# Ipad HDMI cable & Adapter



## dodo (30 Jan 2013)

I want to connect the Ipad 2 to TV via HDMI cable (5M) I have no other Ipad accessories other than for charging.Where is best price to get HDMI cable & HDMI Ipad adator, do I need anything else. cheers
Also would you recommend any other adapter than the Apple make as I see good prices on Ebay are these anygood or is there a decent adapter that will do same job,  thanks


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## Boyd (30 Jan 2013)

This seems to be a decent priced one: [broken link removed]

Lots of threads reporting issues with what youre trying to do so YMMV. Basically Apple sucks for this sort of thing without having an Apple TV.

Any normal HDMI cable should work then (available from ebay for about €3)


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## AlbacoreA (30 Jan 2013)

Another alternative is the Apple TV depending on what you are trying to do.


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## dodo (1 Feb 2013)

Just really want to download movies etc and then watch the movie on TV rather than on the Ipad,  what is total price to get apple TV and is it a one of payment,  I might go with above post idea



AlbacoreA said:


> Another alternative is the Apple TV depending on what you are trying to do.


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## Guns N Roses (1 Feb 2013)

dodo said:


> Just really want to download movies etc and then watch the movie on TV rather than on the Ipad,  what is total price to get apple TV and is it a one of payment,  I might go with above post idea



Apple TV will cost you a one of payment of about €100. It takes about 5 minutes to set it up. I would highly recommend it.


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## delgirl (1 Feb 2013)

The  is available from Compu B on Grafton Street or in Dundrum for €109, you might be able to find it cheaper online.

My son got himself one at Compu B for Christmas and it's great. His iPhone and iPad are already pre-programmed for AirPlay and he can download movies, play music videos, play games using his iPhone's tilt function to steer cars, etc. etc. If his friends come over they can stream their iPhones instantly to it as well to display photos on the TV or play music or video clips that they want to share.

Incredible technology, if I had a iPhone I would get one!

There seem to be quite a few android devices on the market, if anyone has one similar to the Apple TV box and can recommend it, would be interested.


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## Boyd (1 Feb 2013)

And then you can never do anything outside of Apple again.....iPhone, iPad, AppleTv, iPod, iTunes......talk about vendor lockin.


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## Guns N Roses (1 Feb 2013)

username123 said:


> And then you can never do anything outside of Apple again.....iPhone, iPad, AppleTv, iPod, iTunes......talk about vendor lockin.



Why would you want to use any other products? I have all of the above products and they work great together. You call it "vendor lockin", others would call it quality control.


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## AlbacoreA (1 Feb 2013)

dodo said:


> Just really want to download movies etc and then watch the movie on TV rather than on the Ipad,  what is total price to get apple TV and is it a one of payment,  I might go with above post idea



The disadvantage is it only plays from Apple devices with iTunes. So it won't play movies from a usb drive or any other format than apples. If you have a bunch of stuff in your itunes for your ipad it will play them just fine though. So if you are already "all apple" it perfect. 

In effect the iPad become a giant remote for your TV. You can use the Ipad as a remote for the Apple TV. 

It also lets you mirror other things on your iPad on your TV. With some exceptions I think the Sky App doesn't let you send stuff to your TV. 

I've not got one, but I've heard good things about it. But if you have a ton of stuff not on apple devices its probably not for you. Its handier than connecting cables, assuming of course you have Wifi set up. if it was for travelling, then a cable might be better.


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## Boyd (1 Feb 2013)

Guns N Roses said:


> Why would you want to use any other products? I have all of the above products and they work great together. You call it "vendor lockin", others would call it quality control.



Quality control that you have zero control of - once youre in bed with Apple its for life....I love the idea of buying a specific brand of TV just because Apple refuse to follow industry standard and put a HDMI output on it 

For Gods sake they didnt even put a USB port on it.

Get used to the word "Adapter", you'll use it alot with Apple.


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## mathepac (1 Feb 2013)

Guns N Roses said:


> ... I have all of the above products and they work great together. You call it "vendor lockin", others would call it quality control.


I'd have to agree, but I must also say that Apple's products 'play' extremely well with other vendors' stuff e.g. iTunes on Windys, iPhone & iPod similarly.  It is now 8 years since I ran a series of seminars with my presentations in Keynote running on a MacBook controlled by a Sony-Ericsson phone fed through some high-end AV stuff.

Watch out for Apple's iPhones in the medical devices arena with two or three  specialist manufacturers.


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## AlbacoreA (1 Feb 2013)

username123 said:


> Quality control that you have zero control of - once youre in bed with Apple its for life....I love the idea of buying a specific brand of TV just because Apple refuse to follow industry standard and put a HDMI output on it
> 
> For Gods sake they didnt even put a USB port on it.
> 
> Get used to the word "Adapter", you'll use it alot with Apple.



What do you mean a specific Brand of TV??

An Apple TV isn't a TV. Its a streaming box that allows mirroring of Apple devices. Lost of tablets don't have standard connectors, that's not unique to Apple. In the case of the Apple TV its has a standard HDMI and Ethernet. As its a streaming box.


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## Latrade (1 Feb 2013)

Apple TV is a good option and probably easier than hooking up the ipad via a cable. 

Couple of issues as always. It can be temperamental, so don't be too trigger happy with updates, wait and see (in some cases skip all together). The Irish itunes store (if you plan on renting films via iTunes) is poor. Thankfully (just do a google search) it's easy to set up a US account and have access to the US iTunes store which really makes it a very useful device.

With a good broadband speed, I find it easier to just stream and rent directly from the ATV than via ipad or iphone. But you can also airplay from iTunes via computer sharing. This is handy if you want to play your own content or ripped films rather than renting. Though you would have to convert them if they aren't in the appropriate format.


