Hi, I'm using Apple TV 4K connected to a 4K 120fps TV and to a router using an Ethernet cable.
MacBook Air 15 inch connected to Wifi 6.
But still when I use "screen mirroring" the frame rate is very slow.
There's no much delay per se, its just the frame rate is annoying to watch.
Is there anything I can do to get at least 60fps?
Thanks.
MacBook Air 15″, macOS 14.3
AirPlay screen mirroring is at 30 fps, 1080p, SDR. That is the protocol, and the screen capture will likely need to be adjusted for that on-the-fly (using the GPU).
Depending on how busy your computer is with other tasks (video playback, gaming, background tasks, etc.), it may not reach that maximum.
In-app AirPlay options (video playback in the TV app, QuickTime Player, or Safari web video) do not involve screen capture and may be more efficient (sending the stream as-is). That will improve the visual quality including frame rate.
Note that most video content is 24 (23.976), 25, or 30 (29.97) fps, regardless of the refresh rate of your TV.
Note that the refresh rate of the TV does not mean that it will accept that number as input frame rate. Unless you have a high end modern TV with FFR gaming optimization, it will probably max out at 60 Hz input through HDMI.
Running the Speedtest app on both the Mac and the Apple TV box should help determine if the network might be a bottleneck or not. If this app sees more than 25 Mbps, then the network has adequate bandwidth in its current configuration (including device distances).
Other network use (other devices and users) may also influence the available home network bandwidth.
AirPlay screen mirroring is at 30 fps, 1080p, SDR. That is the protocol, and the screen capture will likely need to be adjusted for that on-the-fly (using the GPU).
Depending on how busy your computer is with other tasks (video playback, gaming, background tasks, etc.), it may not reach that maximum.
In-app AirPlay options (video playback in the TV app, QuickTime Player, or Safari web video) do not involve screen capture and may be more efficient (sending the stream as-is). That will improve the visual quality including frame rate.
Note that most video content is 24 (23.976), 25, or 30 (29.97) fps, regardless of the refresh rate of your TV.
Note that the refresh rate of the TV does not mean that it will accept that number as input frame rate. Unless you have a high end modern TV with FFR gaming optimization, it will probably max out at 60 Hz input through HDMI.
Running the Speedtest app on both the Mac and the Apple TV box should help determine if the network might be a bottleneck or not. If this app sees more than 25 Mbps, then the network has adequate bandwidth in its current configuration (including device distances).
Other network use (other devices and users) may also influence the available home network bandwidth.
But that is HDMI, not screen mirroring over the home network?
Correct. That was just to show that the TV, Mac and streaming service are capable of higher frame rate.
I do not know enough about Meta Quest 3 to comment on that.
Yup, that's not a direct comparison, just to show that the home network is not the limitation in my case, and that other "screen mirroring" solutions easily reaches higher resolution and frame rate on the same network.
Anyway, I understand that it's not a bug and probably don't have any solution right now, I just don't understand why Apple don't invest more resources on developing an up-to-date protocol, most of their devices from the past 3 years can easily support it, and good hardware shouldn't be limited by old software in Apple's ecosystem, after all having the same company developing the hardware and the software is Apple's main advantage.
Ok so you're saying no matter what the situation is, even if nothing is bottlenecking, the max is 30fps?
I think that 60fps should be fine if I can reach that somehow.
And about:
"Note that the refresh rate of the TV does not mean that it will accept that number as input frame rate. Unless you have a high end modern TV with FFR gaming optimization, it will probably max out at 60 Hz input through HDMI."
I have no clue, I just know that my tv specifications says 4k 120hz and my Xbox Series X and Playstation 5 display test shows that this tv supports 4K 120hz.
just to clarify, network is not a problem, Wifi 6 and ATV connected with a cable. 1gb upload 1gb download. just for comparison my Windows PC streams desktop mirroring to Meta Quest 3 at 90-120fps no problem.
Ok so you're saying no matter what the situation is, even if nothing is bottlenecking, the max is 30fps?
For AirPlay Screen Mirroring, I think so, yes. I gladly accept better info from new documentation or empirical tests — but I don’t think this has changed recently.
I think that 60fps should be fine if I can reach that somehow.
The hardware should be capable of that, agreed.
I have no clue, I just know that my tv specifications says 4k 120hz and my Xbox Series X and Playstation 5 display test shows that this tv supports 4K 120hz.
But that is HDMI, not screen mirroring over the home network?
my Windows PC streams desktop mirroring to Meta Quest 3 at 90-120fps no problem.
I do not know enough about Meta Quest 3 to comment on that.
Apple TV 4K Ethernet and MacBook Air 15 inch AirPlay slow frame rate
