This tutorial article is mainly discussing the following topics:

1. What is Miracast?

Miracast is a standard for wireless connections from devices (such as laptops, tablets, or smartphones) to displays (such as TVs, monitors or projectors). It can roughly be described as "HDMI over Wi-Fi", replacing the cable from the device to the display.

miracast iphone and alternatives

The Wi-Fi Alliance launched the Miracast certification program at the end of 2012. Using the "Mirroring Technology", devices that are Miracast-certified can communicate with each other, regardless of manufacturer. In a word, you can project what you are playing on your phone to a TV without Wi-Fi, an USB or an adapter, literally wireless.

miracast iphone and alternatives

When you are at home, you can enjoy playing pictures, videos or games on a bigger screen with Miracast. When you are at work, conference room projector can share laptop screen at real-time. In terms of privacy, all content is well-protected because the peer-to peer nature of a Miracast connection means mirroring can be done securely without an Internet connection.

2. How to Miracast iPhone?

Is it possible to Miracast iPhone? Unfortunately no, neither Apple's OS X nor iOS support Miracast. Instead, Apple has opted for its own AirPlay technology, which requires an Apple TV to mirror the display wirelessly on a television screen. Go through the steps below to know how to use AirPlay to Mirror iPhone to Apple TV:

1. Connect your device and Apple TV to the same network.

2. Take your iPhone or iPad and wipe up from the base and access the control center.

miracast iphone and alternatives

3. Tap the AirPlay Mirroring symbol to open the rundown and then select your TV from the list.

miracast iphone and alternatives

4. Enter your Airplay password. Now, you can just adjust your TVs aspect ratio and zoom settings to cover the entire space.

miracast iphone and alternatives

But what if you don't have an Apple TV? Well, even under these circumstances, you still have a few options. Below we have listed some best choices when it comes to mirroring your iPhone or any other Smart TV.

1. AirServer

AirServer is one of the most efficient application which can display your Apple device on a larger screen without much difficulty. Take the steps below to find out how:

1. Download AirServer and need to install it on your Smart TV.

2. Same as mentioned before, swipe up from the base to access control center and look for AirPlay Mirroring icon.

miracast iphone and alternatives

3. Tap the AirPlay icon and select the smart TV in which the AirServer has already been installed.

miracast iphone and alternatives

4. Now your screen will start appearing on the TV. You can mirror it on any other device as well, like your laptop or Mac.

miracast iphone and alternatives

2. AirBeam TV

AirBeam TV can connect your Apple device to the Samsung Smart TV in a second. Though, it can only work with the Samsung TVs manufactured after 2012 and some other variants as well. Nevertheless, it is quite an efficient choice. No complicated connections are required and you can mirror your content on the large screen remotely. Pursue the steps below to know how:

1. Connect your Samsung TV to the same network as your handheld device.

2. Start by clicking the menu bar icon and wait for a few other options to appear.

3. Your TV icon will appear in DEVICES group. Tap on it to connect.

miracast iphone and alternatives

Following these steps you can connect you device to TV perfectly.

3. Drawbacks of Miracast

The Miracast standard also includes optional components, such as Wireless Multimedia Extensions (WME). The use of optional components in standards sometimes causes issues when connecting products one of which supports the optional components and the other does not.

One issue you may encounter when mirroring to a TV is overscan. Many TVs are set to overscan their HDMI inputs, which will make the image appear zoomed-in. To fix this you'll need to go into your TV's options menu and set it to display on a dot-by-dot basis, rather than the stretch or zoom settings. Some Miracast adapters—again, like Microsoft's—come with an app that can use the adapter itself to change the overscan level.

3. Other Alternatives using AirPlay Function.

Are there other players that have AirPlay function? Yes, there are plenty alternatives, for example, Porthole and AirParrot.

miracast iphone and alternatives

Porthole allows you stream to multiple AirPlay devices and your Mac's speakers at the same time so that you can enjoy music throughout your resident. With Porthole, you can stream all audio with just one click. Porthole focuses on being gorgeous and simple to use. The setup wizard will have you going within seconds. After that, just one click is needed to switch from music from your Mac to your remote speakers and the contrariwise. By using the single setup of Porthole, you can run music files from any Mac devices via multiple AirPlay speakers at once. Some technical features of the Porthole are taken advantage of multiple speakers simultaneously, support for the all audios including music streaming and sharing platform, support for keyboard shortcuts to control multiple devices and availability of AirPlay for almost all devices. The primary objective of Porthole is to make the process of air playing Spotify and other music services easy and simple. You can simply play any music from your Mac OS X system output while you are streaming. Now all the wireless receiver and the Mac will play the music in synchronization environment. You can perform all other function without any further hurdles like adjusting of volume per speaker and much more. By using the volume keys of the keyboard, you can surely alter the AirPlay volume. The exceptional here is that even the mute button just works. You can set the output preferences on your own as well.

miracast iphone and alternatives

AirParrot is a mirroring based streaming platform that enables its users to beam digital media files or screen wirelessly to multiple ranges of multimedia receivers. Just after the installation of AirParrot, it will instantly discover the available receivers over your local network. By using this bridge connecting platform, you can wirelessly share the content from any digital device to all those that support for the media receivers. The Quick Connect system of this program will automatically discover the available content in your network. In addition to music files, the users of AirParrot can share the video, presentations and even whole screen. You can use the AirParrot with multiple receivers at once as well because it is designed to forward the content to multiple receivers at once. The next stage is the broadcasting stage for broadcasting the content to multiple devices including the ChromeCast and Apple TV. You can even share the music files with all type of AirPlay enabled speakers. If you want to get more from the AirParrot then use it in combination with Reflector to create a seamless mirroring experience to any PC or internet enabled device.

Another alternative is Leawo Blu-ray Player. Right now it does not have AirPlay feature but it may add it in the future.

   

Those are all you need to know about Miracast. I hope you will have a pleasant journey with the mirroring technology.