A quick reference for the terminology used across our support articles and in screen mirroring generally.
AirPlay
Apple's built-in screen mirroring and media streaming protocol. Available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Used for both mirroring (showing the whole screen) and media casting (sending audio or video from an app).
BYOM (Bring Your Own Meeting)
A setup where you plug your own laptop into a meeting room's AV equipment (cameras, microphones, speakers) and run the meeting from your laptop using whichever conferencing app you prefer (Teams, Zoom, Google Meet). BYOM is one of the features of the AirServer Connect Button.
Casting
Sending specific content, such as a video or song, from one device to another so the receiver plays it. Different from screen mirroring. See Screen mirroring vs casting.
DisplayPort Alt Mode
A capability of some USB-C ports that lets them carry a video signal. Required for the AirServer Connect Button to work. Not every USB-C port supports it; charging-only USB-C ports don't.
DRM (Digital Rights Management)
Copy protection used by some streaming services (Netflix, Disney+, and others) that prevents their content from playing on receivers they don't recognize. Even where mirroring or casting normally works, DRM can block playback or show a blank screen.
Google Cast
Google's built-in mirroring and media casting protocol. Supported by Android devices, Chromebooks, and the Google Chrome browser. Not to be confused with Google Home or Chromecast, which are hardware and app products that use Google Cast.
HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection)
A form of DRM specifically for HDMI and other display connections. Some content requires an HDCP-compliant path from source to display; if any device in the chain doesn't support it, playback is blocked.
mDNS (Multicast DNS) / Bonjour
The network discovery protocol used by AirPlay and Google Cast to find receivers on the local network. On corporate networks, mDNS is sometimes blocked between VLANs, which prevents devices from discovering AirServer even when they can otherwise reach it.
Miracast
Microsoft's built-in screen mirroring protocol, based on Wi-Fi Direct. Native to Windows and some Android devices (notably Samsung). Unlike AirPlay and Google Cast, Miracast uses Wi-Fi beaconing rather than mDNS to advertise receivers.
PIN
A short numeric code shown on the receiver's screen that the sender must type to connect. Used by Miracast for authentication and, when enabled, by Google Cast. Meant to prevent accidental or unauthorized connections in shared environments like classrooms.
Password
A longer text-based credential set on the receiver, that the sender must know to connect. Used by AirPlay when a password is configured. Different from a PIN in that the password doesn't change and isn't displayed on the receiver.
Protocol
The specific standard used to communicate between the sender and receiver during mirroring. AirPlay, Google Cast, and Miracast are the three main screen mirroring protocols.
Receiver
The device that receives and displays the mirrored screen or cast content. AirServer is a receiver, whether it's running as software on a Mac or Windows PC, or on dedicated AirServer Connect hardware.
Sender
The device you're mirroring or casting from: the phone, tablet, or laptop whose screen or content is shown on the receiver.
Wi-Fi Direct
A peer-to-peer Wi-Fi connection between two devices without needing a shared network. Miracast is built on Wi-Fi Direct. AirServer Connect uses a Wi-Fi Direct SSID (starting with DIRECT-) for Miracast discovery and Direct Miracast sessions.