Considerations When Using an MHL Adapter

No matter how big a screen a tablet or android smartphone has, there are always times when they are just too small. That same 10.1 inch 1080P HD tablet screen that looks great for one person really falls flat for a whole room. This is where Mobile High-Definition Link, or MHL technology, comes into its own. An MHL to HDMI adapter is the latest approach to mirroring high-definition content onto a big screen HD TV from a portable device. Whether for gaming or playing HD video, an MHL adapter takes mirroring to the next level. Using an MHL adapter just requires being able to plug in the cables into the right places.
Benefits of MHL to HDMI Mirroring
The big benefit of using MHL rather than a straight HDMI to HDMI connection is that unlike HDMI, MHL is a bi-directional connection. Data flows one way, and power flows the other. MHL uses the portable device's micro-USB connector rather than its HDMI out so that it can charge the device while playing video. This makes it a much more viable solution for those looking for something they can just use without worrying about battery levels.
Using an MHL Adapter for HDMI Mirroring
Using an MHL adapter is staggeringly simple. The user just plugs one end of the MHL cable into an MHL TV and the other into the portable device's USB port and waits for the connection to initialize. Unfortunately, there are a few compatibility and technology issues that users need to take into consideration before hooking everything up.
Choosing the Right Kind of MHL Adapter
There are two main kinds of MHL adapter: powered and unpowered. The unpowered connector, which is often described as passive, or sometimes called just an MHL connector, looks like a simple cable with a USB connector on one end and HDMI on the other. It is the simplest choice but requires a TV with MHL support.
The other option is to use a powered adapter. A powered MHL adapter provides a pass-through for an Locking HDMI Cable from the portable device to the TV while feeding power back to the portable device. This has the advantage of working with any HDMI-equipped TV although it does need to be plugged into the wall to work. For most users, a powered MHL adapter is the better choice.