Put your slides, movies, photos, and everything else that fills your iPad 2 screen on an even bigger screen your HDTV. The Apple Digital AV Adapter mirrors exactly what you see on iPad 2 so that everyone in the room can enjoy it on your widescreen TV, video projection screen, or other HDMI-compatible display. The Apple Digital AV Adapter also supports video out for iPad, iPhone 4, or iPod touch (4th generation). General Information Manufacturer: Apple, Inc Manufacturer Part Number: Manufacturer Website Address: Brand Name: Apple Product Model: Product Name: HDMI Cable Adapter Marketing Information: Put your slides, movies, photos, and everything else that fills your iPad 2 screen on an even bigger screen your HDTV. The Apple Digital AV Adapter mirrors exactly what you see on iPad 2 so that everyone in the room can enjoy it on your widescreen TV, video projection screen, or other HDMI-compatible display. The Apple Digital AV Adapter also supports video out for iPad, iPhone 4, or iPod touch (4th generation).Product Type: A/V Cable Technical Information Cable Type: HDMI Fiber Optic Mode: Not Applicable Core/Cladding Diameter: Not Applicable Connector on First End: 1 x 30-pin Male Proprietary Connector on Second End: 1 x 19-pin HDMI (Type A) Male Digital Audio/Video Connector on Second End: 1 x 30-pin Female Proprietary Conductor: Copper Miscellaneous Compatibility: Apple: iPad, iPad 2, iPhone 4, iPod touch (4th generation)
Owner Reviews, Ratings, Comments and Criticism
Though released with the iPad 2, this adapter will, in fact, pipe both video and audio out of an iPad 1 and an iPhone 4 through HDMI without any problem as long as the app you wish to view supports it.
My main interest in this adapter was to have the ability to watch Netflix streaming on family TVs who do not have Internet service. The Netflix app works beautifully over AT&T 3G connections on both the iPad and iPhone 4, but I wished to have a way to use the service at older family member's houses who do not have Internet of any sort. I had read most of the reviews here on Amazon and done some other digging around, but no one was very clear as to what this adapter could and could not do on older hardware. Here's my assessment to date:
iPad 2 - You get true "mirroring" performance. This essentially means that whatever you see and hear from the iPad 2 on screen gets put through the HDMI connection, including the home screen icons, sound effects, etc. This is what the adapter was created for.
iPad 1 - When plugged in, you do not get to see anything on the TV screen, but the TV will recognize that it is receiving an HDMI signal. It will simply be blank. The iPad 1 screen will behave normally until you open an app that is compatible with video/audio out and that's when the magic starts. In the Netflix app, which is the only one I've tested so far, you still get the menus and whatnot on the iPad 1 screen as always, but as soon as you start playing streaming video, the iPad 1 screen displays a red screen with the Netflix logo. All the video and sound gets piped through the HDMI output to the TV.
I did not have sophisticated testing equipment or ability to display the signal's resolution on the TV, but the resolution appears to be, at least for iPad 1, 720p. There was no distortion or stretching of the picture and it filled the TV screen properly with very small horizontal bars to keep the aspect ratio correct. With three bars of signal, the movie streamed just fine and quality was perfectly viewable with no grossly obvious compression artifacts. Better than VHS and loosely in the ballpark of DVD (though upconverted to 720p, apparently).
iPhone 4 - I tried the same thing on my iPhone 4. It all works essentially the same as on an iPad 1, which makes perfect sense given the similarities in hardware. I did notice much worse compression artifact errors, though, when output to TV. My guess is that the video signal being streamed to the iPhone 4 is scaled down to fit the small screen, where such artifacting would be less noticeable, and that this small-screen version does not scale well to a 42" HDTV. Though both sound and video were output just fine, the quality of the video left much to be desired. In fact, I would describe the video as essentially unwatchable.
It's my understanding that other apps work essentially the same. I don't have a list of apps, other than Netflix, which will work in this way. I wouldn't be surprised if the YouTube app, iPod video, etc. worked and even possibly a game or two. My main need was Netflix, and it works just fine for that purpose.
The adapter itself has two ports, one HDMI female port and one standard female iPod connector port. This permits you to power/charge the iPad or iPhone while simultaneously outputting video and audio. Not included, of course, is an HDMI cable. I would suggest you get at least a 3' cable, possibly a 6' cable, with which to connect to the TV or projector since you'll have to account for needing to physically manipulate the touch screen to start up video output. Build quality is typical Apple, which is to say excellent.
Very pleased with my gamble to purchase this. Didn't want others to have to worry if their intended use was similar.
