KNOW THE LINGO – WHAT IS MIRACAST?
By: Joseph D. Cornwall, CTS-D
Technology Evangelist—Lastar, Inc.
Lingo is a term used to describe the language used by people who work in a particular area or who have a common interest. Technical
lingo is a kind of shorthand that’s used to express concepts common to that specific topic or area of study. Technical lingo is important
because it provides a very precise or unique “shorthand” description of a device, effect or concept. Unfortunately, if you aren’t
comfortable and familiar with the lingo of a topic it can be a tall hurdle to communicate efficiently with folks who consider the jargon of
their field to be “self-explanatory.” In this series of articles we’ll lift the veils of misunderstanding from the lingo of the A/V industry.
WHAT IS A MIRACAST?
If you’ve been in this business for a while, you’ve probably run across the Apple TV system. Chances are that if you spend much
time serving the education market you’ve probably been asked to install an Apple AirPlay® system. AirPlay is a proprietary protocol
developed by Apple Inc. that allows wireless streaming of audio, video and metadata between devices. AirPlay is a wonderful
design for consumer applications that facilitates the streaming of multimedia content over your home wireless network switch. The key
word in that last sentence is “consumer.”
Apple’s AirPlay provides for “mirroring” the screen image of select Apple devices through a connection made via a Wi-Fi
(802.11 a/g/n) to an Apple TV receiver on the same network. While this is a unique, useful and enjoyable feature to have, it’s
weakness—from a commercial point-of-view—is that it requires additional devices to be added to the LAN; devices that may very
well compromise network security while simultaneously adding to the network’s data load. In a home network with just a handful of
devices this is an easy protocol to control. In a commercial environment with dozens (or hundreds) of rooms and tightly controlled
network access, it’s not such a friendly installation.
Enter Miracast™. Unlike AirPlay, Miracast creates a peer-to-peer direct connection similar in concept to a Bluetooth® connection.
Without the need to access the LAN, there are no problems with network security and passwords nor with network capacity and data
rates. Miracast technology securely delivers up to 1080p HD video and 5.1 surround sound content to or from desktops, tablets,
mobile phones, and other devices by leveraging 802.11ac radio frequencies without actually using the wireless access point.
In short, Miracast is an open ex-network alternative to Apple’s AirPlay mirroring.
Miracast is built on the Wi-Fi™ Direct platform created by the Wi-Fi™ Alliance. Wi-Fi Direct allows source and display devices to
discover one another and provides the underlying device-to-device connectivity for Miracast. Miracast builds upon Wi-Fi Direct with
mechanisms to negotiate video capabilities, setup content protection (if needed), stream content, and maintain the video session.
Miracast is an industry-wide solution with compatibility across brands and devices. It’s easy to set up and use since the devices
choose the appropriate settings automatically. Miracast is HDCP compliant, and select Miracast receivers can output an HDMI signal
for integration in complex A/V installations.
Where can you find Miracast devices? You can start by contacting your C2G representative. You might also want to check this list of
Miracast compliant mobile devices and this list of Miracast compliant displays. If your selected display isn’t Miracast enabled, don’t
fret! C2G will shortly be releasing a selection of Miracast devices, which will allow you to include just about any legacy projector,
flat panel display or device with an HDMI input in your project!
3555 Kettering Blvd. | Moraine OH | 45439 | www.c2g.com | 800.287.2843
11105_9.13_PDF | © 2013 Lastar Inc.