HOWTO | Upload and stream video to Apple TV
1 Enable wireless transfer
Open the app and tap the Wi-Fi icon in the window’s bottom left. This shows you different ways to open a connection between Mac and app. The simplest one is usually to use an HTTP connection by entering the uppermost address into your browser on your Mac. Then simply drop any video files into the relevant area in your Mac browser and they’ll upload to the iPad. Don’t close the iPad transfer screen until the upload has completed or it will cancel. Large videos might take a few minutes.
2 Manage your videos
Tap on the My Documents section in the centre of the app’s window to see a list of the files on your iPad, including many different kinds of video and audio files. This list can be searched and ordered by size, name, date and more. If you tap the info button next to a video you can make settings for an individual file, such as applying Audio Boost to help with quiet sound, or flipping the video image horizontally or vertically regardless of the orientation of your device. Close this window to play your file…
3 Play the video
Tap on a video file’s name to play it. There’s a progress slider and volume control at the bottom, and shortcuts for controlling the speed and aspect ratio of playback as well as activating subtitles if available. The playback controls are to the centre left of the display and you can access other films in the playlist on the right. These controls fade out after a few seconds, but you can tap anywhere on the screen to bring them back at any time. The Close button returns you to the main screen.
4 Pick a TV-out method
The button in the control bar that looks like AirPlay is actually a TV out control. Tap on this to see a number of methods for getting signal out. As well as AirPlay mirroring there are four wired options involving Apple adapters and cables, and even the option to beam to Google Chromecast. The exact combination of wires and connections will depend on whether you have a 30-pin or Lightning-connected iOS device and what kind of TV you’ve got. Wireless frees you from leaving the device near the TV.
5 Enable AirPlay
The app requires AirPlay to be activated on your iPhone or iPad, but it also requires mirroring to be switched on. This means the entire output of the device is sent to your Apple TV rather than just the video stream. Swipe up to call up Control Centre and in the Airport menu tap to activate AirPlay and switch the Mirroring button on as well. The app will adapt its display to send the signal to the Apple TV. You won’t be able to use your iPad for other things while mirroring.
6 Mirror to Apple TV
A blue line across the top of your iPad’s screen shows the signal is being mirrored to the Apple TV. You’ll no longer see a picture on the iPad, but you will see a display that tells you what’s playing, plus the controls. On your TV you should now see the film playing back just as if it was playing from a DVD or streaming over the web. AirPlay mirroring can use a little more power than regular streaming, so it’s worth plugging your device into the mains to make sure it doesn’t die halfway through the film.