Can I use a Mac Mini as an Airplay audio receiver?
I don't have an AppleTV (yet), but I do have a Mac Mini hooked up to some decent speakers. Is there something I can run on it, so that it acts like an Airplay audio receiver?
(Video support isn't important to me.)
Solution 1:
Both AirServer and Reflector allow your Mac to act as an Airplay receiver for audio or video. I'm not aware of an app that specializes in audio only Airplay, but either of those should do what you need.
Solution 2:
Proprietary:
- AirServer - audio and streaming, Mac/Windows, $15
- Reflector - audio and streaming, Mac/Windows/Android, $15
- AirFoil - audio only, Mac/Windows/Linux, $30 for Mac/Win, $40 for both, free for linux
Open Source:
- casualShare audio and streaming, Java + NodeJS, open source
- AirStream (Ruby) - audio and streaming, source only
- Kodi - formerly XBMC, audio and streaming, Mac/Windows/Linux+, open source
- Shairport Sync - audio only (multi-room), source only (C/make); this is the not-dead version of Shairport
Dead:
- AirPlay for Totem - audio and streaming
- AirMac, on GitHub - audio and streaming, source only (Objective-C)
- AirStream (C#) - audio and streaming, source only
- Shairport - audio only, source only (C/make + perl)
- Banana TV audio and streaming, Mac, free, but only supports iOS 4.2 through 4.3.5
Solution 3:
Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil (which transmits Airplay from a Mac) is also very reliable, and includes Airfoil Speakers to receive Airplay from other sources. I recommend it highly.
Solution 4:
From https://code.google.com/p/open-airplay/ (note they also support audio):
- AirServer: The best app for turning your Mac into an AirPlay screen ($15)
- Casual Share: Mac AirPlay receiever
- AirMac: Turns you Macintosh into an Airplay receiver (Objective C)
- Airstream Media Player: C# based AirPlay screen for windows and AirPlay server source code
- Play2Wifi: An AirPlay server written in Python (< iOS 4.3)
And as Christian says, AirFoil Speakers should also do the trick ($25 / 10 minute trial).
I personally had problems with AirServer (kept crapping out) and Reflector only gives you a 10 minute trial, which isn't enough.