Is MHL desireable for USBC to HDMI?
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I just got my first smartphone.... I call them stupidphones cause they obvioiusly are making the world stupid.... Galaxy A32 5G with T-Mobile.... Chosen mainly because it has USBC.... Which a few years ago I read enables us to mirror a phone to a TV via HDMI.... And I was once stuck in a hospital for several weeks.... And Chromecast did not work because it required an online log-in which the hospital's wifi firewall would not allow.... But no problem projecting Netflix to any TV screen with an HDMI cable.... And so when i heard about this new USBC that connects to HDMI... I thought cool.... If I ever get what I call a "stupidphone".... And am stuck in a hotel room or waiting room or hospital without my laptop.... And if only the stupidphone has USBC.... Maybe I can edit a blog or watch Netflix without developing a permanent squint.... At first a USBC phone was $400.... Then $195.... And now free with trade-in.... But here's the problem.... I want either a hub with several types of outlets OR a 10-12 ft cable.... But...
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All good questions. I'm unable to find any real specs from Samsung that suggest the A32 supports any known standard for connecting a USB-C device to a display. I'll get to the standards in a minute, but my guess is that it just won't happen on the A32 given it's an entry-level device.
If you're unable to get Chromecast to work, you might be lucky to find the TV supports Miracast for mirroring on its own. The Samsung Smart View app will power this mirroring capability for the A32. Some TVs will require you to go to a mirroring TV app or settings pane in order for the TV to accept the mirroring request from Samsung Smart View. On to your questions about MHL. MHL is a strange standard. It was very popular on previous-gen USB smartphones–ones that have a Micro-USB Type B (USB Micro-B) port. This allowed an HDMI-like signal to go from the phone to an HDTV by one of two means:
So how do so many USB-C devices support adapting to HDMI? They do it through a competing standard called DisplayPort Alternate Mode on USB-C. This tech actually is getting adopted and is what most display adapters for USB-C devices are using. The standard is more sensible for most tech companies to use because most of them are members of the company that makes, sells, and tests the DisplayPort standard: VESA. Another reason why it makes sense for these companies to adopt DisplayPort Alternate Mode on USB-C is that you effectively get HDMI interoperability for free. DisplayPort and HDMI are two different things, but the technology required to get a DisplayPort source talking to an HDMI display has already been around for ages. DisplayPort Alternate Mode on USB-C adapters for HDMI do require a bit of power to actively convert from the DisplayPort signal to an HDMI signal. To make things extra confusing there is now (as of 2016) a standard to natively support HDMI in a USB-C port called HDMI Alternate Mode for USB Type-C. There are a couple of chips out there for someone wanting to build a smartphone that supports it, but I haven't seen a device like this yet. This may become popular in the future. Connecting to an HDMI display this way would mean having lower power requirement for the adapter (which can be passive) and could support some HDMI goodies like remote control. It would mean that all the USB-C to HDMI adapters out there would have to start being explicit about which USB-C alt mode standard they are for, which would have been nice to have in the first place. It would also mean extra royalties cost for companies that want devices that support both DP and HDMI alt modes. |
:eek: Wow thank you very much JustinTArthur.
Especially saying my questions were good. Otherwise I could not be sure. And like I said--this DigtalFAQ forum is the greatest. I gave up waiting for a reply--and now here it is--above and beyond. Also reassuring that I was not totally stupid for assuming any USBC should convert easily to any HDMI. And I hope you will excuse me for not perhaps totally understanding you... But I think this is the general gist of what you are saying...
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