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Why can iOS devices send streams to ATV and not an older MAC? (not talking about mirroring)

I'm using a MBP mid 2009 15''. I know that it is my hardware that keep me from using my ATV to stream my entire screen, but I just want the ATV to pick up the url that I want to stream and stream it. Is it just another restriction? Can you get around it somehow? I know I can use my iPhone, but sometimes it's more convenient to use the laptop to look up a something on youtube, vimeo or some other site that works well with my phone.


one more thing...


With beamer I can stream movies in HD, without any lag or dropped frames. Works flawless. Why can't apple let me stream from iTunes ? This can't be a hardware restriction... because beamer does it well. Heck, Apple just want me to buy a new computer – not so CSRish of them...

AppleTV 2

Posted on Dec 9, 2013 1:03 AM

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7 replies

Dec 9, 2013 11:15 AM in response to diesel vdub

Well, I'm not asking Apple. I'm asking someone how might know why this doesn't work with my laptop but does with my iPhone, and if there's a way to get around it – like in the case with beamer (That app is not illigal to use and does tha airplaying much better than apple's own products and services). With all due respect, you don't seem to be the right person to answer my questions.

Oct 27, 2014 12:02 PM in response to Hagglund

I am using an iMac 2008 and it is still going strong. The fact is that it would cost me a minimum of £1,500 to get a replacement, actually almost double what I paid for the one I'm using now. Recently I upgraded to 6GB, even tough officially it's only upgradeable to 4GB. Doing that has bought me at least another 2 years. Now, having tested Beamer today, I can see it works within literally 2 seconds, so I have a choice - pay £12.50 or do without the functionality, even though it is clearly not a hardware issue and Apple has decided not to include this functionality. What it boils down to is effectively 'You pays your money, you makes your choice.'


What's interesting to me about all this is that my iMac 2008 is still a beautiful piece of kit. I upgraded it to Yosemite last week and it now looks even better. Apple should actually have a degree of pride that a machine from 6 years ago is still going strong and still looks as good as most other 'PC' offerings out there (except, of course, the thinner, more powerful iMacs!). The fact that the airplay to ATV functionality was not included is definitely regrettable and the fact that I'll have to spend the next couple of years saving up for a new iMac is also regrettable, but that's life...

Oct 27, 2014 6:00 PM in response to Kierano7

Beamer is essentially doing the same thing that you can do within iTunes - basic airplay. If one wants to mirror the screen (which will be required for websites, like in the original post) then it is not supported and it very much is due to the hardware as it requires the newer processor to encode the video and stream the display in realtime. There are 3rd party programs that rely on CPU but the results, for the most part, are not great.

Why can iOS devices send streams to ATV and not an older MAC? (not talking about mirroring)

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