We've all watched in awe as Firemint showed off their gorgeous Real Racing app on a big screen HDTV. No they aren't a console company. The iPad 2 is so powerful it can support the output of full 1080p video to an HDTV.
With Apple's new HDMI adapter they released alongside the iPad 2, connecting your tablet to the big screen was supposed to be easier than ever, right?
Not according to inventive hackers Eric Govoruhk and Kelly McAteer. These two managed to put together a wireless adapter for the HDMI port that would allow you to send the HDMI signal wirelessly to a receiver tapped into the back of your T.V.
They even fit this adapter into a molded iPad 2 case, so everything still looks nice and clean. Not only that, but they completed the entire project with materials bought at their local electronics store.
The hack involves an Apple Digital AV Adapter which is hooked into a wireless HDMI transmitter, and a battery capable of powering the transmitter for up to 2 hours. The total cost of the project was just under $300.
They claim that wireless presentations were the goal behind this project, but this could open up a world of possibilities for developers. While Firemint's racing game looked cool on the big screen, the HDMI cable would certainly limit your game play.
Something like this would enable wireless, big screen gaming from your iPad at a fairly affordable price, as mass production would certainly drive costs down. Or we could see Apple do something with AirPlay that would give similar benefits at little or no costs.
They go over what they used to make the adapter in the video below, would you attempt to do something like this with your iPad 2?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnM8ciByJps
