{"id":645867,"date":"2013-03-08T08:00:50","date_gmt":"2013-03-08T13:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=602448"},"modified":"2013-03-08T08:00:50","modified_gmt":"2013-03-08T13:00:50","slug":"6-ways-to-watch-your-own-videos-from-your-iphone-or-mac-on-your-tv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/645867","title":{"rendered":"6 ways to watch your own videos from your iPhone or Mac on your TV"},"content":{"rendered":"

Things were simpler when you would have a stack of VHS tapes that you recorded yourself next to your VCR. \u00a0There was no YouTube or Facebook and the internet was far away from your television set. Fast forward 10 years and not only are there no longer any tapes, but almost every viewing solution out there just assumes that you want to share all of your video files on the internet for the whole world to see. \u00a0So what if you just want to view them in your own house on your own HDTV? \u00a0The following is a guide to some of the techniques you can use when you just want to watch one of your home movies in the privacy of your own home using the Apple TV, a Mac or an iOS device.<\/p>\n

Using your Apple TV<\/h2>\n

If your home is fully equipped with Apple products, the easiest way to watch home movies privately is by using an Apple TV. \u00a0There are several options to display your home movies on your Apple TV, it just depends on which Apple device you happen to have your movies on.<\/p>\n

From your iOS device:<\/strong>\u00a0With point and shoot cameras dropping in sales by 30 percent<\/a>\u00a0in recent months, more people are using their iPhones<\/a>\u00a0to capture all of their personal moments<\/a> on video. \u00a0Provided you are running iOS 4.3 or greater,\u00a0when the video files are still on your iPhone, you can view them directly on the AppleTV\u00a0using AirPlay<\/a>. Simply turn on your Apple TV, tap on the AirPlay icon and select which AppleTV you want to view your videos on.<\/p>\n

\"AirPlay<\/p>\n

Directly from your Mac:<\/strong>\u00a0If you do not have an iPhone, and you have been off loading your video files from your digital camera directly to your Mac, you can still use AirPlay from your Mac to watch your videos on your Apple TV. \u00a0Macs running OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion can also stream their entire screens directly to an Apple TV using\u00a0AirPlay Mirroring<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"AirPlay<\/p>\n

If you do not have a newer generation AirPlay-capable Mac (mid-2011 or newer<\/a>), you still have two choices. \u00a0The first is an app in the Mac App Store called\u00a0HUDTube\u00a0($4.99,\u00a0Mac<\/a>). \u00a0This is the only video player app in the Mac App Store that supports streaming to an Apple TV using AirPlay. \u00a0With HudTube, you simply drag and drop the video file you want to view, and select the Apple TV you wish to stream to.<\/p>\n

\"HUDTube\"<\/p>\n

The second solution for your Mac is to use a product called\u00a0Air Parrot\u00a0($9.99,\u00a0Mac<\/a>). \u00a0This product brings the same AirPlay streaming capabilities to older Macs. \u00a0One nice feature that Air Parrot has that Apple’s own AirPlay Mirroring does not is the ability to select just one app window. \u00a0This feature is called “App Mirroring.” \u00a0As an example, with App Mirroring you can display just the QuickTime Player rather then your entire desktop.<\/p>\n

Home Sharing from iTunes:<\/strong>\u00a0You can also use iTunes on your Mac to stream your home movies to your Apple TV. \u00a0Beginning with version 10.1 of iTunes, you have been able to share your video files alongside your photos<\/a> with\u00a0Home Sharing<\/a>. \u00a0Home Sharing is a way to share your entire iTunes Library on your local network to all of your Apple devices. \u00a0It is easy to enable, but does require that you have an iTunes account. \u00a0Keep in mind that all Home Sharing will be limited to devices that are configured with that account.<\/p>\n

\"Home<\/p>\n

Once you have Home Sharing enabled in iTunes<\/a>,\u00a0from iTune’s File menu go back to Home Sharing menu item and click on “Choose Photos to Share with AppleTV.” \u00a0Here you can select either an iPhoto Library, an Aperture Library, or any other folder on your Mac containing photos and videos you want to share. \u00a0Just be sure to check “Include Videos” when you first set this up.<\/p>\n

