AirPlay: what is it, what is needed and how to include it?

Apple, like no other company, stands forWireless technology and chops the wires as soon as possible. One of the most important and promising steps to wireless data transmission was the announcement of AirPlay. What is it? How it works? And for what it is necessary? These and many other questions arise for everyone who is at least a little familiar with the devices of Apple. In this material, we try to answer most of them.

AirPlay: what is it?

AirPlay is an audio andvideo content from a computer, tablet or mobile phone to any external source, whether it's a TV screen or a stereo system. The technology was developed by Apple in conjunction with a team of developers from BridgeCo. The presentation of the technology took place in 2010 at the September event. Steve Jobs then announced about AirPlay that this is the most affordable and simple technology of streaming from existing ones.

AirPlay works in automatic mode. To search for receivers and connections, use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (depending on the broadcasting device and the receiver). The key device for working with AirPlay is Apple TV, but there are many other players that work with this technology.

How does AirPlay work on iOS?

Despite the simplest executionfunctions, many users still have questions about AirPlay. How can I enable and in what modes does it work? On mobile devices Apple technology can work in three different modes:

• The first is a demonstration of the screen image. To enable this mode, you must enable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, then open the control center and select the AirPlay option. The device will enter the receiver search mode and show all available. Thus, you can broadcast games that are running in full-screen mode. And if the developer is concerned with full-fledged technology support, then there will be access to the joint game and a modified interface.
• The second mode is the demonstration of video on the externaldisplay. To do this, you need to enable the video on a mobile device that has built-in support for AirPlay: iPhone or iPad. For starters, you should start the video file on your phone or tablet, find the AirPlay logo at the bottom of the display, click on it and select the desired receiver.
• The third mode - the translation of audio to externala source. To do this, open the control center, click on the AirPlay button to select the appropriate stereo system (the stereo system does not have to support AirPlay, only the Bluetooth version 4 is enough).

How does AirPlay work on a Mac?

On the desktop system AirPlay works on the same principles, in the same modes:

• The first is a demonstration of the screen image. To turn on the screen demonstration, click on the AirPlay logo at the top of the display on the toolbar and select the appropriate receiver (Apple TV third or fourth generation).
• The second mode is the demonstration of video on the externaldisplay. To do this, you need to run the video in the program or on a resource that supports AirPlay (most of the popular sites, such as YouTube, already support this feature). After you need to find the AirPlay logo in the player and select the appropriate receiver.
• The third mode is the translation of audio to an external source. To work requires a player that supports this option. Translation can be carried out on Apple TV or a compatible stereo system (the stereo system does not have to support this protocol, only the presence of Bluetooth 4-th version).
• The fourth mode is the use Apple TV as the second screen. After connecting to the TV, you can configure it as the second functional display, with your desktops, "dock "and others like them.

AirPlay for Windows and Android

Developers of Apple do not like to share theirtechnologies and very rarely open access to them. Fortunately, this does not apply to AirPlay technology. For Windows, these functions are alien, so it's worth only hoping for third-party players. One of these is the PlayCast player, which works on both desktop and mobile Windows. The program is available in the Windows application store and is sold there for $ 4. Those who are not ready to pay can download the official version of iTunes from the Apple website and broadcast audio and video content to compatible receivers. There is an advanced solution for those who want to use Apple TV as the second display for Windows - the utility AirParrot at a price of 13 dollars.

For Android, there are several successful programs for broadcasting media content via the AirPlay protocol. One of these is the free AllCast program.

Supported devices and software

To work with AirPlay, you need a mobile device (smartphone or tablet), running on iOS 5 and newer. Or computers:

• iMac, released no later than 2011;
• MacBook, released no later than 2015;
• MacBook Air, released no later than 2011;
• MacBook Pro, released no later than 2011.

But also any Windows-based computer that supports wireless Wi-Fi networks (with the appropriate software) is suitable.

Instead of concluding

Now that you have information about the work of AirPlay, what it is, in what modes it works and how to connect, you can seriously think about buying Apple TV or compatible player. This option extends the capabilities of the computer and mobile device, and also helps to form a single home multimedia system.