Database Develop

HDMI dock review

This is a bad and hardly structured review with a focus mainly on video playback. This is not a full review, and there's more things I want to test (and probably info I will post) for the future. It is also 4 AM, so don't expect any literary gymnastics.
So, I've had the (Euro) HDMI dock for a few weeks now (as well as the black leather sleeve, which is nice) but hadn't really gotten around to testing it. Primarily because I hadn't gotten around getting a mini-to-normal HDMI cable - yes the dock has a mini-HDMI output. The cable in question is commonly known as an HDMI "A<->C" cable with male ends on both sides.
Let's get the details you all know already out of the way. We're talking about the ECR-D980, more info here.
The dock itself comes packaged with nothing. No extra USB cable, no HDMI cable (or even converter plug), nothing. Keep in mind that these up the total cost of ownership for the dock quite a bit. I got the dock for about 29 euro, add about 20 euro total before you have a second SGT USB cable and a mini-to-normal HDMI cable. So that's 50 euro or about $70 US minimum cost at the time of writing, significantly more if you don't search a bit to find the cheapest deals. You don't strictly need the extra USB cable, but it becomes annoying in most setups if you don't have it - you'd be switching the cables location a lot.
The dock itself feels like a solid piece of equipment, much like the Tab itself. It features a 3.5mm audio out, mini-HDMI out, and 30-pin Samsung "PDMI" USB / power connector (the same connector on the Tab itself).
I started out testing at a friend two weeks ago, using his Sony soundsystem (several HDMI ins & outs) and his 42" high-end-4-years-ago Philips LCD. We were however completely unable to get it to work. Having no clue which component the problem was, we gave up after a bit. Note that his LCD doesn't do 1080p, but max 1080i (at time of purchase, even 1080i was rare). So I borrowed his cable, and today I tried it (with his A-C cable) in my home, on my Samsung 6-series 37" LCD that does do 1080p, without any special soundsystem. Note again that I used a converting cable, not an A-C converter plug. I know people have reported problems using those.
As soon as I plugged everything in, I immediately had display on my screen. We still don't know what the issue was at my friend's house, but keep in mind that it may be a requirement that the display device supports 1080p. The signal received by the TV was 1080p30. I think this is the maximum the device will do, as my TV does support both 1080p50 and 1080p60 as well (and I regularly use both those modes).
Immediate snags:
(1) First, the dock needs to be connected (via the USB cable) to a power, or HDMI will not work. I actually used an old HTC adapter instead of the Samsung one, that delivers 1a instead of 2a, and that worked fine. Connecting it to a computer USB port (0.5a) reportedly does not work, but I have not tested this myself (yet).
(2) Second, the Samsung USB cable you got with your Tab is really short, using an extender cable is almost certainly necessary for most situations.
(3) Third, the 3.5mm audio out does NOT work while HDMI is connected (reported by others, not tested myself)
(4) Last, the backlight will NEVER go off when connected over HDMI. Not even using the power button.
So, when you have it all connected, you will see one of two things: a really narrow output of your portrait screen, or a screen-filling output of your landscape screen. I advise everyone to put the device in landscape mode and enabling the orientation lock before connecting. Note that the HDMI dock is also a really handy standard for landscape mode!
When in the normal Android UI, you can clearly see the artifacts of upscaling. You'll see whatever happens on the Tab on the TV as well, scaled up (and not using a good resampler). The Android UI does NOT suddenly see a FullHD screen (as I expected, but some may be surprised).
However, some applications that go full-screen do see and use the FullHD resolution. I have not extensively tested this on many applications. For example, the YouTube app appears to see FullHD, but I can not be certain. The stock Samsung video player does see and use the FullHD resolution, as far as I can make out.
I have tested playback of the following videos, in the stock video player:
(1) Iron_Man_2-DivXPlusHD.mkv - 81mb, 2:30, CCV1 1920x800 23.98fps, AAC 48000Hz stereo, 4.4mbps
(2) Cowboys & Aliens - Trailer.mp4 - 174mb, 2:31, CCV1 1920x816 23.98fps, AAC 48000Hz stereo, 9.2mbps
(3) v.2009.s02e03.720p.hdtv.x264-ctu.mkv - 1118mb, 41:22, CCV1 1280x720 23.98fps, Dolby AC3 48000Hz 6ch, 3.6mbps
(4) the.mentalist.s03e12.720p.hdtv.x264-ctu.mkv - 1119mb, 41:48, CCV1 1280x720 23.98fps, Dolby AC3 48000Hz 6ch, 3.6mbps
These four videos all played fine, with audio and everything. V even had subtitles, and those worked well. However I must note that the button to disable subtitles is disabled while outputting to HDMI. Not sure what that is about. DTS is still on my to-test list, but I'll get around to that when we get the setup working on my friend's soundssystem, where I can also test whether or not the output is more than stereo or always downsampled to 2-channel.
The video output is pretty good, but not without buts.
(1) First, as stated before, the backlight on the Tab will not go off no matter what you do, and you will see one of the first frames of the video as a still on the Tab. You can however still use much of the videoplayer UI (which is suddenly slightly different: amongst other things options like brightness and scaling disappear), and that UI only appears on the Tab, NOT on the TV. Now if only I could control that UI, over Wi-Fi, with my SGS ... (might be possible through DLNA, btw, a nice test for the future)
(2) When you look closely at the image produced, you will see that the postprocessing is not quite up to par to the quality you get from CoreAVC or even ffmpeg on a laptop or HTPC or whatnot. The difference does really seem to be postprocessing though, not bad decoding or scaling.
(3) There is some shift in framespeed. Not traditional suttering you might see when the player cannot decode fast enough, though, the speed seems to be fine. I think this has to do with the fact that first the Tab has to scale 24fps to 30fps, which is probably done with some pulldown scheme, and then my TV has to scale that to 100hz, again with some pulldown scheme. I'm sure the videophiles amongst you will understand what I am talking about, even if the jargon is not correct. If you're not following, you are probably someone who wouldn't even notice it. Also note that I have all video-enhancing features on the TV itself turned off (as always). Enabling the 100hz motion interpolation mode makes the issue mostly disappear, but I really hate the "homevideo" effect you get when doing that. All in all, when watching a 40 minute show, you don't really notice it anymore after a few minutes, but if you're like me you know it's there and see it. If it were 1080p25 instead of 1080p30, the issue would probably not exist.
All in all, it does look good and works pretty well. Unfortunately, though most of these individual issues are small, together they are big enough to prevent this from being more than a casual playback device. It comes close, but not close enough to being a home-theater device. However, who knows maybe XBMC can be ported and we'll get past a number of these problems.
I won't make any claims as to whether the HDMI dock is worth the money or not. You know the price, and you have a bit of information here, and more in other reviews online. You have to decide for yourself it it's worth it. Hope this is helpful and/or interesting to someone.

