HDMI Monitor - Orion App Reviews

Wow. It’s easy use plus you can use it with your Nintendo switch PS five or Xbox. This is one of the best designed apps I’ve ever seen. Kudos to whoever designed it.

No ability to resize window?. I regret paying for this. Image looks sharp, but there are way more gimmick / novelty features than actual features. Being unable to resize the window on iPad, which are all near 4:3, while the input devices this support are all 16:9, is insane. It makes the app unviable for retro games, which is what it would be best at. I recommend you get Genki Studio instead. Waaaaaay better, does everything this app does and more.

Doesn't work on 3rd gen ipad pro ipados 17.2. I bought the recommended dongle, but the app says "no signal" when plugged in. I verified everything else works except Orion. I even found another similar iPad app that does work. This app crashes just trying to open settings or read the docs.

Awesome tool. love this it’s very useful to have a small portable monitor anywhere. just one suggestion add support for the iphones with usb-c ports.

Better alternatives, avoid. The ux is terrible and fussy with unnecessary animations and waiting. Advanced options is literally a joke, and the tone of the developers is much too silly for something aimed at prosumers. The 4K scaler is a pure gimmick and the CRT filters are much too aggressive with no fine tuning. Avoid spending money for that IAP, I wish I did. The worst part comes down to lack of options. I bought their advertised dongle (which had a price increase so their website is incorrect now), and suffered massive lag and screen tearing. People thinking that it’s the dongle’s problem, it’s not. I used a separate capture card and the results were the same. Trying to play any game is a joke and should absolutely be avoided. Genki Studio may not look as polished, but they offer much clearer toggles and MUCH more informative help page within their app. Most importantly, they offer different resolution sizes that fixes the bandwith issue; turns out the iPad can only manage 720p60 before it starts choking.

Barely useful. Thought this would be great to use as a second monitor on the road with a PC (work issued)…nope. Regardless of the resolution I set in windows, I have huge letterbox borders on my iPad. Tried every setting in the Orion app, but nothing helped. I understand the iPad has a different aspect ratio, but this is almost useless as a secondary monitor with PC. Not surprising they did not include a screenshot of that use-case here. Would have been good to know prior to buying the mandatory hardware needed to even use this app.

Not for gaming, but probably great as a camera monitor. I bought this app with the sole intention of using my iPad as a portable monitor for Switch and Analogue Pocket. Unfortunately, there is noticeable input lag, even with wired USB controllers, which makes it unusable for my purposes (I’m a big retro gamer and input lag is truly a dealbreaker). I’m using the one-and-only USB-C video capture card linked from their website. The capture card could be the input lag culprit, but again, I’m using the only dongle listed on the site. If a different accessory is recommended for gaming, I’d suggest mentioning that on the website (there’s already a section for recommended gaming accessories). If a $150 high-performance capture card is required for gaming, I would have thought twice about purchasing the app. The fact that the app is marketed towards gamers as well as photographers is the only reason I’m rating the app three stars. If input lag isn’t a dealbreaker for you, Orion is a great app. Setup was ridiculously easy, and the CRT emulation effects are fun to mess around with (by the way, disabling the effects doesn’t seem to improve the input lag situation). I’m truly hoping Orion improves over time. I paid for the app in hopes of encouraging further development.

Doesn’t work for me. Bought the dongle listed and when I connect nothing happens. Can’t even get past the initial screen with demo and advanced settings options. Bought based on someone else’s recommendation and really wished it worked for me.

Great, but needs frame rate settings. The app is superbly polished esthetically. I didn’t hesitate in purchasing the pro version for the 4K upscaling. I could do without the fake settings, especially when the frame rate can’t be adjusted (a serious oversight in my opinion). If using this app with a Nintendo Switch, many games look like they’re performing poorly because it can’t be set to 30FPS. Still, an incredible app to have out of the gate with this added functionality in iOS 17.

