These days our smartphones are the closest gadget we have and luckily they can do everything for us for which we used to depend on several other devices before these smartphones came into existence. We can play High-Definition games, watch videos, listen to music and do much more on our smartphone and hence we hardly stay away from it. There are certain activities on your smartphone, which sometimes need larger screen or integration with your television to be performed in a better way. For instance, if you are trying to show your parents a huge deck of photographs about the recent visit to any tourist place. You have all of them on your phone, so you will prefer to show them over big screen such as on your television.
Hence, now the question arises, that how to connect your Android device with your Television. In one line, we can say that there are three different cables or devices or ways in which your smartphone can be connected to your television. In this article, we will talk about all of them in details and will help you to understand that where these methods can be used.
HDMI Cables
Now this is the most common and conventional method being used by Android users to connect their smartphone to their televisions. Prior to these cables VGA cables were being used with devices to connect them to another display, but they did not have the feature of transferring video and audio at the same time (which HDMI and other ways mentioned below have now). The most obvious port which every television has these days is that HDMI port available at the back panel, secondly the HDMI cables are also really cheap. Most important thing, you will have to check whether your smartphone has mini HDMI port or not, because if that is not the case then you cannot used that HDMI cable to connect your smartphone with your television.
These days, most of the Android tablet have that port and as far as I can recall then Sony Xperia S also had one. However, even if your smartphone does not have that port and we have a turn-around to it. Let us take a look at the second option, which is MHL Cables.
MHL Cables
Now the most special part about this cable, is that you will be able to connect your smartphone with your television using you micro-USB port. Now there are two ways in which this cable can be used and hence for both of them we different type of MHL cables. The one which is called as Passive cable is something which is used to connect MHL enabled smartphone or tablet and MHL enabled display. However, if your display is not MHL enabled (which is in most of the cases), then you will have to active cable, which needs external power supply to be used.
First of all, you will have to check whether your smartphone supports MHL out from that micro-USB cable or not. Once, it is confirmed that your smartphone is MHL enabled you can arrange a power source for your cable which is a normal 2A smartphone or Tablet charger already available with you. The Micro USB plug will be connected with your smartphone and then the USB plug will be connected with your television. In case of passive cables, you don’t need any kind of power source, because this cable does not any conversion as both the devices at its end are MHL enabled.
Wireless Connectivity (ChromeCast)
This is a dongle which needs to be connected on any of the HDMI port (the most common ports) available on the back panel of your television and then that’s all to be done from your side. This is the cleanest setup setup for connecting your Android smartphone with your television but little costlier from what has been mentioned above.
Once the device is plugged into your Television, you will just have to connect your smartphone with Chromecast (for that you will have to install the application named Chromecast from Google Play) and you can play whatever you want on your Television right from your phone. Connect your smartphone with the same WiFi network to which that Chromecast is connected and then by using that installed application from Google Play Store select a Cast Screen, where you would like to view that video.
This setup is also considered to be the most efficient way of all to save battery of your smartphone while watching that video over Television.
Conclusion
So these three were the most prominent ways to connect your smartphone or tablet with your television and what all those video and play games over them. Choose the best of them as per the kind of arrangements available with you and let us know if you face any issues while doing so.