For me the dock was totally worth it. The framespeed issue you describe is definitely there, but I do not notice that unless I am consciously looking for it. I have watched a lot of movies quite comfortably using the dock on Full HD TV.
And yes, if TV is not 1080p, for example just HD Ready and not Full HD, the video output is not HD at all. I think it's the same as Tab's screen: 1024x600.

"Connecting it to a computer USB port (0.5a) reportedly does not work, but I have not tested this myself (yet). "
USB from my computer (Kies drivers installed) works fine with the Dock. I have an HDMI capable computer monitor and this also works fine with the dock.

Thanks for the review!
For those who purchase movies through MediaHub, you will not be able to play back through HDMI dock to TV. http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/galaxy-tab-accessories/ECR-D980BEGSTA-reviews

GeorgijSapkin said:
For me the dock was totally worth it. The framespeed issue you describe is definitely there, but I do not notice that unless I am consciously looking for it. I have watched a lot of movies quite comfortably using the dock on Full HD TV.
And yes, if TV is not 1080p, for example just HD Ready and not Full HD, the video output is not HD at all. I think it's the same as Tab's screen: 1024x600.
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Click to collapse
Have you tried movies with DTS ? And on a surroundl soundsystem ? If so, can you share the details ?
Re: 1080p, you are saying even if the TV does not support 1080p, you do still get output ? Would mean that 1080i is not the problem on my friends' system, as we got no output at all.
(good info on this dock is hard to find )
specmac said:
"Connecting it to a computer USB port (0.5a) reportedly does not work, but I have not tested this myself (yet). "
USB from my computer (Kies drivers installed) works fine with the Dock. I have an HDMI capable computer monitor and this also works fine with the dock.
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Click to collapse
I meant using the computer as power source for HDMI. Do you get HDMI output when the USB cable is connected to a computer ? I read on some other reviews people did not get that to work.
quattr0 said:
Thanks for the review!
For those who purchase movies through MediaHub, you will not be able to play back through HDMI dock to TV. http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/galaxy-tab-accessories/ECR-D980BEGSTA-reviews
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That is really silly ...