No audio. I love the idea of this app, I’ve always wanted to use my iPad as an external monitor to my console or camera. I purchased one of the recommended adapters and got audio and video to work perfect on the first try which I used for about 2 hours. The second time I tried using the app with the adapter I got video, but no audio. I’ve tried all troubleshooting I know, including restoring my iPad with a Mac as new and getting the adapter replaced by the manufacturer, still no luck. Not sure what the issue is at this point, but I hope I can get the app working properly in the future.

Why the black bars?. App works fine. Too much effort put on the animations and branding. Please let me control your aspect ration I display throngs and take advantage of te iPad full screen and I’ll pay $5. Thanks!

utterly charmed by the COMMITMENT to the retro UI aesthetic. our apps these days are so clean, designed to be minimalistic, unnoticeable, and out of the way. but this one goes all in on the retro aesthetic. and it doesn’t just cop the look with some cheap PNGs, but also the FEEL and the VIBE, with all the necessary distortion and static to emulate the experience of using a classic product from the 80’s or 90’s. there’s some cute silliness in the settings menu as well! the functionality is perfectly competent, of course, and image quality is crystal clear from my Genki Shadowcast (though the optional CRT filters are a lot of fun). this is literally exactly what you’d expect from an HDMI input app, just with a fun retro exterior for when you’re configuring it. also, color me surprised that this was developed by Campo Santo, of Firewatch fame. idk if i’m actually the first review, i’m sure the rest are just going through moderation, but i’m definitely proud to have been one of the first!

Not ideal. This app in combination with one of the recommended capture dongles is not recognized as a second display by Windows. One can duplicate the main computer display, but cannot extend main display to iPad. Disappointed.

The opposite of corporate greed. Thank you, kind souls. My 5 is on the way.

App doesn’t work and no developer support. I cannot get this app to work. I followed all the instructions and purchased all the external hardware they recommend and it will not work. I took my iPad to the Apple Store to make sure that there were no issues with the USB-C port and they were able to confirm it works just fine. I emailed the developer three times and never heard back. It’s disappointing as I did the in-app purchase in trying to support the developer and for this to happen. I was really looking forward to this working for when I travel. I hope others have better luck.

NVR Viewer. Didn’t try to use for gaming, but as a portable option to plug into headless computers or NVRs/DVRs it works great.

Not satisfied. I have the right capture card that I bought from their website and it still doesn’t work

Pretty cool but AI upscale doesn’t work. Nothing to complain about but when I turn on AI upscale doesn’t work, it freezes up and then I have to restart the app

Aesthetically Pleasing, but has large delays on iPad Pro 2018. I read about the app online, so I decided to try and use my 2018 iPad Pro as my second monitor for my Steam Deck. I quickly made a purchase too, but very soon I found that the app would start having delays and it seems like the frames are being buffered / processed not fast enough. I had to go with another app to do my job but I really hope the developers can fix the issue because it is such an aesthetically pleasing app, and I can see the developers put a lot of attention to detail.

love the vibes. very cool so far! some requests: ability to switch cameras (if i have a capture card plugged into studio display, orion prefers studio display camera rather than capture card) more stage manager size classes so i can have capture window next to other iPad windows thanks!

Why no family sharing?. App seem to be great for occasional gaming fun, like as display for kids’ Switch games during travel. Unfortunately, did not realize Family Sharing was not enabled before I made purpose on my own account. Disappointed purchase restore does not work on my kids’ iPads. Family sharing really ought to be enabled for an app like this IMHO.

pinch to zoom. overall satisfactory. I wish they could have pinch to zoom feature. Ipad has a aspect ratio of 4:3, but inputs are always 16:9, which makes the image too small. If you could have a pinch to zoom feature, this would be awesome.

Great CRT filters, but lacks aspect ratio controls. The app is very promising, quality of video is good, and the CRT filters are great quality... but I paid for the extra features and was disappointed that there was no "aspect ratio" control. It only displays widescreen with black bars, even when Window's resolution is 4:3. Please add an option to fill screen so I can raise review stars (and play retro games full screen) :-)

16:9 only?. So far this app is great, and it will be a god send for me out in the field. But, as far as I can tell there isn’t support for 4:3 input modes. This would be excellent for taking advantage of the iPad’s screen real estate when in use as an additional display.

