Apple TV is one of the best accessories we've purchased for using with our iPad devices.

Being an 'internet' family, we haven't used an actual television system for over 10 years... until now! Thanks to iPad & an Apple TV, a television is finally practical.  Not for watching broadcast or satellite TV, but to use as a large-screen to display what's on our iPad.

What is an Apple TV?

An Apple TV is a small black box which connects to a television set with an HDMI cable.

It also connects wirelessly to a Wi-Fi network and is controlled with a remote (or your iPad) and is plugged into a power outlet.

Read below for how to use the Apple TV with your iPad.

Why use an Apple TV?

With an Apple TV you can mirror your iPad screen onto a television screen, instantly.

You can display your entire iPad screen while on any App!

You play a Video, YouTube or Music track directly from your iPad!

Mirroring is done using the inbuilt iPad AirPlay technology.  No apps need to be installed, no configuration is necessary.

AirPlay just appears on your iPad where applicable and works every time!

Apple TV + iPad as an Educational Resource:

If you're a teacher you could use your iPad, an Apple TV and Television screen as a whiteboard, media player or lesson display system.

All you need is an Apple TV, an iPad and connection to a Wi-Fi network.

Using any app on your iPad you could illustrate points, share a short Video or collection of images you prepared, display homework, anything!

You can even 'lock' it so that only your iPad can control the TV (so students don't display their iPad info onto the classroom screen).

We use it for LOTS of educational things with our homeschooled children.

What we use Apple TV & AirPlay for:

We use our Apple TV when someone wants to share an App they're using and would like to share it with the family.

It's used when everyone's 'watching' a children's book read by the narrator. (Two adults and three children reading from 1 iPad just doesn't work!)

We utilise it REGULARLY for streaming videos from YouTube, iTubeList, TED or our iPad's media library onto the big screen.

It's also used to share projects or games from a child's individual iPad for everyone to see.

We use Apple TV when sharing educational lessons to all of our children at once, when we want to play a movie or TV show from our iPad on the big screen, or when sharing photos with visitors. 

How to use Apple TV & AirPlay with iPad:

Apple TV is REALLY easy to use with your iPad.

Simply double click your iPad's home screen button (the circular button on the face of your iPad, opposite end to the camera). This will get your multitasking bar to appear from the bottom of your screen.

Swipe the multitasking bar to the right.  Push it >>>> this way >>>>

The multitasking bar will appear and you'll see the volume controls, brightness controls, and - if there is an available Apple TV nearby - an AIRPLAY button.

Tap the name of your Apple TV (we named ours 'Rainbow TV') and switch mirroring ON.

This AirPlay button enables you to mirror or play any content from your iPad onto the screen connected to your Apple TV device.

This means you can play a slide-show of images, a game, an educational lesson, a video, or any other App directly onto your telly.

This is cool!

Where else will you find the AirPlay Button?

When playing a Video, the AirPlay button will appear next to the volume controls...

It's a great accessory for every family (or school) who owns an iPad or two.

Other benefits of an Apple TV:

The Apple TV is also a stand-alone device.  You can also rent movies directly from the iTunes Store, pull data from an iTune Library (movies, TV, music) from any computer using iTunes and has Home Sharing switched on.  We use the Apple TV to do this all the time.