A free multi-functional video player for Mac with the full set of streaming powers. Watch videos, listen to audio files and stream them over AirPlay, to Chromecast and DLNA devices without any third-party software.
With AirPlay by Apple one can wirelessly stream video from Mac computers and iOS devices to a TV screen for example. AirPlay is primarily meant for Apple TV, the device that is plugged in a regular TV set and receives the wireless signal. Even though the system is based around Apple products, there are independent software products that allow you to use Windows PC too. So here you have a top list of independent programs that can act as an AirPlay sender or an AirPlay receiver and should suit every taste.
AirParrot 2 This app is a streaming platform based on mirroring. Thanks to one can transmit media or screen wirelessly to various AirPlay receivers. Share your media with the classroom, boardroom or else without any wires or adapters.
Transmit a movie to enjoy the big screen. When installed, the app will search for and display the receivers available on the network and will let you share the screen, music, videos, etc. AirParrot lets you stream to Apple TV, Chromecast, and other devices. You can also share sound through AirPlay-enabled speakers. Airfoil lets you send any sound to Apple TV, iOS device or other Mac and Windows computer! With Airfoil you can reproduce audio around your space, all in sync. And thanks to Airfoil Speakers, you can make any computer a remote audio output.
Once you shared your music to speakers with Airfoil you can listen to it all over the house thanks to AirPlay or Bluetooth. Transmit any sound from any Windows computer at any location. This includes music from the web audio sharing platforms. Airfoil Satellite will make your Mac an audio receiver.
Kodi (Xbox Media Center or XBMC for short in the past) is an open-source media software and one of the best free AirPlay senders that you can find. It is friendly with all popular OS including Linux, Mac OS, Windows, iOS as well as Android. Starting from version 11, Kodi supports AirPlay, so any device and platform compatible with XBMC can get streams from iOS or iTunes. As a free AirPlay audio sender Kodi streams music from Apple TV 2 to AirPlay speakers.
With the current version 14.1 it gets regular updates, so functioning as an AirPlay sender it’s going to cover more devices. By this, it will become more stable in the future. 5Kplayer completes the list of AirPlay senders and receivers available today on the web market.
It’s one of the free AirPlay video senders that easily reads HD media. Developed by DearMob and launched in 2015 5KPlayer gained its popularity and users’ recognition thanks to the good work as well as tried-and-true features. It can function as AirPlay sender and receiver on Windows and macOS, which means you can send your media from iPhone to Mac, PC or Apple TV by using 5KPlayer. The app supports AirPlaying such video formats as AVI, MKV, and FLV from and to any devices equipped with 5KPlayer and supporting AirPlay technology. With this player you can stream your favorite movies, TV shows, music clips, sports programs and other videos from your iPhone, iPad or iPod to Mac/PC and from Android to Apple TV.
Although is easy to setup, you can run into performance problems while using it. Especially harder use cases like watching videos can cause performance problems like:. Video stutters.
Video freezes. Dropped frames or dropped connection. Here are some tips that could help you improve the overall performance of AirPlay Mirroring. Display settings The first thing you should try is to adjust the display settings. It could happen that just a little bit of tweaking will solve all your problems. With my Macbook Pro Retina some settings are „not watchable” (video stutters and freezes), others work perfect.
Change Desktop size when mirroring your built-in screen Normally, AirPlay Mirroring mirrors your built-in screen (see screenshot: „Use AirPlay Display To: Mirror Built-In Retina Display”). Try to modify this mode by changing the option „Match desktop size To” to the resolution of the Apple TV (not the built-in display). Extend Desktop Instead of mirroring your built-in display, you can try to extend your desktop and use the Apple TV as a second screen. In my experience (Macbook Pro Retina), this helps a lot and gives me the best results.
Furthermore, you can adjust the display resolution of your second screen in „System preferences Displays” (left part of the screenshot) and try if one setting works better than the other. Network problems Use ethernet connections If possible, try to connect your Mac as well as your Apple TV using an ethernet connection. By doing that you can figure out whether Wi-Fi connection is responsible for the problems or not. A slow or interfered Wi-Fi connection can result in dropped frames or video freezes. Wi-Fi Connection. Check for wireless network interferences. It’s likely that your router can show you how crowded your location is (see screenshot of my Fritz!Box).
Try to change the channel of the connection. Make sure to use the fast 802.11n mode (not b/g). Switch to 5 GHz Wi-Fi if your router offers this option.
A good router can establish a second Wi-Fi using the 5 GHz range which should be faster and less crowded. A second Wi-Fi is a good idea because otherwise all of your hardware has to support 5 GHz range.
There’s also another drawback: It could happen that in rooms that are far away from your router the connection isn’t as good as with 2,4 GHz (because of the higher frequencies). Try to minimize the distance between the Router and Apple TV (place them as close as possible). Turn off bluetooth (just to make sure that there aren’t any interferences) Playing files from a network drive (NAS) It could also happen that loading the video from your source is too slow. So if you have them stored on a NAS, USB Stick or whatever, copy them on your Desktop (which is a very fast SSD in modern MacBooks in order to eliminate your NAS as origin of the problem). Video Player Try different player software This isn’t always possible because of the supported files formats (video, audio, subtitles), but try playing your files with another video player. In my experience, this can make a difference in terms of performance.
