Reviews for Apple 30-pin to VGA Adapter

I have an iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4S.

It should first be noted that only the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 will display "live mirroring" of the display.

Secondly, the iPhone 4, iPad 1, and iPhone 3GS; it will only display video from certain apps such as: YouTube, Photos (slideshow feature only), Videos, Netflix, and any other third party app that has added video out support (there's not very many out there).

For the iPhone 3G, I receive an "Accessory not supported feature" and was not able to get any video to output.

In regards to the iPhone 4S performance, it's crisp and sharp on any monitor I've hooked it up to. One downside that I've found is when I hook it up to my "vertical orientation" monitor. There are not any kind of settings on the iPhone to force a 90, 180, -90, -180 degree rotation. Newer monitors might have manual rotation in the settings; unfortunately, my Samsung 23" SyncMaster (from 2008) does not.

Alternatives for non iPhone 4S and iPad 2 would be the "Component AV" cable that essentially allows you to connect to any TV that accepts video (yellow) and audio (red or white or both) which obviously covers most televisions over the last 15 years. I have personal experience with the iPad 1 using the component cable and it works great for playing YouTube videos (such as Sesame Street for my daughter) or photo slideshows (showcasing my photography).

Overall it's a solid cable. I usually buy knock off eBay cables; but after my last experience buying the junky knock off component cable that was half the price of the Apple cable; I have regretted it (primarily due to the fact that it gets stuck in my iDevices and makes me feel like I have to rip it out dangerously to get it out).

93 of 98 people found this useful

People Should Read Better Because it Says There That On iPad 1 Only works with movies and slideshows mirroring, It Works Awesome on the iPad 2 and 3 because it mirrors everything and works awesome, nice purchase i love it!

78 of 83 people found this useful

I purchased this to use my iPad 2 with my projector for a training class I am planning. I tested it and it works perfectly for what I need. It mirrors exactly what's on the iPad screen. I didn't have any problems with any of my apps including Safari, photos, email, iBooks, Quickoffice, Amplitube, Star Walk, and videos without DRM.

This highlights one exception that may be a deal breaker for some. It absolutely will not project any videos with DRM. I purchased one movie via iTunes just for the fun of it. That movie will not play on my projector using this adapter. However, any videos I ripped from DVDs to m4v project absolutely fine.

On the Apple site is does say, "Mirroring supported only by iPad 2." However, the text is gray on white instead of black on white making it hard to notice. I'm surprised Apple would allow this as unsuspecting iPad 1 users become upset customers realizing they can't do mirroring.

68 of 73 people found this useful

If you can't read, don't complain. It clearly says that mirroring only works on the iPad 2 and up. I have the third generation, and it works perfectly.

67 of 76 people found this useful

Apple website says that with this special adaper, you could "then see your videos and slideshows on the big screen."
What was omitted was the word "only". You can ONLY see the videos and slide shows. The fact is most of the stuff you want to see on the big screen does not come up on the big screen. Nothing, not even a dialog box came up on the IPad screen when I first conected it. This is disappointing.
Hiding behind one's words might help avoid being blamed for false advertising but does not bode well for relations with loyal customers. I am giving 5 stars for the product because it does connect the two items but I am giving no stars for the representation made.

74 of 94 people found this useful

Before anyone else writes that this adapter doesn't work with iOS 6 or higher, please read this:
1. DO NOT connect the VGA adapter to your apple device until you have done the following.
2. Connect the VGA cable to the monitor or projector FIRST.
3. Make sure the monitor or projector is connected to a power source and TURNED ON.
4. Connect the adapter to the VGA cable.
5. NOW connect your apple device to the VGA adapter.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing twice and expect to get different results.

67 of 82 people found this useful

I purchased the VGA adapter for my new iPAD to show downloaded movies that a relevant to my class. The iPAD was projected on the video projector with no problem. However, when trying to display the video, an error message appeared CANNOT PLAY MOVIE: The connected display is not authorized to play protected movies. I tried several iPAD movies and received the same messages. I then tried to play the ultraviolet movies that were downloaded and they played perfectly. I contacted service and they seemed unaware of this problem. Unfortunately, if you read internet blogs, the problem has been around for a couple of years. Apple also states that iPAD will display movies on video projectors with the VGA adapter, but does not state clearly that copywrite protected movies downloaded from iTunes will not play. =(

54 of 57 people found this useful

Works as described and mirrors your iPad 2 to a connected display using a VGA connector. Plug this adapter into the iPad, and attach to the male end of a VGA cable connected to your display and you see the iPad 2 user interface.

*Product Used: iPad 2 v5.0.1
- You will need a VGA cable to connect between this adapter and your display.
- You see the entire iPad user interface and the content of each app as you open it.
- I tried a bunch of apps and games and all were mirrored on the display without issues.
- iBooks worked perfectly for displaying presentations. Just open an email with the PDF presentation, select the attachment and select Open in iBooks, and it adds to your library. Open here and flip through the presentation.
- As you might expect, the adapter does not allow copy protected material to display:
[x] HBO Go - Is blocked and will not display when connected
[x] Cox TV Connect - Will run and you can see the show listings, but the display area will not show any content when connected
[x] Downloaded Videos from the apple store would not display

*Product Used: iPhone4 v5.0.1
- Would NOT mirror the general user interface like on the iPad 2
- I tried YouTube and could view videos
- I tried a couple other apps that specifically have TV-out capabilities and they worked

In general did what I needed it to do for business presentations.

53 of 56 people found this useful

Plugged it in to my iPad2, connected in the VGA cable the adapter, and immediately displayed my iPad2 screen through the projector. Could not have been simpler. Classic Apple simplicity.

55 of 63 people found this useful