For many years now, TV manufacturers have been offering their customers more and more new ways to transfer screen images from phones, tablets, computers, and other devices to big screen TV. It's worth taking just the technology Wi-Fi Direct , or Miracast, or a number of other technologies, but all of them do not allow comfortable viewing Full HD films without lags and delays, which are very annoying when watching an interesting movie.
Write a 10 GB movie each time to a flash drive or portable HDD, then connecting it to the TV and searching for the desired movie through the TV explorer is quite tedious, especially when it comes to watching TV series whose episodes are released weekly. In fact, one wonderful company released special application, which allows you to bypass almost all prohibitions.
It's about the application SofaPlay For Mac, which allows you to simply select the desired movie on your computer from Apple, and it will automatically start playing on the big screen TV. The app works with TVs from a variety of companies, including Sony, LG And Samsung. To use the application you must connect your TV and computer Mac from one WiFi networks, and make sure that the TV supports Smart TV.
After this, just launch the application SofaPlay on the computer Mac, and then after a few seconds your TV should appear in the application (it must be turned on first). In our case this is a TV Sony Bravia which is connected to WiFi router via a regular wired Internet cable, and the computer Mac connected to wireless WiFi network of this router.
You just need to drag the movie or TV series file you need into the application window, and after just a few seconds the movie will start broadcasting on your TV automatically (depending on the TV). Directly from your computer Mac You can turn the sound on and off, pause the movie, and even rewind it. Film in Full HD format works very quickly, so in this regard there are no complaints about the application.
Program SofaPlay works on the principle DLNA server, but it has a number of features that distinguish it from the same well-known application Plex. In fact, Plex offers similar functionality, but for it to work you will have to bother with sharing certain folders on the computer, searching for a media server on the TV and manually launching all media files.
The only negative SofaPlay You can only name unexpected application crashes. This happens extremely rarely (once every 1-3 hours), but in any case, departures take place, at least for OS X Yosemite. When developers completely solve this problem, their application will have no flaws.
Until August 25 inclusive, everyone has the opportunity to use Xiaomi Mi Band 4, spending only 1 minute of their personal time on it.
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It is now possible to wirelessly display images from a computer directly to the TV screen using the AirDisplay function. However, to do this, it was necessary to use exclusively the mirroring mode, which did not allow broadcasting a single video without displaying the entire screen.
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Apple has addressed this limitation in OS X 10.11 El Capitan, adding fuller support for AirPlay, allowing you to stream video from Safari and other apps to Apple TV.
So, for comfortable streaming you will need: Mac based Intel processor running OS X 10.11 El Capitan and higher, an Apple TV set-top box (you can buy it), a TV with an HDMI connector. Using AirPlay involves connecting your Mac and Apple TV to the same local network. You can check for AirPlay support as follows: Apple menu () → « System Settings » → « Monitors" If the option " "is not displayed, it means your Mac does not meet AirPlay requirements.
1 . Launch Safari and play any video.
2 . While playing a video, click on the AirPlay icon located in the lower right corner of the YouTube video player (the AirPlay icon may be located in a different location depending on the service).
If the video is hosted on a video hosting site that does not support AirPlay, then click on the corresponding icon on the Mac panel:
3 . Select Apple TV from the menu.
4 . The video will start playing on the TV screen.
1 . Launch QuickTime Player on Mac by clicking the plugin icon in the Dock, or double-clicking the application icon in the " Programs" You can also use the Spotlight feature to quickly search.
2 . Open an already downloaded video or use the URL from file menu QuickTime Player.
3 . When playing a video, the AirPlay icon should appear in the QuickTime Player playback controls.
Click on it to see the available options.
4 . Select your Apple TV from the menu.
5 . The video will begin to be broadcast to the TV screen via the Apple TV set-top box.
The benefits of using AirPlay to display video from your Mac to HDTVs
Using AirPlay is less expensive in terms of CPU resources. Streaming video wirelessly from a Mac using AirPlay is the same as on iOS devices: macOS simply sends the URL to the Apple TV, and the rest of the work of retrieving, decoding and displaying is done by the set-top box itself, which significantly removes the load from the central and GPUs Mac.
How to stop streaming a video
If you're streaming video from Safari or QuickTime Player to an external monitor, but for some reason decide to switch back to your Mac screen, click the AirPlay icon in the playback controls and select the " Turn off AirPlay" You can also stop the broadcast by clicking on the " Menu" on the Apple TV remote, or by selecting the " Turn off AirPlay» in the Mac menu bar.
