Airmac is an open-source utility that turns your Mac into an AirPlay receiver. AirPlay is a protocol designed and implemented by Apple that lets you share media with other Apple devices on your network. It works flawlessly if you want to start watching a video on your iPad and then send it to the AppleTV in the living room to continue watching it. Airmac is a fair attempt to replicate that functionality on the Mac, but from what I have experienced, it simply fails.
After installing Airmac, you will see it up on the Menubar. From there, you can start or stop the service and access the Preferences. With the server started, I proceeded to open videos, photos and music on my iPhone 4 and iPad 2, to see if my Mac was an option to activate the AirPlay service. When I tried to play video, the Mac didn't show up as a supported device. The same happened with music. When I opened photos, however, my Mac appeared by name on the list of devices that I could send the photos to. When I clicked on it, nothing happened, though. I tried again by rebooting both devices, but to no avail.
I had high expectations for Airmac. It is a great idea, and I would love to be able to share content on my iPad with my Mac, but I guess I will have to wait until Apple implements the protocol.
Comments (2)
The Macbook streams audio fine to other AirPlay receivers, including a Harman Kardon AV receiver as well as an Android phone (running appropriate receiver SW). I suspect the problem is that the Airmac utility hasn't been updated in almost 4 years.