Needs work. I paid for the IAP to support development, because I truly *want* this app to be better. But for now, Genki Studio is the better option to avoid input lag and screen tearing. I'll check back in as updates are released and update my review accordingly. Don't let us down, Lux devs!

Works, input lag not for twitchy games. The app itself works great for games that do not require a super-low input lag. I tested with an Analogue Pocket with the HDMI dock and platformers / shmups were unplayable. I didn’t measure the input lag but it was enough that when I quickly pressed the controller button the game wouldn’t react until my finger was completely off the button, unlike when using a monitor.

No input lag. This is actually pretty impressive being able to play Project Diva on an iPad Pro. Could be a combination of the cable+capture card. Am not using the ones recommended by the developer since I had one already lying around, and it works great!

Exactly as advertized.. Does exactly what it says it does. I connected my Nintendo Switch through HDMI with elgato HD60 S+ and then USB-C through the capture device to my iPad Pro 2020 and everything worked from the get go (plug and play). I’ve been getting video and sound with no lag, and it’s excellent for gaming. However, the 4K AI upscaler does introduce tremendous latency (lag) so, do no expect it to be viable while playing video games; it will probably work best with videos. I do wish it works through USB-C directly without a capture card and an HDMI cable. However, I think Apple is to blame for that and not the developers (Hence the 5 star rating).

Gamechanger!. I’ll admit I was skeptical reading some of the negative reviews, but this app works great for me. Using my iPad as a 2nd monitor for my windows laptop has allowed me to untether myself from my desk.

It just works!. In these days of empty promises it is just outstanding to find a product that delivers exactly what it says with no nonsense. Thank you for restoring my faith in app developers and for having a fantastic sense of humor. This crew takes their product seriously but not too seriously! I’m so excited…I’m so scared! 😂

Good features but keeps crashing. I have a 2018 pro 12.9 and installed the app. First time using it, it crashed. Opened it again, no signal, even though the hdmi adapter was connected. Reconnected the adapter, and got a signal. Tried to change a setting, crash. Restarted the iPad, worked well for a bit, tried buying the pro upgrade, started entering my info, crash. Would like to know why.

perfect app. never thought of using elgato hd60s+ with iPad before , But thanks to this app you can … theoretically you can stream using streamlabs app on iOS , haven’t test it yet tbh

Does what it says on the tin. Worked great with two of my cameras. Very low latency. Doesn't actually require a usb-c capture card. My cheap unbranded usb-a card worked via usb-c adapter and through a usb-c hub, which meant I could still power the iPad while monitoring

Almost there. Great app and almost a 5 star one. The only issue is that it does not transmit sound when connected to a Nintendo switch or Xbox - Only video. Hopefully with an update in the near future this could be fixed!

Great start!. Very promising and I’m impressed! Looking forward to the future updates, I’d love for it to have a built-in recording function and an off button for the brightness adjustment slider.

Works great as a console for headless systems. I have several computers (Mac and PCs) this turns my iPad into a fantastic portable console display.

Tethered?. Okay so, not a review. I come here to ask a question as the support page is still under construction. My question is, can this be used for “Tethered” photography? If not, are you going to implement it in the future?

It works!. And surprisingly well. Definitely helped me out during a move with my monitors packed away. I’m going to be throwing an HDMI adapter in my bag from now on.

Amazing experience from an amazing team!. From the "unboxing" experience at the beginning of using the app, to the nostalgic options and 4K upscaling, this app is truly fantastic! The upgrade option inside the app is reasonably priced, and I gladly purchased it to support the team, as well as enjoy all features. Y'all are fantastic! Keep up the great work!

App that does what the label says with personality. I’ve tried a few apps similar to Orion that do essentially the same thing, but this one has personality that the others don’t. I like it.

