AirPlay: AirServer 1.1.8 And 1.9 Beta Running Better On Windows 8 (But Still Not Perfectly)

Some months ago I tested Airserver 1.1.2 on Windows 8 with less success. AirServer 1.1.2 has been running unsteadily on Windows 8 Pro with too many connection breakdowns. Now there are two new versions released: Airserver 1.1.8 and Airserver 1.9 beta. Here are my findings, tested with my iPhone 4S and iPad 4th generation: The stability is improved, but from time to time you got still some connection breakdowns again. However, the number in total is less. The transfer speed of AirPlay mirroring is still good. It seems to me that AirServer needs less memory and CPU power of my Windows 8 PC as AirServer version 1.1.2.

On miApple.TV you can watch the video “AirServer 1.9 Beta Testing AirPlay Mirroring” how AirServer 1.9 beta version is performing on my Acer Aspire 1810T:

(miApple.me’s Original Source)

After downloading the Airserver 1.9 beta version you should take care on the pre-requisites stated on the download page:

1. Make sure that you either have iTunes or Bonjour print services installed on your PC:
   Download iTunes
   Download Bonjour Print Services
2. Full version of DirectX 9c must be installed on your PC; even if a newer version of DirectX is already installed. You also need to install this package if you are receiving D3DXCompileShader errors:
   Download DirectX 9c
   After downloading this package, extract the files into a folder on your PC and then run DXSetup.exe to complete the installation process.
3. To improve video streaming over AirPlay compatibility, install iTunes, QuickTime, Haali Media Splitter and FFDShow tryout.
4. If using an additional 3rd party firewall on your PC, make sure that AirServer.exe is allowed to receive network connections.
5. Your iOS device and the PC must be on the same network.

To activate AirServer for all users on a PC, quit AirServer and then re-launch it once with elevated privileges (run-as-admin). This will automatically copy the current users activation to all users on the machine. Alternatively open an elevated command prompt and run this command:
"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\AirServer\AirServer\AirServerConsole" activate ActivationCode

I had a shot at the beta version without having DirectX 9c, Haali Media Splitter and FFDShow tryout installed. It didn’t work. However, after installing and rebooting my Windows 8 Pro PC AirServer could be launched.

Summary: Both AirServer 1.1.8 and AirServer 1.9 beta exhibit a step forward in regard to improved stability on Windows 8. However, both versions still show connection crashes. Up to now, I still cannot recommend AirPlay and Airplay mirroring with Airserver 1.1.8 and 1.9 beta. Further more, installing a bundle of additional software programs is not very user conveniently, especially, for less experienced Windows users.

Stay tuned! 😉