micro usb to HDMI?

[Techno Tonis]

Does anyone know if the Gnex can utilize a micro usb to hdmi cable? Or do you have to use a micro usb to hdmi mhl adapter?

I really hate the bulkiness of the adapter, but I'm not sure which i can use, or which will support 1080p output.

Anyone think they can shed light on this?

Also, recommendations are very welcome

UPDATE: After purchasing an MHL adapter from monoprice and getting a replacement that had the same problems, as well as doing a bit of research online - there seems to be an issue with either monoprice mhl adapters for our phones or all MHL adapters in general and I don't know why.

If you have an mhl adapter whether monoprice, samsung, or any other brand - please post your experiences below.

 

[ThEoRy36O]

Here ya go.

Amazon.com: Menotek Micro USB to HDMI MHL Adapter for Samsung Galaxy S2, HTC Evo 3D, HTC Evo 4G Tablet, HTC Sensation 4G, Sprint Epic 4G Touch, Galaxy Nexus: Electronics

 

[nj02vette]

Does anyone know if the Gnex can utilize a micro usb to hdmi cable? Or do you have to use a micro usb to hdmi mhl adapter?

I really hate the bulkiness of the adapter, but I'm not sure which i can use, or which will support 1080p output.

Anyone think they can shed light on this?

Also, recommendations are very welcome

Never seen a true micro USB to HDMI cable. But even if they did make one, no, you can't use that alone. You'll need the power source from the phones charger to make things work.

 

[andyandroid81891]

I bought this adapter and cant seem to get the video to display on my tv. Anyone have any thoughts?

UPDATE: I'm an idiot.

 

[Techno Tonis]

Never seen a true micro USB to HDMI cable. But even if they did make one, no, you can't use that alone. You'll need the power source from the phones charger to make things work.

Gotcha.

One of the complaints in the mhl adapter link that was posted above you is that it won't support 1080p output... now, that sounds very unlikely - but have you had any experience with this?

Really, I just want to lug my phone around and a cable as an ultra portable netflix player - so the less necessary equipment, the better.

Are you positive the mhl adapter is what I need? True micro usb to HDMI cables do exist...or at least i've seen them advertised, so I don't want to buy more than I need.

 

[andyandroid81891]

Gotcha.

One of the complaints in the mhl adapter link that was posted above you is that it won't support 1080p output... now, that sounds very unlikely - but have you had any experience with this?

Really, I just want to lug my phone around and a cable as an ultra portable netflix player - so the less necessary equipment, the better.

Are you positive the mhl adapter is what I need? True micro usb to HDMI cables do exist...or at least i've seen them advertised, so I don't want to buy more than I need.

I just tested the MHL adapter. It only supports output to the screen's resolution. It's not horrible but when you use zoom on the tv settings to make it fit the screen it definitely looks worse than regular TV.

Happy to try out anything you're curious about.

 

[Deleted User]

Are you positive the mhl adapter is what I need? True micro usb to HDMI cables do exist...or at least i've seen them advertised, so I don't want to buy more than I need.

The way I understand it (I may be wrong) is that the TV must have MHL tech built in to use just the cable you mention. The adapter exists because MHL is new and most TV's don't have it.

 

[Chugworth]

I recently bought a MHL adapter similar to the one posted in the link above. At first it wasn't working, but then I realized that power input was not just optional.

Not only that: I thought I would be slick and use my TV's USB port to provide the power. No luck there either. I ended up just using the USB charger that came with the phone.

The picture on the TV looked okay. Riptide GP looked really nice. But I think the sides of the picture were getting slightly cut off. In other words, it's like the overall picture size was being stretched beyond my TV size (even though my TV is 1080P). Also, the Android 4.0 control buttons were displayed on the right of the TV (which is unexpected, and not really desired).

TV output is probably not a feature I would ever use seriously, but it's neat to play with. I think ideally you would want a TV with a MHL port - that way you wouldn't need the adapter or the power cable.

 

[Techno Tonis]

I just tested the MHL adapter. It only supports output to the screen's resolution. It's not horrible but when you use zoom on the tv settings to make it fit the screen it definitely looks worse than regular TV.

Happy to try out anything you're curious about.