Yes, dock connected to my computer via usb and connected to my monitor via hdmi. Outputs to the computer monitor just fine with this configuration.
Sent from Samsung Galaxy Tab

Dock but no audio
I have this dock but I get no audio what so ever... Have you had to do anything at all to enable it?

gsjurseth said:
I have this dock but I get no audio what so ever... Have you had to do anything at all to enable it?
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Worked out of the box for me, through HDMI. Haven't tried 3.5mm jack. Have heard that complaint before though.

Nice review its a bit dissapointing for me that they chose the mini HDMI standard as there is plenty of space to have included a normal size plug.
Maybe I'm just annoyed because I have HDMI cables laying around but now need to buy a mini HDMI cable

Ghostwalker9 said:
Nice review its a bit dissapointing for me that they chose the mini HDMI standard as there is plenty of space to have included a normal size plug.
Maybe I'm just annoyed because I have HDMI cables laying around but now need to buy a mini HDMI cable
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100% agree

YouTube is great when you're docked. You can flip through videos and playlists on the tab while a YouTube clip continues to pay fullscreen on your TV - nice! It's a shame you can't play HD though.
I stripped the DRM off all the free movies that came with my Tab so I can play them directly through the dock. Inception looks great! You're right though, post-processing looks a little rough at times.
The dock is pretty overpriced for what you get but I'm happy with it all-in-all. If it came with a mini HDMI cable it would be perfect.

are you using a stock rom or custom rom? wondering if that will matter in regards to dock performance, i am on the rotohammer jme v4 and love how fast it is compared to the stock roms.
thanks for the notes/review!

Chainfire said:
Have you tried movies with DTS ? And on a surroundl soundsystem ? If so, can you share the details ?
Re: 1080p, you are saying even if the TV does not support 1080p, you do still get output ? Would mean that 1080i is not the problem on my friends' system, as we got no output at all.
(good info on this dock is hard to find )
I meant using the computer as power source for HDMI. Do you get HDMI output when the USB cable is connected to a computer ? I read on some other reviews people did not get that to work.
That is really silly ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My projector is 1024x768 and the dock work well with it, so 1080p is not necessary for it to work, and as a power source I use an external battery rated 500mh, so I guess a computer usb port should be able to power it.
My problem is that my projector doesn't have an audio out jack, and when the hdmi cable is connected all the audio port of the tab get disabled, INCLUDING bluetooth audio. This is why I now use this dock as an overpriced charging dock
Sent from my Galaxy Tab

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=236523&t=2611349
Just an FYI. $37 Shipped.

FYI, I got this 6 foot long Samsung sync/charge cable for only $8 (with shipping) that is a great companion for the Dock because the stock Samsung cables are way too short.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300509955254

w4rmk said:
FYI, I got this 6 foot long Samsung sync/charge cable for only $8 (with shipping) that is a great companion for the Dock because the stock Samsung cables are way too short.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300509955254
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Click to collapse
Just what I needed !

does SGT screen needs to be turned on while docked, because while streaming / watching vids i dont want to hav twin/identical display
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App

erlz said:
does SGT screen needs to be turned on while docked, because while streaming / watching vids i dont want to hav twin/identical display
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As metioned in the first posting of this thread, unfortunately you cannot turn off the screen on the Tab when it's in the doc. When watching video's the first frame of the video stays visibile on the Tab the entire time. When your not watching videos the displays on the Tab and your TV are mirrored.

I buy the HDMI station dock and I find it no really good!
A HD photo is not so nice on the LCD, it ok buy when you see then at the real resolution with the camera, it's bad!
The only way that I can have good resolution is when i plug the tab into the PS3 like a hard drive annd the I see the same photos like they are and my videos arein real 720P or 1080P
I will returned it and wait for a new model or plug into my PS3

I just picked one of these up and was a bit disappointed with the video quality too. Videos looks great in HD on the Tab but jaggy and average quality on the TV - no better than a DVD really.
I bought one so I could connect it to the TV in my hotel room when I go on Holiday soon. Is it true that if you get no audio over HDMI, you can't use the line out at the same time? I was going to take some small speakers just in case the TV in the hotel didn't support audio (should be fine, think they're Samsung 32" LCD TVs).
I'm a bit surprised there's no settings you can tweak on the Tab other than PAL or NTSC to correct the overscan and advise on resolution and FPS.
Surprised about the quality, I loaded a webpage up in Xscope and could hardly read it on the TV, very poor. I genuinely thought it would be near HD. I could just take my 13.3" Laptop with HDMI out but that's 2.5KG.
At least I'll get lots of films on the Tab as there's no point putting HD ones on there if they don't look HD on the big screen. What an oxymoron that they look better on the Tab screen!

