Like so many modern computing experiences, Miracast is a great idea, implemented almost (but not quite) well enough to be used by mere mortals. The Miracast standard, maintained by the Wi-Fi Alliance, is designed for mirroring a display and streaming high-definition content (with 5.1 surround sound) between mobile devices and large displays.

In theory, you can wirelessly stream the display from a Miracast-enabled phone or tablet to a Miracast-compatible receiver, such as a TV, with perfect fidelity. If the TV isn’t Miracast-ready, you can plug an adapter into a spare HDMI port. Belkin Miracast adapter, plugged into HDMI input / photo credit: Belkin After pairing the two devices, you can duplicate the display on your handheld device to a much larger screen, allowing you to wirelessly project a PowerPoint presentation to a conference room TV, watch a livestream in your living room, or cue up a music playlist for a party. (As an aside: If this all sounds familiar, it’s because Apple’s AirPlay and Google’s ChromeCast offer similar features, without the noble promise of standards-based interoperability. AirPlay Mirroring works with Apple TV and iOS devices.

Airtame is a small, portable plug in for your projector, TV or any other screen that you want to wirelessly display your device's screen on. It is designed to be fitted straight into the HDMI cable - a great way to avoid all of the clutter of cables. The Chromecast is a $35 HDMI dongle that’s about the size of a USB flash drive, weighs just 34 grams (1.2 oz), and can stream nearly anything on your laptop or mobile devices to a TV or projector. It’s sold as a way to make your TV smart: you plug it in, and after a quick setup you can easily queue up Netflix and YouTube on the big screen from a phone.

ChromeCast does most of its magic through web apps that only run in the Google Chrome browser, and screen mirroring requires an Android 4.2 or later device.). That’s the theory. In practice, based on my initial experience, I can tell you that Miracast is delightful when it works and maddening when something goes wrong.

Although the Miracast standard is relatively new, the technology behind it is well-tested, and there are an increasing number of compatible devices on the market. Popular adapters include the Netgear PTV3000 Push2TV Wireless Display Adapter, the Actiontec Screenbeam line, and Belkin's Miracast Video Adapter.

Miracast support is also built into some TVs and Blu-ray players. Last weekend, I spread out an assortment of tablets and smartphones, plugged a fresh-from-the-box Belkin Miracast Video Adapter into the nearly new 58-inch Panasonic TV in our living room, and asked my wife for her patience and forbearance as I tested different scenarios. Setup After plugging the Miracast adapter in to an empty HDMI input and connecting its power input to a USB port on the TV, I tinkered with the device briefly, just long enough to determine that it needed a firmware update.

The interface is extremely clean and visual, making it easy to understand; your clips can be dragged and dropped into place with fluidity and ease. Trimming your clips is simple too — just drag your cursor over the film clips. If you’d like to skip precise edits altogether, iMovie also has a “trailer” option where your clips can be dragged into a template and automatically edited together for a seamless, tidy-looking short film. IMovie also provides a host of visual effects, transitions, and text options if you’d like to add some excitement to your film without too much extra work. Is great for first-time auteurs on Macintosh OS X.