Teachers and corporate presenters alike begged Apple for video mirroring capabilities for the iPad, and the company delivered the feature in the iPad 2. Apple's solution still leaves users tied to a cord, however, so two employees at networking service provider Straight Up Technologies developed a simple hack to give their client wireless HDMI output and freedom of movement while sharing the iPad's screen.

The iPad 2 can mirror its display in 1080p HDMI video over the new Digital AV Adapter, which plugs into a Dock connector and has an HDMI port on the other side. For some presenters, being chained to a cable isn't much of an issue, but teachers in particular have told Ars that one important advantage of using iPads in the classroom over laptops is the ability to walk around the classroom and interact more directly with all the students in the room.

SUT employees Eric Govoruhk and Kelly McAteer set out to find a solution that would connect an iPad 2 wirelessly to an HD display, giving presenters more mobility. While the solution the two found isn't the most elegant, it does use off-the-shelf parts and doesn't require any jailbreak hacks.

In a video posted to YouTube, Govoruhk describes the hardware that powers the hack. Using the Digital AV Adapter to output 1080p video, the pair then connected the output to an HP Wireless TV Connect transmitter. HP's transmitter uses the WHDI 5GHz standard to wirelessly transmit an HD video signal to a receiver hooked to an HDMI display. The Wireless TV Connect transmitter is normally powered by a USB port, so a USB battery pack—used to charge cell phones and other mobile devices—was added to the mix.

To keep the bulk and weight down as much as possible, Govoruhk removed the external plastic housings for both devices, and fit them into a custom shell that attaches to the iPad 2. While the resulting package doubles the weight and significantly increased the thickness of the iPad, Govoruhk demonstrated in the video that the system works flawlessly. The battery pack can also power the Wireless TV Connect for more than the "typical presentation time."

Govoruhk and McAteer posted a video of their solution to YouTube so that others can use their ideas. Govoruhk noted that he plans to put together an Instructables tutorial once a "final" version of the hack is refined. If Apple notices high enough demand for wireless video mirroring, however, perhaps the feature will show up in a future iPad revision.