HDMI to VGA

I bought a HDMI to VGA converter to be used with my Nexus 10 with projectors to give presentations. Now I connected it to my desktop monitor (via VGA), and it says "reduce resolution".
Is there a way to change the resolution? Or is this something the converter should actually do? (which I can't do, it just looks like a cable).
Thanks!

Which adapter do you have? I've been looking for one for a while.
As far as I know the HDMI out mirrors the native screen resolution. It's been that way on every android device I've used.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2

novisme swell
I have this one: KanaaN micro Hdmi Vga.

I think you have to reduce the resolution of your monitor. Just go to menu and you should find.
Send from my lovely Sensation XL, from a little town in france with a very very slow internet connection.
If I succeed helping you (rare) don't forget to hit the thanks button

The n10 outputs at 1080p...always. You can't turn it down or up. You can't just switch the pinout of HDMI to VGA. It can't be done. You have to convert the signal from digital to analog. That is sometimes done inside the vga sink (many data projectors), but it is more often done with an external converter.
As for bringing down the resolution, you need to first input to a scaler that has granular resolution control an scale it down.

What about video projector?
Does that mean we can't hook up the N10 to a VGA video projector via an hdmi-to-vga converter? All the VGA video projectors I have at work have very limited resolutions (800x600, 1024x768, 640x400).
I'm really looking forwarding to get an N10 for presentations so this would be show-stopper. Your help and suggestions are most appreciated!

Getting a little frustrated with this. On my Motorola Xoom (original WiFi), I had a solution that worked. It was kind of sloppy, but it did work. I had a micro-HDMI to HDMI adapter, a small power injector (HDMI Female on one side, Male on the other), and a HDMI to VGA adapter. All those connected together accomplished the task of connecting the tablet to VGA. (the power injector was needed because the micro HDMI port didn't put out enough power to push the video).
That same setup doesn't work on the Nexus 10. I tried removing the power injector and that didn't work either. In both cases, the monitor accepts a resolution setting from the tablet, but I just get horizontal gray bars as far as the image itself. I just got in the mail a Samsung micro-HDMI to VGA adapter that is supposed to be for several of their laptops AND slates, but that didn't work either. This time, again it accepted a resolution setting, but I get a complete gray picture (no bars, just big gray box).
I'm really getting disappointed that there isn't an easy solution to this. There are way too many businesses that still only have VGA connections and since I use my tablet as a laptop replacement/for presentations/etc, it's a must have.

securitynick said:
Getting a little frustrated with this. On my Motorola Xoom (original WiFi), I had a solution that worked. It was kind of sloppy, but it did work. I had a micro-HDMI to HDMI adapter, a small power injector (HDMI Female on one side, Male on the other), and a HDMI to VGA adapter. All those connected together accomplished the task of connecting the tablet to VGA. (the power injector was needed because the micro HDMI port didn't put out enough power to push the video).
That same setup doesn't work on the Nexus 10. I tried removing the power injector and that didn't work either. In both cases, the monitor accepts a resolution setting from the tablet, but I just get horizontal gray bars as far as the image itself. I just got in the mail a Samsung micro-HDMI to VGA adapter that is supposed to be for several of their laptops AND slates, but that didn't work either. This time, again it accepted a resolution setting, but I get a complete gray picture (no bars, just big gray box).
I'm really getting disappointed that there isn't an easy solution to this. There are way too many businesses that still only have VGA connections and since I use my tablet as a laptop replacement/for presentations/etc, it's a must have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that's the problem of the N10 hardware, I tried to connect my N10 to a HDMI TV, I get the same gray picture as you described.
Called Google support and they are sending me a replacement. Also I have severe light bleed on the lower left and rigt of the screen as well.
A little disppointed.

I purchased this connector http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00879EZJI/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00 and it worked perfectly. Was able to hookup my N10 to a VGA monitor. Monitor did not have 1920x1080 resolution and it still worked.

Sounds good. What resolution is the monitor showing?

lorloff said:
I purchased this connector (The site won't let me repost the link for some reason) and it worked perfectly. Was able to hookup my N10 to a VGA monitor. Monitor did not have 1920x1080 resolution and it still worked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This worked!!!! Thank you lorloff for posting this. For anyone who cares the resolution scaled down to 1280 x 720. I tested on a standard computer monitor and a TV that my office uses with presentations/meeting. I am not sure why, but the TV didn't display across the entire screen (had side black bars), but it is good enough. The computer monitor took up almost the entire display, but that could have been that the native resolution was lower than the TV. Anyway, point is, this solution definitely works.

