I was using RealVNC but have just tried Slapshot and its quite remarkable in terms of speed and ease of use. In fact ideal as a remote MC desktop or control. Sreen scaling means the main monitor gets rescaled if optimized for iPad, so I've not quite worked out how that will work when watching movies and am yet to test it.
My original post and interest in iRule was as a complete IR solution for multiple devices, but Slapshot goes a long way to making iPad use a pleasure.