adapter

The modern mobile phone is a pocket-sized electronic more powerful than the machines used to put astronauts on the moon. Among their many other features, these compact computers are great for streaming music, movies, and TV shows. But sometimes you want to put those streaming services on the big screen. Exactly how you can go about doing that will depend on what type of phone you have.

*Note: These tips also work for other handheld devices like tablets.

Android

Any television from the last 10 years likely has HDMI ports you can use to connect your phone. Most phones out there are built with a Micro USB port, which can be used with a Micro USB to HDMI adapter. In a nutshell, this adapter will take the Micro USB port and change it into an HDMI port. You will also need a regular HDMI cable to go with it if you do not already have a spare lying around somewhere.

Micro USB to HDMI adapters are typically rated for MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link), a specific type of HDMI designed to work with smartphones, tablets, and similar devices. For an MHL adapter to work, your device must be MHL compatible. A full list of MHL compatible devices can be seen

HDMI: The New Standard

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) cables are the new standard for audio/video cables on modern televisions, computers, video game consoles, and more. The majority of new electronics today are built with at least one HDMI port. HDMI is excellent at what does, being able to transmit digital audio and video through a single line.

While HDMI is fantastic, many older devices that predate HDMI are still around and in use. Some newer devices are also built with only alternatives to HDMI, although this is much less common. When either of these scenarios come up, the easiest solution is to use an HDMI adapter. There are different types of adapters (as well as converters) that you may need depending on what you want to convert to HDMI.

HDMI to RCA

Converting HDMI to RCA is one of the more common problems that you can run into, with RCA being the old standard for televisions. Devices such as VCRs, older DVD players, and older video game consoles will only have RCA connections. RCA cables have mostly been phased out of modern devices. When using older electronics with a newer TV or vice versa, going between RCA to HDMI usually becomes an issue.

Because RCA is analog and HDMI is digital, the device is called a converter instead of an adapter. Converters, unlike adapters, are one-way. If you convert RCA to HDMI, something like an old VCR to a new TV, you would need this converter. If you need to go HDMI to RCA instead, something like a new DVD player to an older