Similar issue...
Hi guys. I have a similar issue, but my nexus 10 crashes when connected to the projector. I can see the image, it works for about 10 seconds before dropping it, reconnecting, then crashes completely and restarts. I am using the same HDMI - VGA cable as mentioned on here. I thought it was the cable, and they replaced it for me, but it hasn't helped. Has anyone else experienced this? Any thoughts on if this is Android or the hardware causing the issue? Any help would be much appreciated as I really need to get it working or is it a case to send it back to Google? The projector is a viewsonic pjd5122 by the way, which has not given any issues before. Cheers for your help/thoughts.

Elositoingles said:
Hi guys. I have a similar issue, but my nexus 10 crashes when connected to the projector. I can see the image, it works for about 10 seconds before dropping it, reconnecting, then crashes completely and restarts. I am using the same HDMI - VGA cable as mentioned on here. I thought it was the cable, and they replaced it for me, but it hasn't helped. Has anyone else experienced this? Any thoughts on if this is Android or the hardware causing the issue? Any help would be much appreciated as I really need to get it working or is it a case to send it back to Google? The projector is a viewsonic pjd5122 by the way, which has not given any issues before. Cheers for your help/thoughts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't tried this yet but the only thing I can recommend is switching ROMs (though this may not help) (make sure you backup before you wipe)
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

securitynick said:
This worked!!!! Thank you lorloff for posting this. For anyone who cares the resolution scaled down to 1280 x 720. I tested on a standard computer monitor and a TV that my office uses with presentations/meeting. I am not sure why, but the TV didn't display across the entire screen (had side black bars), but it is good enough. The computer monitor took up almost the entire display, but that could have been that the native resolution was lower than the TV. Anyway, point is, this solution definitely works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi all, I also bought the Cable Matters Active Micro HDMI to VGA Adapter as suggested by lorloff, but it does not seem to work with my Nexus 10. It's on KitKat 4.4.2.
When I plug it in, the tablet becomes slightly less responsive and the device (projector/monitor) I plug it into only gets a black screen, it's not blank, just an off black. It seems that the signal is going through and at 1920*1080 resolution, but not picture is showing. I purchased two of these adapters and both do the same. The adapters work because I have tried it with a phone and I get a mirrored image instantly, at 720p. I've tried it on 3 different types of monitors, 17 and 24 inch, and 3 different types of projectors, one of which can do resolutions beyond 1080p.
The HDMI out on the Nexus 10 works, as when I connect a micro HDMI to HDMI adapter directly into a projector I get instant mirrored output, but at 720p. I've also tried with and without additional power through the adapter and having the tablet plug in charging, but nothing helps.
I'm thinking of getting the KanaaN Micro HDMI to VGA Adapter as that seems to work for others, but then again so did this adapter... Any ideas?

Same for me with a generic HDMI to VGA.
I'm running 4.4.2 as well on my N10.
So should it be an OS issue ?

I contacted Cable Matters and their reply was:
... I am afraid that adapter has some compatibility issue with Nexus 10. ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have ordered the KanaaN Micro HDMI to VGA Adapter. We'll see how that goes.

Reply to hdmi to vga converter
Nexus10User said:
I bought a HDMI to VGA converter to be used with my Nexus 10 with projectors to give presentations. Now I connected it to my desktop monitor (via VGA), and it says "reduce resolution".
Is there a way to change the resolution? Or is this something the converter should actually do? (which I can't do, it just looks like a cable).
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is only way to change the resolution. You must get another hdmi to vga converter from Hdgenius . Maybe there is something wrong your device in quality.

When I plug it in, the tablet becomes slightly less responsive and the device (projector/monitor) I plug it into only gets a black screen, it's not blank, just an off black. It seems that the signal is going through and at 1920*1080 resolution, but not picture is showing. I purchased two of these adapters and both do the same. The adapters work because I have tried it with a phone and I get a mirrored image instantly, at 720p. I've tried it on 3 different types of monitors, 17 and 24 inch, and 3 different types of projectors, one of which can do resolutions beyond 1080p.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
fusi*n said:
I contacted Cable Matters and their reply was:
I have ordered the KanaaN Micro HDMI to VGA Adapter. We'll see how that goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any new leads? I have got the same problem using the cable matters adapter.

From the looks of it passive adapters don't properly work as it relies on the N10 being able to convert the digital HDMI signals to the analogue VGA. The Cable Matters one that was linked above is an active one and does the converting instead, which allows it to push for a higher resolution.

