Well, pretty much everything Apple does with video is upscaled, so I'm not going to automatically call that a problem. Right click and check properties on any iTunes movie file you've downloaded, the resolution is like VGA... 
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Unless Apple makes dramatic improvements to iOS , this will be my last iPad
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Well, pretty much everything Apple does with video is upscaled, so I'm not going to automatically call that a problem. Right click and check properties on any iTunes movie file you've downloaded, the resolution is like VGA...
It was a point from my personal list of shortcomings. It doesn't have to be a problem for everyone. Most people tend to buy an Apple TV anyway, because the price is very close and you get a more functional second device. I just wanted to be specific about the problem. It is still shameful, that Apple created a new interface in 2012, which wasn't capable of raw HDMI output.
At the moment yes but on IOS 9 it will have multi window support/split view on Ipads as Iphones won't have multi window support!!
AWESOME!!
Yes i agree Windows XP/Vista/7 on tablets was not very touch friendly.
And i going have to disagree with "It's not any better now." What are you talking about??!!
Windows 8 on tablets is more touch friendly on Tablets than Windows XP/Vista/7 especially since on the metro side and on the desktop UI it is alright but the Desktop programs are not as Touch friendly compared to the metro apps but i think over time desktops programs will get more touch friendly hopefully.
But i still think Windows still has a long long way to go if they want to be the top major OS for tablets because IOS and Android offers a lot lot more better top quality apps and have a very good touch interface and a great tablet experience and IOS and Android make a way better(and a true tablet) OS for tablets then Windows 8.
With Windows the only problem is the lack of top quality apps in the Windows app store and maybe Windows 10 will fix this and hopefully Microsoft will push software developers to make lots more and top quality apps for Windows for tablets and for some people Windows is kind of boring and outdated on tablets compared to IOS, Android!!
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Hi Billy... I'm not talking about Windows 8 in general, but the desktop UI in particular. With the exception of an option to scale the display, things aren't appreciably different than they were in 2000.
Ah you mean just as trustworthy as your links?
Or in other words: just because something comes from a trusted source doesn't make it correct/valid/true. Diederik Stapel was a well-known and well-respected Dutch scientist until they discovered that most of his research was fake. He made up the results (sadly people still base their research on his fraudulent work). Bernie Madoff was also a well-known and well-respected expert until they found out he was committing fraud on a grand scale for years. So much for trustworthiness...That's why you need to start thinking for yourself. From a technological point of view that anonymous post is much more on the mark than the article itself. We all know that the Lightning port is a USB data port in essence without video output. AirPlay isn't logical from any angle. AirPlay is not a new video format, it's Apples name for a certain feature that consist of several things. The video codec/compression is something entirely different and can be done in various ways.
When Lightning gets replaced by USB-C we'll have the exact same problem as we have now. USB-C is only a connector, nothing more, nothing less. What you mean is that Apple switches from Lightning to USB 3.1 Gen 2 with the USB-C connector because this will bring data + video over 1 USB cable. Until then we're stuck with that active adapter translating data into video (which comes at a price).
Btw, Apple isn't the only one doing this.
Or just lightning that supports 3.1 gen 2. I still have my suspicious Apple will go with a adaptor in box if forced by EU regulations in those models to maintain their licensing fees. Plus they'll have an additional revenue source from Europeans that buy lightning cables because they don't want to use an adaptor lol.
Ah you mean just as trustworthy as your links?
That's why you need to start thinking for yourself. From a technological point of view that anonymous post is much more on the mark than the article itself. We all know that the Lightning port is a USB data port in essence without video output. AirPlay isn't logical from any angle. AirPlay is not a new video format, it's Apples name for a certain feature that consist of several things. The video codec/compression is something entirely different and can be done in various ways.
When Lightning gets replaced by USB-C we'll have the exact same problem as we have now. USB-C is only a connector, nothing more, nothing less. What you mean is that Apple switches from Lightning to USB 3.1 Gen 2 with the USB-C connector because this will bring data + video over 1 USB cable. Until then we're stuck with that active adapter translating data into video (which comes at a price).
Btw, Apple isn't the only one doing this.
Totally illogical to speculate about Airplay when you see a picture with artifacts similar to Airplay on the Apple TV. How could they do this?! Thanks for the lecture about the fabrication of scientific facts and Airplay terminology, but in the same way as the anonymous engineer you evade the main questions, don't you? Why did Apple release a product with inferior picture quality in the first place? And why didn't they feel the need to improve it (in nearly three years)? But then we're back at the original statement (apple adapters are pricey and limited) and continue to beat a dead horse. I guess there is no need to discuss this topic any further in this thread.
