Hi there,
I am really quite interested in checking out how well the new OSX Airplay option works with a new Mac and Airplay to the Apple TV, for use with on-demand services.

Basically, I have an iMac, but it is too old to use the new Airplay feature, and AirParrot is too unstable with my kit, skipping and stuttering.

If it does work, I would be tempted to buy a small Macbook Air 11" and use this to Airplay Streaming services across to my TV, but it would need to work smoothly and of course absolutely full screen.

So, does anyone use this method to get on-demand streaming services to their main TV?

For UK users, I am interested in the following:
* BBC iPlayer (Afterall, their web version has the "Live Restart", REW and Pause features not available in other devices)
* ITV
* 4OD (especially important, as 4oD is very difficult to get to a main TV, and like ITV, the web version has more back catalogue available)
* Demand5

If any readers also use a SmartDNS service such as Overplay or Unblock-US, I would also be interested to see if the following services work:

* TVNZ (from New Zealand)
* TV3 (from New Zealand)
* SBS (From Australia)

Granted, it is quite an expensive way to get shows to a TV, but some sites such as 4oD & TVNZ are exceptionally difficult to get to an actual TV.

I have a Retina Macbook Pro but I use the HDMI and this works well. I have an extended display so I can watch stuff on my tv and still use my macbook. I have tried airplay but found it not quite perfect.

TVNZ , SBS and all on demand work fine with Overplay, i also use hulu and netflix

Interesting. Thanks for your reply. I was hoping though to avoid using an HDMI cable, as it would have to be quite long to reach the sofa, and it wouldn't be terribly flexible.

Can I ask what is wrong with the Airplay? I have an iPad, which also has the BBC iPlayer (though without HD) and it will Airplay perfectly. I also Airplay HD (full 1080P) from my NAS perfectly as well, though this may differ from streaming sites due to buffering.

What a pity if it isn't working as good as I had hoped, and certainly a shame since Airplay on the iPad works great - on the condition the 3rd party apps don't cripple it.

I guess you have an Apple TV ? I tried bbc I player in HD and found the stream to be a little strutted , the frame rate seemed a little off too, I'm not sure if this was a hardware problem with the mac ,, maybe one with dedicated graphics would be better or a network issue with my Internet. My Sofa is really close to my tv so it isn't a problem for me.

I have an ipad too and find airplay to be better on it, which Apple TV do you have , have you considered jailbreaking it as another option.

Would a raspberry pi with xbmc do the same thing. That now supports airplay.

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, I have an ATV3 (which can't be jailbroken). When I Airplay the BBC over to the TV from my iPad, it seems fine, though I must say that is only SD as the iPad doesn't stream the HD feeds.

I have had stuttering Airplay issues in the past, but this was with my older accesspoint and older versions of iOS. In those days, mirroring did indeed bring a stutter, even on a low quality stream, where the video would pause for a second, every few seconds, but the audio continued. I haven't seen this for a while, so something there works better.

I am wondering if this is the same stuttering you are experiencing.

ATV2 (jailbroken) or the Raspberry Pi with XBMC is not really the solution for me, as the services I am after always are the ones which XBMC or any other device doesn't have, except for flash based websites, such as TVNZ or 4oD... the ones which are not so easy to get to the TV without connecting a normal laptop via HDMI cable.

I was hoping that since all the on-demand sites work in a normal browser, all I would need is a modern Macbook Air/pro and just airplay it across. This would be an easy to use, wireless solution to the on-demand services I can't access directly from my Smart TV's hub, ATV, or iPad(Airplay).

The problem is, I can't test this for myself without buying a laptop, and I don't want to spend that money unless I know it works 100% and smoothly.

It doesn't support Airplay Mirroring, as there's DRM involved (which is why Airplay mirroring is the only thing that isn't blocked in many cases).