MHL-Enabled TVs are coming!

William Judd

Some smartphones these days are finally reaching levels of performance that they can play back full HD videos in crisp 1080p. What good is that if you have to watch it on a 4″ screen though? Enter the MHL adapter, a powerful A/V standard interface for connecting smartphones to HDTVs and other high resolution displays. The MHL connection allows for the transmission of uncompressed 1080p HD video, uncompressed 7.1 channel sound, and charging capabilities all through a single, slim cable.

If you’ve got one of the following smartphones or tablets, you’ve already got built-in MHL abilities:

  • Samsung Galaxy S2 smartphone
  • HTC Sensation smartphone
  • HTC Evo 3D smartphone
  • HTC Flyer tablet
So all you need now is a television. The MHL consortium have just announced the first MHL-enabled TV, the Toshiba WL800A, but you don’t have to wait to use that one. The MHL cabling technology can also be used on older TVs by connecting the video and audio over HDMI, and charging over USB. While it’s not the single-cable solution that MHL will soon be, it’s still a perfect way to keep your phone charged and use your HDTV as a display.
Let’s have a look at the various options available.

MHL Adapters

The BizLink MHL to HDMI TV-Out Adapter is a universal connection, capable of supporting any MHL-enabled smartphone from the list above. The connector is essentially a micro USB to a joint USB and HDMI connection. This allows you to keep your smartphone charged while you’re watching HD content on your HDTV, or even just enjoying the increased screen size.

BizLink MHL to HDMI TV-Out Adapter - Black

If you’ve got the Samsung Galaxy S2, you can depend on this Genuine Samsung Galaxy S2 MHL TV-Out Adaptor. As it’s made by Samsung, you can be sure that it’s one hundred percent compatible. Like the Bizlink adapter, this MHL adapter uses an HDMI and USB connection to function, although the internal connection is all MHL.

Genuine Samsung Galaxy S2 i9100 MHL TV-Out Adaptor

If you’re an HTC fan and bought the Sensation, then this MHL adaptor is for you: The HTC Sensation MHL – HDMI TV-Out Cable. The form factor looks a lot nicer than the Samsung or Bizlink adapters, but the connection is ExtMicroUSB, which means the cable will only work on HTC products (like the HTC Sensation, HTC Flyer or HTC Evo 3D).

HTC Sensation MHL - HDMI TV-Out Cable

Finally, the Flyer can be connected with a specialised HTC Flyer AC M500 MHL HDMI TV-Out Cable. Like the HTC Sensation-specific connection, it comes with a long cable and HTC-specific ExtMicroUSB connection. If you’ve got the HTC Flyer, then this is the cable you want.

HTC Flyer AC M500 MHL HDMI TV-Out Cable

Conclusion

I hope you found this post useful! If you’ve any questions about MHL technology or mobile phone accessories, I’d be happy to answer them. You can get a hold of me via Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus at the links below. Of course, you can always leave a comment here on the blog too!