In the current age of Smartphones, we can store everything in our pockets such as pictures, spreadsheets, documents, videos, music, and everything in between.
Wired and Wireless Methods: Steps to Connect Android Phones to the TV
And this has now slightly upgraded. Do you know that we can connect our Smartphones to our Televisions? Now, the idea of connecting a Smartphone to a TV is nothing new far from it, in fact. There are a handful of ways to connect your Android phone to your TV.
Here, we have got a rundown of each method along with their pros and cons. To connect an Android phone or tablet to a TV you can use an MHL/SlimPort (via Micro-USB) or Micro-HDMI cable if supported, or wirelessly cast your screen using Miracast or Chromecast. In this article, we shall discuss connecting a Smartphone or Tablet to the TV.
Connecting a Smartphone to the TV helps you make light work from watching films, videos to reviewing photos. Sometimes, bigger crowd call for bigger screens. Then you can connect your Smartphone to the TV. We’ll also look at the services that will let you share your subscriptions, photos, and videos on the big screen and those that won’t.
There are two methods to connect a Smartphone to the TV.
- Wired Options.
- Wireless Option.
Steps to Connect your Android Phone to the TV Wired Options: MHL and Slimport
MHL:
Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) is an industry standard for a mobile audio/video interface that allows the connection of mobile phones, tablets, and other portable Consumer Electronics (CE) devices to High-Definition Televisions (HDTVs) and audio receivers. MHL-enabled products include adapters, automotive accessories, AV receivers, Blu-ray Disc players, cables, DTVs, media sticks, monitors, projectors, smartphones, tablets, TV accessories and more.
MHL is a consortium made up of major companies in the mobile and CE industries, including Nokia, Samsung, Silicon Image, Sony, and Toshiba. MHL is an adaptation of HDMI intended for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Unlike DVI, which is compatible with HDMI using only passive cables and adapters, MHL requires that the HDMI socket is MHL-enabled, otherwise, an active adapter (or dongle) is required to convert the signal to HDMI.
It has several aspects in common with HDMI, such as the ability to carry uncompressed HDCP encrypted high-definition video, eight-channel surround sound, and control remote devices with Consumer Electronics Control (CEC). It uses your phone’s built-in USB port, along with a specific cable that essentially converts the display output into a TV-readable format on the other end. In other words: it’s a USB to HDMI cable. There are two different types of MHL cables available: active and passive. Active cables are the most common type.
They work with essentially any TV because they perform the actual conversion, but to do this, they require an additional power source (usually in the form of a built-in full-size USB plug). Passive cables do not do any conversion themselves. Instead, they’re designed to be used with an MHL-ready TV, something that’s becoming increasingly uncommon. Passive cables do not require separate power.
Slimport:
SlimPort uses a single cable to deliver high-definition audio and video from your smartphone, tablet or another mobile device to a wide range of external displays, including projectors, PC monitors, and HDTVs. Whether you’re at home, on the road, or in the office, simply plug in your SlimPort-enabled device and you’re ready to start gaming, give a presentation or watch your favourite movie or sports team on any size screen.
SlimPort products offer the unique ability to connect with all the leading display types (HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, and VGA) over a single cable. They also offer high-bandwidth 3D 1080p video playback, low power consumption and compatibility with the Mobility DisplayPort (MyDP) standard, with future video resolutions up to 4K.
Displaying your mobile device’s content on a big screen has never been easier. SlimPort products connect with all the leading display types (HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, and VGA). SlimPort products work without external power, and their low-power designs help your mobile device batteries to last longer. You can even charge your batteries during playback when using DisplayPort and HDMI adaptors.
Steps to Connect your Android Phone to the TV Wireless Options: Miracast and Google Cast
Miracast:
Miracast is a standard for wireless connections from devices (such as laptops, tablets, or smartphones) to displays (such as TVs, monitors or projectors). It can roughly be described as “HDMI over Wi-Fi”, replacing the cable from the device to the display. Devices that are Miracast-certified can communicate with each other, regardless of manufacturer. Adapters are available that plug into HDMI or USB ports, allowing devices without built-in Miracast support to connect via Miracast.
Miracast employs the peer-to-peer Wi-Fi Direct standard. It allows sending up to 1080p HD video (H.264 codec) and 5.1 surround sound (AAC and AC3 are optional codecs, mandated codec is linear pulse-code modulation – 16 bits 48 kHz 2 channels). The connection is created via WPS and therefore is secured with WPA2. IPv4 is used on the Internet layer. On the transport layer, TCP or UDP are used. On the application layer, the stream is initiated and controlled via RTSP, RTP for the data transfer.
Miracast devices negotiate settings for each connection, which simplifies the process for the users. In particular, it obviates having to worry about format or codec details. Miracast is “effectively a wireless HDMI cable, copying everything from one screen to another using the H.264 codec and its own digital rights management (DRM) layer emulating the HDMI system”. The Wi-Fi Alliance suggested that Miracast could also be used by a set-top box wanting to stream content to a TV or tablet.
Google Cast:
Google Cast, branded for consumer devices as Chromecast built-in, is a proprietary protocol developed by Google that enables mobile devices and personal computers to initiate and control playback of Internet-streamed audio/video content on a compatible device, such as a digital media player connected to a high-definition television or home audio system.
Google Cast receivers can stream content via two methods: the first employs mobile and web apps that support the Google Cast technology; the second allows mirroring of content from the web browser Google Chrome running on a personal computer, as well as content displayed on some Android devices. In both cases, playback is initiated through the “cast” button on the sender device.
It’s possible to use Chromecast to mirror the display on your Android device, allowing you to hit play on a tablet and have the (non-DRM-protected) video start playing on your TV. The same goes for anything the screen can display, including apps, games, and photos. Apple users have an easier but more expensive time. The iPad and iPhone don’t support any open streaming standards, so you’ll need to get hold of an Apple TV. This supports AirPlay mirroring from iOS devices only, and, like Chromecast, offers various streaming services including Netflix and Sky offerings Sky Sports and Now TV.
This is all about how we can connect our Android smartphone to TV (Television). We hope this article helps you to connect your Smartphone and TV devices. If you have any queries regarding connecting the two devices, let us know in the below comments.
If you know any other method to connect the Android to TV, write in the below comments.
Which method do you use to connect Android smartphone to TV (Television)?
