Wireless Projection of iPad2 - iPad2s

[Ed Patterson]

Does anyone currently use or plan to use a solution to display the iPad2 via wireless connection?

Another school mentioned to a faculty member here the idea of using AppleTV to send the teachers iPad2 display to the projector wirelessly via AppleTV.  Has anyone done this in a enterprise environment?  Did adding AppleTV to your wireless work?   

 

Have you tried the AppleTV to display any iPad in the classroom - I know it is possible. 

Have you  found another wireless solution, to send the iPad's display to projector/flat screen display for classroom teaching?  It is possible to select from a list of iPads to decide which one is going to be projected.

 

If you have any feedback at all it is appreciated.

[Joel Backon]

We are using Apple TV is 8 classrooms to project from the iPad2. One of those rooms has an LCD TV, and the process is seamless. In classrooms with projectors, the setup is fairly straightforward if your projector has an HDMI port. If not, it gets trickier with conversion boxes that support the transmission of audio and video. Controlling which iPad connects to the Apple TV is handled through a device password, which only has to be entered into the iPad once, so managing who is connected to the Apple TV is a bit tricky. Still, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, so we are planning to add more Apple TVs.

[Ed Patterson]

Thanks Joel,

Yes, I've looked into the conversion issue.  We would have to convert the signal in the majority of our classrooms but the cabling is in place.  Are you using iPads in class sets or is it just a few in the room. 

Ed

[Claire Kyzer]

I would like to learn more about the device password feature.  Would this be a way to name the Apple TVs (see my comment below)?  We have three Apple TVs in close proximity and they all show up when I try to Airplay to my classroom TV .. and I have no way of knowing which one is mine.  I may end up hijacking another teacher's lesson by mistake!

[Cheryl Colpoys]

We have tried to use it but we do not have a projection system with HDMI.  We ran it through a converter to connect and it caused the image to be fuzzy.  From the iPad you can choose to project to the Apple TV, so if there were multiple iPads in the room you could take turns projecting.  If we had the right set up it would be very cool.

[Ed Patterson]

Thanks Cheryl,

I have a converter and have used it with the cabling in the classroom so i know the image is good using the converter I would like to use.  I just can't put it on my wireless network until i can provide more details to our Tech department about the impact on our wireless network.

 

[Philip Schwartz]

We have implemented appleTV in several of our classes and in our theater. The video has worked well with the projectors with HDMI input, but have had a few stumbling blocks with the corresponding audio. We have only been using this for a few weeks, so I feel that this is just user errors (if we connect the iPad to an audio in line, both the wireless and direct line audio don't work).

The password issue is a bit tricky, but it has not been a major detriment. However, I don't think our students (who all have iPads through our program) have learned how to use the AppleTV. Once they do, I am interested to see if they try to take over projects from outside the class :-)

I will get our IT guys to contact you with details about any networking issues.

[Philip Schwartz]

The IT gs responded with this: “The Apple TV does not support the wireless encryption scheme we use (WPA2 Enterprise level) we worked around this by hardwiring the Apple TV’s using the included Ethernet port and assigning the device to the same VLAN ID as our faculty and student wireless network. We already have network jacks installed at the projectors.  This has worked fairly well, we have had some issues where the “list” of available Apple TV’s would not display on the teacher’s iPads, I instructed them to reset the iPad if this happens (which takes less than 30 seconds).
 
Regarding alternatives, various projector manufacturers do have apps that allow limited projection capability, but the Epson projectors we employ only allow image and video display and not true screen mirroring. “

[Claire Kyzer]

We started using iPads in our first and second grade classrooms this school year.  We bought 3 Apple TVs at the same time and have been using them to project to the flat screen TVs in our classroom.  It works very well for all kinds of projects:  demonstrating apps, showing slide shows of student work, or showing close up video of something in the classroom that we want the whole class to be able to see.  We also use it in our chapel program but the iPad does not project to a TV, rather through a projector, so the image is not as clear.  

One problem we have encountered is that we have not found a way to label our Apple TVs.  At the moment when I pull up Airplay on my iPad I have to guess which Apple TV I need to project from or use trial and error to discover which one is the one in my classroom.  If anyone has also run into this problem and has a solution or a suggestion we would love to hear it.

[Roger Spurgeon]

We've just started to play with this, but one possibility is Doceri.  Doceri is a two-piece system:  the Doceri Remote app (free) runs on the iPad and Doceri Desktop which runs on the teacher's laptop/desktop ($50 per license, I think).  If you have laptops/desktops plugged into the projector, this solution allows the iPad to remotely operate the workstation and thus the projected image.  As a bonus, the iPad app has built-in backgrounds so that the iPad can act like an interactive whiteboard.

[Nate Gordon]

But Doceri only allows you to control the computer image that is then displayed on the projector, correct? Not the same as projecting the iPad (particulary iPad apps) onto the projector. :-)

While on that topic, however, I've been using Splashtop Whiteboard to control a computer (and annotate on it) and onto the projector. It costs $20, works the same as Splashtop Remote (controlling) but also allows screen annotation, like a interactive board. I don't think it's as robust as Doceri, but it is half the price. 

[Roger Spurgeon]

Ah, yes, I think you are correct. Doceri and apps like it don't display the iPad screen, they just allow you to control the desktop.  Thanks for the doceri alternative ideas, though!  I'm hesitating a bit at Doceri's price tag.

[Sheri Edwards]

There is a wonderful new App to mirror your iPad onto your Mac, which you then project onto your screen. It's called Reflection by reflectionapp.com  for $14.99 or $49.99 for 5 licenses.   Install the app on the Mac, then choose AirPlay on the iPad and your computer's name.  It's great: Here's my blogpost about it:

http://nsd21.blogspot.com/2012/03/untethered-ipad-projection.html

I do not know if there is a Windows app like this; this one is for Mac only.