How to connect an iPad to a TV

Went to an Apple store yesterday in San Francisco. My goal was to buy whatever dock or cable I needed to connect my iPad to my Sony regular-definition TV set. Confusion ensued.

One sales person told me to do one thing, a second person told me to do something else, and the Apple.com site offered yet another take on the subject. So I'll net it out for you.

Basically, to connect your iPad to a standard-def TV, all you need is the Apple Composite AV Cable ($49). Even though the cables currently on sale in Apple stores don't list the iPad as a compatible device, trust me, it is. As long as the cable in the store has this part number -- MB129LL/B -- on the box, you're good to go.

For high-def TVs, you need the Apple Component AV Cable ($49). Check to make sure MB128LL/B is the part number on the box.

You don't need to buy the Apple iPad Dock ($29) to connect your iPad to a TV. However, if you have the dock, you can connect it to either the Composite or Component AV cable, which then connects the iPad to your TV.

Also, you can connect your iPad to a TV set that has a VGA port if you buy Apple's iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter ($29). 

Unfortunately, as of this moment, you can't use the Apple Remote ($19) to control video on your iPad. Both the iPad and the iPad Dock lack infrared technology. But I suspect there are developers fiendishly devising accessories to solve this problem as we speak.

Oh, one more thing. The Netflix iPad app is superb for streaming video. But when the iPad was connected to my TV, the Netflix video only showed on my iPad screen and not the TV. That would have been amazing.

Comments

[Kevin]

Great info!!! Apple now lists Ipad as a compatible device. Thanks for your help.

[JOFFEMARC]

Thanks to your post, I was able to figure out which cable I needed for my older Sony TV. I'm now watching Netflix from my iPad to my TV. All I needed was the Composite cable. The component video cable didn't work on my TV. thanks, again.