You can use the AirPlay feature in iOS to stream music, photos, or video from an iOS device to a TV connected to an Apple TV box. But what if you’re a Windows Media Center user instead? Now there’s an app for that.
Developer Thomas Pleasance has released a plugin for Windows Media Center which adds support for AirPlay. You’ll need to install Apple’s Bonjour app for Windows first, and to make sure that you’re running a version of Windows that includes Windows Media Center (Windows 7 Home Premium or Ultimate should do the trick). But overall the installation process couldn’t be much easier. Just run the app, and you’re all set.
To use AirPlay for Windows Media Center, just open the media center app on your PC and then bring up some content you want to stream on your mobile device, hit the AirPlay button, and tell iOS where you’d like to send the video. You can then play, pause, skip or rewind using your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad as a remote control.
After the break you can check out a video showing how I can stream a YouTube video to my desktop PC running Windows 7 Home Premium using the new free plugin.
