I just bought an iPad Air, a Lightning to HDMI adapter and an Apple TV. I'm a new Apple user and have never used any Apple product before. I was told that I could use Apple TV to play movies wireless. I went to Best Buy and the CSR told me about the Lightning adapter, he said just hook it up to my TV and I can play movies that way, he said I would need to download a video player from iTunes like VLC, etc. How do I go about doing all this? I have a bunch of .mkv files that I want to watch. How to I get these onto the iPad and is there an app to play them once I have Lightning adapter hooked up? I guess I can return Apple TV also.
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All iPads How do you hook up iPad to TV to play movies?
- Thread starter budmonster
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You will need to use the lightning adapter or an apple tv to get the movies onto your television.
.mkv will not natively play on the iPad. You will either need an app like VLC player, or you will have to download HandBrake on your mac and convert those video files into an iPad compatible format.
Benefit of the Apple TV is that you can stream movies from your computer onto your tv, rather than having to try to store all of the movies on your iPad locally for playback. Much more convenient if you have a large library.
.mkv will not natively play on the iPad. You will either need an app like VLC player, or you will have to download HandBrake on your mac and convert those video files into an iPad compatible format.
Benefit of the Apple TV is that you can stream movies from your computer onto your tv, rather than having to try to store all of the movies on your iPad locally for playback. Much more convenient if you have a large library.
Once you have your Apple TV setup and connected to the same network as your iPad Air just pull up control center and use AirPlay. It'll stream anything from you're iPad to you're TV set. You can even mirror the screen if you want to do that sort of thing for sharing photos and such. As far as getting the .mkv files on you're iPad, do a internet search and see if there is an app on the App Store that will let you playback those file types.
like I said, you need an app like VLC to play .mkv on an iPad, or you will need to tans-code those .mkv files into something the iPad can play natively.
However, in your case having an apple tv is going to be a lot easier to just stream movies from your computer to the apple tv as opposed to having to copy a movie onto your iPad and then airplay it to your apple tv. You are going to constantly have to swap out the movies on your iPad to whatever you plan to stream to your ATV. If you just set up the computer, you will always have all of your movies on the ATV.
And unlike the other posters claims, not *ANYTHING* will stream from the iPad/iPhone to the apple tv. Some apps are limited in what they are allowed to stream, some only allow audio to stream, etc. Most things can be streamed or mirrored, but not *EVERYTHING* just an FYI.
However, in your case having an apple tv is going to be a lot easier to just stream movies from your computer to the apple tv as opposed to having to copy a movie onto your iPad and then airplay it to your apple tv. You are going to constantly have to swap out the movies on your iPad to whatever you plan to stream to your ATV. If you just set up the computer, you will always have all of your movies on the ATV.
And unlike the other posters claims, not *ANYTHING* will stream from the iPad/iPhone to the apple tv. Some apps are limited in what they are allowed to stream, some only allow audio to stream, etc. Most things can be streamed or mirrored, but not *EVERYTHING* just an FYI.
VLC allow playback of many files. I already have that. But how do I put the movie onto my iPad? I have the iPad connected to my PC. I'm stumped from there.
use itunes to copy movies from computer to iPad. But like I said, iPad will not natively accept a .mkv file, you will have to convert it using a program like HandBrake.
If you are planning on streaming/copying/playing your movies on apple devices, it is going to be much easier and far more convenient to convert those .mkv into .mp4. Then they will all work natively and you won't have to try to jump through hoops and use work arounds.
If you are planning on streaming/copying/playing your movies on apple devices, it is going to be much easier and far more convenient to convert those .mkv into .mp4. Then they will all work natively and you won't have to try to jump through hoops and use work arounds.
iTunes file sharing section. Connect your iPad a find VLC and drag the files into it. Or you can use the app and connect to VLC if you're on the same WIFI network as your computer. You have to enter in some IP address stuff first to get it started. I haven't done it in a while so google around about that if you're stuck.
I'd definitely stick with the Apple TV and Airplay. Sometimes videos take a bit to buffer though. The new iPads have really fast WIFI so it might be better now? My rMBP always streams better to my Apple TV than my old iPad 2 or iPhone 5.
The cable will probably be a sharper picture but it's much less convenient than Airplay.
For some reason I can't drag the file onto VLC in iTunes. Anyway you can take a screenshot? Also, say I keep Apple TV, can I stream video from my PC or do I still have to put onto my iPad? I'm trying to find an easy drag and drop method to get videos (mkv, etc.) onto my iPad. I can drag mp4 files onto iTunes with no problem is just the non-compatible files giving me issues.
Edit: I also tried to wifi upload feature in VLC. It works but take forever. Sometimes uploads will crash half way through. It's a hit or miss. These are the times I miss Android.
Return the cable, you don't need it since you have Apple TV.
An alternative to copying the mkv files to your iPad is to use an app called Air Video. There is a server app you install on your PC or Mac, and there's a client app you download from the App Store. Once you have it set uo, it streams the video from your computer to your iPad. From there you can stream to your Apple TV using AirPlay. It's a great setup once you get the hang of it.
An alternative to copying the mkv files to your iPad is to use an app called Air Video. There is a server app you install on your PC or Mac, and there's a client app you download from the App Store. Once you have it set uo, it streams the video from your computer to your iPad. From there you can stream to your Apple TV using AirPlay. It's a great setup once you get the hang of it.
OP there is an Apple TV and Home Theater forum and I think you'll get better play on your question if you don't get a good response here.
There are a number of ways to play a movie on your TV but I don't know which ones work with .mkv. (Airplay from iPad to AppleTV, iPad to TV via connector, and iTunes on your PC to AppleTV using iPad as remote control are the most common).
When you have your iPad plugged into your PC and syncing with iTunes, it will show apps that can transfer documents between your iPad and PC. If you find an app that plays .mkv and supports this, you will drag the file into iTunes and it will sync to your iPad.
Here's a link of mkv apps and it also has a link on how to transfer videos to your iPad.
There are a number of ways to play a movie on your TV but I don't know which ones work with .mkv. (Airplay from iPad to AppleTV, iPad to TV via connector, and iTunes on your PC to AppleTV using iPad as remote control are the most common).
When you have your iPad plugged into your PC and syncing with iTunes, it will show apps that can transfer documents between your iPad and PC. If you find an app that plays .mkv and supports this, you will drag the file into iTunes and it will sync to your iPad.
Here's a link of mkv apps and it also has a link on how to transfer videos to your iPad.
Thank you, I will check out that forum. The link though for how to transfer videos is only if you transferring videos that the iPad recognizes. It doesn't tell me how to transfer videos like MKV, etc.
Chromecast, appletv/airplay, hdmi cable with addapter. I use first two and throw my hdmi cable away. For large files I prefer macbookpro/beamer program streaming to apple tv, no cables again.
No, just the files you put inside GoodReader. iPad apps cannot access other apps' files.