I already have the Cable Matters adapter, it doesn't seem to work, though. I get a black screen even after connecting the USB power chord. Any ideas?

HDMI Output to 720p

Hi @all,
I've a problem with Chromecast. My setup is that I'm using an Onkyo receiver which has plenty of HDMI slots. Since I've no TV I've connected a monitor to the Onkyo. Unfortunately the monitor works at best in 720p (I've also attached a PS3 to the system where I'm also using 720p)...
So my question is, can I force Chromecast to output its HDMI signal in 720p. I don't have any image at the moment, with the exception during booting... (I see the Chrome Logo).
Any ideas????

ccflo said:
Hi @all,
I've a problem with Chromecast. My setup is that I'm using an Onkyo receiver which has plenty of HDMI slots. Since I've no TV I've connected a monitor to the Onkyo. Unfortunately the monitor works at best in 720p (I've also attached a PS3 to the system where I'm also using 720p)...
So my question is, can I force Chromecast to output its HDMI signal in 720p. I don't have any image at the moment, with the exception during booting... (I see the Chrome Logo).
Any ideas????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
720p is the highest and I believe the default that chromecast outputs at. You can change to 720p high or low bitrate, or 480p via the chrome browser extension.Sorry I was thinking about tab casting when I read the OP.

supernova_00 said:
720p is the highest and I believe the default that chromecast outputs at. You can change to 720p high or low bitrate, or 480p via the chrome browser extension.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's false. That setting is only for the resolution of the tab-casting. Not the output of the Chromecast. Chromecast outputs a 1080p signal. (https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=chromecast). I beleive it even upscales lower resolution content to 1080 but I can't confirm on my current setup.

rekh127 said:
That's false. That setting is only for the resolution of the tab-casting. Not the output of the Chromecast. Chromecast outputs a 1080p signal. (https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=chromecast). I beleive it even upscales lower resolution content to 1080 but I can't confirm on my current setup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so far.... yes, it is about the signal what's coming out of the chromecast not about casting! I definitely need 720p and I hope somebody can tell me how to force this device to do this.... Normally you could do this on any device (PCs, PS3, Xbox, Ouya...).
I'm really open to any advice.

Hi, I'm wondering if you found any answer to forcing(?) chromecast to a certain resolution. I'm wondering if the chipset inside the stick is capable of outputting anything other than 1080P? In my case I have to have 480P or 1080i (my TV is too old that it doesn't even accept 720P <LOL>). I know the Roku3 won't output anything lower than 720P so I'm wondering what the chip inside chromecast is capable & if there are ways to turn the switches on/off?

I'm still searching for a solution... none found yet.
What I figured out is that Chromecast can detect what the device can display at maximum. There is a standard to this...
But in my case (the AV receiver which accepts full resolution but the display not) I can't force it to do this... I submitted a feature request at Google help... I also read that people claim Google are very much interested in getting feedback... so I did what I can do.
So for now my Chromecast is just an Audio Stream adapter... but a quite good one so net completely useless for me

Thank you for the heads-up and I'm glad you are getting use out of it
Been looking around and found some info on the variant of SoC that is in the stick (from Marvell) as that thread suggested the info on Marvell site is thin and nothing about resolution. I sent an inquiry to their sales support but since I'm not looking to buy a lot of 10k of those SoC on the pallet so I'm not holding my breath for an answer. Also the thread said that it is not quite the same SoC so they were suspecting a neutered on customized for Google.
ccflo said:
I'm still searching for a solution... none found yet.
What I figured out is that Chromecast can detect what the device can display at maximum. There is a standard to this...
But in my case (the AV receiver which accepts full resolution but the display not) I can't force it to do this... I submitted a feature request at Google help... I also read that people claim Google are very much interested in getting feedback... so I did what I can do.
So for now my Chromecast is just an Audio Stream adapter... but a quite good one so net completely useless for me
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Click to collapse

I have a similar problem, as I'm trying to run my Chromecast on a non-TV.
Short of Google giving options (which would be GREAT - most HDMI sources allow selecting what resolution gets sent), you could use an in-line EDID "injector" like Gefen HDMI Detective. They also have a DVI version of it called DVI Detective.
EDIT: Another option may be the Dr HDMI
In your case I would set the HDMI Detective to report that it only supports 480P and 720P resolutions and put it after your receiver (between receiver and monitor), so all your devices see proper progressive-only EDID.
Alternatively you could try to see if you can reprogram your monitor's EDID (via something like Powerstrip), though that's significantly more dangerous especially if you're a novice.

