Why we build Encore.
And what comes next.
An Intel iMac has one of the best screens ever put on a desk. The computer behind it is what got old. The screen did not.
macOS stopped updating it, apps stopped supporting it, and it slowed down. Apple's Target Display Mode used to turn an iMac into a monitor, but it ended with the 2014 models and never worked on a Retina 5K iMac (here is why). So a lot of good screens now sit in attics, offices and school storerooms, or end up as e-waste.
Encore gives that screen a second life next to your new Mac. No new hardware, nothing to throw away. It is free during the public beta.
What we are building
What is in the app today, then what comes next, in order. Encore updates itself, so every step reaches your Mac and iMac on its own.
A sharper pictureIn the app
Text should look as crisp as on a real monitor. On a cable, Encore sends the screen without loss: every pixel and every colour as on your Mac. On Wi‑Fi, every change that fits goes out pixel-exact in the frame it happens (typing, menus, small windows); the rest rides the video and turns exact within a third of a second once the screen stops.
Ultra: pixel-exact while things moveIn the app
Your Mac has a hardware engine for ProRes, the format film studios use. Ultra sends the screen as ProRes 4444: full colour, no compression artefacts, also in motion. It needs a lot of data, about 650 Mbit/s at 1080p, so Ultra is for a Gigabit cable on a 1080p iMac, or Thunderbolt and faster for larger screens. Ultra is sharper, not faster: the iMac decodes it on its own processor.
More iMacs, more MacsIn progress
More iMac models, older versions of OS X, and other Macs as a second screen too. The goal: if it is an Intel Mac with a working screen, Encore should bring it back.
Direct: Mac to iMac, no routerIn progress
A peer-to-peer Wi‑Fi link straight between your Mac and the iMac, the way AirDrop connects. Nothing to set up, and it works where there is no shared network: a client's office, a train, a holiday house. We build it behind a switch first and measure it against the router and the cable; the connection you see will always be the one that measured best.
As good as a monitor: the last millisecondsResearch
A monitor on a cable shows a frame about 18 ms after the graphics chip finished it. Encore on a cable targets about 25 ms, a design target until we publish measurements per iMac model. The gap is not the wire: it is capturing the screen, encoding it and waiting for the iMac's refresh. We are closing it by timing each frame to land just before the iMac refreshes, with a codec made for desktops instead of film, and by capturing one refresh earlier. We will measure glass to glass with a camera, and publish the numbers per iMac model.
Encore USB: for an iMac that no longer startsComing next
Some iMacs no longer start macOS at all: a dead hard drive, a broken update, a forgotten password. Their screen still works. Put the Encore USB stick in, hold Option at the start-up chime and pick Encore: the iMac starts from the stick and becomes a monitor for your Mac, with no macOS needed. You can also install it on the iMac so it starts as a monitor every time. More about Encore USB.
High quality needs a fast connection
For the sharpest picture, Encore sends your screen without loss over a cable. That takes at least 400 Mbit/s between your Mac and the iMac: Gigabit Ethernet or Thunderbolt, not Wi‑Fi and not a 10/100 adapter. The cable guide shows what to buy for your iMac.
Give your old iMac an encore.
Free during the public beta. No subscription, no account.