Two Kinds Of Streaming: Mirroring And Casting
Before we dig into the ways you can stream from a phone or tablet to a TV, let’s quickly go over what that really means.
“Mirroring,” or “screen mirroring,” turns your phone, tablet or computer into a mini TV station, broadcasting everything you see on your device’s display to your TV. This can be super handy for when you want to use your TV as a monitor so that friends or family can see what you’re seeing and follow along – it’s awesome for planning trips or even to show someone how to accomplish a certain task on their own devices.
When there’s a particular movie, TV show, YouTube video, or song that you want to watch on your TV instead of your phone or tablet, this is typically known as “casting.” Casting is like sending a link to a friend, except in this case, the friend is your smart TV or streaming media device. Once you send the link, the media starts to play on your TV and you’ll usually be able to pause, skip forward, skip back, and stop the stream from the device you used to send the link.
For the purposes of this article, we’ll only be discussing how to mirror your devices.
Stream Wirelessly Using Miracast
Miracast is one of those tech features that feels a bit like magic when you first discover it. Built into most recent versions of Android, Windows, and Linux, it lets you stream video and audio to the majority of smart TVs without needing a cable. It has been described as HDMI over Wi-Fi, which gives a pretty good idea of how it works.
Like an HDMI cable, Miracast mirrors your devices display on the television screen. The exact method for setting it up depends on both the TV and your devices operating system, but Ive outlined the general approach. below
To get it working, youll first need to switch your TVs input so it starts listening for an incoming connection. The input will likely be called Cast, Miracast, or something similar. My TV calls it Anyview Cast, for example.
To make the connection on Android, select Screen Cast from the Quick Settings menu, or go to SettingsBluetooth & device connectionCast. Ensure that Enable Wireless Display is checked in the hamburger menu, and you should see the television listed either by name or a generic phrase like Smart TV. Select it and wait a few seconds: all going well, a copy of your phones display will appear on the screen.
Windows has a similar approach. On Windows 10, click the Action Center icon on the right of the taskbar, then click Connect. Choose the television from the list of audio/video devices that appears, and wait a few seconds for the connection to be made.
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Connect Your Phone Or Tablet To Your TV Via Usb
There are different methods you can use to connect your mobile device to a TV via USB such as using a USB cable for Android or Lightning cable for iOS devices, Mobile High-Definition Link , or SlimPort.
Lets look at how each of these methods work to mirror your phone or tablets screen on your TV.
AndroidUsing a USB Cable
For Android devices, a USB cable can help you connect your phone or tablet to your TV, provided it has a USB port. If youre connecting to a smart TV, go to to enable file transfers, instead of just charging the phone or tablet via the TV.
This method is used when you want to view files or photos on a compatible TV as it technically transfers your files for opening on your TV.
Connect With An Adapter Or Cable
This method works when you want to mirror your screen onto your TV to transmit the display on-screen. You can use an HDMI adapter or cable to connect your phone to a TV and mirror the content on your screen.
A USB to HDMI adapter is the easiest option as you simply plug the adapter to your phone and plug the HDMI cable into it to connect to your TV and watch from your phone. Check that your phone supports HDMI Alt Mode, which lets it output video.
Some Android devices have micro or mini HDMI ports for direct connection to HDMI over a single cable, so its important to check whether your cable is compatible before connecting your devices.
Connect With a Converter
Connect Using MHL
Connect Using SlimPort
Stream With a DLNA App
Connect With Samsung DeX
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If Video Automatically Streams To An Airplay Device
Your device might automatically stream video to the Apple TV or AirPlay 2-compatible smart TV that you frequently use. If you open a video app and see in the upper-left corner, then an AirPlay device is already selected.
To use AirPlay with a different device, tap , then tap another device. Or tap again to stop streaming with AirPlay.
How To Use Screen Mirroring On iPhone With Apple TV
You can also use screen mirroring with an app and an AirPlay 2-compatible smart TV.
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How To Stream From Your Phone To TV
If you want your whole smartphone screen on your TV so any app you use can be seen by all, then youll want to do something called screen mirroring. Note that this will usually mimic your phones aspect ratio meaning that youll often have a portrait view of your phones screen.
