Using an iPhone to watch full screen TV

[Blanch]

I am using this device:

https://www.amazon.com/Apple-Lightn...lt_1&ref-refURL=http://www.cheaprvliving.com/

This connects to the lightning plug on the iPhone, I use an iPhone 5C.
One end of the connector is an input for an HDMI cable and an input for a lightning plug charger.

You simply attach the HDMI cable from this to your TV and set your TV input to HDMI.
You can also attach the lightning charger and plug it in to continuously charge the iPhone while watching TV. I just got all of this set up to run off of my new solar panels and I am a happy gal!

I have an unlimited data plan, with Cricket, so I can watch as much as I want and not have to use any tethered data.
This works great for YouTube and Netflix along with other internet content. When the video starts the iPhone automatically starts up airplay mirroring and goes to full screen on the TV. On some sites I have to push the full screen bottom corner of the video to get full screen on the TV.

My hope in the future is to try a lightning plug keyboard and see if I can use this set up to comfortably surf the web without using any tethered data. When surfing you do not get a full TV screen, but it magnifies the tiny phone  screen to the height of the TV. Is anyone doing this?

Initially I was going to use a home network in the RV, but I found that the iPhone cannot connect to both the home network and data simultaneously, therefore any program I wanted to watch had to be downloaded. This concept just didn't work for me. 

I've been using this system for 10 months without issue. When my data is throttled (it has only happened twice) I  can still watch TV this way but I get occasional buffering. You just set the video to a much lower resolution during throttled times and it runs pretty smoothly, or at least it has for me. 

Does anyone have any other ways to watch TV  boondocking? I know about casting, but how can you cast to a network and be using data to get content at the same time?

And how do people make this work on Android devices?

Please share your set up for watching TV.

 

[Travelmonkey]

Great post. Last summer, I thought of using an HDMI adapter to my iPhone to watch movies (rented from iTunes, for example) in our trailer because my phone is newer and has more storage available. With all of the unlimited mobile plans, streaming from a phone and not tethering some device is very doable. What a difference a year makes.

 

[jimindenver]

You asked of Android. I have a OTA/HDMI adapter for my Galaxy S4 that allows me to connect to the HDMI port on a TV/monitor. It also lets me connect a keyboard, mouse and SDMI card. It is suppose to allow me to connect a charger but that has never worked. I also cast to a Amazon firestick and use a bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

 

[Wabbit]

I stream Prime and Hulu and whatever else thru my laptop. Got rid of the 32" inch roku TV(2 months old!) Because it was to big\bulky in the van. If its not "movie night" then we can just stream through our tablets.

 

[Blanch]

You asked of Android. I have a OTA/HDMI adapter for my Galaxy S4 that allows me to connect to the HDMI port on a TV/monitor. It also lets me connect a keyboard, mouse and SDMI card. It is suppose to allow me to connect a charger but that has never worked. I also cast to a Amazon firestick and use a bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

You have it all dialed in. Nice!
How does the set up work for web surfing?


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[jimindenver]

Thank you. It works pretty much just as a computer does.

 

[Blanch]

^^^
So no tethered data is used this way ? That is what I am working towards is avoiding the need to use tethered data.


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[DLTooley]

Tethered plans are starting to re-emerge, your solution is just as good though the cable might be a bit more expensive.

https://www.howtogeek.com/302152/which-cell-phone-carriers-unlimited-plan-is-the-best/

 

[Blanch]

Tethered plans are starting to re-emerge, your solution is just as good though the cable might be a bit more expensive.

https://www.howtogeek.com/302152/which-cell-phone-carriers-unlimited-plan-is-the-best/

I live full time in my RV and boondock. 10gb of tethered data won't work for me. I tried it. I go through at least 40 gigs a month. Cost wise the $65 I pay for unlimited is the best deal I have found. My problem is surfing the internet on my tiny phone screen. I have old eyes and a small income.

What I have is working great. The addition of a keyboard would help. I am game to switch to android at some future point if there is a better way. ....


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[jimindenver]

Connecting the phone to a screen in this way is no more like tethering than using a set of head phones. Now if I used the firestick and had it use the data from the phone to stream it would be tethering.

 

[Nurseypoop]

Wow this is awesome. I am looking for a way to not use my data plan. I want to be able to not have to keep unlimited anything. I can see a problem with this method if you have no internet connection where you happen to be.


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