Great app!. Does what its meant to do great. There’s nothing else out there like it. Only recommendation would be for native video recording. Using the iPad’s built in screen recording works, but it would be easier to have a button within the app

Needs camera privileges for unknown reason. I emailed the support team asking this, but never received an answer. I don’t understand why Orion need access to your built in camera to operate correctly. I would love an explanation on this.

Fun app but needs pinch and zoom to fill 4:3 resolutions. The filters are really fun to use with Genki Shadowcast. It doesn’t fill the screen when I use a 4:3 resolution probably because Shadowcast is sending it as a 1080p signal but some way to pinch and zoom would be nice.

Worth it. Best display for video games and digital camera

This ain’t it…yet. I could write a meandering stories but here are the main bits - UI is fun but not functional - Lag makes gaming an absolute non-starter - Will force everything to a 16:9 aspect ratio which means you don’t get much more real estate by plugging a Switch OLED or Steam Deck into this

Very nice !!!. I was doing this 7 or 8 years ago with an 'HDMI Cloner wand' and an MS Surface (detachable keyboard) primarily connected to a GoPro. A lot of gear but a large screen is SOOOOO worth it ! I have an iPad 6 mini w/ os17 (required). A cheap USB A capture stick and a USB C multiport hub… plugged the hdmi from a Direct TV box > Capture stick > usb hub > mini 6 and I’ve got my movie on my iPad — sound and all ! Not the best use scenario as the iPad can connect to any streamer, but I wanted to see if it would work, and it does so I will invest the $15 for a USB C capture stick and connect DSLR, GoPro and maybe even a Fire stick so I can use the remote and also bypass the GPS lockouts of the streaming services when abroad. The only downside I see is iPad power.. I’m pretty sure there’s no adapter that will charge and provide an extra C port, but maybe…. THANK YOU Orion !!!!

I love the concept and execution with a couple changes. The two things that are missing are being able to force the signal into either widescreen 16:9 or fullscreen 4:3 I need aspect ratio. The other thing I need is the ability to force the signal to fill the whole screen. When acting as a second monitor for my MacBook none of the resolutions that I tried using were able to fill the screen without black bars, even the ones in he exact dimensions of my iPad. These 2 quality of life features are a must for me to be able to use this as intended. Please add them

Video fixed. The initial problems with the video have been fixed and my Switch easily attaches to my iPad without having any workarounds. Bluetooth audio still breaks up when using AirPods and my Switch which is easily remedied by having the AirPods directly connected to the Switch. This is a five star app if the audio problems are fixed.

Been a long time coming!. I have been waiting on a feature like this for the iPad for a long time. The app is almost flawless and i like the 4k up scaling. The only gripe i have with it though is that audio seems to come out in mono and not stereo. Besides that and a few stutters from frame rate (which could be a result of a cheap capture card) this app is amazing, and i would recommend to anyone. It’s an amazing feature for the iPad. Imagine you’re taking a long trip and you bring your console to play on the go, now you have a way to play the whole way! When they update the audio to stereo, I’ll rush back to update tp 5 stars.

Great, but the huge top and bottom bars are annoying.. I just got it. Great app. I use it to send my iPhone screen to my iPad Pro. Is there a way to get full screen? There is the huge black bar on the top and bottom of the feed that I can’t get rid of.

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Love it. Hello 3rd monitor and more. Just got a cheap $15 dongle and it works great. Now to monitor drone flights with it too on a bigger screen. Can you make it record video too?? So much potential. Great work, as it’s the thing we’ve been missing for years. Bye bye Atomos Ninja.

Useless app. It appears that the developer has spent a ton of time in trying to make the app as cartoonish as possible without building in proper functionality.

Works perfectly with Blackmagic 4K. Does exactly what it says it does with a random no name usb hdmi adaptor

Such an awesome aesthetic for such a useful app! Omg…. It feels so fluid and so amazing. Truly professional work, and free out of the box for all the features most people would need. I love this so much!

Not working with new update!. No signal with any dongle on the latest 17.0.03 update

iOS beta update not working. Tried multiple dongle options does not work no signal. Updated to latest iOS beta. Nothing :(

Doesn’t work yet with capture dongle. I have the dongle. It doesn’t work.

