I have heard of this being done, and I tried it successfully a few times, but I could not do this reliably...
CURRENT HARDWARE:
EPSON projector with USB-A, HDMI, USB-B, VGA
14-inch M3 MacBook Pro
Old iPad Mini (2nd gen?)
iPhone SE (2022, A15)
AppleTV (2nd or 3rd gen?)
Apple USB-A SuperDrive
Anker 555 USB-C Hub (8-in-1)
portable loudspeaker with wireless RF mic, audio jack and adaptor
POSSIBLE FUTURE HARDWARE
iPad Mini 6 or 7
newer iPhone (big if)
SOFTWARE
Microsoft Office 365 (Powerpoint)
Apple iWork (Keynote)
various movie players
BUDGET
Usually shoestring
HOME INTERNET CONNECTION
Verizon DSL (barely adequate)
For couple of annual events, our family donated the use of our hardware (including an old AppleTV a couple of times) to volunteer organizations for public overhead presentations. There are future possibilities that we might be doing presentations again. Usually, in the past, presentations were done through wired connection (plugging a laptop into a projector via USB-A-to-USB-B, or HDMI, or most commonly via VGA cable using an HDMI-to-VGA adaptor). This was always very limiting, and some venues made this a pain. Depending on how people were seated at the venue, someone might be seated right next to the laptop or projector, shift in their seat (or bump something), and disrupt the presentation because the screen would go black for a second.
We tried a couple or three times to plug the projector into an AppleTV. This produced mixed results. The venues typically had no internet or WiFi, and our family's cellular plan excludes using the phone as a hotspot. (Some venues did not have reliable cell signal anyway). Where no internet is available, often the AppleTV would act up, not connecting with the laptop. (This used much older versions of the MacOS, dating back as much as 10+ years.)
The most common presentations use either PowerPoint or Keynote. On rare occasion, video with sound is played.
We have not tried making a presentation wirelessly in the last 8 years. Please keep in mind that we need to keep this simple because we only did this once, maybe two or three times per year. The rest of the time all the gear is stowed when not in use and it's actually easy to forget how to put everything together to make it work. We have never tried making wireless presentations from the iPhone or iPad. We have only made presentations from the new MacBook Pro using HDMI; never wirelessly.
1: If we wanted to use a "modern" wireless rig (ditching the old AppleTV), that would work with either the M3 laptop or an iPhone or iPad, what would be our options? How could we set up a wireless rig with the projector that would be reliable?
2: Our family ditched cable TV years ago. We tried the ancient AppleTV for a while with mixed results. We want to fancy ourselves "cord cutters" because both the cable TV and Verizon's entertainment options are not first-rate. Is there a wireless rig that would open up possibilities for "cord cutting"?
3: Do newer wireless rigs require their own plug-in power? If so, what are the requirements? We need to know what to expect. We try to run the laptop and projector off of a single extension cord, through a "pig tail".
CURRENT HARDWARE:
EPSON projector with USB-A, HDMI, USB-B, VGA
14-inch M3 MacBook Pro
Old iPad Mini (2nd gen?)
iPhone SE (2022, A15)
AppleTV (2nd or 3rd gen?)
Apple USB-A SuperDrive
Anker 555 USB-C Hub (8-in-1)
portable loudspeaker with wireless RF mic, audio jack and adaptor
POSSIBLE FUTURE HARDWARE
iPad Mini 6 or 7
newer iPhone (big if)
SOFTWARE
Microsoft Office 365 (Powerpoint)
Apple iWork (Keynote)
various movie players
BUDGET
Usually shoestring
HOME INTERNET CONNECTION
Verizon DSL (barely adequate)
For couple of annual events, our family donated the use of our hardware (including an old AppleTV a couple of times) to volunteer organizations for public overhead presentations. There are future possibilities that we might be doing presentations again. Usually, in the past, presentations were done through wired connection (plugging a laptop into a projector via USB-A-to-USB-B, or HDMI, or most commonly via VGA cable using an HDMI-to-VGA adaptor). This was always very limiting, and some venues made this a pain. Depending on how people were seated at the venue, someone might be seated right next to the laptop or projector, shift in their seat (or bump something), and disrupt the presentation because the screen would go black for a second.
We tried a couple or three times to plug the projector into an AppleTV. This produced mixed results. The venues typically had no internet or WiFi, and our family's cellular plan excludes using the phone as a hotspot. (Some venues did not have reliable cell signal anyway). Where no internet is available, often the AppleTV would act up, not connecting with the laptop. (This used much older versions of the MacOS, dating back as much as 10+ years.)
The most common presentations use either PowerPoint or Keynote. On rare occasion, video with sound is played.
We have not tried making a presentation wirelessly in the last 8 years. Please keep in mind that we need to keep this simple because we only did this once, maybe two or three times per year. The rest of the time all the gear is stowed when not in use and it's actually easy to forget how to put everything together to make it work. We have never tried making wireless presentations from the iPhone or iPad. We have only made presentations from the new MacBook Pro using HDMI; never wirelessly.
1: If we wanted to use a "modern" wireless rig (ditching the old AppleTV), that would work with either the M3 laptop or an iPhone or iPad, what would be our options? How could we set up a wireless rig with the projector that would be reliable?
2: Our family ditched cable TV years ago. We tried the ancient AppleTV for a while with mixed results. We want to fancy ourselves "cord cutters" because both the cable TV and Verizon's entertainment options are not first-rate. Is there a wireless rig that would open up possibilities for "cord cutting"?
3: Do newer wireless rigs require their own plug-in power? If so, what are the requirements? We need to know what to expect. We try to run the laptop and projector off of a single extension cord, through a "pig tail".
