How to Stream Videos From Mac to iPad/iPhone.
Imagine: you have a couple of movies on your Mac that you want to stream to your iPad. Or, say you want to wirelessly access your Mac hard drive from any iOS device on your network. So what’s the best way to do this?
Well, in this post, we will not only see an easy way to stream videos from Mac to iPad, but also you will be able to access your entire Mac hard drive from iPad.
Related: How to Use USB Drive on Android and iOS
Traditional approach
Well, there are several ways to access Mac hard drive from iOS devices. Like-
# 1 Most people would just transfer movies from their Mac to their iPad. It’s okay if you’re going to watch these movies on the go. But if both your MacBook and your iOS device are on the same Wi-Fi network, then there is no need to transfer files as you can stream them online.
# 2 The second thing that comes to mind is using a third party app like AirVideo or Find it. But these applications require a server to be installed on your computer, and do not forget that they are often paid.
The best way
Well, guess what, there is no need to transfer videos from Mac to iPad or use a third party app. Instead, you can enable easy setup on your Mac and all its content from any device on your network, be it iOS, Android, or Windows. But for this tutorial, let’s focus on the iOS part.
Things You Need
Both iPad and Mac must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network. And it’s all.
So let’s see how this is done.
Stream videos from Mac to iPad
# 1 On your Mac, open spotlight (cmd + space), type in System Preferences and hit Enter.
# 2 Then go to the Sharing section and turn on file sharing. In the Shared Folder and Users section, you can add a new shared folder and specify which user has access to it. By default, the administrator can access the entire hard drive.
Make a note of your Mac’s local IP address (it should be approximately 192.168.x.x).
# 3 Now take out your iPad / iPhone and install File Explorer Free from the App Store.
# 4 After installing the application, open it click on the plus sign at the top center select Mac OS X enter your MAC IP address, its username and password.
Or if you scroll down to My Network Places and you will see all the devices on your network. Find your Mac in the list and click on it Connect as registered user enter your Mac username and password and that’s it.
You will now have access to all Mac files on your iPad. You can stream movie files or even download images by copying them to the clipboard. Video streaming is good if you have a decent WiFi router.
Video
For a better understanding of how to access Mac hard drive through iOS, watch the following video and leave a comment if you run into problems.
Related: Access Windows Shared Folder with Android via Wi-Fi