Note that if youre just looking to put the likes of Netflix, Disney Plus or Amazon Prime Video on the big screen, then screen mirroring isnt the ideal solution as it often includes latency and/or sound syncing issues. Instead, you should use a smart TVs built-in apps, or something like Chromecast but more on that later.
How Do I Connect My iPhone To My TV With An Hdmi Cable
Hooking your phone up to your TV with a wired HDMI connection isnt as convenient as casting from your phone to the TV, but wired connections do offer a more reliable streaming experience.
The simplest way to physically connect your iPhone to your TV is to use an HDMI cable from your phone to your TVs HDMI port. Youll need an iPhone-to-HDMI cable adapter to connect the HDMI cable to your iOS device. Its called a Lightning Digital AV Adapter. You can get it direct from Apple for $49.99 or a bit cheaper .
The above Amazon link will also show you some third-party knockoffs priced as low as $13.99. Apple, of course, always recommends that you buy its products for optimal compatibility, but the third-party versions will get the job done and save you a good chunk of change. Just make sure it supports High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection .
Amazon.com Price $43.19 . Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product. CableTV.com utilizes paid Amazon links.
Pro Tip: HDCP is an anti-pirating measure implemented by many streaming providers. If the adapter doesnt support this protocol, you cant play content from several streaming services.
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How To Connect Any Phone Or Tablet To Your TV Using Usb
Wondering how to connect your phone to a TV using USB? Here’s how to connect your Android or iPhone to a TV with a USB cable.
Connecting a phone to your TV isn’t as simple as you might think. Whether you want to enjoy Netflix, share photos, or use it for home working, hooking up a cable between your phone and TV can be tricky.
But it’s not impossible—it’s all a matter of selecting the right cable.
Here’s what you need to know about how to connect an Android or iOS phone or tablet to a TV using a USB cable.
How To Connect Your iPhone With An Hdmi Cable And The Lightning Adapter
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How To Stream From Your Android Phone To Your Older TV
Dhir Acharya – Sep 09, 2019
We can now stream whatever were watching on our smartphones tiny screen to a bigger one, like the television in your home.
Thanks to technology advancements, we can now streamwhatever were watching on our smartphones tiny screen to a bigger one, like the television in your home. And it should be an easy task after all. If you have an Android phone and a TV, you can do this, but with some additional equipment and guideline. There are three ways you can try.
Connect Android To TV With Hdmi
If you dont want to fiddle around with settings, the simplest solution for connecting your Android phone or tablet to a TV is using an HDMI cable provided that your device supports streaming over HDMI. You connect one end to the port on the back of your TV, and one end to the charging port on your phone, then change the Source on the TV to view the HDMI input.
Youll notice that a standard HDMI cable wont fit into your phone, however. If your phone or tablet has a USB-C port, this is super-easy to get around, and you can buy an HDMI cable that has a USB-C connection at one end. We like this UNI cable from Amazon.
If your phone or tablet has an older Micro-USB connection, things are a little more complicated. You can use an MHL adaptor, for which you will also need to attach a standard HDMI cable. Do note that the adaptor will typically need to be powered by USB, and that not all Android phones and tablets support MHL.
SlimPort is another term you might hear mentioned. It is a similar but slightly different technology to MHL, and does not need a separate power source. It can output to HDMI, VGA, DVI or DisplayPort, while MHL is limited to HDMI. In our experience, many people use these terms interchangeably, but in essence they are simply talking about an adaptor or cable that can convert the feed from USB to HDMI.
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Smartphones And How They Connect To Your TV
To connect your phone to your smart TV to screen mirror, both devices need to be compatible with one another. Android and iOS phones have different compatibilities.
For ANDROID Smartphones: Android smartphones version 4.2 or higher connect to the TV with Miracast wireless display standard.
For APPLE Smartphones: Apple iOS smartphones connect to the TV with Airplay
IMPORTANT! The FOLLOWING SCREEN MIRRORING INSTRUCTIONS ARE FOR ANDROID SMARTPHONES.These screen mirroring instructions are for Android powered devices and may not work with Apple products. Apple products have different requirements for screen mirroring to a smart TV and may require additional adapters or equipment.
