Zero Lag Extended Workspace — 120 FPS, 10-Bit HEVC, Full OLED Dynamic Range macOS-to-Android Display Bridge
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Turn any Android tablet or phone into a true 120Hz, pixel-perfect secondary monitor for your Mac.
No subscriptions. No 30/60 FPS caps. Single-digit millisecond latency. Pure OLED pitch-blacks.
🌐 Live Interactive Website • 🚀 How to Use / Controls • 📖 Step-by-Step Walkthrough • ⚡ Quick Install • 📊 Comparison Matrix
Proprietary tablet second-screen utilities like Duet Display and Luna Display charge recurring subscription fees ($15–$50/yr), cap refresh rates at 30–60 Hz, introduce noticeable input lag, and wash out blacks on high-end AMOLED screens. Apple's native Sidecar is strictly locked to iPads.
AndroiDisplay bridges Apple Silicon's hardware video encoder (hevc_videotoolbox) with Android's hardware decoder via Sunshine, Moonlight, and ADB USB reverse tethering—delivering a native, hardware-accelerated 120 FPS second-screen experience completely for free.
| Feature | AndroiDisplay | Duet Display | Apple Sidecar | Luna Display |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | 100% Free / Open Source | $15–$50 / Year | Free (Apple only) | $80 Hardware Dongle |
| Max Refresh Rate | 🚀 120 FPS Locked | 60 FPS (often drops) | 60 FPS | 30–60 FPS |
| Glass-to-Glass Latency | ⚡ <5ms (Wired USB-C) | 25–45 ms | ~15 ms | 20–35 ms |
| Android Tablet Support | ✅ Any Android Device | ❌ iPad Only | ❌ iPad / Mac Only | |
OLED Pure Blacks (#000000) |
✅ Full Range [0–255] | ❌ Washed Out Grey | ❌ Washed Out | |
| Window Persistence | ✅ Yes (Virtual Canvas stays) | ❌ Collapses on exit | ❌ Collapses on exit | ❌ Collapses on exit |
| HiDPI Scaling Selection | ✅ 1440p / 1680p / 1920p |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| macOS Host (Apple Silicon) |
| |
| +------------------------+ +--------------------+ +-----------------+ |
| | Native Menu Bar App | ---> | tab-ctl CLI Engine | ---> | displayplacer | |
| | (Swift / MenuBarExtra) | | (Zsh orchestration)| | (Layout & HiDPI)| |
| +------------------------+ +--------------------+ +-----------------+ |
| | | | |
| v v v |
| +------------------------+ +--------------------+ +-----------------+ |
| | DeskPad.app | | Sunshine Host | | Apple Silicon | |
| | (Headless Virtual Disp)| ---> | (ScreenCaptureKit) | ---> | VideoToolbox | |
| +------------------------+ +--------------------+ | (10-bit HEVC) | |
| | +-----------------+ |
+--------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------+
|
[USB-C ADB Reverse / LAN Stream]
Ports: 47984, 47989, 47990, 48010
|
+--------------------------------------------v--------------------------------------+
| Android Client Tablet / Device |
| |
| +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |
| | Moonlight Android App (Forced HEVC, 80-100 Mbps Bitrate, 120 FPS, 16:10) | |
| | AMOLED / High-Refresh Display (True Pixel-Off Blacks, Zero Letterboxing) | |
| +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- Headless Virtual Display Canvas (
DeskPad.app): Creates an off-screen native macOS display buffer so the OS treats your tablet as an independent physical display with its own Spaces and Mission Control. - Apple Silicon VideoToolbox Hardware Encoding: Direct GPU framebuffer capture via ScreenCaptureKit, encoded into 10-bit HEVC at 120 FPS with ultra-low compute overhead.
- HiDPI Scaling via
displayplacer: Positions the virtual canvas relative to your primary display(-width, 0)with crisp Retina scaling (1440x900,1680x1050, or1920x1200). - ADB High-Speed Port Reversal: Automatically maps streaming ports (
47984,47989,47990,48010) over USB-C, ensuring single-digit millisecond latency immune to Wi-Fi congestion. - Intelligent Teardown & Workspace Retention: Pausing/stopping the stream halts Sunshine and Moonlight while preserving DeskPad, preventing windows and IDEs from collapsing onto your main screen.
