Any general method for iPad to output in 1080p when connected to TV by HDMI?

Solution 1:

From the comments and based on actual results, the iPad Air model I have has an output resolution strictly limited to the resolution of the screen.

As this screen has a lower resolution than my TV (where the screen is < 1080p), this translates to black bars appearing to the left and the right of the display on the TV. In addition, the output frame rate is noticeably worse with such an output adaptor shown in the original post, showing a 30 FPS video at around 20 FPS.

There is no known software fix to this as it is a limitation imposed by the hardware itself.

Alternatively, I can zoom in the TV to make use of the full screen, at the cost of even worse resolution with the lower output video frame rate even more noticeable.

Solution 2:

AirPlay can push to 4K resolution but you need an Apple TV or other intermediary. Even plugging the latest iPad Pro in to USB-C devices that are 4K displays, the OS doesn’t run the resolution you ask. It has to be app specific programming to kick the GPU portion of the Apple Silicon chips to higher resolution via network or USB port.