Mirage CaptureHow to use your iPad as an HDMI monitor with a capture card
An iPad can’t take HDMI on its own. Through a UVC capture card, Capture Card shows anything with HDMI out, with its sound: a console, a camera, or another computer.
What you need
- An iPad with a USB-C port and iPadOS 17 or later
- A UVC capture card: one that works without a driver, as most small HDMI-to-USB cards do
- An HDMI cable from the source to the card, and a USB-C adapter if the card has USB-A
Steps
Connect
Source HDMI out › capture card › the iPad’s USB-C port. A plain HDMI-to-USB-C cable is not a capture card.
Open Capture Card
Capture Card on the home screen. Allow camera access: iPadOS treats a capture card as a camera.
Detect the card
Detect Capture Card. The picture appears, and its sound plays on the iPad.
What it does
- Plays the source’s sound on the iPad, or mutes it.
- Records the clean feed with its sound, and saves screenshots to Photos.
- Monitor tools on the iPad only: false color, zebras, focus peaking, waveform, histogram, frame guides, and LUTs.
- Outputs send the clean feed: Mirage Broadcast (Director, Mirage for Mac), NDI®, and Browser.
If it doesn’t work
- No picture: check the card’s power and adapter, and that the source is sending a signal.
- Protected content (HDCP) can’t be captured. Turn HDCP off on the source if it has the setting.
- No Capture Card on the home screen: it needs an iPad with USB-C. An iPhone can watch an iPad’s Capture Card in Director.
Questions
Does this work on iPhone?
No. iPhone can’t connect a capture card. It can watch an iPad’s Capture Card broadcast in Director.
Which capture card should I buy?
Any UVC capture card that works without a driver. Most small HDMI-to-USB cards are UVC.
Can I play games on it?
Yes. Anything with HDMI out works. How quickly the picture follows depends on the capture card.