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MHL >> I didn't even know our phones did this!

Idunno

Idunno

Android Enthusiast
How is this not a more hyped feature of the phone?

MHL (Mobile High-definition Link) is a new proposed standard of media signal transfer for high-end mobile devices. Instead of having a separate mini-HDMI port like is featured on the Droid X, MHL makes use of the pre-existing mini-USB charging/data port on the phone and converts it to a standard HDMI output to connect to any HDMI enabled TV.

This feature is built into our phones (and a few others, see link for complete list), all we need is the adapter. I did a little research and found what appears to be a decent one here: MyCableMart.com

They also sell a very nice 26AWG 3-foot gold plated HDMI cable, perfect for this sort of setup and their prices are great. The MHL adapter also has an extra mini-USB port to connect a charger so you can charge your phone whilst you're connected.

Am I the only one who didn't know about this? Well anyway, if you didn't now you do.
 
themoreyouknow.jpg
 
I'm just guessing that only about one in a thousand people care about plugging the phone into a TV.

I have an Ultrabook, Roku, PS3, and an Apple TV already. My phone doesn't give me anything new I'd need to see on the big screen.
 
hahaha excellent. Yea I'm not huge on plugging the phone into the TV but there are a few select situations where I can see this being useful. For example, my grandparents that live in northern california are very old and very boring... same goes for their television. I could use the MHL to HDMI and use a stepdown adapter to go from HDMI - cable or component and plug it into their old ass TV and have netflix on demand any time of the day so I could at least watch TV like a normal person. Also if you have some cool pics or HD stuff to show off to the family at a gathering its cool to hook it up to the TV instead of everyone crowding around looking at your phone... they can all see.

Just little things like that. I'm surprised that more people don't know about it, i heard some bag the other day running his mouth about how the nexus sucks because it didn't have HDMI out, that was what got me thinking about this whole thing.
 
I just used the aVia App to wirelessly run a movie for my kids from my VGN to my tv. It makes a DLNA server of the device. It was nice to see my phone stream that content while I was in the back room playing music on it and web browsing. Flawless. Love this phone.
 
I think some of you that find this useless are not looking outside the box.

I have a vacation home that I visit about 8 tiomes a year with no computer or internet access. I picked up one of these lasts month before my last trip. With this, a spare 17 inch monitor I keep there and a $20 blue tooth keyboard, my GN in like having a docked laptop without having to lug a laptop through the airport.
This is outstanding for email and web surfing. The phone is nice for both, but nothing like looking at a web site in full screen and typing email on a regular size keyboard.

Best 12 bucks I spent in a long time.
 
jhonb said:
I think some of you that find this useless are not looking outside the box.

I have a vacation home that I visit about 8 tiomes a year with no computer or internet access. I picked up one of these lasts month before my last trip. With this, a spare 17 inch monitor I keep there and a $20 blue tooth keyboard, my GN in like having a docked laptop without having to lug a laptop through the airport.
This is outstanding for email and web surfing. The phone is nice for both, but nothing like looking at a web site in full screen and typing email on a regular size keyboard.

Best 12 bucks I spent in a long time.
Click to expand...

Exactly my point, sure i'm not going to be hooking my phone up to every nearby flatscreen 10x a day to show people youtube videos and pictures, but for as cheap and practical as this is... even if you use it once it more than pays for itself. And its pretty neato if you think about it.
 
jhonb said:
I think some of you that find this useless are not looking outside the box.

I have a vacation home that I visit about 8 tiomes a year with no computer or internet access. I picked up one of these lasts month before my last trip. With this, a spare 17 inch monitor I keep there and a $20 blue tooth keyboard, my GN in like having a docked laptop without having to lug a laptop through the airport.
This is outstanding for email and web surfing. The phone is nice for both, but nothing like looking at a web site in full screen and typing email on a regular size keyboard.

Best 12 bucks I spent in a long time.
Click to expand...

If I didn't have my tablets and ability to tether, this is exactly what I'd do! :)
 
jhonb said:
I think some of you that find this useless are not looking outside the box.

I have a vacation home that I visit about 8 tiomes a year with no computer or internet access. I picked up one of these lasts month before my last trip. With this, a spare 17 inch monitor I keep there and a $20 blue tooth keyboard, my GN in like having a docked laptop without having to lug a laptop through the airport.
This is outstanding for email and web surfing. The phone is nice for both, but nothing like looking at a web site in full screen and typing email on a regular size keyboard.

Best 12 bucks I spent in a long time.
Click to expand...

I'm very interested in what you have done. When you say " I picked up one of these last month" can you tell me what you picked up?

Can you be specific about what parts are used including cables so I can try this? Also, just how everything is hooked together.
 
edcooper714 said:
I'm very interested in what you have done. When you say " I picked up one of these last month" can you tell me what you picked up?

Can you be specific about what parts are used including cables so I can try this? Also, just how everything is hooked together.
Click to expand...

Sure, I was referring to the topic of this post, a MHL. Mobil High Def Link. One of these:

Amazon.com: Menotek Micro USB to HDMI MHL Adapter IMPROVED WITH RCP (Remote Control Protocol) for Samsung Galaxy S2, HTC Evo 3D, HTC Evo 4G Tablet, HTC Sensation 4G, Sprint Epic 4G Touch, Galaxy Nexus: Electronics

You plug the micro cable of the MHL into your phone, then your phones power source into the MHL, (You can't see from the picture, but there is a micro input for it) then you need a HDMI cable and one end plugs into your tv and the other end plugs into the MHL.

I also purchased an 20 dollar bluetooth keyboard from ebay (This is not the one I got, but this should give you the idea)

1
Wireless Bluetooth 2.0 Signal Aluminium Keyboard For Smartphone Tablet PC 5mm | eBay

Here is a youtube video.
Galaxy Nexus MHL cable demo - YouTube
 
I picked up an MHL adapter from Amazon this week. I had been meaning to get one since I bought the phone. My wife and I go on vacation a lot and now I'll finally be able to watch Netflix in our hotel or at our beach house rental. It's a wonderful thing.
 
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