This pipeline was engineered and benchmarked against the following reference hardware setup:
| Component | Tested Hardware / Version | Role in Pipeline |
|---|---|---|
| Host Machine | Mac Mini (Apple M4, macOS 15 Sequoia) | Host workstation & VideoToolbox 10-bit encoder |
| Primary Display | Dell P2419H (1080p @ 60Hz) | Primary desktop workspace at origin: (0,0) |
| Client Tablet | Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ (12.4" Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz) | Client display running Moonlight with zero letterboxing |
| Connection | USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 Cable (ADB Reverse Tethered) | <5ms glass-to-glass wired display transport |
Note: The codebase is fully modular and compatible with any Mac (M1–M4) and any Android tablet or phone.
- Mac Host: Any Apple Silicon Mac (M1, M2, M3, M4 / Pro / Max / Ultra) running macOS 13 (Ventura), 14 (Sonoma), 15 (Sequoia) or later.
- Android Client: Any 60Hz/120Hz Android tablet or phone (e.g., Galaxy Tab S-Series, Xiaomi Pad, Lenovo Tab, Pixel Tablet, OnePlus Pad).
- Connection: High-speed USB-C 3.2 cable (recommended for sub-5ms wired streaming) or local 5GHz/6GHz Wi-Fi network.
- Android Client Software: Moonlight Game Streaming (Android) installed on your tablet.
📖 Looking for full step-by-step instructions? Read the Comprehensive User & Operation Guide.
Clone and run the installer:
git clone https://github.com/abhay2008/AndroiDisplay.git
cd AndroiDisplay
./install.shgit clone https://github.com/abhay2008/AndroiDisplay.git
cd AndroiDisplay
make
make installThe AndroiDisplay Status Item lives in your macOS menu bar with real-time status indication:
- 🖥️ Status Header: Live display state & USB connection indicator.
- 📐 Extend to Tablet (
e2t):1440 × 900 (Large UI / HiDPI - Recommended)1680 × 1050 (Medium UI / HiDPI - Balanced)1920 × 1200 (Dense Workspace / HiDPI)
- 🪞 Mirror Main Screen (
m2t): Instant 120 FPS mirroring of the primary display. - 🛑 Stop Stream (
t2stop): Pauses media and halts Sunshine while keeping window arrangements intact. - ⚡ Quick Actions: Reverse ADB ports, restart Sunshine, open Web UI.
- ⚙️ Preferences: Launch at Login, Auto-Detect USB daemon.
# Extend display with interactive resolution selection
e2t
# Extend display with direct resolution flag
e2t -r 1440 # 1440x900 (Large UI)
e2t -r 1680 # 1680x1050 (Medium UI)
e2t -r 1920 # 1920x1200 (Dense UI)
# Mirror primary display
m2t
# Stop stream cleanly
t2stop
# Check pipeline status
tab-ctl status
# Manually reverse ADB ports
tab-ctl reverseFor the ultimate 120 FPS experience on AMOLED tablet panels:
- Resolution: Match display (16:10 / 16:9) or 1440p / 1080p.
- Framerate:
120 FPS(or60 FPS). - Bitrate:
80 Mbps – 100 Mbps(Wired USB-C) or40–60 Mbps(Wi-Fi). - Video Codec:
Force HEVC (H.265). - Stretch Video to Fit Screen:
Enabled. - Enable HDR:
Disabled(Host 10-bit HEVC handles full OLED dynamic range natively).
| Challenge | Root Cause | Implemented Solution |
|---|---|---|
| ScreenCaptureKit Permission Error | Non-sandboxed daemon lacked TCC screen recording entitlements. | Granted Screen Recording permission to /opt/homebrew/bin/sunshine & terminal wrappers. |
| Dynamic Display ID Shifts | macOS cycles display IDs on restart (e.g., id: 3 to id: 16), breaking static configs. |
Built live regex parser (tail -n 40 sunshine.log | grep "DeskPad Display") to dynamically update sunshine.conf. |
| OLED Washed-Out Blacks | Default Rec. 601 limited color range (16–235) raised shadow floor. | Forced color_range = 1 (Full Range 0–255), color_space = 1 (Rec. 709), and hevc_mode = 2 (10-bit). |
| Moonlight HDR Warning | Virtual displays lack HDR10 EDID metadata. | Disabled HDR toggle in Moonlight while keeping host 10-bit pipeline intact. |
| Window Scatter on Stop | Killing virtual display destroyed framebuffer and scrambled windows. | Redesigned t2stop to keep DeskPad active while stopping Sunshine and Moonlight. |
For complete troubleshooting instructions, see docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md.
- 🌐 Live Interactive Website Showcase
- 📖 Comprehensive User & Operation Guide
- 🏛️ Architecture & Latency Breakdown
- ⚙️ Configuration & Host Tuning Guide
- 🛠️ Troubleshooting & FAQ Guide
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.