Apple Lightning Digital AV Adapter and HDMI Cable - IPad to TV

We have Apple TV in the unit we live in most of the day. We don't use it very much because we also have cable. In our other unit we have a tv that is not connected to anything. But when we have guests, that's the unit where we usually stay. So once in a while we need tv access - even just to watch local news. We used to subscribe to basic cable service, but it was not worth spending money on it for those rare occasions. We finally figured out that a digital antenna gets us about forty channels, which was the perfect solution.  But I wanted to see if I could connect my iPad to tv without buying another Apple TV, because the wifi connection in that unit is very weak. So I searched around for options and came across the Apple Lightning digital AV adapter that is paired with an HDMI cable. I ordered them on Amazon and immediately tried to figure out how it might work. After adding the power cord to the mix, all the cables were finally connected from the iPad to the tv - but there was no picture. It took awhile to figure out that I needed to connect via an EXTERNAL input rather than an internal input. So we tried a couple of things - photos, games, a saved movie. They all worked. Then I tried to connect to my saved Xfinity shows... no way! That was quite annoying. But we did find that there are ways to watch cable shows via the internet. So we will need to check that out the next time we feel the need. It seems we are entertained by a lot of the goofy old movies and shows that are available via the digital antenna. Who would have guessed? I suppose we could also rent movies via Amazon, but the wifi signal is too weak. But I'm thinking you tube might work, but you still need a good wifi signal and we don't have unlimited data on our phones unfortunately. Anyway, for people like us who aren't exactly digital geniuses this will have to do. And that's really not so bad after all.