Stream from pc to Apple TV

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Stream from pc to Apple TV

Just bought an apply TV unit and was planning on using it to stream my music and video from the pc to my TV through the Ipad 2's mirroring function. Then i noticed that the resolution on my tv was wider than my ipads so black lines on both sides of the screen which didn't look very good. So I figured the right way to do this would probably be to stream from my PC to the Apple TV, but I haven't been able to find any useful information on how to do this.

The closes I got was a plugin for windows media center which seems to have been removed, other than that no luck.

So I hope someone here can help me out me with this problem.

AppleTV 2, Windows 7

Posted on Jan 14, 2012 10:06 AM

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Answer 1

Jan 14, 2012 5:54 PM in response to zarkas

Welcome to the Apple Community.

Any content in iTunes on your PC can be sent to the Apple TV. However it's much easier to play it from the Apple TV. You just need to turn homesharing on in iTunes and on the Apple TV (iTunes > advanced in iTunes and settings > computers on the Apple TV).

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Answer 2

Alley_Cat

Level 7

20,560 points

Jan 15, 2012 2:05 AM in response to Winston Churchill

Yes, Airplay and Airplay mirroring seem to be completely confusing people - there is absolutely no point viewing an itunes library shared from itunes on the LAN and then trying to Airplay or mirror it to the TV.

If someone want to use an iphone or ipad as an AppleTV remote it's better to use the Remote app.

In addition you will get far better stability playing direct from itunes to AppleTV rather than introducing a 3rd communication point to stream to (iTunes>iPad>AppleTV vs iTunes>AppleTV) particularly if all devices are on wi-fi.

Another thing to consider is that pure mirroring will not display the movie properly - iPad screen is 4:3 aspect ratio so widescreen movies will show mirrored with black bars at sides and top/bottom.

AC

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Answer 3

zarkas Author

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Jan 15, 2012 2:12 AM in response to zarkas

Thanks Guys, but is there anyway to do this without using itunes? It's simply to much a waste of time having to convert all videos and bluerays to the itune formats. Would jailbreaking the Apple TV be a way to get around this? or any other applications beside Itunes which can stream to the apple tv?

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Answer 4

Alley_Cat

Level 7

20,560 points

Jan 15, 2012 2:16 AM in response to zarkas

The only officicial application supporting AppleTVs is iTunes.

We had assumed you were talking about compatible media from itunes not media in an incompatible format converted on the fly and streamed to an iDevice.

There are 3rd party hacks out there that may do what you're looking for but we are not allowed to discuss them here.

AC

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Answer 5

zarkas Author

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Jan 15, 2012 2:53 AM in response to zarkas

Didn't think they were that strict about it, I mean I can imagine they would rather I kept my Apple TV and was happy with it by using some 3d party hack, instead of just returning it to the store tomorrow. I knew this part would probably be a bit complicated but didn't count on the large black lines when mirroring the ipad to the tv from the fine sales speak from the guy at the apple store.

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Answer 6

Alley_Cat

Level 7

20,560 points

Jan 15, 2012 3:11 AM in response to zarkas

Yes they are - hacks/mods/jailbreaking discussions basically fall foul of product EULAs as they alter/patch the underlying software, and the froum T&Cs prevent discussion about such things as well as ripping commercial DVDs etc.

Google is your friend here if you want to look for unofficial option. Someone may give a suggestion but generally the posts then get deleted by the mods. I've had some deleted myself over the years, trust me.

AC

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Answer 7

Alley_Cat

Level 7

20,560 points

Jan 15, 2012 3:15 AM in response to zarkas

As I said earlier too, the large black lines are due to mirroring - mirroring as it's name suggests mirrors the 4:3 screen on the TV which being widescreen has to add black bars at the sides - iPhones are wider but not perfect either.

Airplay rather than mirroring might be worth trying if that's an option.

Airplay/Airplay mirroring are not mature enough to be much more than novelties for these gadgets in my opinion - yes they can work but not in a particularly refined or controllable manner. Maybe I need to try them more.

AC

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