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## Boyd (1 Feb 2013)

AlbacoreA said:


> What do you mean a specific Brand of TV??
> 
> An Apple TV isn't a TV. Its a streaming box that allows mirroring of Apple devices. Lost of tablets don't have standard connectors, that's not unique to Apple. In the case of the Apple TV its has a standard HDMI and Ethernet. As its a streaming box.



Just a figure of speech since it has TV in the product name, specific brand of "box" then!

I dont see the any benefit against getting MP4/AVIs/MKVs whatever format you want, drag/drop onto a media hard drive and play them via HDMI to your TV. There are plenty of media drives that will play every format under the sun, which is another failing of Apple.


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## MrMan (1 Feb 2013)

Apparently there is a device coming soon that is just a TV plug in that will allow full internet access through any TV, basically giving your older set a smart upgrade, and no restrictions as seen with the apple TV. I was talking to someone about it recently, and he is expecting to see it in the next few weeks, and he expects it to be c.€100RRP.


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## Boyd (1 Feb 2013)

MrMan said:


> Apparently there is a device coming soon that is just a TV plug in that will allow full internet access through any TV, basically giving your older set a smart upgrade, and no restrictions as seen with the apple TV. I was talking to someone about it recently, and he is expecting to see it in the next few weeks, and he expects it to be c.€100RRP.



Sounds interesting.....any idea or brand/link etc?


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## Leo (1 Feb 2013)

MrMan said:


> Apparently there is a device coming soon that is just a TV plug in that will allow full internet access through any TV, basically giving your older set a smart upgrade, and no restrictions as seen with the apple TV. I was talking to someone about it recently, and he is expecting to see it in the next few weeks, and he expects it to be c.€100RRP.


 
These have been on the market for years now (one [broken link removed]), it's a declining market now that more and more TVs have the technology embedded.


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## AlbacoreA (1 Feb 2013)

username123 said:


> Just a figure of speech since it has TV in the product name, specific brand of "box" then!
> 
> I dont see the any benefit against getting MP4/AVIs/MKVs whatever format you want, drag/drop onto a media hard drive and play them via HDMI to your TV. There are plenty of media drives that will play every format under the sun, which is another failing of Apple.



You're thinking about it wrong. Its not a media box. Its a streaming box, for iTunes content, and Apple mirroring device. Its a TV box for Apple content. hence Apple TV. 

While you might not like iTunes, having a database (which is all iTunes is) has advantages (and disadvantages) over a file file system like a media box. Its allows you to have apps, and drm, (so you and buy/sell things) metadata in a easy interface. Most of the alternatives are not as easy to use and don't have the same functionality etc.


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## AlbacoreA (1 Feb 2013)

Leo said:


> These have been on the market for years now (one [broken link removed]), it's a declining market now that more and more TVs have the technology embedded.



Dunno about declining. Anyway theres also a Google TV and LG have this...

http://www.lg.com/us/tv-accessories/lg-ST600-smart-tv-upgrader


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## MrMan (1 Feb 2013)

Leo said:


> These have been on the market for years now (one [broken link removed]), it's a declining market now that more and more TVs have the technology embedded.



Smart TVs aren't really at the races yet, as they are depending on apps to run certain sites, rather than having full online functionality.


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## Boyd (1 Feb 2013)

AlbacoreA said:


> While you might like iTunes, having a database (which is all iTunes is) has advantages (and disadvantages) over a file file system like a media box. Its allows you to have apps, and drm, (so you and buy/sell things) metadata in a easy interface. Most of the alternatives are not as easy to use and don't have the same functionality etc.



Haha yes, and I dont like DRM!! But we wont get into that on here......


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## AlbacoreA (1 Feb 2013)

MrMan said:


> Smart TVs aren't really at the races yet, as they are depending on apps to run certain sites, rather than having full online functionality.



Also you are replying on the manufacturer to update old models with the latest version of the apps as they change. Or new file formats. At some point they'll drop support for older models. For example mine got an updated browser which now can run RTE player website. Badly but it works. Previously it didn't. But theres no Player App on the TV. The YouTube client on mine is quite limited. 

Having an external box, or computer to do this means you can update that, which is a lot cheaper than replacing the TV. They also get updates quicker.


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## Leo (1 Feb 2013)

AlbacoreA said:


> Having an external box, or computer to do this means you can update that, which is a lot cheaper than replacing the TV. They also get updates quicker.


 
Most of the stand-alone boxes out there aren't updateable either, but at least they're cheap and work on any TV. The newer Android based ones are gaining popularity because many of them are fully updateable, and in many cases have all the functionality of a PC/tablet using a TV as the display device.


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## AlbacoreA (1 Feb 2013)

I had in my head XBMC or OpenElec on Rasberry or an old PC as HPTC. 

But for the non techies Apple might be a easier if more expensive route. I know one person who while highly technical just gets everything through NetFlix or the iTunes store. They are willing to pay for ease of use and the experience.


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## Latrade (1 Feb 2013)

It'd be nice, just once, for someone to have a question on an apple device and just be able to answer it without it decending into a farce.


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## MrMan (1 Feb 2013)

username123 said:


> Sounds interesting.....any idea or brand/link etc?



It was seen in china, and his company are trying to get it on board soon, so I'll update when I get more info.


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## Leo (4 Feb 2013)

MrMan said:


> It was seen in china, and his company are trying to get it on board soon, so I'll update when I get more info.


 
Alternatively, you can buy these direct from China yourself, like this [broken link removed], €38 including shipping.


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