What do I mean when I say “mirror your phone“? These days we can do many cool things with with our mobile devices, things we never could have imagined doing a few years ago. Have you ever thought, “All these nice content (pictures, movies, video clips, etc) I enjoy on my mobile, how can I share it to my TV at home?”
Sharing your phone’s screen to another screen is what is called mirroring. This piece might just be what will set you on track, as we will look at a variety of products and technologies that will transmit content from your device screen to your TV screen.
Table of Contents
Mirror Your Phone Using A Dongle
One of the cool ways of streaming your phone on your TV is by the use of dongles. Wikipedia defines dongle:
…a small piece of hardware that attaches to a computer, TV, or other electronic device in order to enable additional functions such as copy protection, audio, video, games, data, or other services. These services are available only when the dongle is attached.
A good example of a dongle is Chromecast. So you know what to look for when shopping for one, here is an image:
Chromecast is a dongle that cost about $35 or less, and using it is simple. Just plug it in the HDMI port of your TV, connect it with your WiFi and cast apps straight to your big screen. There’s also a guest mode feature where your visitors won’t have to connect to your WiFi but can still share content. More details and purchasing is on its official page. You can also buy (cheaper) Chinese made dongles from sites like Aliexpress or other Chinese shopping sites.
Mirror Your Phone Using A Set-top Box
What is a set-top box? Wikipedia says it is:
….an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output connected to a television set and an external source of signal, turning the source signal into content in a form that can then be displayed on the television screen or other display device. They are used in cable television, satellite television, and over-the-air television systems.
This is a device that brings a different kind of content (or digital content) to your TV screens. These set-top boxes also support mirroring of your device screens to your TV’s . Apple TV for iOS lovers is a good example. It has a feature called Airplay for streaming iDevices to TV screens.
There’s also another one called Roku which is multi-platform, supporting Androids, iOS, Windows 8 phones, Windows PC’s 8.1 and above, and any other hardware that supports mirroring.
Mirror Your Phone Directly
I learnt that with some Samsung phones, you can directly mirror your phone screen to PC or TV. This requires a Wi-Fi connection and the presence of the Smart View app on your Samsung smartphone. Other phone brands may have a similar feature.
Mirror Your Phone Using A Smart TV
TV’s we have now are getting smarter too, so check your new TV if it has any HDMI input labelled as MHL (Mobile Home Link). This feature is simply plug-and-play and requires you to use an MHL cable. Click HERE for more details on how to use the MHL cable and others. Also check your TV if it has wireless mirroring feature, this can be helpful as well.
On a related note, if you do not own a smart television yet, I bet that you are interested in knowing the fastest way to get Netflix on your non-smart TV. Thank me later.