iPad Seeking a Lightning to HDMI adapter... but is the only one available is $39.99?

[MusicEnthusiast]

Hi all!

My laptop has seen better days; it has a difficult time working with an HDMI extension to my 60" widescreen TV (it overheats). I've had my iPad 4 since launch and I was looking for a lightning to HDMI accessory to use on the TV. However, quick searches on eBay and Amazon show that the only type available is ridiculously expensive for what it's worth!

Is there any chance I could find one for half the price, at the most?

Also, how is the output on a widescreen TV with an iPad? Are there black bars on each side, or does it fill the screen? Thanks!

 

[blueroom]

For double you could get a refurbished Apple TV 3. If you're mirroring stick with the cable, if you're streaming media the ATV3 is a more elegant option.

 

[Ckwilson73]

While the apple adapter may seem expensive to you, it's really durable and works well.

 

[spyguy10709]

Hi all!

My laptop has seen better days; it has a difficult time working with an HDMI extension to my 60" widescreen TV (it overheats). I've had my iPad 4 since launch and I was looking for a lightning to HDMI accessory to use on the TV. However, quick searches on eBay and Amazon show that the only type available is ridiculously expensive for what it's worth!

Is there any chance I could find one for half the price, at the most?

Also, how is the output on a widescreen TV with an iPad? Are there black bars on each side, or does it fill the screen? Thanks!

It's actually not an adapter. It's a mini-computer on a cable.
http://www.tuaw.com/2013/03/04/heres-how-apples-lightning-to-hdmi-digital-av-adapter-probably/

 

[takeshi74]

Also, how is the output on a widescreen TV with an iPad? Are there black bars on each side, or does it fill the screen?

Depends on the content. If you're mirroring the iPad probably doesn't have the same exact aspect ratio of your TV and will have bars. However, some content (movies, TV shows, etc) may match your TV's aspect ratio.

However, quick searches on eBay and Amazon show that the only type available is ridiculously expensive for what it's worth!

Is there any chance I could find one for half the price, at the most?

It's not ridiculously expensive if you consider what it actually does. I wouldn't expect to see one at half price and you'd probably get what you pay for on this one.

 

[Menneisyys2]

For double you could get a refurbished Apple TV 3. If you're mirroring stick with the cable, if you're streaming media the ATV3 is a more elegant option.

Note that if you play back media playable by the iOS hardware (and also the ATV), the Lightning connector - as it does the decoding itself - produces quality output, unlike with mirroring.

Nevertheless, the mirroring quality - while in no way as good as that of the old 30-pin VGA / HDMI adapters - is still much better than that of the ATV. The latter is pretty bad. I've just shot two new 720p60 videos for my forthcoming "The Encyclopedia of Games with Native TV Out Support" (Part of my TV out series; previous parts at https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1578989/ and at https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1581053/ ); they show how bad the lag / framerate are in games when using wireless AirPlay mirroring:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31mO2KTW3cE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V44lHzFVTJ4

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It's actually not an adapter. It's a mini-computer on a cable.
http://www.tuaw.com/2013/03/04/heres-how-apples-lightning-to-hdmi-digital-av-adapter-probably/

Also note that we're having a very thourough discussion of the cable here at MR at https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=16932541 . It's also being disucssed (to a lesser degree) at http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?p=2824436 . And, of course, in my past, TV-out-related articles - albeit I'll only later publish my Lightning-HDMI-dedicated articles. Currently, for example the one at https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1581053/ , some sections already discuss the Lightning connector's (current, as of FW version 6.1.0) problems; see for exampel section " 1.1.2.3 Is this because of scaling?".

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While the apple adapter may seem expensive to you, it's really durable and works well.

Just be aware of its limitations. In cases, using a 30-pin iDevice with the old HDMI / VGA adapters can be preferable:

- cases when the best image quality is needed (Lightning's IQ is far from perfect when not playing back iOS-native videos)
- cases when absolutely no lag is needed.