LS,

In stead of getting an AppleTV, I want to buy an iPad 3 and install it permanently next to my LED TV. I will conntect the iPad 3 to my TV using the Digital HDMI Adapter but I need a way to control/operate the iPad 3 from a distance (like remote control) using either an iPhone or iPod or any other 3rd party device (remote control) that may exist.

Any suggestions/comments will be appreciated.

Sounds to me like your trying to make things complicated for yourself. The Apple TV route would be cheaper and work out of the box, whereas remote controlling an iPad is a difficult task.

You may need to jailbreak to get that happening. Otherwise possibly an app that works like Remote does, except for video playback instead of music, but it would be limited to controlling the same app on the iPad (ie. client/server style).

Hopefully someone can recommend a route for you.