I have some movies on my Mac Mini that I would like to play on my TV. (8 year old Panny Plasma with HDMI). No HDMI cable connecting Mac Mini to TV because they are in separate rooms. I currently have a Sony Bluray player that has Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Amazon Prime, etc so I'm all set with that. I need something that "screen mirrors"? I think?

Simplicity is important to me. No hacking. Or workarounds.

It looks like Roku does not offer mirroring for Macs. It's too bad because I looked at some YouTube videos of the interface and really like it.

Chromecast does not offer this natively either??? I liked the cheap price

So it's just Apple TV that offers screen mirroring to play movies from my Mac Mini to the TV? Which ATV gen? Any?

Roku has a Plex channel, if you want to set up a Plex server on your Mini.

You could also just home share your movies on your Mac mini to an Apple TV.

Quote
3d
AppleTV over Roku, Chromecast for Mac Mini screen mirroring?

Yes.

How far?

Commercial Series 24AWG High Speed HDMI® Cable, 30ft Generic
Product # 15644

$15.99

[www.monoprice.com]

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

Plex server on MacMini and Plex channel on Roku. It works well and is free.

Quote
jdc
How far?

Commercial Series 24AWG High Speed HDMI® Cable, 30ft Generic
Product # 15644

$15.99

[www.monoprice.com]

It's not an ideal solution for me... aesthetics and safety and ease of use are

The good news and bad news of it all for anyone interested....

The good news is, I've learned about the option to use Plex on Roku. Thanks JohnB and DavidS. I've heard of it but never looked into it since I never had a need for it. THe bad news is that it's not as seemless as plain ol' native screen mirroring available on PCs and Android devices for Roku and Chromecast. It's not a fault of Roku or Chromecast, I hear it's Apple keeping the garden walls locked tight.

Airplay?

......yeah, when Apple used to make stuff that would 'just work'.....the Apple TV is a carry over.....easiest to use.......I worry for their future [ and ours ]......the rumored Apple TV 5th gen will have 4K but anything else 'new'....or innovative....???

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Quote
3d
The good news and bad news of it all for anyone interested....

The good news is, I've learned about the option to use Plex on Roku. Thanks JohnB and DavidS. I've heard of it but never looked into it since I never had a need for it. THe bad news is that it's not as seemless as plain ol' native screen mirroring available on PCs and Android devices for Roku and Chromecast. It's not a fault of Roku or Chromecast, I hear it's Apple keeping the garden walls locked tight.

You can already do this same media center functionality using iTunes on the Mac. Make a few video playlists, import your movie files into iTunes, turn on home sharing, and then use the Computer app on the AppleTV to directly play the iTunes content.

Just noting this option, as Apple doesn't advertise. It's how we connect to our home media - we are using a 2006 Mac running 10.6 with the media on an external USB2 hard drive. Works fine (plenty fast even via USB2 on the external hard drive) even when it's 1080P content (have not tried 4K).

Yeah AppleTV is (surprise surpise) going to be the most complete and seamless option for desktop mirroring to play movies from my Mac Mini HD to TV. And most expensive option.

PLAN B would be a ROKU with Plex App to play movies from Mac Mini HD to TV. No desktop mirroring functionality.

PLAN C would be a laptop and HDMI cable to play movies from Mac Mini HD to TV via desktop mirroring.

The recently discontinued ATV3 would work fine. Costs $78 shipped.

[www.ebay.com]

I don't know if this would work for your setup but Chromecast also does screen mirroring on a Mac. The only requirement is that you have to use either Chrome or Beamer , a $20 shareware app. There might also be other apps that do mirroring on Chromecast. However Beamer works well with both Chromecast and Apple TV.

....there is a way to get a ATV4....for like $60 instead of $129 for Apple refurb.but it is only a refurb.......and not always in stock......

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!