[UPDATE: It looks like there's a nice app available to jailbroken iPads via Cydia called 'Display Out' that will allow you to use the iPad with any external display, the way it was meant to be! Also, some other interesting comments down below...]
I bought the iPad VGA cable at the store today, hoping to be able to browse the web via Safari, show presentations using Keynote, and view slideshows on my monitor and on the projector, using the cable. A couple of these things are possible, but right now the VGA cable is pretty weak, and probably not worth the money.
You can:
- View a Keynote presentation
- View a photo slideshow
- Watch YouTube videos or other videos through the 'Videos' app
- View videos through Safari
...and that's it (at least, for now). No Netflix, no web browsing, no flying through photos on the big screen. I was really hoping for more; not having the ability to do anything manipulative or 'real time' through the VGA connection is a downer for me. Couldn't Apple just mirror the internal display?
I'll still use the adapter for presentations, but there are going to still be times where I have to carry my laptop to do more real-time interaction with a website, for instance. (See Apple's Support Article, About iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter Compatibility, for more info).
Comments
I second that, I really did expect to have a setting or something to output the screen you see on the iPad to the VGA screen you have connected to. Using the iPad as a controller and the VGA screen as the Display would be perfect for a lot of my work / play.
Did I miss it? is there a setting and I just cant find it?
You didn't miss it; it's not there :(
You can't even watch movies you've downloaded from iTunes using this cable. It starts to play the movie then gives you an error that the specified display device is not allowed when playing 'protected content'. Glad they are protecting me from watching the movies I bought. Thanks, Apple. This 'accessory' is a waste of time and money.
Yikes! Hopefully that's something Apple will fix in a firmware or OS update. I would call Apple support and see if they know a workaround for this.
Several new apps or updates started to appear on App Store since mid April. You may find them by searching with the keyword 'vga' on App Store. Some of them let one view web pages on external screen or projector.
From AppAdvice (an iPad app), "Netflix v1.02 now includes support for video output via VGA, component, and composite adapters allowing you to stream video to a .... TV". This was dated May 20.
If safari doesn't work then how did jobs accomplish it during the initial presentation launch in january?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqGo0qAMo78&feature=related
They could apparently do the same for the iPhone at its launch; since Apple makes the hardware/software, they can pretty much do as they please :D
Okay, so I figured out how to get true display mirroring with the iPad's VGA dongle.
You will need to jailbreak your device and install an app from the Cydia AppStore called "Display Out" -- it costs $1.99 but it's well worth it.
Here's a youtube video of me demoing the app (it's not letting me post the link to the video -- says it's spam) youtube dot com slash watch?v=gIpMBQIPe14
I'll have to try this; it will make presenting on the iPad that much better. I hope Apple opens this up sometime soon—it would be a huge help for me!
Kind of reminds me of how Apple crippled the old white iBook's display out by only allowing mirroring for a while, to distance the feature set from the PowerBook G4. Luckily that was short lived!