I can use Apple TV to play movies from my iTunes, but I have heard that I should be able to mirror my screen to the Apple TV, and I cannot. Under System Preferences>Displays I have a check box to show mirroring displays in the menu bar when available, but nothing appears in the menu bar. My Mac has a model identifier of: MacBook Pro5,2. Is my computer too old for this feature?
Apple TV, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)
About AirPlay and Airplay Mirroring
AirPlay Mirroring requires a second-generation Apple TV or later, and is supported on the following Mac models: iMac (Mid 2011 or newer), Mac mini (Mid 2011 or newer), MacBook Air (Mid 2011 or newer), and MacBook Pro (Early 2011 or newer). For non-qualifying Macs you can try using Air Parrot.
Several Apple Articles Regarding AirPlay
Apple TV (2nd and 3rd gen)- How to use AirPlay Mirroring
How to set up and configure AirPort Express for AirPlay and iTunes
About AirPlay Mirroring in OS X Mountain Lion
iTunes 10- About playing music with AirPlay
Troubleshooting AirPlay and AirPlay Mirroring
Thanks to the $15 Beamer, AirPlay streaming is still possible on Macs that do not support Airplay and mirroring.
Another solution is the Air Parrot.
You have a Mid 2009 MacBook Pro, something that Kappy's reply doesn't clarify. If you have a look to his reply, you will see that your computer isn't supported by AirPlay Mirroring, so you can't use this.
Instead, you have to get a third-party application like AirParrot > http://www.airparrot.com
I've recently come across a couple of other third-party solutions. Add them to your list for future reference. 🙂
How do I get my MacBook Pro w/ 10.8.4 to mirror to Apple TV?
