.
To play videos from your iOS device's Videos app:
1. Select the movie you want to watch and tap the Play button ( ) to start playback.
2. Next to the playback controls that appear (you may need to tap the screen to show them),
tap the AirPlay button (
) and choose your Apple TV from the pop-over that appears
(see Figure 3-13).
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