\"AppleTV\"<\/p>\n

To watch your shared movies, you must also\u00a0enable Home Sharing on your Apple TV<\/a>. \u00a0Now you will be able to select any one of the movies you shared by accessing them from the “Computer” icon on the home menu of your Apple TV. \u00a0Even thought they are videos, they will be listed under “Photos” of your computer’s Home Sharing library. \u00a0Keep in mind that this Home Sharing solution is limited to your devices connected to your home network.<\/p>\n

Direct connection with cables<\/h2>\n

If you do not have an Apple TV connected to your HDTV, the next best thing is to use a cable to connect your Apple device directly to your HDTV. \u00a0How you connect to the HDTV will depend on which Apple product you have and the type of connectors your television supports. \u00a0For the most recent Macs that come equipped with either a mini display port or Thunderbolt, there is the\u00a0Belkin Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter<\/a>\u00a0for $34.95 which will allow you to connect your Mac to an HDTV using an HDMI connection.<\/p>\n

\"Cables\"<\/p>\n

For your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad that still has the older 30-pin connector, you can use the Apple Composite AV Cable<\/a> for $39. \u00a0While this is not an HDMI solution, it does connect to a wider variety of home theater equipment. \u00a0There are also the\u00a0Lightning Digital AV Adapter<\/a> for $49 that works with the iPhone 5 and latest version of the iPad that come with the new Lightning connector. \u00a0Each of these solutions will allow you to play back your movies from your Apple device directly to your HDTV.<\/p>\n

Copy files to USB thumb drive<\/h2>\n

If your Mac is not near your home theater equipment, or you just don’t want to mess with cables every time you want to watch a home movie, you may be able to watch your video files from a USB thumb drive. \u00a0Many of todays home theater appliances come equipped with a USB port. \u00a0The challenge here is getting your home videos into a format that your device can display. \u00a0To convert mine, I have always used Handbrake (Free, Mac<\/a>). \u00a0Handbrake is capable of reading in a wide variety of video formats and can export to the industry standard\u00a0H.264.<\/p>\n

\"Video<\/p>\n

If you are looking for a solution that works just as well, but is available through the Mac App Store, then try Smart Converter Pro ($4.99, Mac<\/a>). \u00a0Like Handbrake, Smart Converter Pro can convert all of your home movies in a batch process. \u00a0Unlike Handbrake, it\u00a0can also encode your home movies to DivX, a popular video format that a lot of older home theater equipment still supports. \u00a0Once you have your home movies in the format that you need, simply copy them over to your USB thumb drive and plug it into your home theater equipment.<\/p>\n

Host your own UPnP\/DLNA media server<\/h2>\n

Another option is to host your own Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) or\u00a0Digital Living Network Alliance\u00a0(DLNA) media server from your Mac. \u00a0Most smart HDTVs, Blu-ray Disc players, Roku and popular game consoles like the XBox and Playstation all can play videos served up by a UPnP\/DLNA server. \u00a0The problem with this solution historically has been finding a media server solution that your home theater appliance works well with. \u00a0This sounds complicated but it really is not. \u00a0It is basically the same thing that iTunes does via AirPlay to the Apple TV outlined above. \u00a0Just think of UPnP\/DLNA as AirPlay for the rest of the home theater market.<\/p>\n

\"Media<\/p>\n

For the Mac, there are two popular media server solutions that are UPnP\/DLNA compliant. \u00a0The first is\u00a0Plex Media Server (Free, Mac<\/a>). \u00a0Plex has been around for a while now and has done a great job of ensuring that its solution works well on a wide variety of devices. \u00a0Once installed, there are tutorials and instructions to help publish your local video files over your home network.<\/p>\n

The second solution that does not have nearly all of the features the Plex has — but does a great job at serving up a folder full of home movies — is\u00a0Serviio (Free, Mac<\/a>). \u00a0Both solutions are easy to set up and will provide access to your home movies to almost any\u00a0UPnP\/DLNA compliant device attached to your home network.<\/p>\n

There are several options available to you when it comes to watching home movies at home. \u00a0Not every solution requires that you use only Apple products to record and watch your home movies. \u00a0Each one offers its own benefits, from being able to play back your recently recorded videos directly from your iPhone, to storing years of home movies on your Mac and being able to bring them up any time you want to view them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

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