Can someone explain AirPlay to me? (iPhone 6 Plus and iPad Air)

Question

Can someone explain AirPlay to me? (iPhone 6 Plus and iPad Air)

SO, I have an iPhone 6 Plus that when I mirror on my Apple TV, it fits perfectly, no black lines, perfectly fills my Samsung 55". But when I do the same settings, same video with my iPad Air, it doesn't fill and leaves black borders. I understand aspect ratios and all that, but the iPhone has a smaller aspect ratio, why does it work better with AirPlay? Just curious. Appreciate any explanations that can be offered.

iPhone 6 Plus, iOS 8.3

Posted on May 19, 2015 1:56 PM

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Answer 1

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vazandrew

Level 8

40,348 points

May 19, 2015 4:47 PM in response to ChewyyCheezyy

iPhone 6 Plus has a 16:9 ratio (same as your TV). The iPad is 4:3. When mirrored it will display in the same dimensions. If you want it to fill the screen you can use your TV's settings to stretch but this will cause distortion and/or crop the image.

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Answer 2

May 19, 2015 5:48 PM in response to vazandrew

Any reason as to why the iPads have a lower aspect ratio? Also, thank you for the assistance with answering my question.

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Answer 3

vazandrew

Level 8

40,348 points

May 19, 2015 5:59 PM in response to ChewyyCheezyy

If you look at the iPad it's not widescreen, it's a square shape like the old TVs (Note, aspect ratio and resolution are different things). This is often easier to handle in a tablet form. iPhone 5 was the first to get 16:9 by making the screen taller

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Answer 4

May 19, 2015 6:10 PM in response to vazandrew

Ahh, that makes sense. I feel like there should be a way that Apple can translate the iPad display with AirPlay better than how it is right now. I know with my iPad, certain apps fit my TV perfectly with the media player (xfinity and dish network) during AirPlay. Why cant normal videos fit like it does when I'm streaming from those apps?

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Answer 5

vazandrew

Level 8

40,348 points

May 19, 2015 6:20 PM in response to ChewyyCheezyy

Those would be using basic AirPlay, which is simply pushing the content to your Apple TV, not all apps are enabled for this (which is the developers responsibility). Mirroring is pushing your full iPad display, and any movement you make on your iPad will show up in realtime.

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