Why can't my mac use airplay?

Question

I have a two year old mac book pro and have recently discovered after paying $19.99 for OSX Mountain Lion that I will not be able to utilize airplay.
Airplay is one of the featured products with the new  OSX software:
AirPlay Mirroring is made for an audience. Because with a click, what’s on your Mac is also on your HDTV. It’s easy to set up with Apple TV. Show web pages and videos to friends on the couch, share lessons with a classroom, or present to a conference room. AirPlay audio streams the music, podcasts, and other audio on your Mac to AirPlay-enabled speakers. It’s a big deal for your Mac. And for everyone around it.
This ad, for AirPlay, makes no clear reference to the fact that any Mac more than one year old will not be able to utilize the feature.
Considering I recently purchased an IPhone 4S and also own an Apple TV device, and purchased my mac book pro only 2 years ago, I find it ridiculous that such a feature would be incompatible with perfectly fine hardware, especially considering the price paid for these devices. All the while considering I paid for Mountain Lion banking on the plan that I could utilize Airplay, which, due to misguiding advertising discovered that my i7 decked out Macbook Pro would be incapable of utilizing the arguably primary function of the $19.99 mountain lion upgrade.
I had chosen Apple as the sole source of all of my new hardware because I considered their hardware intuitive and simple, and it frustrates me as a loyal customer to find out that they are making their new purchased updates exclusive and restrictive to macs of a 2011+ model.
Apple has been successful thus far due to a great amount of satisfaction among it's consumers, I hope this utter disappointment is not the direction apple is turning towards as a company as I will not continue to choose a company with such a dismissive level of consideration for a vast majority of it's consumers.
This is my first disappointment as a devout apple customer, and I sincerely hope it is my last.
I would hate to regret all of the heartfelt support I have provided Apple over the years to people who have doubted the level of fulfillment purchasing an Apple product used to provide. I sincerely hope things turn around quickly, as I am sincerely confused as to what my $19.99 brought me. Let alone the thousands of dollars I have provided to this company.

Answer 1

based on all the specs listed i met them and airplay still does not work -çhes a copy of my response to Apple:
After a frustrating 2 hour call on why airplay in Mountain Lion did not work properly  - see transcript of case # 356682008 - i was told to connect via ethernet cable to identify the issue. Ethernet Cable - in my household they went the way of dinosaurs as the one feature that made me upgrade to mountain lion was the ability to use airplay wirelessly - without having to connect the $60 Apple cable to my HDTV anymore. I do not even know the last time I had an ethernet cabe in my hands.
The fact that nowhere in your literature as of this morning requested an ethernet cable as part of the specification for use of the features of Mountain Lion basically equates to false advertising - either that or the MacBook Pro you sold me lack some of the functions that you were supposed to provide - I would like to know how are you going to fix this situation that does not require me to waste any more of my billable time with you.