how do I get 1080p resolution when screen recording an iPad Pro?

I have an iPad Pro 10.5 inch with an advertised resolution of "2224 × 1668 px". However, when I do a screen recording using Quicktime Player of the iPad, I get a much lower resolution. How do I get at least a 1080p resolution?

Solution 1:

Instead of recording using QuickTime via a Lightning to USB cable, which for the 10.5" iPad Pro records at a fixed, non-adjustable 1600x1200 resolution, you can mirror your screen to an Apple TV via AirPlay, which is a 1080p output.

But instead of having the Apple TV connected to a TV, connect it to an HDMI capture device connected to your Mac, such as the Epiphan AV.io HD. From there you can use QuickTime and choose the HDMI capture device as the source for screen recording.

Note that you may have to go into System Preferences to change a setting to make it work. Also, because the iPad has a 4:3 display aspect ratio, you will get pillarboxing on anything that's not native 16:9 content (such as the home screen), making the image equivalent to 1440x1080; lower than recording the iPad directly using QuickTime. But still technically 1080p, as it refers to the vertical resolution of the output.

There is no known way of recording the iPad's screen at its native 2224×1668 resolution. Apple's Lightning to Digital AV Adapter tops out at 900p (1600x900 upscaled to 1080p, looks yucky), and AirPlay mirroring tops out at 1080p.