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I currently have mixed feelings about the iPad line, despite being an early and ardent adopter. I bought the first iPad, which was way too limited in both hardware and software to fulfill the vision it had. I held on to that until the iPad 4 which was a lot closer, as the hardware was up to the task, and at the time of the release, the software was finally catching up. Since then I've bought an Air and an Air 2 - with the latter being the best iPad to date by a large margin - but as per this thread - our expectations have moved on, and the iPad again risks missing the mark. Ironically, with all the complaints about Apple's rapid pace of development, it's the fact that they have continued to support iPad hardware for such a long time that is single-handedly curbing sales. The vast majority of iPad owners I know are still on their first iPad - often a gen 2 - gen 4 - as the software still runs, if a bit slowly, on those devices, and their experience would not be markedly different on the new models. This is the conundrum Apple is in at the moment. The hardware development curve of the iPad has been absolutely astonishing - the newest devices are astronomically faster than the earlier ones - but the OP is right here - Apple hasn't done much with that improvement, leaving little reason for the average iPad owner to upgrade.
At the same time, improvements to OS X and their notebook lineup have been happening at a great pace, and today, we now have in laptops like the Macbook most of what was so appealing about the iPad in the first place - extreme portability, high quality screens, great battery life, and software that feels a lot more personal than it did just 5 years ago (with integrations of things like iMessage/text messaging, FaceTime, notifications, autocorrect, etc. etc.). So at the moment I've moved to a Macbook as here I have a 2lb computer with more processing power, more RAM, larger and faster disk, and more pixels, than my top of the line iMac from 2008 (which is still chugging along as a home server/hub). My iPad still fulfills an important role, but like the OP, unless they do something different with the hardware and software, even I will probably end up replacing it every several years rather than annually.
At the same time, improvements to OS X and their notebook lineup have been happening at a great pace, and today, we now have in laptops like the Macbook most of what was so appealing about the iPad in the first place - extreme portability, high quality screens, great battery life, and software that feels a lot more personal than it did just 5 years ago (with integrations of things like iMessage/text messaging, FaceTime, notifications, autocorrect, etc. etc.). So at the moment I've moved to a Macbook as here I have a 2lb computer with more processing power, more RAM, larger and faster disk, and more pixels, than my top of the line iMac from 2008 (which is still chugging along as a home server/hub). My iPad still fulfills an important role, but like the OP, unless they do something different with the hardware and software, even I will probably end up replacing it every several years rather than annually.
Good points here. I've pondered just going to a lower cost MBA or laptop which would still suffice as my table top website surfer but would also be a "real" computer on top of that. Not that much more cost either. I'd lose cellular data support which I really like but that's the only thing missing. These laptops are getting so light and easy to carry around that the portability differing line is blurring more and more.
I still love the size of the iPad though and no laptop will ever be as compact. Gaming is great on the iPad too.
Time will tell.
AirPlay can have artifacts but it doesn't have too. It depends on a lot of things. Also, artifacts and other strange things are not AirPlay specific, any media format that uses compression or uses some kind of algorithm to leave out information lessen the amount of data is susceptible to these things. Even problems with display drivers and a faulty cable can cause these issues.
It helps if you read things more carefully. I already explained why Apple would do this: it's the only technical way of doing it (getting video out of a data-only connection) and apparently for them the difference in quality was good enough. If I look around on several forums I have to say that I don't see many posts, if all, about this issue while people on the internet (and especially here) are very vocal about these things. Apparently it's not a huge problem in reality but I could be wrong. Another explanation you can find in the next paragraph:
Apple might be pushing AirPlay a lot more. If I look at what smartphones and tablets are and at the new MacBook then a lot of things are done wirelessly. It also shows in what Apple is doing with the AppleTV. At first it didn't work in segmented networks you find at quite a lot of (large) companies (it has to do with Bonjour broadcasts over the network allowing the clients to find the AirPlay device) nor was there any conference room mode. Apple has fixed both. A lot of places now place an Apple TV next to a HDMI cable so people can either use AirPlay or the good old cable. They are going to get a lot of competition from Microsoft in this area though.
I personally think that AirPlay has become more important to Apple and thus they're more focused on that than on external video adapters.
While the hardware and pricing might get more similar, it's the way we use them/can use them that is very different. When it comes to watching small videos and doing some reading, the iPad is a better device than a laptop because of it's form factor. It's more like a real book. A laptop is bigger and in this scenario also a bit more difficult to handle.
