Getting up and down from the couch just to pause a television show is so 1970s.
If you want to watch iTunes videos, for example, via your Mac on your big-screen TV, AirParrot 2 is a fantastic choice. Even better, it’s got a new companion app on iOS, AirParrot Remote, that will let you control your Mac while you do so.
Because nothing says awesome like sending your Mac screen to the TV and running it all via your iPhone, right?
Squirrel’s $12.99 AirParrot 2 is a Mac app that will send your screen to your Apple TV, Chromecast, or other AirPlay-enabled hardware devices with a massive amount of control and options. You can set your HDTV screen to mirror whatever’s on your Mac’s screen, you can make it your extended desktop, and you can even send it to multiple screens at once, all over Wi-Fi.
If you grab the $6.99 iOS app, AirParrot Remote, you’ll be able to actually control your Mac from your iPhone’s screen, making it super easy to set your MacBook up on the table, shoot the display up to the big TV, and run it all from your couch with your feet up.
While some might balk at a $20 price tag for both apps, it’s all really robust, with quick connections and an almost imperceptible lag between the iPhone app, your Mac screen, and the television.
When you’re controlling the screen with AirParrot Remote, you’ll see a little preview of the mirrored content, whether you’re sending your entire Mac screen or just a specific app over the AirPlay system, which is a great thing if you’re Mac is set up in a different room, for example.
Ultimately, if you’re looking for more advanced options than plain-old AirPlay or Chromecast from your Mac to the television, and you want to control it all from your iPhone, the dual AirParrot 2/AirParrot Remote setup is probably your best bet.
You can grab a copy of AirParrot 2 for your Mac from the AirSquirrel website, and the AirParrot Remote app from the iTunes App Store.
