Connecting the Phone to the TV

Discussions about using TVs, projectors, laptops, tablets, smartphones, DVD Players and other media players in meetinghouses including standards, management, how to connect to them, proper use, and support.
lajackson
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Connecting the Phone to the TV

#1

Post by lajackson »

I was asked to run down to the electronic store and get a couple of cables so teachers could show videos from their phones on the big TV from the meetinghouse library. The requester said I needed an Android to HDMI cable and an Apple to HDMI cable.

Thinking it would not be quite that simple, I did a little research, enough to get totally confused. Now I don't know if I need a 5-pin or an 11-pin cable that is Active or Passive. And that's just on the Android side.

Is there something that will work for most, or at least many, or is it really a different cable for each teacher who wants to use the TV? Is there such a thing as a "common" cable, one for Android and one for the iPhone or iPad, that will generally work?

Any suggestions on how to approach this request from a practical standpoint?
russellhltn
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Re: Connecting the Phone to the TV

#2

Post by russellhltn »

lajackson wrote:Is there such a thing as a "common" cable, one for Android and one for the iPhone or iPad, that will generally work?
On the Android side, you might look into this. It seems to cover both 11 pin and 5 pin. And allows for external power to run it.
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jbh001
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Re: Connecting the Phone to the TV

#3

Post by jbh001 »

The the Apple adapter can be found here. But you still need to purchase a separate HDMI cable to connect the adapter to the TV.

For the older iPhones and iPads, you can use this HDMI adapter, or
this composite AV cable .
michaelcox
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Re: Connecting the Phone to the TV

#4

Post by michaelcox »

Rather than purchase the seperate lighting and 40-pin connectors for Apple devices, we purchased an Apple TV. All the 4S and later and iPad 2 and latter devices as well as Macbooks manufactured in the last couple of years can wirelessly mirror audio and video to it.

We haven't yet but we will likely purchase Miracast adapters in the next month or so for do the same thing from recent Android and Windows devices.
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aaronrturner
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Re: Connecting the Phone to the TV

#5

Post by aaronrturner »

Looking for guidance on a stake-wide multi-media effort.

I've got 3 buildings, with 12 rolling TV carts (standard flat-screens with HDMI). I've been authorized by the Stake President to invest in a long-term solution to allow instructors and leaders to connect their personal devices to these TV's.

Thinking about 3 different approaches:

1. Build a 'ring' of connectors (using epoxy and metal rings and then bolting them to the carts). Users would connect the appropriate adapter to their device, then use the HDMI cable from that adapter into the TV.
- Pro's - physical adapters are generally easier for tech-challenged people to understand
- Con's - Low refresh rates on some of the adapters, could cause glitchy audio/video on replay, not necessarily future-proof (when's Apple going to change to USB C?)

2. Epoxy a Chromecast onto each TV
- Pro's - allows for both iOS and Android screencasting
- Con's - not sure how well the LDS apps are going to support Chromecast across iOS, also some of the older TV's only have 1 HDMI port, so would have to get an HDMI switch for some to allow continued use of DVD players, more software configuration needed - could deter the tech-challenged

3. Bolt an Apple TV and a Chromecast onto each TV with an HDMI switch
- Pro's - allows for full functionality across Apple and Android devices, probably the most future-proof
- Con's - lots of parts to go wrong

What would you folks do?
russellhltn
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Re: Connecting the Phone to the TV

#6

Post by russellhltn »

A couple of things to consider: There's multiple ways to use Chromecast, Including streaming over the internet - something that's not encouraged as you may not have the needed network performance due to all the users. The streaming may or may not work due to the forced DNS settings that are part of the meetinghouse security.

Secondly, there's a security aspect - basically non-existent. Anyone could disrupt it.

Long term, I think you're better off with the adapter approach. However, some phones don't have any connections, so they'll be left out.
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michaelcox
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Re: Connecting the Phone to the TV

#7

Post by michaelcox »

How many TVs per building?

I don't like people plugging cables in and out of TVs for a couple of reasons but one is that I've seen HDMI ports get damaged by people plugging in and out repeatedly.

In my building we have TVs with Apple TV and we have TVs with Miracast. We have one with ChromeCast but Miracast seems better if your devices support it. On the back of the TV we have directions on how to connect.

One of the problems with the adapters we found is they turn up missing.
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aaronrturner
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Re: Connecting the Phone to the TV

#8

Post by aaronrturner »

Thanks for the quick replies, all!

I've got 4 carts in each meetinghouse. I want to do something that has the lowest potential for stuff walking away. Bolting stuff to the carts is my best idea so far. We've tried letting people check out adapters and they all just go walking away.

I'm going to get one Chromecast to test, but my understanding is that for the local screen casting, you just have to be on the same subnet with the chromecast app on the device. That should not require any sort of DNS, but you never know with Google's stuff.

The broken HDMI ports is an issue that I'm trying to get past by using epoxy to essentially lock down the HDMI port on the back of the TV...

In doing research on Miracast, I just don't see it having good cross-platform support in the next while. Windows 10, some Android, no native iOS support and the apps are kind of clunky.

@michaelcox - which Miracast devices are you using?
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Biggles
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Re: Connecting the Phone to the TV

#9

Post by Biggles »

What about a Roku 3? Our FM Group manager is recommending this for the Stake Centres under his jurisdiction. It will work with Android and to a lesser degree IOS devices. Can be used as a backup system for the satellite system, either wirelessly or via the LAN. Also as a media streamer, with USB devices. Just a brief description of its possible uses.
russellhltn
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Re: Connecting the Phone to the TV

#10

Post by russellhltn »

aaronrturner wrote:but my understanding is that for the local screen casting, you just have to be on the same subnet with the chromecast app on the device. That should not require any sort of DNS, but you never know with Google's stuff.
Have fun explaining "local screen casting" to the users and why that works but the other modes that Chromecast offers doesn't work.
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