How to mirror an iPad or tablet to a television
BY READERS DIGEST
1st Jan 2015 Technology
You can enjoy video streaming services, easily share photos or home movies, directly from your iPad, to your TV. Screen mirroring can offer greater flexibility, with advances in electronic technology, it's easy to smoothly and seamlessly connect devices.
Method 1: HDMI and DisplayPort
Many modern televisions can be physically connected to an iPad or tablet device using an HDMI cable. These cables can be easily purchased from numerous high street and online retailers.
There are several types of HDMI cable on the market, so before purchase check with a customer service assistant that the cable you buy is compatible with your TV and iPad or tablet device.
Once you've acquired a compatible HDMI cable, simply follow these steps to activate screen mirroring.
- Plug the HDMI cable into your TV and your iPad or tablet using the relevant input ports. These are usually located at the back of your TV and along the edge of your device.
- Hit the 'source' or 'input' button on your TV remote control to bring up your channel options.
- Select 'HDMI'. Some TVs have multiple HDMI inputs, in which case you might have to choose HDMI1, HDMI2 etc. The name of the HDMI input should be clearly labelled on the TV. If not, simply use trial and error to find the right channel.
- When you select the appropriate channel, your television screen should blink briefly before bringing up a mirror of your iPad or tablet display.
Method 2: Wireless 'Airplay;
Airplay allows you to wirelessly connect your iPad to your TV using Wi-Fi. You can only achieve wireless screen mirroring if your TV is Wi-Fi compatible and Wi-Fi is activated in your home.
- Make sure your TV and your iPad are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. You can usually do this by selecting 'settings' followed by 'Wi-Fi settings' and selecting the appropriate Wi-Fi network.
- On your iPad, swipe upwards from the bottom of the screen to bring up the control centre.
- Tap the 'Airplay' button on the screen.
- You should now see a list of compatible devices. Find the tab that represents your TV and tap it. Your screen should now wirelessly mirror instantly.
Method 3: Wireless 'Chromecast'
You can also wirelessly enable screen mirroring using a Google Chromecast plug, sometimes referred to as a 'dongle'. These devices are also widely available, and are particularly suitable if you're not using an Apple device and therefore can't use Airplay.
- Plug the Google Chromecast device into a HDMI input on your television.
- If you don't already use Chrome as your internet browser, download it and launch it on your tablet device.
- In the Google Chrome web store, select apps and download the Google Cast extension.
- In Chrome, on the right-hand side of your address bar at the top of your screen, you should now see the Google Cast icon. Click it, and your tab should appear on your TV.
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