Inexpensive screen mirroring/streaming HDMI dongle for Windows, Android and Apple

[Creig]

I'm looking for a cheap HDMI device to wirelessly mirror screens and stream from Windows laptops, Android phone/tablets and Apple phones/tablets to a television. There won't be any internet connectivity where this device will be set up, so I don't really care about built-in apps on the dongle as everything will come from phones/tablets/laptops. I've tried looking through the plethora of dongles available out there, but can't seem to find one that specifically mentions being able to mirror and stream from the Big Three.

Any ideas?



edited to explicitly state that I am looking for wireless connectivity

 

[mdram]

laptop - use an hdmi cable
android, use a chromecast
apple use whater apple allows

 

[Creig]

I have no idea why you even bothered posting that.

 

[Rifter]

A Chromcast will do that for windows and android. Apple you will likely need to purchase an apple product for that as they lock their hardware down, i think its called apple TV or something but im not sure as i dont own any apple products.

 

[Creig]

A Chromcast will do that for windows and android. Apple you will likely need to purchase an apple product for that as they lock their hardware down, i think its called apple TV or something but im not sure as i dont own any apple products.

That's what I've seen in my searches as well. But I am hoping that someone knows of a device that can operate with all three.

 

[mdram]

it also depends on the app not all apps support casting

 

[Rifter]

it also depends on the app not all apps support casting

True but you can force cast the screen through the chromecast app so you can get around that.

 

[mdram]

True but you can force cast the screen through the chromecast app so you can get around that.

sometimes, not all the time

 

[Creig]

I'm a bit mystified as to why I can't seem to find an all-in-one wireless dongle that covers Windows, Android and Apple. I assumed that someone would have offered one by now. It would be perfectly suited for conference rooms equipped with large monitors or a projector. Anybody needing to present data could do so from virtually any modern device that a participant brought to the meeting.

 

[ElFenix]

assuming all your devices can screen mirror via hdmi to begin with (that is, if you had the right cable, you can plug it into a tv), just get a wireless hdmi adapter, an hdmi female to female coupler, and the appropriate hdmi out cable for your device.

 

[sdifox]

I'm a bit mystified as to why I can't seem to find an all-in-one wireless dongle that covers Windows, Android and Apple. I assumed that someone would have offered one by now. It would be perfectly suited for conference rooms equipped with large monitors or a projector. Anybody needing to present data could do so from virtually any modern device that a participant brought to the meeting.

Cuz Apple is an asshat company. So is Google on Chromecast.

 

[Creig]

While researching this problem, I came across a cheap device called the Anycast M2 Plus.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XYJPVR1

I dismissed it since it was under $20 and assumed it was just a ripoff joke that wouldn't work at all. After not being able to find ANYTHING else that could do what I wanted I figured, what the hell... I'm only out $20. So I ordered one.

It arrived a couple of days ago and I immediately unboxed it and plugged it into my television. I was extremely surprised to find that not only could I easily connect to it with my Android phone (LG V10), but also my work phone (iPhone 6). Screen mirror working fine on both devices. Not only was I able to stream video from my phones to the television, but I could stream from my wireless connection to the phone to the television. I'll try to connect to it from my laptop tonight just as a final test.

According to the documentation, you can connect the Anycast directly to your wireless network, but I did not as the location where I intend to use it doesn't have wireless available. You basically connect to the Anycast via WiFi on your device. Once you have established a connection, you use the built-in connection software on the Android or the iPhone, type in the password displayed on the television and you're in business. So far that seems to be all there is to it.

Obviously I haven't had much time with it yet, but I've been very pleasantly surprised so far. Especially for under $20. I'll post an update once I've had a chance to connect my laptop to it and try it with other people/devices.

 

[Creig]

Well, we were able to connect a laptop to the Anycast as well and stream video clips. There was some occasional buffering, but it might have been due to the laptop being slow. I'll try a different laptop in a few weeks when I'm back onsite. All said, for under $20 it does great as the only combo iOS/Android/Windows screen mirroring dongle I could find out there. Especially since no additional software was added to any of the devices. It worked right out of the box with all three.

We were mostly using it just to display pictures from each device to the television. As I said, we ran into occasional buffering issues with the one laptop we tried casting a video from. So it may or may not work well with videos. We also did not attempt to connect it to the local Wi-Fi router. However, for screen mirroring photos it worked great. It was very responsive and the images looked fine. Two of the people who were there while I was installing/testing the device immediately asked me to order them one as well for their home use.