This tutorial is mainly discussing the following topics:
While AirPlay is an easy way to stream videos from your iOS or macOS device to the Apple TV, VLC Player can handle just about any kind of video file you throw at it. Here, we explain how to watch. For video playback via AirPlay, it's slightly more difficult due to AirPlay API limitations. Apple does not allow to show an AirPlay button for video playback within an Apple if the app does not use the default media player, which VLC does not for the sake of supporting formats other than H264 / MPEG4.
Brief Introduction on AirPlay
If you are an Apple fan, you surely know one or two about AirPlay, a wireless streaming feature on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or any Mac or Windows PC computer with iTunes. With it, you can wirelessly stream media files including videos, music, photos from your iPhone/iPad/iPod to Apple TV. Also, you can stream such files from your computer to Apple TV.
Before starting AirPlay streaming, you need to have a full understanding of the compatible devices of Mac and TV. Below are the supported device list by AirPlay:
- Apple TV (2nd generation or later) with the latest Apple TV software.
- Mac computers with OS X Mountain Lion v10.8 or later:
iMac (Mid 2011 or later)
Mac mini (Mid 2011 or later)
MacBook (Early 2015 or later)
MacBook Air (Mid 2011 or later)
MacBook Pro (Early 2011 or later)
Mac Pro (Late 2013 or later)
In addition, you need to ensure that Wifi is available and stable. Now, you can read the part one to learn how to use AirPlay on Mac computer.
Part 1. How to Use AirPlay on Mac to Stream Videos to Apple TV
Before starting the process, make sure that your Mac computer and Apple TV are connected to the same Wifi. Then follow the below steps:
1.Go to the menu bar in the top right corner of your Mac computer and hit the AirPlay icon to continue the process.
Note: If AirPlay icon is not shown, you can go to Systems Preferences > Displays and then check the box next to 'Show mirroring options in the menu bar when available'. The AirPlay icon will now appear in the menu bar.
2.After that, select the Apple TV that you want to stream video to from your Mac's screen.
3.Now, a pop-up window will appear on your Mac computer to ask for an AirPlay code. Just enter the passcode that is shown on your Apple TV and click on OK option to continue.
4. Finally, go up to the AirPlay icon again to click on 'Mirror Built-in Retina Display'. And it will automatically stream videos from Mac to your Apple TV.
Part 2. Stream Videos from Mac to Apple TV with Media Players
In addition to using AirPlay, you can also rely on some players with built-in AirPlay feature to achieve this purpose. In the below part, two professional players are listed for your inference:
Option One: VLC Media Player for Mac
VLC media player is more than a simple media player, allowing you to play media files like movies and videos on computer. With its Mac version, you can easily stream local or online videos on Mac computer to TV at ease. More importantly, this all-in-one tool is fully compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. So you can actually stream media files from Mac computer to Apple TV or from computer to another computer of different operating system.
Option Two: 5K Player for Mac
Similar to VLC Media Player for Mac, this 5K Player for Mac is also an almighty tool with AirPlay function, so you can smoothly stream videos from Mac to Apple TV without any hassle, no matter you want to stream video/music from iPhone, iPad to PC or from PC/Mac to Apple TV.
But as you can see, in using all the above methods, it is required that both your Apple TV and Mac computer are connected to the same stable Wifi. Or else the streaming process will possibly fail to be finished. So what if you are in a place where Wifi is unstable, if not inaccessible? What if your Apple TV and computer cannot get connected to Wifi?
Extra Bonus: How to Stream Videos to Apple TV from Mac via Wires?
To do it, you can connect Mac computer to Apple TV via wires and then use this FREE Leawo Blu-ray Player for Mac to stream videos. Once your Mac and Apple TV are connected, you can stream videos that are played on Leawo Blu-ray Player for Mac. Below is the step-by-step guide:
Step 1. Find the HDMI port cable on your Apple TV and connect the white, red, green and blue audio cables to the Apple TV and your TV.
Download Vlc Player For Mac
Step 2. Plug the power cord into the Apple TV and then plug it into a power supply, turn on your TV and go to the setup interface.
Step 3. Select a network to connect to in the prompts that appear with your Apple TV remote. Once the Apple TV is set up, you will see a main screen with 'Movies', 'Internet' , 'Computers' and 'Settings' tabs.
Step 4. Go back to your Mac computer and open iTunes. After that, click on Advanced > Turn on Home Sharing. Then hit the Create Home Share and Done options after entering the right Apple ID and password.
Step 5. Go to back to your Apple TV and navigate to Computer tab. Then Choose 'Home Sharing' enter the password with the remote, and click Done option. Now, the Apple TV is connected to the Mac via iTunes.
Free Vlc Player Mac
Step 6. Now that Apple TV is connected to the Mac computer, you can play local media files on your Mac computer with this FREE Leawo Blu-ray Player for Mac, and the played files will be streamed to Apple TV!
No matter you are using AirPlay or other third-party players as mentioned in the above, stable Wifi is a must if you want to smoothly stream videos from Mac to Apple TV. So if you have access to stable and high-speed Wifi, you can use AirPlay, VLC for Mac or 5K Player for Mac to stream videos as desired. Otherwise, you are suggested to connect your Apple TV to Mac computer via wires and have a try of this FREE Leawo Blu-ray Player for Mac!
AirPlay is a delightful protocol to stream audio for audiophiles; it favors audio quality over real-time output. This makes it great for music and worthless for anything that synchronizes video with the audio, like videos.
AirVLC compensated for this by playing the video in VLC and outputing the audio over AirPlay with the proper delay.
Downloading AirVLC
Airplay From Vlc
If you’ve purchased a license to AirVLC before, you might be interested in downloading the latest version.
Vlc Ios Airplay Not Working
Remember that new licenses can’t be bought and support is limited.