Care to post any screen shots of what it looks like on the tv?

so you're saying it basically only supports 720p output? (Given that the nexus screen is 720p)

 

[Techno Tonis]

The way I understand it (I may be wrong) is that the TV must have MHL tech built in to use just the cable you mention. The adapter exists because MHL is new and most TV's don't have it.

This would make a lot of sense. Now comes the question - How can you tell if your TV has MHL tech already built in?

My TV is newer, if that helps. It's a 50" Panasonic G25 with a September 2010 build date.

 

[elogical]

This would make a lot of sense. Now comes the question - How can you tell if your TV has MHL tech already built in?

My TV is newer, if that helps. It's a 50" Panasonic G25 with a September 2010 build date.

There's a Toshiba Regza tv- WL800A - that just came out a few months ago and was advertised as being the first tv with an mhl port. I don't know if that's true or what other options there are, but I think it's safe to assume anything more than a few months old is for sure not going to have it, need to stick to the adapter I guess.

I need to hook it up to my TV and test soon. I just tried my mhl adapter that came a few days ago hooked to a hdmi port on a pc monitor to test and it did work fine. The picture wasn't great but it was very watchable. Similar to standard definition TV. The colors are dulled a little from how the monitor looks when used with the PC. It's quite usable though and fun to play with.

Keep an eye on your TV settings if you're saying that it's getting cut off, etc, you might be able to adjust. Many HD tvs have different picture zoom setting and some are auto. If you're missing part of the picture on the sides, it's probably zooming the picture or something without you realizing it

 

[Techno Tonis]

Ok, i have a new problem and i wondered if anyone could help me....whenever i hook up my phone to my tv i run into this pretty annoying and frequent problem where the screen will flicker while using it. I can provide video if need be, but this is really pissing me off.

UPDATE: the issue seems to be with all monoprice mhl adapters for our phones and I don't know why, but after getting a 2nd adapter and reading some other posts online, this seems to be confirmed.

Does anyone else have an mhl adapter whether monoprice or Samsung brand with any issues?

 

[DLCPhoto]

Ok, i have a new problem and i wondered if anyone could help me....whenever i hook up my phone to my tv i run into this pretty annoying and frequent problem where the screen will flicker while using it. I can provide video if need be, but this is really pissing me off.

UPDATE: the issue seems to be with all monoprice mhl adapters for our phones and I don't know why, but after getting a 2nd adapter and reading some other posts online, this seems to be confirmed.

Does anyone else have an mhl adapter whether monoprice or Samsung brand with any issues?

I have only used my Monoprice adapter a few times, but the TV screen will sometimes just go black for a few seconds, from time to time. I don't know if that's what you mean by "flicker" but this is what I'm seeing. Kind of annoying, but I haven't done any research or trouble-shooting yet. Sounds like you've identified this as a common observation.

I'd also be interested in others' experience with the Monoprice, or other, MHL adapters, in terms of whether they provide steady, reliable display.

 

[pdotngo]

i purchased the samsung one from amazon and i am having the flickering issue as well. here is my experience with the mhl cable so far: netflix's quality is horrible. surprisingly, droidtv's 480p recordings look much more watchable. 720p mkvs look spectacular on mx player and dice player. one minor problem i found with playing mkvs is that included subs dont get displayed via hdmi. the workaround for this is using externals subs on mx player. overall i am loving the hdmi output on the gnex but the flickering issue is annoying the crap out of me.

 

[Techno Tonis]

i purchased the samsung one from amazon and i am having the flickering issue as well. here is my experience with the mhl cable so far: netflix's quality is horrible. surprisingly, droidtv's 480p recordings look much more watchable. 720p mkvs look spectacular on mx player and dice player. one minor problem i found with playing mkvs is that included subs dont get displayed via hdmi. the workaround for this is using externals subs on mx player. overall i am loving the hdmi output on the gnex but the flickering issue is annoying the crap out of me.

I agree with everything you have just said, and it's nice to know that you are having the same problem with Samsung's adapter which makes me think it is a software related issue, but is very frustrating and I will post up video of what the flicker I'm having looks like tonight for anyone unsure. It isn't just the screen going in and out, it is that on top of this weird static interference signal that comes and goes with little rhyme or reason it seems. I seriously cannot pinpoint the problem and it is consuming my soul.