bhiga said:
I have a similar problem, as I'm trying to run my Chromecast on a non-TV.
Short of Google giving options (which would be GREAT - most HDMI sources allow selecting what resolution gets sent), you could use an in-line EDID "injector" like Gefen HDMI Detective. They also have a DVI version of it called DVI Detective.
EDIT: Another option may be the Dr HDMI
In your case I would set the HDMI Detective to report that it only supports 480P and 720P resolutions and put it after your receiver (between receiver and monitor), so all your devices see proper progressive-only EDID.
Alternatively you could try to see if you can reprogram your monitor's EDID (via something like Powerstrip), though that's significantly more dangerous especially if you're a novice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Gefen is $129 and the Dr. HDMI is $399!
He'd be better off buying a new Monitor.

Dr. HDMI is only $99 (full boat HDfury3 is $399, Dr. HDMI is down past). But I agree, if money is to be thrown at the problem it's poetically better spent on a new monitor, unless you have something special.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk now Free

bhiga said:
Dr. HDMI is only $99 (full boat HDfury3 is $399, Dr. HDMI is down past). But I agree, if money is to be thrown at the problem it's poetically better spent on a new monitor, unless you have something special.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk now Free
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OK, thanks for the correction. I clicked the buy now button and it showed up as $399, and I thought somethings wrong here.
OP, What monitor do you have? Does it not show any picture or is the picture quality just not good?
I recently did a search for best TV under $500 and their are some decent options for the money. My parents just picked up a 32" LCD TV from Costco on clearance for $180. It a Sceptre and 720p, but looks good and can handle a 1080p feed. It was on clearence, so might be hard to find at that price, but you can get a decent TV on the cheap with a little legwork.
Good luck.

FWIW as a test I have my Chromecast running to a Planar 1024x768 VGA monitor through a HDfury2.
The Planar says it's getting a 1280x720 signal, and I can tell from the green tint that it's receiving YPbPr (aka YUV).
So Chromecast definitely can output 720p if it thinks that's all the monitor can accept.
and I meant "probably" not "poetically" heh

any news?? I have a 720p projector connected to the onkyo. The chromecast doesn´t appear...

psikonetik said:
any news?? I have a 720p projector connected to the onkyo. The chromecast doesn´t appear...
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If you wall power Chromecast and boot it directly connected to the projector with the projector on, do you get picture?
-= this post enhanced with bonus mobile typos =-

bhiga said:
If you wall power Chromecast and boot it directly connected to the projector with the projector on, do you get picture?
-= this post enhanced with bonus mobile typos =-
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When the screen says "starting...." I can see the picture well, I guess its on 720p, then it appears chromecast logo blurry and then a red noise digital noise screen.
I guess I need to change chromecast output resolution...

psikonetik said:
When the screen says "starting...." I can see the picture well, I guess its on 720p, then it appears chromecast logo blurry and then a red noise digital noise screen.
I guess I need to change chromecast output resolution...
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Click to collapse
IIRC the boot screen is 480p.
This could be a failure of resolution negotiation (projector tells Chromecast it supports a resolution it can't handle) or missing/broken HDCP support on the projector.
Unfortunately you can't force Chromecast to a specific resolution so you'd have to control the reported supported resolutions with Dr. HDMI or similar that I mentioned earlier in the thread.
Is the digital noise blocky or more like fine random colored pixels?
-= this post enhanced with bonus mobile typos =-

The digital noise are red vertical lines at the screen, if I press the home button on my onkyo remote it changes to the casted image in 4 squares disorganized...
I find dr HDMI very expensive and I don´t think google will solve this issue. Maybe scene will do it eventually.
Well now I have a music streamer hehe, maybe I'll buy an fire tv or an apple tv...
Thanks a lot!

psikonetik said:
The digital noise are red vertical lines at the screen, if I press the home button on my onkyo remote it changes to the casted image in 4 squares disorganized...
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Interesting. Definitely sounds like your projector doesn't like what Chromecast is sending, maybe it doesn't like 1080p. Regardless, considering the cost of Chromecast I would just use it on another display or gift it to someone else and go with a more "full" player.
-= this post enhanced with bonus mobile typos =-

Possibility change Aspect Ratio?

