Airflow is a Mac app that streams video files stored on your computer directly to Apple TV and Chromecast devices, turning any local media into living-room entertainment without transcoding delays or cloud uploads.
What is Airflow?
Airflow is a local media streaming client for macOS that lets you push video, audio, and subtitle files from your Mac to an Apple TV, Chromecast, or any AirPlay 2 or Google Cast receiver on your network. Think of it as a smart bridge between your hard drive and your TV — one that actually understands modern codecs.
The problem it solves is embarrassingly real: you have a folder full of MKV files, your Apple TV refuses to play them, and VLC on a laptop screen just isn't the same. Airflow handles the codec conversation so the TV never has to.
What does Airflow do best?
Airflow excels at playing high-bitrate video files — including HEVC, H.264, and even many MKV containers — on your television without making you wait for a transcode or convert anything ahead of time. Playback starts quickly, subtitle tracks load correctly (including SRT and embedded subs), and the remote control experience on Apple TV feels genuinely native rather than bolted on.
- Dual-target support: stream to Apple TV via AirPlay and to Chromecast/Chromecast Ultra simultaneously in one app
- Subtitle handling: external SRT files, embedded subtitle tracks, and adjustable sizing — a common pain point that Airflow gets right
- Chapter navigation: scrubbing and chapter jumping work properly over the stream, not just on the source file
- Audio track selection: multi-track files let you switch languages without restarting playback
Where Airflow surprises me most is reliability. I've thrown 50GB remuxed Blu-ray files at it — the kind of file that makes Infuse sweat — and playback started within a few seconds. That's not a given in this category.
How much does Airflow cost?
Airflow is a paid app available directly from the developer's website (not the Mac App Store). There is a free trial so you can verify it works with your specific devices before spending a cent. The license is a one-time purchase — no subscription — which is a meaningful differentiator in a software landscape increasingly addicted to recurring billing. Pricing is modest for a dedicated-use utility; check airflowapp.com for the current figure, as it has been updated over the years.
Who should use Airflow?
Airflow is the right tool for anyone who keeps a local media library — ripped Blu-rays, downloaded purchases, old DVD archives — and wants to watch it on a television connected via Apple TV or Chromecast without converting every file or standing up a full Plex server. If your household runs both ecosystems (an Apple TV in the bedroom, a Chromecast in the living room), Airflow is one of very few apps that handles both without switching tools.
It is not aimed at newcomers to home media. If you are happy streaming everything from Netflix and iTunes, you don't need it. But if you have ever launched VLC on a Mac and felt mildly cheated by the laptop-screen experience, Airflow is specifically built for you.
What are the best Airflow alternatives?
The closest competitor for Apple TV streaming is Infuse (available on the Apple TV itself, not the Mac), which has a richer interface and broader format support but requires the media to be accessible via a network share or cloud service rather than streamed directly from a Mac app. Plex is the nuclear option — it runs a full media server, transcodes on-the-fly, and has a polished TV app — but setup overhead is dramatically higher and the free tier increasingly pushes you toward a Plex Pass subscription. IINA and VLC are excellent local players on the Mac itself but neither sends a stream to a Chromecast natively. Airflow's niche — Mac-native, dead-simple, AirPlay + Cast in one — remains largely uncontested at its price point.
How does Airflow compare to Plex?
Plex is a media server; Airflow is a streaming client. Plex requires you to run a background server process, set up library scanning, and (for Chromecast) often transcode on the fly. Airflow requires nothing running in the background — open it, pick a file, pick a device, play. For a single-person or single-household setup where the Mac is already on, Airflow is faster to start, lighter on resources, and has no ongoing cost after the initial purchase. Plex wins on multi-user access, remote streaming outside the home, and ecosystem breadth. Airflow wins on simplicity and being ready in ten seconds.
