• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Help Micro USB to HDMI out...is it possible?

Samsung has a cable. It's been posted in the accessory thread. Search is your friend. Heck, go to the samsung site and look up accessories for the galaxy phones.

has anyone tested it to work? or are we all just posting things based on no knowledge? I've seen like 10 threads on this and its always that samsung has it on the site but the cable will not work with us based galaxy s phones.
 
Upvote 0
No offense, but you just sound like an ass with the little attitude. Did you really search at all? I think not becaue I did a google search on "samsung microUSB hdmi" and came up with pretty good results. So let your lazy fingers do some typing and figure it out yourself. I don't know and don't care. It's not high on my priority list. Or buy it, try it, post back and return it if it doesn't work. Better yet, email or call samsung and get the word right from the horse's mouth.

And you did ask if it was possible. So if a cable exists, yes it's possible even if it currently doesn't work. Regardless, I don't think anyone has any official word from samsung if it does or doesn't work with the US phones. Kinda dumb though if it doesn't and it should be listed as an accessory for the phones then or have a disclaimer that it doesn't work.
 
Upvote 0
No offense, but you just sound like an ass with the little attitude. Did you really search at all? I think not becaue I did a google search on "samsung microUSB hdmi" and came up with pretty good results. So let your lazy fingers do some typing and figure it out yourself. I don't know and don't care. It's not high on my priority list. Or buy it, try it, post back and return it if it doesn't work. Better yet, email or call samsung and get the word right from the horse's mouth.

And you did ask if it was possible. So if a cable exists, yes it's possible even if it currently doesn't work. Regardless, I don't think anyone has any official word from samsung if it does or doesn't work with the US phones. Kinda dumb though if it doesn't and it should be listed as an accessory for the phones then or have a disclaimer that it doesn't work.

Pot -> Kettle -> Black

Googling for the truth is only as good as the information in the web pages it retrieves. In this case, it will return lots of pages from a couple of months ago reporting -- erroneously -- that the Samsung microUSB-to-HDMI cable would enable Epics and their siblings to pipe HD video out. Unfortunately, that later turned out not to be true. See, for example, this vendor page:

Contrary to previously received information, this cable does not provide HD TV output capabilities on U.S. Samsung Galaxy S phones (Captivate, Vibrant, Epic 4G, Fascinate). If you purchased this item from DayDeal, please stay tuned for email from our Customer Service department for further information including information on obtaining a refund.
This topic recurs frequently on all the forums. I have never seen anyone report success using such a cable.

Perhaps the underlying functionality will get added by the U.S. carriers by Samsung. Perhaps not. (I suspect that business considerations, such as copyright restrictions on the various media apps the carriers are pushing, might be a factor.) Also, perhaps the functionality will get hacked someday. Haven't seen anyone report success yet with that, either.

As for assuming that "yes it's possible even if it currently doesn't work" on the Epic (or Vibrant, Fascinate or Captivate) just because a generic microUSB-to_HDMI cable exists, that is not necessarily true. The carriers have apparently crippled or avoided this functionality, at least for now, and it may even be that the crippling occurred in hardware.

In the case of the Epic, even the low-definition TV Out functionality via the 3.5 mm jack, which exists on some other Galaxy S platforms, does not yet exist.
 
Upvote 0
Fyi....the cable in question is genuine samsung, not generic 3rd party. I know I posted the direct link and pic of the samsung branded cable in another thread. On my phone now and really don't have the time to look it up. So if Samsung is making the cable I would imagine it's probable and could be enabled down the road as long as it is capable of supporting it.

If the daydeal one was generic, oh well. I mentioned the samsung cable not some cheap generic on a deal site. The OEM cable is on the web for about $50+.
 
Upvote 0
Fyi....the cable in question is genuine samsung, not generic 3rd party. I know I posted the direct link and pic of the samsung branded cable in another thread. On my phone now and really don't have the time to look it up. So if Samsung is making the cable I would imagine it's probable and could be enabled down the road as long as it is capable of supporting it.

If the daydeal one was generic, oh well. I mentioned the samsung cable not some cheap generic on a deal site. The OEM cable is on the web for about $50+.

