No matter how big your device’s screen size is, you enjoy more when watching video files on a HDTV rather than a 5inche phone or 10inche tablet. In this AW article we discuss 3 ways to stream video from Android to TV, considering your TV set is already connected to a WiFi network (Either your TV supports WiFi connection or you use some tools, like WD TV Live, to turn your TV to a Smart TV).
In streaming method, the content stored on your device would run on another device (Television) over WiFi. Before discuss the ways to stream multimedia, let’s get familiar with DLNA and UpnP, as the 2 main standards for sharing and streaming. DLNA is in fact a standard for regarding some instructions for sharing digital media between multimedia devices which was developed in 2003 by Sony corporation. UPnP is a standard which scans the entire devices in the network to see and identify the performance of these devices when sharing. So in streaming contents, these standards should be supported by the devices. Smart TVs, XbX 360, PS3, Apple TV, WD TV Live are some of the devices which support these 2 standards and as the result support streaming files.
So, to get started, make sure both your phone/tablet and your TV are connected to the same WiFi network, and start the streaming process via one of the following ways. Note that depending on the WiFi connection quality and performance of your device, the streaming process may take a while and more importantly you may not be able to stream FHD quality videos.
1. Using Default Apps Provided By Manufacturers
Many companies such as SAMSUNG, LG and SONY have considered the possibility of stream content wirelessly with the use of some default apps, in their Android gadgets. Samsung has made it possible with the use of allShare (Samsung Link) so the multimedia content can be streamed simply on the TV set. Sony has intended this feature via Smart Connect for its android devices. LG users can use the Smart Share feature to stream from their Android device. However, some companies such as HTC considered this feature in the multimedia section as one of the sharing options.
2. Using Android Apps to Stream Video from Android to TV
There are many applications for stream content wirelessly if the android device doesn't have a default application for this purpose. iMedia share (Flipps) is one of the best Android apps for streaming contents all over the interent. This application can collect all the multimedia files in internet and you can watch your favorite content with choosing one of the providers such as Youtube.
Twonky Beam is another Android streaming app, which is capable of streaming all of the multimedia content stored in you Android device, wirelessly.
3.Using Special Devices to Connect to Your HDTV
in addition to the two previous methods , some companies provides a device that is intended specifically for android which provides the content streaming option.
These devices act almost like a wireless router and are connected to your HDTV set and the advantage of this method is that there is no need for devices to support the DLNA standard.
Google recently introduced Chrome Cast as an easy way to stream some selected contents to your HDTV. At the moment, you can enjoy contents (Music, Video, TV Show, Movies and more) from Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus, Google Play Movies and Music, and Chrome.
The other device is HOME Sync, developed by Samsung. With having Android Jelly Bean and 1TB of Storage, you can enjoy the best android games, movies or music on your HDTV directly via Home Sync. You can also share Video, Photos, and even applications from your Galaxy device to your TV set, if using Home Sync.
So, how do you setup your device and HDTV to stream video from Android to TV?
