Alternative (wired?) to Apple TV for iPad and Touch?

Discussion in 'Apple TV and Home Theater' started by Maxinuk, Nov 5, 2013.

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  1. Maxinuk, Nov 5, 2013

    Maxinuk macrumors member

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    Sep 1, 2011
    #1
    Hi all.

    Sorry long intro!

    I keep all my movies on iTunes including a load of home family videos. For my iPod Touch I have the brilliant old 30 pin official Apple component RGB cable (RGB + stereo phonos + USB) that for me anyway does a great job of outputting to our large screen LCD. My Mini has the Lightning connector of course and at present I have not shelled out for the specific Apple cable due to so many reported issues with it (quality/reliability etc).

    But's it's a huge pain having to get up every few minutes to start the next short home video playing.

    To cut a long story short I got the latest Apple TV last week but it really did not work out - buggy, slow, drop outs, constant buffering, crashes - hated it. It's gone back now.

    I use home sharing on the iPad which works fine for the ripped films but not for the home videos which are HD and keep pausing/buffering.

    Anyway, is there any way to have a wired connection to the iPad (Lightning) or iPod Touch (30 pin) that will extend the 4m or so required from the sofa to the TV.

    I have found 30 pin 1m extension cables but I believe none of them are fully wired to give proper RGB with the older Apple Component AV cable.

    Or is there an alternative to Apple TV for a wireless solution?
     
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  2. waw74, Nov 5, 2013

    waw74 macrumors 68030

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    #2
    sounds like it was probably poor wi-fi, might take a look at updating your router, or try a different channel. or go wired to the aTV.
    or possibly not burying the aTV in a cabinet full of electronics and metal.
    or you may have gotten a bad unit.

    if you are going to extend, you'd be better off extending the video signal end.
     
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  3. Maxinuk, Nov 5, 2013

    Maxinuk thread starter macrumors member

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    #3
    Thanks, I guess you are right on the extension, would there be any signal loss issue with extending the phono leads for RGB?

    Will be a right old jumble as there are 5 phonos incl stereo and then there is the USB for power.

    With the ipad I would need to get the Apple official Lightning to HDMI and use a 5m HDMI cable! Again, is this likely to have signal loss issues?
     
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  4. Mrbobb, Nov 5, 2013
    Last edited: Nov 5, 2013

    Mrbobb macrumors 601

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    #4
    The tech savvy amongst us just optimize our WIFI and, look Ma no wires!

    I've been WIFI mirroring HD to my big TV for a year now. No pause, no drop AND I don't use an expensive Airport router either, am using a Dlink 825 circa 2010, cost me $39 used.
     
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  5. Elbon, Nov 5, 2013

    Elbon macrumors 6502a

    Elbon

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    Location:
    Boston, MA
    #5
    How about Ethernet?

    If you are going to run a wire, how about connecting your Apple TV via Ethernet instead of wi-fi? I have two hard-wired ATVs and four hard-wired Airports (one Extreme and three Express) and I have never had any problem sending video from a iOS device to any of these units.

    [edit - obviously I'm not sending video to the Airports, just the Apple TV. But I can stream audio to them just fine.]
     
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  6. Maxinuk, Nov 5, 2013

    Maxinuk thread starter macrumors member

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    #6
    Thanks guys. I could run an ethernet cable from the ATV direct to the iTunes host laptop. However, going from the router to the laptop/ATV is not possible in our house at present. I am guessing any hardwiring would help?
     
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  7. Cinephi1e, Nov 5, 2013

    Cinephi1e macrumors regular

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    Northwest Ohio
    #7
    At home I have wired Apple TV's so I have no problems. However, at work we often have to play content from iPads to projectors. If it is smaller files, such as slides or short videos, WiFi is not a problem. If it is a long HD video then wired is the way to go to avoid any hiccups. We use the Apple cable (either lightning or 30 pin to HDMI) with a long HDMI cable and it can handle anything you throw at it.
     
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  8. Maxinuk, Nov 6, 2013

    Maxinuk thread starter macrumors member

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    #8
    Thanks. Another option suggested to me is to use those powerpoint adaptors that convert the home 240v electrical cabling system into a data network...
     
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