Quick MHL connector question

[jea2000]

Hey all, sorry if this has been addressed somewhere already, but I couldn't find it. Mea culpa if it is readily available.

I bought the 7.99 overstock.com mhl to micro usb converter/adapter and went to use it for the first time yesterday. I, however, couldn't get my Nexus to show up on the tv. Th ONLY way I could get it to show up was also to plug the charging cable into a usb hub (in this case, on my DVR); when I unplugged it, the TV screen quit receiving the picture. Is this correct, and are all converters like this? I'm not a bit fan of having to be tethered so tightly to so many machines (TV for HDMI and a computer/DVR box for USB . . . makes things a little clumsy).

Am I missing something? Is there a workaround, or is this just the way MHL works?

Thanks in advance.

 

[reMarkable]

These adapters require power (via the micro-usb port.) It is kind of clunky. One tip I've heard is to use a usb to micro usb adapter and connect it to a usb port on the tv, assuming you have one. This way at least you do not involve another power adapter - but there is no avoiding getting juice to the MHL adapter.