Here’s How to Use an AirPlay Display Effectively
Some tips to help you make the most use of your wireless display.
Connecting an external display is a great way to boost productivity with your Mac, but sometimes you don’t have a hardwired external display available.
In those cases, it’s nice to be able to use AirPlay to turn a TV into a second display for your Mac. Here are some tips on how to take the advantage of your AirPlay display.
Put your currently active content on your main display.
Although AirPlay is very responsive for a wireless display, there’s still a bit of lag when you move your mouse around.
As a best practice, you should keep the application you’re currently interacting with on your main display, and put less-needed or supplementary content on your secondary display.
For instance, you could put your music app of choice on your AirPlay display while you write an article on your primary display. Or you could bring up documentation on your AirPlay display while you program an app on your primary display.
In addition to increasing responsiveness, this also reduces the chance of creating an ergonomic problem, as most of the time an AirPlay display isn’t in the best position to be used as your main display.
Choose the right audio output.
If you’re actively watching or editing media content, the last thing you want is delayed or out-of-sync audio. Unfortunately, that’s often what happens when you use an AirPlay display as an audio output source. That’s because when you connect an AirPlay display, your Mac usually sets that display as the audio output channel.
If you’re working with media, you want to set your audio output to something with low latency: preferably hardwired or built-in speakers or wired headphones.
This problem has an easy solution, however. You can change your audio output by going to the Sound pane in System Preferences.
Don’t use an AirPlay display if you don’t have to.
If you have an AirPlay display on hand, don’t feel like you’re obligated to use it. Most of the time, AirPlay displays aren’t in a great position to be used as a secondary Mac display.
And even if you find one that’s in a good position, it might be hard for you to adjust to using a secondary display if you don’t usually use multiple displays with your Mac. In this way, using a secondary AirPlay display could decrease your productivity.
Also, while using an AirPlay display is a great way to extend your Mac’s versatility on the go, it’s not a great idea to use one to supplement your Mac permanently. Instead, look into buying a hardwired external display.
Conclusion
Sometimes circumstances mean you can’t use your regular external display, and sometimes you need a way to boost your productivity on the go. In those cases, using an AirPlay display is a great solution, as long as you keep these tips in mind.
Thanks for reading!