My 11" MBA is the most portable "real" computer I own and yet it can't replace my iPad. Pretty amazing device that is nearly the same size as my iPad 4.
I'm beginning to lose hopefulness in a truly converged device and more towards 2 devices... each one just a hair to the side of the "pure convergence line between tablet and notebook"... the MBA falling slightly on the notebook side, iPad Air (>2) falling slightly on the tablet side.
What artifacts are you referring too? As a cable cutter I've been using an AppleTV exclusively for 2 years and I'm not sure what you mean. Do you have pics?
Haha, you may be right!
My surface is sitting inside, and since I gave my wife my Air 2, she gave me her mini 2.
Guess which once I'm using as I sit outside with the dogs?
iPads are just so perfect as tablets..
You repeated it many times, but nobody forced Apple to push video out of a data only connection. Apple wanted the one connection to rule them all, even at a loss of quality. (Probably doesn't matter, because you are already back denying that there is a problem.) We're talking about an iPad here, not an iPhone. A tablet with the size of a common tablet. Other manufactures were able to offer high quality solution.
But Apple didn't want that for iPads. This isn't only about technical factors. They want to control lightning licensing (fees!), they want to sell a adapters for 49$ or an Apple TV for 69$. Instead of using a simple cable, standard keyboard/thumbdrive/sd card we have to buy a pricey and limited adapter for everything or a second device. They created these problems and want you to buy their own proprietary solution to bypass them. I don't think this is a good consumer experience. They introduced the first rMacbook Pro with an integrated HDMI port in the same year as lightning. So they knew about the importance of the omnipresent TV standard.
And so far the wireless future isn't great. It comes at a cost. And it still has a long way to go. Right now your're looking at a dongle hell and high hidden costs for the new Macbook in case you need backward compatibility or a wired connection. E.g. if you need VGA/HDMI e.g. for a presentation, because a lot of beamers still rely on that connection, you have to spend a total of 158$ for adapters. (The MBA adapter combination is 65$, the rMBP is 29$.)
And some personal advice: you should try to leave out your condescending attitude, it really makes some of your posts sound like the work of an annoying fanboy.
If you are a cable cutter, you probably don't stream videos from an iOS device. This is where artifacts and lag could occur. Even worse when using Airplay Mirroring from a Mac. But my post was about the Lightning Digital AV Adapter, which is in contrast to the previous Dock Digital AV Adapter affected by a limited internal rendering resolution, lag and artifacts. As is said before, i returned mine, so i can't offer pictures, but the Panic developers have one:
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Lightning was developed to meet specific needs that USB was not capable of meeting at the time. I feel that Apple has dropped the ball on developing a great ecosystem of lightning devices, but I'm sure that is in large part since most of what people used to rely on those connectors for is now wireless - whether you will acknowledge it or not. As Apple had such a hand in the development of USB-C I suppose it could now be tapped to replace Lightning, but I'd be a little surprised to see Apple drop Lightning so quickly.
Your comments about adapters don't hold any water. The MacBook Air, Apple's most popular laptop ever by a large margin, requires exactly the same adapters, yet that hasn't hindered its sales.
I stream videos from iOS devices almost every day to my ATV, and have done so for years. There are a variety of methods that the app developers can use to manage the stream, and the good ones have absolutely no lag or artifacts that aren't present in the source material because they are streaming the exact same data stream that the ATV or a computer would use.
I said it is still a long way for a completely wireless future. We are in a transition phase. A lot of wireless things are possible now. But i don't see a lot of people throwing away all their old USB Sticks/SD Cards/Cabels/Keyboard/Drives whatever for wireless solutions. Most of them still use them with classic laptops/mac and have iPads as second/third device. This process will take time. And sadly some nifty things like AirDrop are limited to the apple ecosystem. So there is still some work to do in terms of cross platform compatibility.
I was talking about user experience. Besides audio iPads don't offer connectivity for classic wired hardware out of the box. So far bad adapters don't seem to be a dealbreaker for many people, the sales are still good. They probably don't care or use other solutions or devices. I kept my iPad and only returned the adapter, but i don't connect my iPad to the TV anymore. If Apple switches to USB-C a third party vendor could offer another adapter. It also means Apple would need to open up iOS further.
