Community Forums

weredoingit · 02-09-2018, 11:59 AM

So I have been a Amazon prime member for years, but I rarely camp with internet access to watch Amazon prime movies. So last week before leaving home for Quartzite I downloaded 12 movies on my smartphone. So I thought I had it figured out. I have a cord that plugs into the charging port of my galaxy 7 phone and the other end is a USB port. How hard can it be? Well I plugged the USB into USB 1 on our tv hit play on the phone the movie plays on the phone but not the tv. Any idea's?

oakcreekeric · 02-09-2018, 12:08 PM

Here is what we use... https://www.bestbuy.com/site/microso...?skuId=4974200

I have Direct TV and can watch it from my phone.. I also have unlimited data with no stifling or reduced speeds... I am able to "cast" the screen to my TV and watch Direct TV in the RV...

We ended up getting rid of our portable satellite because of this.. it works very well for us, assuming I have a cell signal

vsheetz · 02-09-2018, 12:43 PM

USB port on a TV may not support video in out capability. There for firmware updates, powering HDMI dongles etc. If it supports video typically there will be a selection for it - just like seke ting from the different HDMI ports.

Alternatively you can get a device that you can wirelessly cast to from your phone. Such as Apple TV, etc.

I use a Microsoft Miracast adapter on the TV and cast to it from a Win10 PC.

weredoingit · 02-09-2018, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vsheetz

USB port on a TV may not support video in out capability. There for firmware updates, powering HDMI dongles etc. If it supports video typically there will be a selection for it - just like seke ting from the different HDMI ports.

Alternatively you can get a device that you can wirelessly cast to from your phone. Such as Apple TV, etc.

I use a Microsoft Miracast adapter on the TV and cast to it from a Win10 PC.

I have a Chromecast tv streaming device, but I have to have Wi-Fi to use it. I was hoping to plug phone to tv and watch the movies that are down loaded on my smartphone. The Samsung tv is only a week old if that matters

TinCanTee · 02-09-2018, 01:27 PM

Not sure if the USB on your phone will output to your TV. Have you selected the correct input source on your TV? There should be selections on the TV menu for antenna, HDMI, cable, USB, etc,

TechWriter · 02-09-2018, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weredoingit

I have a cord that plugs into the charging port of my galaxy 7 phone and the other end is a USB port. How hard can it be?

Isn't there a USB-to-HDMI adapter for your phone similar to this iPhone adapter?

weredoingit · 02-10-2018, 05:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TechWriter

Isn't there a USB-to-HDMI adapter for your phone similar to this iPhone adapter?

Yes that's similar to the one for my phone

jbrv · 02-10-2018, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weredoingit

I have a Chromecast tv streaming device, but I have to have Wi-Fi to use it. I was hoping to plug phone to tv and watch the movies that are down loaded on my smartphone. The Samsung tv is only a week old if that matters

I have had some frustrations trying to do the same thing.

I had a chromecast and learned about the need of a wifi network that can see the www. Wont work with just a phone that has cell service, muct have a network in addition to that.

I recently found this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

No external network needed. Cast the phone or laptop or tablet screen to the tv while still able to stream movies from the net or play dloaded movies on the phone to the tv .

rcrevolution · 02-10-2018, 09:16 AM

Roku Ultra is another option. You can stream when you have WiFi or mirror your phone through the Roku app when you don’t. I have an iPhone and thought about getting Apple TV, but the reviews on Roku are better and it’s cheaper.

The benefit to Apple TV is that you can mirror the entire phone or iPad to the tv. The Roku app just mirrors the content of tha app.

rcrevolution · 02-10-2018, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weredoingit

I have a Chromecast tv streaming device, but I have to have Wi-Fi to use it. I was hoping to plug phone to tv and watch the movies that are down loaded on my smartphone. The Samsung tv is only a week old if that matters

You should be able to stream from your phone via the chrome cast app to the tv. Either a chrome cast box or a tv with chrome cast already installed. I don’t think you have to have internet, just an available WiFi network. You can buy a cheap WiFi router and connect both devices to it. That gives you a local WiFi network. You won’t have internet via the network, but your local devices will be able to communicate.

jbrv · 02-10-2018, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcrevolution

You should be able to stream from your phone via the chrome cast app to the tv. Either a chrome cast box or a tv with chrome cast already installed. I don’t think you have to have internet, just an available WiFi network. You can buy a cheap WiFi router and connect both devices to it. That gives you a local WiFi network. You won’t have internet via the network, but your local devices will be able to communicate.

Tried that. Wifi must have an internet connection and that connection can not be back to the phones hotspot.........tried that also.

CJ7365 · 02-10-2018, 07:42 PM

This is what you seek. for less than $10 on Amazon

No need for wifi, nothing more than this cable plugged into an HDMI plug on your TV

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

aether_one · 02-10-2018, 07:49 PM

Key word is HDMI: There is no protocol to transfer video via USB.

docj · 02-11-2018, 07:46 AM

There's a lot of confusion in this thread between words that contain the concept of "casting" a video from a phone to a TV. Many people seem to think that Chromecasting mirrors a phone on a TV. It does NOT do that.

With Chromecasting the device connected to the TV connects to the internet and accesses the same video as is being displayed on the phone. From that point on the phone can be used to do other things even though it still does control the casting process. But to make Chromecasting work both devices (the phone and the one connected to the TV) must have internet access.

OTOH Miracasting (also known as Samsung SmartView, and probably other proprietary names) is a method for setting up a local wifi connection directly between a phone and a Smart TV or a device such as a Roku or Miracasting adapter. With Miracasting the TV doesn't need an internet connection, only the phone needs to have one if it is receiving streamed data. Presumably, if the phone is viewing an already downloaded movie, it probably doesn't have to have an internet connection either.

I've been an advocate of using Miracasting to avoid the hotspot data limit on many phone plans since it isn't hoptspot usage as far as the cellular carriers are concerned. But the quality of your Miracasting experience is highly dependent on your brand and model of phone and the specific device you are casting to. In general Miracast videos have a tendency to freeze or be jumpy but the video quality is usually decent. IMHO if you don't have an alternative Miracasting is acceptable.

I don't profess to be an expert in "things Apple" but it's my understanding that Apple TV basically functions like Chromecasting, but I believe it also has the ability to do a device to device connection similar to Miracasting if the internet is not available.