

Connecting Android phone to TV via an RCA Cable

Discussion in 'Android Accessories' started by Salikk, Apr 30, 2015.

  1. Salikk

    Salikk Lurker
    Thread Starter

    So, my brother bought a new multi purpose cable for his android and asked me to connect his phone to our TV. I was a bit skeptical as to how the phone will recognise the type of output to it needs to produce in order for it to replicate the screen onto the tv

    After failing at first, i tried to search in settings, however all it showed under display settings was some wireless options, which is of course not what i am looking for. My brother uses Galaxy s3 mini and sister uses Galaxy s4, connected both devices and nothing happened. i use htc m7, but my phone is only good for charging, it doesnt transfer data (probably a hardware issue, i transfer files wirelessly, so never went about repairing it)

    I am attaching a picture of the cable for your reference. Any guidance in the right direction will be good!



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  2. EarlyMon

    EarlyMon The PearlyMon
    VIP Member

    No no no.

    Depending on what your TV can do...

    Some information here may help if your TV doesn't have HDMI inputs -


    For HDMI and Samsungs, you need the right MHL adapter to begin and it varies by model -


    For a working HTC M7, any standard 5-pin MHL adapter will do.

    Best quality and prices on simple connectors and adapters are at monoprice.com - hope this helps, let me know. :)
    Salikk likes this.
  3. Enahmir

    Enahmir Android Enthusiast

    Why don't you go wireless:)
  4. Salikk

    Salikk Lurker
    Thread Starter

    Thanks for your input. My TV does infact support HDMI (i run cable tv and xbox on it), but then what's the point of this cable? I mean my brother has already spent his money, might as well get something out of it..

    On one end there's the standard micro usb port, on the other, there's this RCA cable and a standard USB. So, my question is, what good is this cable to me? Now that i have it, how can i make it useful?

    Actually the plan is to connect the phone to a poineer lcd panel in the car, which uses RCA cable as input. So i just thought not to make things complicated and simply say its for TV
  5. Salikk

    Salikk Lurker
    Thread Starter

    Going wireless requires blutooth connectivity or connecting tv to local network, i dont have a smart tv. Also i mentioned to another fellow here, i want to mirror screen to the lcd panel in the car, which has RCA input.
    Patrick420 and Enahmir like this.
  6. EarlyMon

    EarlyMon The PearlyMon
    VIP Member

    Ok, so bear with me - I've had this conversation before, I have a good idea of how it goes, so I'm going to ask your patience with the full answer ok - in the long run, this will be shorter for you, I promise.

    Only one of the phones in this discussion have a microUSB port.

    The rest all have an MHL port.

    When MHL was introduced in 2011, the manufacturers all said that the phones that had them, had MHL ports.

    And despite that fact, the popular press and people on forums who argued with that fact (it's not MHL, I can prove it, it works on my PC!) led to sales confusion. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, so the manufacturers took to lying and saying that the phones had microUSB ports and by the way you can do stuff to get HDMI.

    MHL used a microUSB connector on one side and a smart switch on the inside.

    It physically detects what it's plugged in to and switches between USB circuitry and specialized digital audio/video (AV) circuitry.

    That's MHL.

    Unfortunately, the naming downgrade has led people into thinking that AV signals are going out courtesy of USB and the little MHL to HDMI rigs are operating on USB signals.

    And that has led to a land office business in bogus, useless cables that physically cannot do what they claim to do.

    Now - without a catalog reference, I can't tell if your cable is real or bogus.

    If it's real, the point of the large USB cable is to supply power (using a standard phone charger) to the phone's MHL circuitry and especially to the micro-electronics embedded in the shielding and connnectors and those micro-electronics are converting purely digital HDMI into composite video and analog audio. (Per my first link.)

    If it's bogus, you got bupkus.

    I hope with all sincerity that your brother didn't get ripped off - but personally, I wouldn't apply power to that thing without knowing more to begin with.

    If it ok - your S3 Mini will output nothing. It doesn't have an MHL port, it has a microUSB port. No AV output there.

    Your S4 is an 3rd-generation Samsung device - 11 pins for Samsung accessories, not the MHL 5 pin standard.

    The cable, if it is not bogus, is almost certainly a 5-pin type. Monoprice.com sells 5 to 11-pin converters, no clue if it will work with that cable.

    Those are $4 and out of stock, have been for a while.


    For another 7 bucks - $11 - you can just get a powered MHL/HDMI adapter cable, with a separate 5 to 11-pin adapter included, and have the advantage of full resolution HD from your Samsung S4 instead of component SD video with that other cable (if not bogus).


    The cable you have looks similar to this -


    If it's truly that one, it may be for real (with zero customer reviews, no way to tell) - but it came with a 5 to 11-pin adapter (not typical for the rip off imitations) and your S4 is going nowhere without that.

    But it absolutely needs power to work.

    Hope this helps, sorry if this sounded too pedantic but I didn't know another way to get this all straight for you without a lot of back and forth and confusion ok. :)
  7. Salikk

    Salikk Lurker
    Thread Starter


    Thanks for your reply! It helped a lot!!! You're right. The amazon link you gave is the one my brother bought, complete with that little black adapter.

    Aww man, i dont wanna be the bearer of bad news. I'll make him read this post, im not that tech savy, neither is he, but its better that he reads this.

    Thanks again for your reply!
    EarlyMon likes this.
  8. EarlyMon

    EarlyMon The PearlyMon
    VIP Member

    Glad to help! :)
  9. komobu

    komobu Member

    EarlyMon...I know this is an old thread, but was hoping you may be able to help me out. I drive limousines and they have TVs / Flat Screens in them. These limos were built from 2001 through 2006 so the displays / tvs have no HDMI inputs. They have RCA plugs. Quite often I do concert runs for customers. I would love to be able to open up a playlist on my android tablet or phone of the singer they are going to see, and display it on the limo tv. I currently have a Samsung Note3 but will be getting the Note7 when it is available. I also have a Samsung 10.1 2014 edition tablet. It would probably be best for me to use the tablet instead of the phone if it is possible. I would really be grateful if you could help me to accomplish this.
  10. 3c1ipc3

    3c1ipc3 Lurker

    really need to force tv out
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