Screen Mirroring Your Android Phone To TV
If you have a modern smart TV, the big manufacturers tend to include built-in screen mirroring software, allowing you to broadcast your phones screen as long as both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network.
The exact location of this will vary from TV manufacturer to TV manufacturer, so the sensible thing is to search for instructions for your model. Sony , LG , Samsung and Philips all have specific pages to help you hunt down the option, but if you use an obscure brand, try looking in the TVs network settings or seeing if it shows up as a selectable input source .
Once this is enabled, the next part of the puzzle is finding the corresponding setting on your smartphone, and unhelpfully each manufacturer has its own name for what is essentially the same functionality. Here are the biggest brands:
– Samsung: Screen Mirroring or Smart View
– Xiaomi: Cast
– LG: Miracast
– HTC: HTC Connect
These are usually accessible in the quick settings found by swiping down from the top of your home screen, but if you cant immediately see it, try searching in the network settings.
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How To Transfer Files From Phone To TV Using Usb
While the most common use case for connecting a phone to a TV using USB is for screen mirroring, there’s another option. Instead of screen mirroring, you can connect it as a storage device for viewing pictures and videos on your TV.
However, this will require a compatible monitor, TV, or projector. Most modern displays should accept USB storage.
Of the various USB to TV connection options, this is the easiest. Since it only requires a phone, USB cable, and TV with a USB input, it’s simple to set up. Which specific cable you need depends on your phone.
On an iPhone or iPad, use a Lightning cable . Alternately, Android users need a micro-USB or USB-C cable. The USB cable that came with your phone or tablet should work fine.
Cast Your Screen To A TV Using The Google Home App
The most reliable and consistent way to mirror your Android phone’s screen is to use the Google Home app. If you’ve already set up any of Google’s smart speakers, Nest Wifi or Chromecast devices, you likely already have it installed. If not, you can .
Open the Home app and select the Chromecast device you want to use. At the bottom of the screen will be a button labeled Cast myScreen tap it. You’ll have to accept the prompt reminding you that whatever is on your phone’s screen will be visible on your TV to anyone in the room with you. You may also see a second prompt warning you if your device isn’t optimized for mirroring. I haven’t had any issues casting my screen when I’ve run into the warning. To stop casting your screen, tap on the button labeled Stop mirroring in the Home app.
There’s a shortcut: the quick settings panel.
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How To Connect Your Phone To A TV Wirelessly
Stream meetings or videos in a flash
There are several ways to stream content from or mirror your phones screen to your TV. You can use a USB cable or an HDMI cable, but cables arent always convienent. Your cable may not be the right one to connect your phone to the TV or it may not be able to reach from your device to your TV, rendering it useless altogether.
An easier and quicker way is to connect your phone to a TV wirelessly. Whether you want to stream YouTube or cast a Zoom meeting, this guide will explain how you can connect your Android phone or iPhone to a TV wirelessly.
Connect Your Smart TV Or Streaming Device
First things first: set up your smart TV or streaming device.
If you chose the device route, switch your TV to the correct input for your device after youve plugged your device in. Then follow the instructions on your screen to get you to the homepage where all of your applications live.
Don’t worry if you don’t see your favorite streaming service on your screen. Some devices require you to go to their “Store” or “Channels” app to download the streaming apps you’d like on your home screen.
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Connect Using Google Chromecast
While the plug-and-play route might be the simplest, you can make a wireless connection, too, without the aid of additional adapters. If you’ve got a or a TV with Chromecast built right into the software, your Android phone is, in all likelihood, ready to cast to your TV with no additional hardware needed. The only requirement is that both your Android device and your TV are on the same wireless network.
Just access the Google Home app, head to the Account tab, and select Mirror device. From here, tap Cast and select your TV from the list of available devices.
Connect Phones Tablets And TVs With Usb: Success
Knowing how to connect a mobile to a TV via the USB cable is useful when there is no wireless connection available. While a USB to TV connection varies by device, connection type, and display inputs, it’s thankfully simple to set up. However, don’t forget that wireless casting is usually more convenient.
Regardless of whether you’re using an Android, iPhone, or a Samsung device running DeX, there’s a way to connect your phone or tablet to a TV for viewing on a larger screen.
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