If the AirPlay menu is not visible, go to the Apple menu () → " System Settings» → « Monitors" Select the option " Show video replay options in menu bar when available».
macOS will automatically detect your Apple TV on the network (if it's in working mode) and display the AirPlay icon in the menu bar.
Possible problems when working with AirPlay
For the most part, problems using AirPlay arise from incorrect Wi-Fi work or inconsistencies hardware. If your Mac and Apple TV are on the local network in working mode, and the AirPlay icon still doesn’t appear, this may mean that your computer’s hardware does not meet AirPlay requirements. Check hardware compliance Mac system AirPlay requirement, as well as Apple connection TV to the electrical outlet and to the TV. If everything is fine, but the icon is still not displayed, then the problem may lie in the settings firewall. To check the settings, you must perform the following steps:
Step 1. Open menu → « System Settings» → « Protection and safety» → « Firewall».
Step 2. Click on the lock icon and enter the administrator username and password.
Step 3. If the feature is enabled, select the " Firewall».
Step 4. Uncheck " Block all incoming connections».
Step 5. Select the option " Automatically allow signed software incoming connections».
Sometimes AirPlay may turn off on its own. This means that the Wi-Fi network is overloaded or the connection is interrupted due to a lot of interference.
System requirements to use AirPlay
You can use AirPlay mirroring mode to wireless transmission content from Mac screen to another monitor via Apple TV. To use this function, you need an equipped latest versions Apple TV software 2 or later and a Mac running OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 or later:
- iMac (Mid 2011 and later);
- Mac mini (mid 2011 and later);
- MacBook (early 2015 and later);
- MacBook Air (Mid 2011 and later);
- MacBook Pro (Early 2011 and later);
- Mac Pro (Late 2013 and later).
AirPlay also supports peer-to-peer networking, allowing your friends to connect their Mac or iOS devices to the Apple TV without having to enter a password or connect to Wi-Fi. To use the feature, you will need an Apple TV 3 (model A1469) or later, or any Mac 2012 or later running OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later.
Many of us have at least one TV with “the makings of a mind” in our apartment. In the line of every serious electronics manufacturer, such models already prevail over simple panels.
The benefits of a smart TV are not as many as advertising promises: the browser is antediluvian, there are few applications, the interface is buggy and often slows down.
Even the latest models do not want to be used for viewing websites, YouTube, or even the weather. Do all this much faster on a smartphone or tablet.
They provide a completely different level of convenience set-top boxes. Apple TV, Chromecast, Xiaomi Mi Box and other similar gadgets allow you to display images from mobile gadgets on the TV screen, use third party applications and view subscription content.
Not everyone knows that there is an intermediate solution that can cover most of our needs.
On the Mac App Store you can find a whole set of applications from the developer AirBeamTV B.V.. This team already has five programs for displaying images from a Mac on the screens of smart TVs.
Each application is designed for all smart models of a specific manufacturer (Samsung, LG, Sony, Philips and Panasonic).
The installed application will appear in the Mac menu bar. When you start it for the first time, you will need to install an audio driver to transmit sound. To do this, select the item "Learn to enable audio" in the application menu and download another application.
After this, any smart TV will be displayed in the program menu suitable model which is connected to the same network as the Mac. One click and the picture from the monitor will be mirrored on the TV screen.
None additional options and the capabilities are not yet provided, however, and this is enough to stream movies, TV series, music or photos.
Enough to take wireless mouse and use it as a control panel.
Unfortunately, the application is still under active development. Not all TV models are supported correctly. Sometimes there are delays in image output or the image freezes.
To avoid wasting money, download the demo version of the program from the developer’s website before purchasing.
This solution has a right to exist and for many can replace an expensive set-top box.
Thanks to re:Store for the useful and interesting information.
Today we will look at a program that allows you to watch more than a hundred TV channels on Mac OS X for free. To use the application, you will need constant Internet access, since Livestation only offers online television.
In order to activate the application you will need to visit the developers website and register. You can do this directly from the program’s “launcher” or by going to the official one.
Free app for Mac“Livestation” is in many ways similar to CrystalTV, but on some TV channels it is considerably inferior in quality. In general, there are a lot of channels available in the program: BBC, CNN, FOX, Russia Today, standard Russian and Ukrainian channels, broadcasts from webcams from various cities, and it is even possible to add video streams that interest you manually.
