It often happens to see movies, TV series or in general videos on our smartphone, despite the small size does not allow you to fully savor all the details of the same. Maybe we placed a nice 50-inch TV in the living room but we don't know how to use it properly (if we exclude traditional TV channels).
If we are among these users, you will be pleased to know that at any time we can transmit the full screen of the smartphone to the TV, while remaining comfortably seated on the sofa and continuing to watch on a suitable screen.
Let's find out together the best methods to transmit the smartphone screen to TV using WiFi technologies (more comfortable).
At the end of the guide we will also show you the cables that allow you to make this type of connection.
READ ALSO -> Movies and videos on Smart-TV streaming from PC, web and smartphone
1) Cast the screen of Android smartphones
The easiest way to view the screen of an Android smartphone on TV is to use Miracast technology.
This technology allows, via WiFi wireless connection, to duplicate on TV everything we do on the screen of the portable device, complete with built-in audio.
Since often the TV is placed at a certain distance from the sofa or table, it does not make sense to use technologies that provide the wire, just use the home WiFi (for those who want to use a cable, refer to reading section 3 of the guide) .
Smart TV
If our TV is Smart, we don't even have to resort to external tools: we turn on the TV, connect it to the Internet via the home network (with WiFi or with the Ethernet cable) and open the specific menu to activate Miracast.
This menu is different for each TV manufacturer: we check from all sides and if necessary we read the user manual of the TV in order to understand how to activate the listening Miracast functionality.
Once we find the right menu or app on our Smart TV, we take our Android smartphone, make sure it is connected to the same WiFi network where the TV is present, then click Settings -> Display -> Wireless screen (or Broadcast ).
Open this menu, we wait until it recognizes the Smart TV, then we click on it to start the connection and consequently the transmission of the full screen.
Now we can broadcast anything on TV, from videos to Web pages of our liking using the phone as a sort of remote control for viewing.
Microsoft adapter
Our TV does not have Smart functionality or does not support Miracast "> Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter (€ 65).
This device connects to a free HDMI port on our TV, is powered by USB and allows you to connect any Miracast device, therefore including Android phones.
Once placed, just follow the same steps already illustrated for the Android smartphone, so as to transmit the full screen of the device on our TV.
Chromecasts
Last solution to transmit the screen of an Android smartphone on TV involves the use of the Chromecast.
If we already have it, we can continue reading the guide; if instead we do not have it, we recommend to remedy it by purchasing it from the official Google website reachable here -> Chromecast (€ 39).
Once placed behind our TV (just an HDMI socket and a USB socket to connect it), we will have to configure it using the wizard provided by the Google Home app, available for download from here -> Google Home .
We click on the + and add the Chromecast to the same WiFi network where the smartphone is present; once configured, we open the Google Home app again, click on the Account menu at the bottom right and use the item Transmit screen to transmit the screen of the Android smartphone to our TV.
The results are very similar to those seen with Miracast, but this technology is owned by Google so with Android smartphones it works very well on any TV and in any scenario.
READ ALSO -> Chromecast guide with 18 tricks and applications to make the best use of it
Only send videos from the web
If we wanted to transmit only the videos extrapolated from the Web pages to a Smart TV, to the Miracast device or to the Chromecast, we can do it using an app like Web Video Cast, available for download from here -> Web Video Cast .
This app is nothing more than a web browser able, as soon as a video is played, to extrapolate the link of the source and send it to the TV.
In this way we can only play the video that interests us on the TV, without having to transmit the full screen every time.
2) Cast the iPhone screen
On iPhones we cannot use Miracast technology to transmit the screen to the TV, for an Apple commercial policy (which obviously pushes its products).
In order to view all the Web videos and the full screen of an iPhone on a TV, we will have to buy the Apple TV, the Cupertino TV Box, available here -> Apple TV (from € 159) in the living room.
Once the TV Box is obtained, it will be sufficient to connect it to an HDMI socket on the back of our TV, then to our Apple account (identical to the one on the iPhone) and finally connect it to the home WiFi network.
After the configuration we take our faithful iPhone (connected to the same WiFi network where Apple TV is present), scroll from the bottom edge (on iPhone X and later from the top right corner) and select the Duplicate screen item in the control center.
We select in the window that will appear the Apple TV present near the TV to transmit the entire screen of our iPhone.
This method allows you to view movies, videos in general and even Web pages, without ever having to turn on your PC or turn on an Android smartphone for the purpose.
This AirPlay technology exploited for Apple devices can also be integrated on traditional Android TV Boxes, using an app like the one available here -> AirPlayMirror Receiver .
With this app (for a fee, but a free trial version is available) we can also receive AirPlay streams on Android TV Box, so that we can transmit the screen without necessarily having to buy an Apple TV (however preferable for compatibility and to achieve maximum audio and video quality during transmission).
3) How to make cable connections
If we want to use an old smartphone as a media center, it may be wise to use a screen transmission cable.
So instead of using the WiFi network, we will use other technologies to transmit the full screen of the smartphone on TV.
MicroUSB MHL
If our smartphone is compatible with MHL technology (check the data sheet or in the user manual), just use an MHL adapter, such as the one available here -> Aiino MHL Micro-USB To HDMI Adapter Cable (€ 22).
Just connect the adapter to the microUSB socket of our smartphone, an HDMI cable on the other side of the adapter (to the TV) and the power supply system via USB cable.
As soon as everything is connected correctly, we will see the full screen of the smartphone appear on the TV in a completely automatic way.
USB Type-C
If we have a smartphone with the new USB Type-C socket, we can directly use the cable present here -> USB C to HDMI cable (€ 16).
On compatible smartphones, simply connect the USB cable to the appropriate socket (normally used for charging), while the other part of the cable must be connected to an HDMI socket on the TV.
If we have done everything correctly we will immediately see the entire smartphone screen on TV.
Apple adapter
If we have an iPhone, we can connect it via cable to the TV using the appropriate adapter available here -> Apple Lightning to digital AV adapter (54 €).
Just connect it to the iPhone from the Lightning socket, then use an HDMI cable in the other direction of the adapter, so you can see everything we do on iPhone on TV without having to use AirPlay technology (the transmission of the screen will start automatically).