You can extend the QuickTime Player with some more codecs by installing. Of course, is also worth a try. By pressing Cmd+i you get some statistics details about „lost frames” which indicates performance issues. Hardware & software in general The hardest thing to try: different hardware. This could be everything: Your Mac is too slow, your router has a problem, etc. Concerning software you can make sure that everything is up-to-date (latest OS versions, firmware updates, etc.).
Any other ideas or experiences I would appreciate if you leave a comment about some more tips or experiences you’ve made. Link: (Apple). I tried all the Airplay dropdown menu options, but am still getting dropped frames. (Interestingly, using Apple TV as a second screen was the worst option for me.) I get a little lost when you get to explaining the Wifi Connection stuff. I’m assuming changes like 802.11n mode and 5GHz are options I would find in System Preferences under Wifi-Connection. But I can’t find those options there, nor anything resembling your FritzBoz screenshot. Am I missing something?
Cheers, thanks for your help so far. I use Time Capsule as a router to stream video via airplay from an Imac to appletv. The result is disappointing concerning frame rate. Local apple store changed my appletv for a new one. I tested it again: The same.
The only way I have found a viable solution is through a third party program called apple beamer. I have purchased it and I can watch all my stored movies from external hd drives without transfer rate problems wirelessly. Still, I think apple should come by itself to a solution to this problem. It’s funny to propose on its support page site to use an ethernet cable if you experience trouble. Apple should more homework regarding the quality of the net sharing capabilities of its systems.
Sometimes design is not enough! You won’t believe it! I spent sh.t loads of money to get the latest and most respected 1300Mbps+ router on the market – the netgear D6300 – and still lagged! Airplay kept lagging! I nearly threw my tv, apple tv and router away – pieces of shit. You won’t believe what fixed the lag!
– TURNING OFF THE FREAKING BLUETOOTH!!!! There was a lag every 1/2 seconds whenever I tried to extend my screen on 5Ghz network!!! With a Macbook pro 15 late 2013 i7 with 16GB of RAM!
Stopping the fucking bluetooth made all the difference! Thank god I am not using any wireless keyboards for this piece of shit stupid ATV3! Excellent post thank you. What worked best for me is turning off all Bluetooth devices in the room. Connecting the Apple TV using an Ethernet cable to ensure that the Apple TV has a good connection. Changing the display settings as mentioned (mirror screens worked best for me).
Making sure the laptop is always on a power supply. And finally, plugging in my router (Fritzbox), so that I could change the channel that my router was set on. Amazingly almost all routers in my building were set on channel 1, there were more than 15 routers on this channel, so I moved over the channel to 3. All in all I think Bluetooth and connecting the Apple TV via Ethernet made the most impact. The display settings of course help, but interference must play a massive part. DONT SPEND MONEY ON NEW HARDWARE.
Just check your internet speed and get an Ethernet cable. Oh yeah, and turn off Bluetooth. I just got the latest Apple TV, and was frustrated by the AirPlay clipping, bad quality, etcespecially since I have a decently fast Internet connection (avg 90MB-125MBps) Not having the Amazon Video app yet is just stupid. But until then, my Amazon Prime account is my only option for watching the past seasons of USA’s Suits without paying extra. Anyway, since using an Ethernet cable isn’t an option as my router’s on a different floor, these 2 tips fixed the problem instantly: 1. Connecting to the 5G option on my Netgear router (remember to change the network setting on both the ATV AND your device.in this case a 6 yo MBP) 2. Turning off Bluetooth (as many others have discovered!) So I just wanted to say thanks for these tips, I can now use my devices how they’re meant to work!
Cheers, -Rach. Hi Mybe you can help me. I have tried this but none if it helps!! Have combed the internet for the right answer but nothing helpfull so far – have swallowed the ego and decided to ask for help. My problem is as follows: I stream alot of movies and videos on my Mac, but as soon as i mirror my screen to airplay the video cuts and starts buffering (indefinitely almost). No stop start just buffering.
I want to airplay to my TV to watch Supersport (South African sporting channel) which i can stream from my Mac. I must be doing something wrong as surly this is possible – have also tested my internet speed and its working fine – 10mbs. Any ideas would be helpfull at this point – am about to use my ATV as a paperweight.
![Mac Mac](https://www.5kplayer.com/airplay/img/5kplayer-airplay-0120.png)
I found that I had a movie file that simply had too high a data rate and had to use a movie recompressed to a lower data rate. It still looked pretty good and the file size was smaller too which was nice. But the big tip I have is to turn off screen mirroring entirely, and then use AirPlay from inside QuickTime Player. You’ll see the icon on the control bar that appears when you move your mouse. That’s only sending the video and audio data and nothing else, and makes a big difference.
Plus there’s a little-known QuickTime Player feature where you can get the movie to play faster and faster forward or backward using the JKL keys. The more you tap L, the faster it plays, and the more you tap J the faster it plays in reverse. K stops playback regardless of speed. Holding down K while tapping L or J steps by frames.