I’ve been working with my studio setup a bit more, and by adding AirServer into the mix, things get even more interesting. AirServer turns your Mac into a destination for AirPlay, as if it was an AppleTV or iOS device.
I discovered that I can indeed use both AirParrot and AirServer at the same time on my Mac. So, not only can I project on the big screen through AirParrot and the AppleTV, I can have the iOS device image on my Mac screen through AirServer and place it on the projector screen. No contention for the AppleTV as the Mac is the only thing using it. The MacBook Air is working hard – the fan comes on and stays on – but software stays responsive.
Remote conferencing software, like GoToMeeting, works fine with this setup. So does QuickTime Player screen recording… except you can’t record the projector if you are using it to Extend Desktop because AirParrot uses the same video stream as QuickTime Player.
UPDATE: With Air Display, I was able to extend my Mac’s desktop across a 4th screen, the iPad. Pretty amazing, and they’ve updated the software to support the retina resolution, although it hasn’t yet finished the review process so the update isn’t on the AppStore yet. This will be useful when I’m developing and testing screens and graphic assets for the retina display, because none of the other screens are high enough resolution to display the whole thing.