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Démo. Une démo pas démo, bizarre. Ont peu rajouté des effets de veille écran sur un film de mauvaise qualité. Quel idée de marketing de mauvais goût.

Forget it!. Forget it! Hooked up my M1 MacBook Pro and all I get is an image of my computer’s background. Nothing else! Useless. Used a Video Capture card.

Cool concept. Nice concept and works for the most part but tons of input lag on games.

Wow!. You only needed to make this app work, which it does, perfectly…but you also chose to make it absolutely delightful. From the first moment I launched it, I was surprised and delighted. Excellent work. I upgraded to pro immediately. The light of Steve Jobs is shining down upon you. I mean that with complete sincerity.

Just Amazing!. This app is simply too good, 100% recommended.

Great app!. Use this to turn my iPad into a monitor for my Steam Deck, the CRT options are fun for playing my older ROMS. Attention to detail is wonderful, unboxing at first launch is a fun experience. Would love to see PiP added in the future as well as more options for scaling and adjustments :) Thanks for the hard work!

Great, portable HDMI display. I am glad I ran across video output that was uncompressed YUY2 that did not work with a basic dongle using OBS on Mac before using this. I purchased an adapter that supported it and it worked on Mac. If the adapter is working with the HDMI input I can confirm it works perfectly. Feature request: the ability to record.

Screen tearing while gaming. Tried both a laptop with Steam and a Nintendo Switch. Minor input lag was acceptable most of the time, but there was tons of horizontal screen tearing using one of their verified capture cards and it was very distracting. The more activity / action on the screen Tried more than one HDMI cable, multiple sources, two different iPads. Reached out to technical support but they did not respond. Should not be advertised for gaming use cases.

Not sure why the low review score?. The app works well and does exactly what it says. One time purchase for pro features is also appreciated!

Misleading. Sprung to use this app because of the reputation of Halide. Unfortunately, disappointed. All the marketing photos make it appear as if the full screen of the iPad will be used. That is not the case. There is no resolution option to make use of the full real estate of the iPad Pro screen.

Not working. Tried to connect iPad Pro M1 to MacBook Pro by original hdmi apple connector and also to PS4, same result - not working. App shows icon that not connected. iPad is updated to iOS 17

Amazing. Using this with a USB 3.0 4K capable USB-C capture card and playing PS5 with 4K output, (M2 iPad Pro 11”)

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Poor picture. It works but the quality is poor and the 4k upscaling doesn’t appear to do anything. The lag is also pretty bad

No microphone. So if you want to screen record with the microphone this in an awful choice because though you can hear the game, you cannot use the microphone.

Doesn’t work with the recommended capture card. Not sure if it is the HDMI cable being too but it is not working for me at all. All I get is black screen when the connector is in

Pretty cool but AI upscale doesn’t work. Nothing to complain about but when I turn on AI upscale doesn’t work, it freezes up and then I have to restart the app

Didn’t work on my iPad. Tried with different dongles but would not work. Installed different app works fine.

Can't view my screen without upgrading. The live demo is just from the app. I would like to know if it works with my laptop before purchasing.

Gimmicks over function. There are much better free options that do just as much..

Doesn’t work, even with their recommended capture card.. Honestly, just busted. You’re better off using Genki Studio, because on top of everything this app is supposed to do, you can also record and screen share as well - from the same card that Orion recommends, mind you!

STOP. Not a bad app, but any app that pops up a notification every time I use it to submit a review gets one star.

Great app. Just works

Good app, insane icon downgrade. Just because Apple’s new icons are hideous doesn’t mean yours has to be. Bring back that beautiful CRT!

Wow. It’s easy use plus you can use it with your Nintendo switch PS five or Xbox. This is one of the best designed apps I’ve ever seen. Kudos to whoever designed it.

Family share doesn’t work.. My husband contacted them several times on various platforms. It’s been weeks and no response.

