Apple picker With the new operating system Mac OS X Mountain Lion comes the long-awaited and requested function AirPlay Mirroring, which offers image mirroring and audio streaming from Mac via Apple TV to the television screen. However, as revealed in the Mountain Lion Developer Beta, this feature will only be available for certain models. This can be a big disappointment for users who buy a new OS X and their older machines will be missing this feature. It will only be available if you have an iMac, MacBook Air or Mac Mini from the mid-2011 model and MacBook Pro from the early-2011 model.
In recent weeks, countless theories have emerged as to why Apple decided to impose such restrictions. Some of them claimed that it was a strategy to get users to buy a new device. Others claimed that special DRM technology, which only the latest generations of processors from Intel have, also plays a role in this. However, the truth seems to be elsewhere. The reason you need at least a 2011 Mac to use AirPlay Mirroring is because in practice older graphics chips can't keep up and can't provide the same result as the latest ones. AirPlay Mirroring requires H.264 encoding to run directly on the graphics chip, which is the ability to compress video directly on the graphics card without the need for powerful processor power.
Sid Keith, the developer of the AirParrot application, which can stream images to Apple TV, confirmed that without hardware support, Mirroring is very demanding, especially on the CPU, and could slow down the system to a level that Apple would never allow. And it's not just Macs that can't use AirPlay before 2011. Even with iOS devices, you must have at least an iPhone 4S and an iPad 2 to use AirPlay Mirroring. Older models also do not have the possibility of H.264 encoding on their graphics chips.
[do action=”citation”]Without hardware support, Mirroring is very demanding especially on the CPU and could slow down the system to a level that Apple would never allow.[/do]
Also, the head of the AirParrot development team, David Stanfill, noted that only the latest generation of Intel processors met Apple's strict specifications for AirPlay technology. After the entire image is in the buffer of the graphics chip, the most demanding part is to adjust the resolution (that's why Apple recommends a 1:1 ratio for AirPlay for the streamed image), the conversion of colors from RGB to YUV and the actual decoding on the graphics card. Subsequently, it is only necessary to transfer a relatively small video stream to the Apple TV.
However, this fact does not mean that video transmission without H.264 encoding on the graphics chip is impossible. All you need is a multi-core processor. The AirParrot application is the best proof. The biggest disadvantage is the very noticeable heating during this process. And, as we know, Apple doesn't like that. "When developing AirParrot, we always focused more on CPU load," continues Stanfill. He also adds that H.264 encoding is fast enough on any multi-core processor. But the image scaling and color conversion is the intensively taxing part.
However, it is not just the fact that whether the user has a newer or older Mac, he will use AirPlay Mirroring or AirParrot. The user's network equipment will also be essential. For example, for smooth video playback from a web player without increased response between audio and video, at least an AirPort Express or a higher quality N router is recommended. It will also depend a lot on the user's network load. So using BitTorrent during AirPlay Mirroring is probably not the best idea.
For owners of Mac models older than 2011 who will not be able to directly use AirPlay Mirroring in the new OS X Mountain Lion, there is still the option of using third-party applications such as AirParrot, which for US$9,99 works on machines with Snow Leopard and above.
I just have a question... are there any instructions on how to properly set up the router for airplay (mirroring)... I'm not sure that in the basic configuration of the Cisco router, 60Mbit from UPS works well, even if mac support is advertised. In the network we have AppleTV3, iMac (2011), macbook pro (2010), iP4 and iP4s, first and second generation tablets. Can you tell me if I should bother with some router settings and get Airport or TC?
Here it depends on what WiFi standards the mentioned router has, if it has 802.11 – B/G/N where N is the most important, try to set the router to really use this type, the signal strength certainly also plays a role, if the router is too far from both devices so the response will be slower there. So, just for the AirPlay test, I would try to put the router directly next to the AppleTV and the device broadcasting via AirPlay to put something in the ATV as close as possible and if everything is fine, the reason is too much distance and probably another router won't solve it, but if the problem is still the same I would recommend a router from Apple, either AirPort or TimeCapsule, but my experience with TC is extremely positive (but I don't have an Apple TV yet, so I don't know how AirPlay works), in any case, the settings, the possibility of separate networks for 2,4GHz and 5GHz, etc. are perfect .
Thanks... I finally googled some articles and deleted the entire router and set it point by point according to the instructions. Now I can say that it works perfectly... so I don't want to shout it out... but then I don't get any major rasterization... or chopping when mirroring from an iPad or iMac. It will also happen on TC... I also have the best experience with it... just don't write on it with diacritics... then the mesh disk goes to hell with the speed.) Anyway, thanks... at least I got the hang of the setting :o)
I'm glad it works for you ;)
Well, I think that the geforce 320m from the 2010 macbook pro would be able to handle it, because it is more powerful than the Intel HD 3000 in the 2011 MBP. Apparently Apple does not want to optimize the program for the 2010 macbook pro. geforce 9400m from a 2009 MBP. These graphics cards are more powerful than the graphics card in the ipad 2.
I tried the air parot and the result was pretty bad. The picture was in 4:3 format on a 16:9 TV and it was impossible to watch. I started converting to mp4 so it would go through itunes. The experience is incomparable.
in 10.8, mirroring is a gem...if it was modified for example for VLC...that I wouldn't have to mirror directly. Otherwise, I still convert to .mov and put it in iTunes... so that I can play it directly on ATV without sending it from iTunes...
This is the biggest stupidity in my opinion... I have an iMac late 2009 with an ATi HD 4850 graphics card with 512Mb and according to the ATi specifications, this graphics has a decoding processor UVD to H.264/AVC and VC-1 .. the processor is a 4 core Intel Core i5.. don't tell me that this won't be easy...
Well, I wonder if someone will finally approve my comment...
So try to make an h264 coding competition. Put your old macbooks next to your iPad 2/3 and see who wins. You will be very surprised by the time difference. Raw performance is not compared here, but purely h264 compression and its optimization.
I just tested it on my MacBook Pro 15″, Core i5, Mid 2010 model on 10.8.1 and absolutely no problems with this app. iStat shows me the temperature on the processor around 70°, which is a little more, but the fans don't run at some crazy speed - about 2000 rpm... I'm running it through Apple TV 3.
Update: So I also tried running Parallels Desktop with Win7, it sweated a bit, but the question is whether the cause was not exactly in the booting of Win... :-) However, what really made it work was running the HD 1080 demo in Win Media Player.. The delay in playback was visible and the processor began to heat up quite a bit.