Nicholas Robinson1

Q: Apple TV Airplay Works With One MBP, Not Other

I have two McBook Pros. Both are running exactly the same version of OS X: 10.8.5.

 

The difference is, my ATV 3 shows up in the menubar of one of my MBPs, one from mid-2012, and does not show up in the menubar of my other one (Late 2008).

 

In the 2008 one, in System Preferences, under "Displays," there is a checkbox (checked) that says "Show mirroring options in the menu bar when available."

 

But there is no familiar black triangle in the menu bar.

 

However, on my 2012 MBP, in the same location, above the checkbox I have the option "Airplay mirroring" and a dropdown menu for, presumably, whichever Apple TV I want to use. The black triangle is in the menu bar.

 

My Apple TV works with this computer, not the other. All three are on identical networks. As far as I can tell, all preferences on both computers are identical.

 

I've seen many frustrated threads about this issue, many of which have not been solved, but I have the bonus of having two computers running the same systems with which to test.

 

Now . . . what is going on here? I notice the silence from Apple on this issue has been deafening. Luckily, solving this for me would be convenient, not essential, as it appears to be with several unhappy users.

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)

Posted on Dec 20, 2015 6:03 PM

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Q: Apple TV Airplay Works With One MBP, Not Other

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  • by bigschwabbel,

    bigschwabbel bigschwabbel Dec 20, 2015 6:09 PM in response to Nicholas Robinson1
    Level 3 (808 points)
    Dec 20, 2015 6:09 PM in response to Nicholas Robinson1

    This document says only MacBook Pros (Early 2011 or later) support AirPlay. The one from 2008 is just too old.

  • by Nicholas Robinson1,

    Nicholas Robinson1 Nicholas Robinson1 Dec 20, 2015 7:16 PM in response to bigschwabbel
    Level 1 (87 points)
    iTunes
    Dec 20, 2015 7:16 PM in response to bigschwabbel

    I can understand the answer (since Apple TVs didn't even exist back then) but then that implies that the incompatibility lies in the hardware in the older MacBook Pro, since theoretically, both computers are running on the same OS.

     

    And it seems that iTunes, at least (on this computer, the MacBook Pro 15" Late 2008 that I'm typing on now) registers the ATV, at least for audio purposes. There are also some Bluetooth things going on that I really don't want to delve into too much, since I really don't even know what Bluetooth IS, but I'm wondering what kind of hardware (or firmware) issues there might be that would be preventing the older computer from working with the ATV.

     

    And it's no comfort to any users who may have bought an Apple TV hoping to make it run with their older Macs . . .

  • by vazandrew,Helpful

    vazandrew vazandrew Dec 20, 2015 9:51 PM in response to Nicholas Robinson1
    Level 6 (19,160 points)
    Apple TV
    Dec 20, 2015 9:51 PM in response to Nicholas Robinson1

    Not entirely true, the first Apple TV was released in 2007. It, however, was very different in that it was based upon OSX and had syncing capabilities. The limitation here lies with the hardware. Mirroring requires the newer chip for video encoding. Content in iTunes is using basic airplay to simply push the media directly to your Apple TV, very different from pushing out your full desktop display in realtime.

     

    Bluetooth is an entirely different protocol, in terms of Mac it would be for peripherals (i.e. Mouse, Keyboard) and Audio (headsets, speakers). It is over a much more limited distance, and in the case of audio there is compression, but it makes for better portability (as it's from device to device vs. over a wifi network)

     

    If you did want to try a 3rd party program, there is Airparrot. This will use the CPU though and results can vary so use the trial to see if it works for you.