I've done AirPlay through my Apple TV the past 2 seasons, jailbreak style, but think I'm going to go to direct plugin this season. While AirPlay is the much easier option, because the iPad is streaming data and then the Apple TV is streaming data, the video tends to be behind.
And I know it's stupid, but that annoys me knowing it's behind. So just going to eliminate one of the streaming options. I look forward to the next version of Apple TV not using wifi to connect via AirPlay, hopefully Bluetooth.