The interface in Livestation is standard, you can easily find them through the “search” tab, you can create your own selections on the “My Channels” tab.
The most important requirement for Livestation to work is the presence high speed access to the Internet, minimum 900 Kbps. And even despite such high speed requirements, the picture quality in most “additional” ones leaves much to be desired.
Generally, free application Livestation will appeal to those who care about watching online television on mac namely through the program; in other cases, we recommend using the website tv.spb.com for a more comfortable viewing of TV online.
Dear friends, today you will learn how to connect a MacBook to a TV. There is probably no need to explain what functions a TV can perform, but we will still look at this component in this block. Then we will talk about connection methods, and in the next block we will look at them in detail. So, what will such a connection give us?
- Firstly, you will be able to use your TV as your main monitor. That is, if the available diagonal of an Apple laptop is not enough for you to work in some programs, games and utilities, then TV can be an excellent alternative in this case.
- Secondly, it will be possible not only to replace or duplicate the MacBook screen, but also to expand it, performing two different actions simultaneously on two different displays. For example, you can display a movie on a TV screen, and process photos or render videos on a laptop display.
- And you can also simply display some content from the device to the TV via a wireless Wi-Fi network. Of course, there are some nuances there that will need to be dealt with in the following paragraphs.
As you can see, there are a lot of advantages that connecting a MacBook to a TV can provide. Of course, these are not all the possibilities provided. That is, the above is generalized information, which, in turn, can be shared. For example, screen mirroring will allow you to also play games on the main monitor while your favorite show is on or music is playing on another one. Now let's look at three ways to connect Mac laptops to your TV.
- Via a standard HDMI cable. That is, in this case you will need hdmi cable, which is purchased separately in specialized stores. You can also buy it on the official Apple website or from official resellers.
- Via wireless Wi-Fi connection if you have an Apple TV device. Here it is already clear that you need an Apple TV set-top box to work.
- You can display the image from the MacBook screen on some services on a Smart TV monitor.
Here you can immediately decide on the type of connection: if you have a TV set-top box from the Apple company, then go straight to the second method in the next block. If you have a Smart TV and you only need to display some data (for example, YouTube videos), then move on to the third method. If you don’t have any of the above, but you still want to do this, then the cheapest option would be to purchase an HDMI cable. Be sure to check at home how long the cord you will need so that you don’t have to worry about it in the store.
HDMI
- Connect the cable with one side to the MacBook's HDMI input and the other side to a TV with a similar output.
- On the remote remote control TV, press the Source button and use the navigation keys to select HDMI, where the type of connected device will be indicated (depending on the TV model).
- In the MacBook screen settings, set the necessary ones for your monitor: duplicating, expanding, or displaying the image on one of the selected monitors. Let's take a closer look at each of these options:
- Duplication is when everything that happens on the laptop screen is repeated on a large TV monitor.
- Expansion - the desktop is enlarged, that is, you can move the window of some program to the second display, and you yourself can work, for example, in text editor on the first screen.
- Output to the first or second monitor - here, perhaps, everything is clear from the name: the image is shown only on the monitor that you choose.
AirPlay
So, how to connect your MacBook to your TV via Wi-Fi? That's what AirPlay is for. This feature is only available to owners Apple consoles TV, therefore, if you don’t have it, the service becomes automatically unavailable to you. AirPlay lets you do the following:
- Stream video from Safari browser or Quick Time Player.
- Use the TV as a monitor, as in the case of connecting via HDMI.
All you have to do is turn on your Apple TV, then select your TV from the AirPlay status menu in the menu bar. This function is disabled there. As you can see, there is nothing complicated. Just press a few keys and all the necessary content is transferred to the big screen. Please note that to use AirPlay comfortably, you need access to high-speed Internet.
Smart TV
iPhone users probably know (and if they don’t know, they’ll find out now) that when watching a video, for example, on YouTube, an icon for broadcasting the video appears. This icon appears if and Smart TV TV, and Apple device connected to the same Wi-Fi networks. Then you press it, select TV and the video is transferred to the big screen. In the same way, you can try to watch videos from the Internet from a Macbook.
Conclusion
Dear readers, now you know how to connect a Macbook to a TV in several ways. We hope that everything worked out for you, and that working on your laptop has become even more comfortable. Please note that some features may not be available on certain Mac computer models, so please check Apple's official website for more information. Don't forget to share your opinion, impressions and experiences in the comments! How do you use two monitors and how did you connect your TV to your Apple laptop?
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