AirPlay equivalent?

Don
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
23,586
Location
Wargrave, UK
Am I right in thinking that there is no equivalent to AirPlay for Android devices other than Miracast that isn't supported by anything yet?

I use AirPlay extensively throughout my house for both audio and video and it's kind of annoying that I can't replicate this functionality from Android.
I know I can DLNA access stuff on my device from other devices in the house but that's not what I want. I want to be able to stream anything I'm watching/doing on my android device whether that be a file on the device, or some media I'm streaming.

I've also seen some apps that are AirPlay compatible but again, that's not what I want.

I want a system-wide way of beaming any playing media or screen on my Android device to other devices in the house.

My Note 2 supports AllShare Cast but I'm thinking this is a Samsung thing and that I need a dongle or Samsung smart TV to use it right?
 
There are a couple of options.

HTC Medialink HD - HTC devices only, I use this and it's OK although can be a bit buggy
Android Transporter - Uses a Raspberry Pi and a custom ROM on varios Nexus devices. I keep meaning to try this with my N7.

This really is one area where Android needs to catch up. Like you I use Airplay on Apple TV devices but there isn't really anything comparable yet. I am hoping Miracast does the job well.
 
It's odd that Android is so far behind iOS in this respect.
It's keeping me from replacing my iPhone4S completely with my Note 2.
 
Airplay is proprietary isn't it? I just use DLNA accross my home setup for everything (Radio/phones/PCs/Tablet/TV/NAS) except screen replication, I never really had a need for Screen mirror although I can see where it would be useful in your case. For this you could use an MHL cable but i appreciate this isn't a wireless solution (although it can be a cheap one now thanks to ebay). TURBO EDIT: If you do this, grab the right cable - you need an 11 pin.

You're right about Allshare Cast by the way - it's not a great way of doing it either but it works. It's just another proprietary system so I didn't go for it. I don't really like Miracast either - it doesn't work over ethernet (seriously - wtf) for one.
 
Last edited:
SKifta is a good one, not sure if its quite what you want, i can have the nexus 7, choose a source and then push that to the xbox/squeezebox.
 
Skifta is just a DLNA app I'm afraid :( If you ever want a slightly more technical DLNA app then BubbleUPnP is pretty highly regarded but skifta's simplicity is also it's best point to be fair :)
 
DLNA would be fine but it of course only allows me to send stuff that's actually on my device. If I want to stream say Spotify or Google Play Music it's no use.
 
My Note 2 supports AllShare Cast but I'm thinking this is a Samsung thing and that I need a dongle or Samsung smart TV to use it right?


Yes you need the dongle for AllShare Cast, no matter what TV you have AFAIK.

I have the dongle - it works well. I use it for YouTube HD.

Picture is good but you can tell it's compressed.
 
DLNA would be fine but it of course only allows me to send stuff that's actually on my device. If I want to stream say Spotify or Google Play Music it's no use.

Bubble UPNP does support streaming from google music to a DLNA device. I've used it and it works well, although you do need to buy the app to play over a certain number of tracks.
 
Wait until the next version of Android then. I'm not too sure how well Miracast works, but it's a start.
 
It does exist - its called Samsung Wi-Fi Display.

It's around £50 and can mirror everything on your phone. Like I said earlier, I have one.

A demo from mrk:

 
...and HTC media link etc. Android isn't the problem, trying to use proprietary accessories to boost profit is... :D

WiFi direct/miracast should fix everything eventually.
 
I'm confused,

Am I right in assuming that the new Nexus devices (4,7,10) have android 4.2 and therefore are ready for miracast.

Therefore all I need is a miracast TV receiver and I'm sorted, or is it not that simple?

Cheers
 
Nexus 7 doesn't have Miracast (and won't be able to support it).

As for the 4 and 10 then yes you need a Miracast TV/receiver.
 
Back
Top Bottom