Mirror an iMac screen to multiple tv’s

mundmc · Post by **mundmc** » Tue Dec 04, 2018 8:06 am

I would like to have the ability to have multiple TV’s show the same control page, for things like doorbell cameras, alerts, etc..

My plan was to Airplay a second screen on my iMac to my apple tv’s, but apparently Airplay will not allow more than one mirror.

I looked into an RF modulator to send the signal over channel 3 on coax, but I read that will screw up my MOCA functionality.

Thoughts?

siclark · Post by **siclark** » Tue Dec 04, 2018 10:10 am

depends how much cabling you want to do.

I have an apple TV, and my Mac Mini (along with cable box and dvd), plugged into a hdmi matrix, that has 4 outputs that connect to HDMI to Cat6 converters, and run to 4 different TVs. I can play the same apple TV picture on all 4 .

mundmc · Post by **mundmc** » Tue Dec 04, 2018 10:25 am

Hmmmmm. I should add I don’t want to run any additional cat5.

Airplay won’t mirror to more than one Apple TV at once.
Other options include:
Chrome cast with multiple browser windows for each TV (feasible)
Some possible web viewer on Apple TV or Tivo
Esoteric methods of live streaming a desktop to clients on Tivo or AppleTV

siclark · Post by **siclark** » Tue Dec 04, 2018 10:43 am

mundmc wrote:Hmmmmm. I should add I don’t want to run any additional cat5.

My electrician laughed when I said I wanted 4xCat6 in every room... but the flexibility its giving me to run hdmi into each room from single source, saving on input devices, and placing wifi APs wherever I want, not to mention wired raspberry pis for pibeacon is awesome. Although I do need to upgrade my switches now as am pretty much full!

mundmc · Post by **mundmc** » Tue Dec 04, 2018 11:16 am

Ha- Retrofitting plaster and lathe was a giant pain in the ass, and a bundle of cat6 could only be so big!

I’m probably gonna look into Chromecast. Basically, I just wanna have Indigo pages (or rtsp feeds) pushed to TV’s around the house when doorbells ring, babies cry, etc.

siclark · Post by **siclark** » Tue Dec 04, 2018 11:25 am

Yeah, I want to do the same thing, just not worked out a way yet. Guess first I need the camera on the front door to take a picture! Then I can work out where to send it... if only there were a good, cheap, attractive, camera that does local storage, and 2 way audio via SS.

noel1983 · Post by **noel1983** » Tue Dec 04, 2018 12:16 pm

Wouldn’t a raspberry pi or even a cheap tablet or phone with hdmi out be an option? Saves needing a ‘host’ casting. Less central control but a pi auto booting to a browser page should be pretty robust

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mundmc · Post by **mundmc** » Tue Dec 04, 2018 12:32 pm

noel1983 wrote:Wouldn’t a raspberry pi or even a cheap tablet or phone with hdmi out be an option? Saves needing a ‘host’ casting. Less central control but a pi auto booting to a browser page should be pretty robust

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This really, really should have occurred to me. Alternately, something Android that runs Domopad so I can push control pages, like this:
RKM Quad Core 4k Android Mini Pc with 2g Ram/16g Rom, 2.4g/5g Wifi Gbit Ethernet Bluetooth4.0 1.8ghz Hdmi Player- Smart Streaming Media Player v5 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RGMI3TU/re ... bCbEMC1TJ0

I’m still curious about Apple TV though, as I have 3 Gen 3’s kicking around.

roussell · Post by **roussell** » Tue Dec 04, 2018 5:26 pm

I experimented with an RPi and hdmi/IP Control to show PiP or switch to the pi several years ago. I had a decently working prototype, but then got re-married and honestly forgot all about it until I saw this thread. :-/ Ill add that to my list of things to resurrect and play with!

Terry

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mat · Post by **mat** » Tue Dec 04, 2018 5:31 pm

I run hd cctv to all the TV's in the house, and although I do use a matrix for other things its actually quite straightforward without.

TV areal comes into the house and into the loft where it enters a signal booster and is distributed by coax to all of the rooms with a TV point - standard distribution setup.

So I added one of these TV modulators and distribute cctv around the house.....https://www.amazon.co.uk/Edision-HDMI-M ... +modulator

The setup now is ....

TV areal comes into the house and into the modulator in. The CCTV DVR out (HDMI) also goes into the modulator. The out from the modulator goes into the signal booster and is distributed via coax. Result CCTV on every TV for when the door bell rings, or if needed at any time. My modulator is set to 'broadcast' on channel 999 (emergency services number in the UK). Just switch TV to channel 999 and you have the CCTV.

I have actually added a second modulator with an ATV and whilst not 4k, works perfectly controlled via the iphone app. Pause and resume in another room etc etc. if you added a matrix prior to the modulator input, you could have multiple inputs....selected by a little Indigo automagic.

Not sure why it would interfere with MOCA, as its only injecting another digital TV channel into what the areal is receiving, although not specifically looked into that. I would guess the modulator may need to be inserted before any MoCA kit.

EDIT Note that the Tv's need to be able to decode DVB-T2 which is the standard broadcast signal in the UK . There may be other similar units for other HD decoders in other parts of the world.

EDIT 2: Heres a similar modulator for the US, but not tried this (obviously) https://www.amazon.com/MINIMOD-2-MODULA ... +Modulator

mundmc · Post by **mundmc** » Tue Dec 04, 2018 7:28 pm

Hmmmm, all appreciated feedback.

Re: using existing coax and an RF modulator- this would be easiest. My MOCA concern is shorthand- I use Fios (with Tivo Cable Card tuner and mini units)- my understanding now is the MOCA MAY be fine, but the digital signal over coax for FiOS/ Tivo might get screwed up. I may just try it.

The other option is this: http://www.airsquirrels.com/airparrot

It allows mirroring to multiple devices. I used to use Air Parrot when an old iMac of mine didn’t support airplay mirroring. There were sync issues, but that’s not my concern here so much.

mundmc · Post by **mundmc** » Thu Jan 31, 2019 7:56 am

Update: Air Parrot 2, using multiple AppleTV receivers mirroring my server mac, had an unacceptable delay that increased over time. No bueno for doorbell cam service.

MunDMC
Fitter. Happier. More productive.

whmoorejr · Post by **whmoorejr** » Mon Dec 16, 2019 9:59 pm

You could look at RemoteSite, http://www.bensoftware.com/remotesight/

It basically creates two network cameras. One is the mac's camera (or a USB camera if using a Mini) the other network camera is the desktop. If you can find a good ATV app that can display that network camera image, then poof, your done. There is a 30 day trial to take it for a spin and see if it works for what your trying to do.

Different Computers · Tue Dec 17, 2019 11:58 am

Are TV destinations really mandatory? You can do this a lot more flexibly and cheaply with DomoPad and Fire tablets.

mundmc · Post by **mundmc** » Tue Dec 17, 2019 3:35 pm

So my last post here was 11 months ago, but always appreciated!

In the interim, I’m just using rasbpi’s and Fire7’s for this functionality.

Indigo Domotics