Does not work with PS5 Pro. I got this app a few months and have been trying to connect it with my PS5 pro with no luck. I even bought the pro version thinking it would help. Nope! Don’t even bother contacting customer support because the email doesn’t even go through. Terrible…

Constant crashing. The app constantly crashes, and if you want to use it, you have to buy their products to do anything

Please port to MacOS !. App works great with ps, wish it was available on MacBook too for 16 inch screen.

Green phosphorus filter please!. This can be a killer app for retro computers enthusiasts :)

Never worked. Tried 3 different capture cards yes those which the devs website suggested none of them worked.

Great app, recommend highly. Saved me hours and lugging around a spare monitor. Highly recommend!

Clunky. Very amateurish app. When it finally starts it does work okay. Getting past the splash screen, the forced rereading of the manual EVERY TIME, and ridiculous white on white lettering for the “continue” button all combine to make the app too tedious to bother with. Try Genki Studio instead—free and far, far better.

Ask. Does the app work for iPad 9 considered the lightning slot .

Good picture, No audio. Good picture, No Audio

Doesn’t work for me. Bought the dongle listed and when I connect nothing happens. Can’t even get past the initial screen with demo and advanced settings options. Bought based on someone else’s recommendation and really wished it worked for me.

Something about this app. I made it a 3 star because I wonder is other video captures would be in this app.

Doesn’t work. I used to get this to work with my guermok captur card but now it doesn’t work at all. The app is no help at all in diagnosing problems.

Doesn't work on 3rd gen ipad pro ipados 17.2. I bought the recommended dongle, but the app says "no signal" when plugged in. I verified everything else works except Orion. I even found another similar iPad app that does work. This app crashes just trying to open settings or read the docs.

Why the black bars?. App works fine. Too much effort put on the animations and branding. Please let me control your aspect ration I display throngs and take advantage of te iPad full screen and I’ll pay $5. Thanks!

Nada. Two different adapters, 3 cables later. No image. Also the “music” every time you start up? My producer said no way.

Not satisfied. I have the right capture card that I bought from their website and it still doesn’t work

The opposite of corporate greed. Thank you, kind souls. My 5 is on the way.

Simply Doesn’t Work. Plugged it in from my Xbox to the iPad and nothing displayed. My iPad detected the HDMI connection but the app just showed the no signal screen.

Fantastic App. Delightful and super useful

Works great as a console for headless systems. I have several computers (Mac and PCs) this turns my iPad into a fantastic portable console display.

Awesome tool. love this it’s very useful to have a small portable monitor anywhere. just one suggestion add support for the iphones with usb-c ports.

Worth it. Best display for video games and digital camera

Not ideal. This app in combination with one of the recommended capture dongles is not recognized as a second display by Windows. One can duplicate the main computer display, but cannot extend main display to iPad. Disappointed.

The app isn't working for me.. The app isn't working for me. I bought the video capture card that you recommend, and it still doesn't work.

NVR Viewer. Didn’t try to use for gaming, but as a portable option to plug into headless computers or NVRs/DVRs it works great.

Super laggy when I click 4K upscaling. It doesn’t work when I click 4K upscaling

Does nothing but crash. A waste of time. The product crashes when even trying to display the manual.

poor refresh rate. I wish I could get a refund. Its a waste of money. Very bad refresh rate. I want to get a refund

App Works Features are lacking. The app works for me but the crt filters are very lacking there should be more options for higher quality bvm style filters

This ain’t it…yet. I could write a meandering stories but here are the main bits - UI is fun but not functional - Lag makes gaming an absolute non-starter - Will force everything to a 16:9 aspect ratio which means you don’t get much more real estate by plugging a Switch OLED or Steam Deck into this

Horrible. Does not work for switch. Waste of money.

I love this app. I just want to say thank you 📺📺📺📺📺📺

Doesn’t work. Doesn’t work at all. Even pro version doesn’t work. Scam app. Do not buy

Video works, Audio doesn’t. As the title says

Not working. I bought the dongle recommended and it still shows no signal

Works….sometimes. Inconsistent, works sometimes, just doesn’t work often enough.

Do not buy. did not connect and work