And your statement about the MacBook Air adapters is not correct. It offers a lot of built in connectivity: 2 USB 3 ports, 1 Thunderbolt 2 port (can be used as Mini Display port), 1 MagSafe 2 power port, 1 SDXC card slot 1 Audio port. So you don't need a lot of adapters. And they don't have to be licensed by Apple. For my presentation example you can get the 29$ Apple Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, and for HDMI the Moshi (third-party!) Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter for 35$. Or you get cheap third party cables, which are capable of mini dp/hdmi. Especially the HDMI solution don't have the problems of the Lightning Digitial AV Adapter for 49$.
Apple's new Macbook is a different device with only one USB C port. Apples VGA/HDMI adapters (79$each) are very expensive. It will takes some time before cheaper third party options are available. If you look at the ongoing discussion about the single USB-C Port of the new Macbook, i would say not all people are happy to spend money on these adapters or buying new wireless/ USB C equipment. Some people don't like apples vision of a wireless future for macs. But an iPad with one USB C Port could appeal to a broader audience.
True for Airplay Video/Audio Streaming, when you have a stable wifi connection. Airplay Mirroring is more prone to artifacts and lags. If you're playing a movie with subtitles with nPlayer/VLC it doesn't look great. And games like Infinity Blade have noticeable lag and delay.
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Explaining a problem and how a certain solution works is most definitely NOT denying anything. It's only that: explaining things. They way you are bending things now shows that the only thing you are after is trolling which is even sadder than the solution Apple picked...
When it comes to these things they are the same thing. They have about the same hardware (the iPad has a cpu that is just a wee bit faster) and the same Lightning output and thus the same problems as a data-only stream has to be turned into a video stream.
No they just want to sell more tin foil so you can make hats out of them
You are making a wild assumption here and it is a stupid one. The only reason why the MFi program exists is because Apple doesn't want to sell accessories such as adapters. Apple wants others to do that so they can focus on other things. However, Apple does want to have control over the quality because they want control over their brand which is also something they have to do by law in many countries. If they don't they can lose their trademark. Unfortunately for us this makes the Apple adapters expensive but lucky for us accessory makers have cheaper options.The only one creating problems is you because you bought the product while fully knowing you had to get those adapters. People who actually use 1 or more braincells have a different approach: NOT BUYING IT. It's really not that hard: do some homework before you buy stuff (or do you think money is like water?) and if you don't like something....DON'T BUY IT!
My iPad is only used for some web browsing, e-mail, reading, some ssh sessions when necessary and things like that. The only thing that gets plugged in is the Lightning cable to charge and/or sync it. When I want to use things like keyboard, mouse, thumb drives, sd card, etc. I get my desktop or laptop since they are better tools for the job. The same applies to my Microsoft Surface Pro 2: when I have to use keyboard, mouse, etc. I'll switch to a real desktop/laptop because the SP isn't suited for that kind of work. I only have some mDP adapters that I can use with my Macs and my Surface Pro 2. I don't have any for the iPad because that would be silly. Even sillier at work btw, we don't use HDMI, VGA or AirPlay. We use a different system that uses wifi either via a usb dongle or via an app on your tablet/smartphone. Works really great and allows for interactive sessions (everyone gets to present something).
Let's not mention the huge amount of problems with HDMI because only Apple products come with problems (especially with tv's). The fact that any kind of port has its own issues...nah, can't possibly exist right?
I still don't understand why they picked HDMI. It doesn't make any sense since mDP is not only smaller but also far more versatile (HDMI to VGA for older beamers...no can do but no problem with things like DP++; added bonus: we already have lots of mDP adapters and cables, not so with HDMI) and less problematic than HDMI. But then again, DP is meant for computers, HDMI isn't.
Yup. We have stuff that work but not flawlessly; wired connections are easier to work with and less problematic.
That's entirely up to you. You do your homework and you do it well then this isn't a problem at all. If you don't do any homework or you do a terrible job then yes, you'll run into hidden costs and lots of frustrations. Buying the right tool for the right job is what you should do. When you need to unscrew something you get a screwdriver not a sanding machine. When you need to do a lot of presentations then you shouldn't buy a MacBook, iPad or iPhone if you don't want to spend additional money on adapters/converters.
It's nice to see you are giving yourself advice but now it is time to start acting like it. Stop the ridiculous tinfoil hat stuff and branding anyone who is merely explaining technology as a fanboy. And while you're at it, drop the egoism: no one works like you, everyone works differently. Just because something doesn't work for you doesn't mean it doesn't work at all. Somewhere it works for someone just as much as somewhere it doesn't work for someone.
Or simply put: stop trolling. Makes the discussion here on topic and nicer to follow.
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