I am frustrated with the lack of quality output on Netflix for sure - you figure there would be some way within the app to output 1080p quality, but no - it looks like you get some crappy stretched out 480p, if that.

Youtube's app has the same problem - although I haven't tried the full website which I'm guessing might give me the ability to adjust to quality settings but is a pain in the ass.

Anyway, if you happen to have true HD files loaded onto your phone, those do look great. I'm not sure however if they play in 720p to match the output of the phone screen or 1080p to that of the file, but they look pretty nice.

I welcome any and all tips or advice when it comes to the best way to stream high quality content from your phone to your tv.

I really hope to get to the bottom of this MHL issue because this sucks.

 

[Techno Tonis]

Also, I have seen some videos on Youtube from GSM users posting a demo of their units without having any flickering problems. I have the Verizon Nexus, so I wonder if this is related to all Gnex phones

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENdJv_AI5vU

^ What I wish my phone would look like

 

[Tim K]

I recently bought this one.

Amazon.com: Micro USB to HDMI MHL Adapter Cable for HTC Evo 3D, HTC Evo 4G Tablet, HTC Sensation 4G, HTC Flyer, Samsung I997 Infuse 4G, Galaxy S2: Electronics

No problems, though I don't have a 1080p TV to test 1080p but 720p worked fine.

 

[BzB]

i've been using the Menotek Micro USB to HDMI MHL Adapter from amazon and have no flickering issues or any other issues to mention. works fine with youtube, recorded vids, pics, angry birds, everything i've thrown at it so far.

the only thing that i didn't know when i got it is the adapter requires a power source to be plugged into the side for it activate the mirroring.

btw my hdtv is a sony bravia.

 

[breynolds007]

Ok, i have a new problem and i wondered if anyone could help me....whenever i hook up my phone to my tv i run into this pretty annoying and frequent problem where the screen will flicker while using it. I can provide video if need be, but this is really pissing me off.

UPDATE: the issue seems to be with all monoprice mhl adapters for our phones and I don't know why, but after getting a 2nd adapter and reading some other posts online, this seems to be confirmed.

Does anyone else have an mhl adapter whether monoprice or Samsung brand with any issues?

I have the monoprice adapter and I haven't had any flickering or anything with my Verizon GNex...looks great. Wonder if it has something to do with the TV being used.

 

[Techno Tonis]

I have the monoprice adapter and I haven't had any flickering or anything with my Verizon GNex...looks great. Wonder if it has something to do with the TV being used.

I've tried two adapters on three separate TVs producing the same results so I don't think that's the problem...but just out of curiosity, what kind of TV do you have?

I took video last night - I will post up later.

 

[Deleted User]

I got this one from Amazon and it works great:

MHL adapter

 

[breynolds007]

LG Plasma, I'll try it on my other TV to see if I notice any difference.

 

[syntrix]

monoprice one, from the $7.99 shipped or thereabout days on release day or so... it works just fine.

I do have a VZW LTE version of the SGN though.

 

[RandomSynapse]

I have the MHL adapter from Overstock (Micro-USB 5-pin to HDMI MHL Adapter | Overstock.com).

I too experience the occasional blank screen flashes. It occurs maybe once every 10 minutes or so, and only for about 1 second. As it's being experienced across nearly all brands of adapters, it's either an issue with the GNex hardware, or hopefully just a software fix.

More notably, the adapter only outputs 720p. This was verified on both a 1080p LCD TV, and a 1920x1200 HDMI-equipped Benq monitor. I'm not too sure anyone has reliably claimed that they've seen 1080p out of an adapter; as I suspect most folks' displays are upscaling the result to fill their screen (so they think it's 1080p). Perhaps it really is a limitation on the phone...

 

[DLCPhoto]

For what it's worth, there was a comment on this issue by someone who seemed to correlate the blackouts with his phone having trouble/looking for a wireless signal. He indicated that his TV is in a poor signal reception area, and this was the cause.

He put his phone in Airplane Mode, so it wouldn't look for a signal, and that this eliminated the blackouts.

Interesting theory - I haven't had opportunity to test it out (my TV is also in a room with very poor signal), but thought maybe the others here might explore this and see if there's any truth to it.