If you follow the DayDeal reseller link, it was for the Samsung-branded cable, Samsung part number ECC1HU0BBEBSTD. Some other resellers also were offering it. And like DayDeal, other resellers are also warning that, according to Samsung tech support, the cable will not work without some future software update.

The OP did not ask if it is possible to buy a cable. He asked, "Is micro USB to HDMI out possible on the Epic 4G?" The answer to that question today is clearly no. In the future, it is maybe. Not only would Samsung have to support that functionality, so would Sprint. Unless the carrier has advertised HD TV Out that as a current or future feature, it is not a sure assumption that the feature will materialize.
 
Upvote 0
I remember that now. It's funny, that cable "used" to be on Samsung's US website as a Galaxy accessory. But I just tried to look it up, and it's now gone. Funnier thing was I complained early on about it not doing hdmi out, and that it was nice I could travel to a hotel and plug my evo into the flat screen in the room and watch video, but I wouldn't be able to do that. And then everyone jumped on me about that cable. And I never bothered with video out since (haven't really traveled to make use).

It would be interesting to find out why there is no HDMI out on the US models especially when they're competing against two phones that have hdmi out. Kind of a blunder since not everyone has DLNA capable hardware. Another blunder too with their media hub. If I'm in a hotel or wherever and in need of a movie fix, I'd quickly hop on the hub and buy a movie if I could easily hook it up to a tv. You wonder what they were thinking.

And saying something is possible doesn't assume it is also probable. Makes you wonder if the rooting community could figure out and enable it. Now that would be interesting. Suppose you'd have to have access to an overseas model and its firmware.

Another option is picking up something like the ZyXel Media Theater that has DLNA and HDMI out. Though it's not the most portable solution compared to carrying around a cable. HTC is also coming out with their own DLNA adapter[/url called the Tube. Kinda like the ZyXel option better, and I'm sure we'll see DLNA built into some of the other media players/streamers over time. The Tube at least seems like a nice portable option if it's cheap enough.
 
Upvote 0
Samsung is part of the consortium developing the micro USB to hdmi standrd: Mobile High-Definition Link (MHDL)

It has problems and is delayed and not expected to be implemented until 1st quarter 2011 earliest (probably later)

Cables, seemingly made on Samsungs specs, were made and some vendors got and sold them but they will not work as the firware is quite a ways off.

The firmware is not present on any samsung phone, US or overseas.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dbpaddler
Upvote 0
Was checking this out, and there are some interesting things about the standard, the first being power. You wouldn't need to plug in a separate microUSB cable or need to be near an open outlet. Will be interesting to see if this comes to fruition while we still have our Epics. We all know we'll be looking at the latest and greatest in a year's time.


  • MHL provides HD audio/video with a low pin count, enabling high definition audio and video using the mobile device’s existing multipurpose connector.
  • MHL supports high-quality digital HD video up to 1080p.
  • MHL supports audio up to 7.1 channel LPCM, at sample rates up to 192K.
  • MHL simultaneously provides power to the mobile device from the connected TV. This allows the TV side to keep the content flowing from the mobile device while not discharging the battery. The power flow allows the TV to re-charge the mobile device as well. An MHL Sink can provide 500mA of power at 5 volts.
  • MHL supports High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection.
  • MHL includes a control bus which allows, among other functions, a TV to control a mobile device with the TV's remote control.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Aero1
Upvote 0
I've got a LG Optimus dynamic 2 (l39) I bought a micro usb-hdmi cable, and it doesn't work, it's a 5 pin which I was told was correct, but nothing. is this locked on the phone? is their an app I can download to get around this? sorry if this is repeated, I looked everywhere, and idk if this phone is just different than other lg's. NEW to these phones but i'd like video output.
 
Upvote 0
I've got a LG Optimus dynamic 2 (l39) I bought a micro usb-hdmi cable, and it doesn't work, it's a 5 pin which I was told was correct, but nothing. is this locked on the phone? is their an app I can download to get around this? sorry if this is repeated, I looked everywhere, and idk if this phone is just different than other lg's. NEW to these phones but i'd like video output.
Your phone lacks MHL hardware circuitry - get your money back for the cable, no software can change it.
 
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones