Lightning MFI controller and ATV 2 Peer 2 Peer vs Apple TV 4
Curious really as to which may be a better option, I am aware that the lightning HDMI cable introduces latency because it has a chip in it that chugs a little and that you get less latency if you use an apple TV A1469 which has peer to peer bluetooth so you could use the gamevice and then p2p the apple TV and game on the big screen that way.
Lightning MFI controller and ATV 2 Peer 2 Peer
Advantages being the touchscreen is within reach so its easy to reach, the ATV2 is quite cheap now so assuming you have the iphone/ipad/gamevice already its a cheap option, all games saved on one device so no need to worry about uploading and downloading cloud saves between iphone when out and about
Disadvantages - a bit of a faff, still would be some latency, cheaper
Apple TV 4
Advantages - Simple one device for gaming, don't have to mess around with bluetooth connections
Disadvantages - more expensive, seperate devices for gaming at home and out and about
Personally I am leaning towards the p2p apple TV option, however are there any other drawbacks? Do games run with a higher picture quality/resolution on the ATV4?
Hey,
With modern iOS devices on new Apple TVs, the difference between Lightning-to-HDMI and AirPlay is much less than it once was.
There's very little difference in video latency. And the Lightning-connected controller probably compensates for the difference, considering Bluetooth controllers and HDMI would have their own lag.
The biggest issue is resolution. AirPlay caps the resolution at 720p, whereas Lightning supports 1080p. On an iPhone 7 sized device, you won't notice a difference, but on iPads and Plus iPhones, you will.
At the same time, and Apple TV is a heck of a lot more useful than an HDMI adapter. And with the ability to play native games now, the use cases for AirPlay are dropping.
Thanks for the reply - true that the ATV has other uses but really with modern smart TV's giving all the catch up services I need here in the UK its not as useful as it could be sadly, and not really worth the price difference between using airplay/lightning!
Interesting about the resolution, I wasn't aware it was capped at 720p over airplay, with that in mind I think I will check out using a lightning adapter then to see how that works!