Despite all the competition, Apple’s tablet line has been facing in recent years, about 1 in 5 adults own Apple’s iPad. And the number keeps increasing, reports BusinessWire. The Cupertino Company has also been reported to announce a refresh for the iPad Air and the iPad Mini with Retina Display later this year, which could further increase overall iPad sales and ownership.
If you are an iPad owner, you would be aware that the tablet was made for visual entertainment. While you can always transfer videos and other similar media files from your Mac/PC to your iPad, syncing such files via iTunes can be inconvenient and time-consuming. Also, when the file format is not iPad-friendly, you are even required to use software to convert the file to MPEG-4 or H.264 before syncing.
Thankfully, you can take advantage of iPad media streaming apps to put an end to these nuisances. Most of the streaming apps support audio, video and music files and convert them automatically to iPad-friendly format.
Disclaimer: A fast internet connection is recommended to get the most out of these applications. A slow connection/bandwidth would result in problems such as video buffering, loading screens and playback issues. If your current internet connection is not performing up to the mark, you can upgrade to high speed internet.
Choosing companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon could save you money as they offer high-speed internet in triple play bundles, and you could save even further through discounts and coupons. Verizon triple play bundle promotion codes are available for its FiOS internet, while AT&T is offering similar promotions for its U-verse internet. Extras such as visa gift cards make these offers even sweeter.
After ensuring decent connectivity, you can install one of the following iPad apps to enhance your media streaming experience:
Best iPad apps for Media Streaming
Air Playit HD
This app lets you stream content from your computer’s folder to your iPad. It covers movies, images, music and anything else you can think of. Another highlight of Air Playit HD is parental control, which allows families to set permissions for kids.
The app upon installation transforms itself into a web server so you can access media files when you are not at home. It is capable of streaming more than 320 audio and video files on your iPad through WiFi, without requiring you to go through any tedious converting. Videos can also be watched offline courtesy of the offline conversion and download feature.
StreamToMe
StreamToMe by Matthew Gallagher is notable for streaming photos, music and videos directly on to your tablet. It features video out to enable playback on a larger screen, and allows audio streaming to continue in the background.
The app supports video up to HD quality 1080 for the iPad. And it also allows you to play music using your iTunes playlists or through the folders on your Mac or PC. StreamtoMe converts files into an iPad-friendly format for streaming; playback starts in minimum 5 seconds.
Video stream
This app lets you create user accounts so you can restrict children from accessing R rated films. Video Stream has an intuitive interface and works seamlessly over WiFi or cellular 3G internet. Users also benefit from playlist support, as the app presents the ability to repeat, shuffle or play a track once.
All popular video formats such as XVID, MP4, AVI and MKV are supported. The app was recently updated for iOS 7 and a couple of features were added to the mix, such as drag and drop functionality for USB file transfer support.