If you have an Apple TV, as a Mac user, you can use AirPlay to wirelessly stream audio and video from your Mac to your HDTV so that you can enjoy watching a movie on your television with friends and family.
In OS X El Capitan, you can stream certain videos to your Apple TV from Safari or QuickTime Player (version 10). Just click the AirPlay icon -if available -in the playback controls, choose your Apple TV, then video appear on your HDTV. It sounds great, in fact, you have 5 different methods to view audio and video from your Mac in your own house on your own HDTV, using the Apple TV, a Mac.
The following is a guide to some of the techniques you can use when you just want to watch one of your home movies in the privacy of your own home using the Apple TV, a Mac.
1. Using iTunes
If your home is fully equipped with Apple products, the easiest way to watch home movies privately is by using an Apple TV. You can use iTunes on your Mac to stream your home movies to your Apple TV.
Beginning with version 10.1 of iTunes, you have been able to share your video files alongside your photos with Home Sharing. Home Sharing is a way to share your entire iTunes Library on your local network to all of your Apple devices. If you’re wanting to watch any movies or TV shows that you have in your iTunes library, streaming them via AirPlay is incredibly easy to do.
1. Open iTunes and select the movie or TV show that you’d like to watch and then hit Play.
2. Once the movie has started, select the AirPlay menu from the toolbar at the top and select your Apple TV. After a few moments, you should see the video appear on your TV and iTunes will display the device you’re currently connected to.
3. Alternatively, you can also select the AirPlay menu from the playback toolbar that displays when you hover your mouse over the video playback.
Note: As you can see, playback of video from iTunes is incredibly easy. Whilst iTunes only supports a certain number of video formats, you may find it the best option if you’re happy to convert any incompatible video files to apple supported *.mov using an app such as Pavtube Video Converter for Mac and then importing it into your iTunes library.
2. Using cable
If you do not have an Apple TV connected to your HDTV, the best thing is to use a cable to connect your Apple device directly to your HDTV. How you connect to the HDTV will depend on which Apple product you have and the type of connectors your television supports.
For the most recent Macs that come equipped with either a mini display port or Thunderbolt, there is the Belkin Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter ($44.95) which will allow you to connect your Mac to an HDTV using an HDMI connection.
3. Using Beamer
If video that isn’t in your iTunes Library, your Mac doesn’t have any ability to stream it via AirPlay? Thankfully, there’s a great 3rd party app called Beamer ($19.99, Mac) that can add this functionality to our Mac.
Even though it is prices a litter expensive, it provides a simple solution to streaming almost any video format from your Mac to your Apple TV, not just content that is officially supported.
4. Using HUDTube
There is an app in the Mac App Store called HUDTube ($4.99, Mac). This is the only video player app in the Mac App Store that supports streaming to an Apple TV using AirPlay. With HudTube, you simply drag and drop the video file you want to view, and select the Apple TV you wish to stream to.
Launch HUDTube and you’ll see an app reminiscent of QuickTime Player. Find a YouTube clip you want to play on your Apple TV and either drag the address from Safari to the player or, alternatively, copy the address and then paste it into the app by using the Edit > Paste and Play option.
The YouTube clip will start playing within the app after a few moments. Once it has started playing, right-click and select the option to stream it to your Apple TV.
HUDTube doesn’t stop the video playing on the Mac and we have no control over the video playback on the Apple TV via the Mac. You can even close the video window and it will resume playing on your Apple TV until you quit the app.
5. Using UPnP/DLNA media server
Another option is to host your own Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) or Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) media server from your Mac. Most smart HDTVs, Apple TV all can play videos served up by a UPnP/DLNA server.
The problem with this solution historically has been finding a media server solution that your home theater appliance works well with. This sounds complicated but it really is not. It is basically the same thing that iTunes does via AirPlay to the Apple TV outlined above. Just think of UPnP/DLNA as AirPlay for the rest of the home theater market.
Original source:
http://computers.tutsplus.com/tutorials/5-ways-to-airplay-from-your-mac-to-your-television–mac-52157
Further to see
If you have been off loading your video files to your Mac, and looking for a solution to get the opportunity to stream high definitions videos on your Apple TV, then try Pavtube Video Converter ($35.00, Mac).
1. Like Handbrake, it can convert all of your home movies in a batch process.
2. Unlike Handbrake, it can also encode your home movies to up 130 format you want, has the ability of converting any videos to MP4, M4V or MOV for Apple TV 4, Apple TV 3, Apple TV 2, and Apple TV..
Once you have your home movies in the format that you need, then you can simply airplay them over to your HDTV with one of the 5 methods above.