AppleTV 3 on a LAN network (no internet) with a PPC Mac and iPhone

Question

I have had a few different things told to me on this situation. I have a wifi local area network set-up with NO Internet connection. I want to know if AppleTV will

1. work at all with a PPC Mac
2. mirror my iPhone ie AirPlay
3. work at all without Internet (again Mac and iPhone on wifi LAN).

I do connect to my Mac from iPhone 4S for a number of things now , and sync via USB (although I've heard that's not possible).

Answer 1

The iPhone and the AppleTV should work just fine together (with or without internet). Note that some router models do not work well together with AirPlay so if you encounter transmission problems this should be the first suspect.

Regarding your Mac I believe that the latest iTunes for OS X 10.5 can do AirPlay. If you run an older version of OS X you should consider the most appropriate upgrade path. It might give a better experience to buy a new mac instead of upgrading to OS X 10.5

Answer 2

1) ATV requires iTunes, if you want to get content from your Mac. Your rev of iTunes on a PPC Mac might be too old. What rev do you have?

2) Airplay should work fine

3) Should work too. Perhaps someone would be willing to unplug their Internet for a few minutes to simulate that for you!

Answer 3

One thing you want to take note is that Apple TV requires Activation like any other iOS device. And that requires a one-time working Internet connection.

You can of course do that with any other's network connection, even with the one in Apple Retail Store.

For the features you request, that's take a look.

Question A. Will it work at all with a PPC Mac?

So the answer is it will. But I am concerned with the version that you have on your PPC Mac. AirTunes (now called AirPlay) has been built in to iTunes for like forever, so that shouldn't concern me. You can use AirPlay to stream at least audio to Apple TV. (Videos are added after iTunes 10 as I believe, but I am not sure if PPC Macs do that)

As I believe, "iTunes Home Sharing" exists on iTunes 10, so if you can run it, and find the option "Home Sharing" under iTunes's "Advanced" menu, you can browse your iTunes library on your Apple TV. BUT, activating Home Sharing, again for the first time requires you to authorize your Mac and Apple TV to use your iTunes account. Again, a one-time thing. (Home Sharing is added before/in iTunes 10, but again, I am not sure if PPC Macs have that)

Question B. Will it mirror my iPhone via AirPlay?

Yes, it will. AirPlay mirroring requires a working LAN connection only, no iTunes account authorization or stuff.

Question C. Will it work at all without Internet?

So, as I have answered the last two question, the answer is obvious, it will.