Hey Chromecast Users,
is there any possibility to change the Aspect Ratio (and with it resolution of chromecast) from 16:9 to 4:3?
Got a 4:3 TFT Monitor and want to use it on, resolution is 1280x1024...
I also own a 16:9 monitor, but I want to use the 4:3 instead of the 16:9.
Greetz - Xorianator (from Germany)

Xorianator said:
Hey Chromecast Users,
is there any possibility to change the Aspect Ratio (and with it resolution of chromecast) from 16:9 to 4:3?
Got a 4:3 TFT Monitor and want to use it on, resolution is 1280x1024...
I also own a 16:9 monitor, but I want to use the 4:3 instead of the 16:9.
Greetz - Xorianator (from Germany)
Click to expand...
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As far as I know, Chromecast only like 16:9 resolutions.
Can you change your monitor settings to display 1280x720 (720p) letterboxed?
Otherwise you would need some sort of scaler, and that's going to cost more than the Chromecast itself.

No i did not find any method to do this on my TFT LCD
I also know those boxes... But a 24 inch monitor with HDMI is much cheeper
No possibilities with rooted Cast?

Xorianator said:
No i did not find any method to do this on my TFT LCD
I also know those boxes... But a 24 inch monitor with HDMI is much cheeper
No possibilities with rooted Cast?
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How are you even plugging the CCast into an SD monitor?
usually the adapter used to connect to SD is what does the conversion for you...
And those converters are usually as expensive as a new monitor is.

I changed the signal from HDMI to VGA with this one (cant post because new member, just look on amazon for "HDMI Female to VGA"... Looks similiar to an USB Stick
But it does not convert any signal to any aspect ratio.
The monitor is a "Fujitsu L7ZA", i got this one just because a friend want to dump it, so i said i would take it before he put it into trash.... And then i bought the Chromecast, because i thought it might would be funny, but if it does not work with the 4:3 its bad :/
Maybe Google brings an update? I would appreciate!

I did some digging and it seems your Fujitsu L7ZA may be same/related to ScenicView A17-2 based on this (far from authoritative). If that's correct, I looked up the manual and unfortunately there seems to be no vertical size (usually V-SIZ) control.
Don't get me wrong, I'm like you - one of my Chromecasts is connected to a SD TV through HDMI-VGA converter and downscaler, but I'm currently letting the downscaler (and my TiVo) do the aspect ratio conversion as my TV model doesn't have the "easy" vertical compression option. But doubtful that Google will update for 4:3 users like us as very few non-16:9 televisions have HDMI input, and Chromecast isn't aimed at usage on computer monitors (or HDMI->VGA conversion, for that matter).

What you really need is a Scan Converter similar to what we use when we want to put an old VGA computer onto a Standard Def screen.
And by the time you bought that you could get a good 24" HDMI monitor instead.
I just bought Mom (for Mother's Day) an old Dell 24" for $149 (Tiger Direct) although it doesn't have speakers built in it does have a connector to attach speakers to that will pass the HDMI Audio.
A decent scan converter can go for $200.
It's really the best option because Google will never make a setting for the CCast that supports SD...
Makes no sense for an HDMI Dongle...

Desktop conversion docking station?

Hi! I'm planning on using my phone with a displaylink docking station and shadow to have something like a desktop gaming station on low budget. I couldn't figure though which displaylink product provides 4k display capabilities as well as power to the phone. I'd appreciate any tips on that as I couldn't figure it out on my own. Thanks in advance!

As i read, Mi 8 doesn't support MHL.

khanhdx said:
As i read, Mi 8 doesn't support MHL.
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That is why I chose displaylink devices.

Cypheryen said:
That is why I chose displaylink devices.
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Oh sr. I misunderstood 2 conceptions.:laugh:

I read in the document that you need USB 3 to export 4K. Mi 8 is USB 2.0.

I'm interested on a similar setup with displayLink or other screen sharing solution without latency

So I got one of these:
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/2uu1qfWs
It works with it, but... It's lagging, sluggish, and slow, and LOT of latency (100-600ms(ish)).
When there is a video playing on the screen, horizontal, it's okay, because only part of the screen is getting refreshed.
But when I switch to vertical playback, it's only around 5-17 fps, depending how much of the screen have to refresh.
BUT probably only lagging, because it's 1080p.
Whe n I tried with a portable USB screen (this one : https://www.amazon.com/MIMO-TOUCH2-7-inch-Touchscreen-Monitor/dp/B0052Z996E) it was fine. But the resolution os only 720p (or less?).
So.... Still better to have a chrome cast ultra... Maybe? I didn't tried it yet, only chrome cast, and it was okay (except the audio... It was bad.)

Hellos everyone ..I want to connect my mi8 to a display to use it for e-learning with Skype app..
What extra accessories needed ? I want everything working by phone camera, mic , only the screen I want to transfer without lagging with cable of course...thanks