Buzz
In this article, I'll share how to use your Android phone to project football matches onto your TV through the Miracast feature. While not a new feature, it's handy during the Euro season to watch matches without any TV service or to replay beautiful moments for discussion with friends.
1. Streaming TV to Smart TV from Android Phone using Miracast
In this article, I'll share how to use your Android phone to project football matches onto your TV through the Miracast feature. While not a new feature, it's handy during the Euro season to watch matches without any TV service or to replay beautiful moments for discussion with friends.
Reasons to Use Miracast?
To project content from mobile to TV, there are various solutions like AirPlay (iOS), Chromecast (Android/Android TV), or HDMI-MHL cables. However, the simplest and most popular is Miracast, as nearly all Smart TVs (Android TV, Tizen, WebOS, etc.) and Android phones support it.
Moreover, Miracast is a connection standard based on Wifi-Direct. This means the TV and phone can directly connect without the need for a shared network. Of course, to watch football on Android phone apps, you still need to connect it to the internet (3G or Wifi). This is convenient when watching at friends' homes, offices, or cafes (Tinh Tế has a large TV on the first floor if you're interested). Sometimes you may not have the conditions to connect the TV and phone on the same network or face weak signals.
Devices
To use the Miracast feature for casting content from phone to TV, you'll need the following devices:
Miracast-supported Android phone
Smart TV with Miracast support (common brands in Vietnam like Sony, Samsung, or LG all have support)
You don't need any additional devices.
Execution Steps
In this article, I use a Sony Xperia X phone and an LG 65UH950T TV for illustration. However, the process is similar if you're using devices from other brands.
For the TV, usually when you go to the input selection menu, there will be options for smartphone or Screen Share. For TVs using WebOS like LG UH950T, it defaults to Miracast, similar to Samsung's Tizen Smart TVs. However, if you're using Sony's Android TV, you'll have two options: Miracast (direct connection) or Chromecast (connection via Wifi).
For the phone, specifically Xperia X in this case, go to Settings, select Device Connection, and inside, you'll find the Screen Mirroring option.
When you activate this feature, the phone will automatically search for compatible devices nearby, in my case, it's the LG UH950T TV.
Select the TV you want to cast content to, wait for the two devices to connect, and you're done.
Once connected, the TV screen mirrors all content from your phone. So, when you access football streaming apps like VTVgo Euro 2016 (the official app for watching Euro 2016 online on Android devices in Vietnam), you can watch matches directly on the big screen. Additionally, you can use it to watch matches from the 2016-2017 Premier League or La Liga seasons after Euro.
Some Points to Note When Using Miracast
The image quality depends on your devices; the Sony Xperia X and LG UH950T combo I used for illustration provides only average visuals. It may not be as impressive as TV services, but it's acceptable for creating a lively atmosphere.
Keep your phone and TV close for better signal strength; being too far may weaken the signal, affecting image quality. With the VTVgo app, when you switch to full-screen mode, your phone screen turns black. You can turn off the phone screen to save battery while still watching football on the TV.
