The iPad a great way to cut the cable and get rid of cable TV, but what about watching on the TV? If you prefer to watch on your widescreen TV, connect your iPad to your TV with a wired or wireless connection. You can also connect your headphones to any TV for a private viewing experience. Here are five ways to achieve your iPad TV goals.
Connect your iPad and TV with Apple TV and AirPlay
Apple TV is a great way to connect your iPad to your TV. Because it uses AirPlay, it is wireless. This means that you can keep your iPad on your knees and send the screen to your TV. This is the best solution for games, where having a cable connecting the iPad to a TV is limiting.
Apps installed on Apple TV offer a bonus. If you love Netflix, Hulu Plus and Crackle, you don’t need to connect your iPad to enjoy streaming video from these services. Applications run directly on Apple TV.
Apple TV also works great with your iPhone and iPod touch, allowing you to stream video via AirPlay or use your entertainment system’s speakers to play music. The Apple TV 2017 model has a powerful processor, has access to the full version of the App Store and can stream 4K video.
Apple TV connects to a TV using standard HDMI cables and uses AirPlay to communicate wirelessly with an iPad. Apps that don’t support AirPlay also work with screen mirroring, which replicates the iPad screen on a TV.
Connect iPad wirelessly without using Chromecast
If you don’t want to follow the path of Apple TV, but want to connect your iPad to your TV wirelessly, Google Chromecast is a workaround. Instead of connecting your Apple TV to a TV, you’ll connect a Chromecast to a TV.
It has a relatively easy installation process that uses the iPad to set up the Chromecast and connect it to a Wi-Fi network. When everything is set up and working, you can stream the iPad screen to your TV, as long as the app supports Chromecast.
This is the significant limiting factor compared to Apple TV AirPlay, which works with almost all iPad apps.
Connect iPad to your HDTV via HDMI
Apple’s Lightning Digital AV Adapter is the easiest and most straightforward way to connect an iPad to an HDTV. It works via an HDMI cable to send the iPad screen to the TV, so it works with any app running on an iPad. You can also stream your movie collection from a PC to an iPad to an HDTV using home sharing. This is a great way to switch from DVD and Blu-ray to digital video without losing the ability to watch it on the big screen TV.
Connect your iPad with a VGA adapter
With an Apple Lightning-to-VGA adapter, you can connect an iPad to a TV with VGA input, computer monitor, projector, or other display device that supports VGA. This solution is excellent for monitors. Many newer monitors support multiple display sources. You can switch from using your monitor to your desktop and using it to your iPad. VGA adapter supports screen mirroring mode. However, it does not transfer sound, so you should listen through the iPad’s built-in speakers or external speakers.
If you look through your TV, the HDMI adapter or component cables are the best solutions. If you are using a computer monitor or want to use your iPad for large presentations with a projector, the VGA adapter may be the best solution.
This solution is best when using a monitor to project a large screen to an audience, for example for presentations at work or school.