How can I display my Android on my PC monitor?

Question

I have scoured the Internet and come here as my last hope.

I currently have the Galaxy S4, M919v. I own two 24 inch Samsung monitors.

Is there any method for me to display my Android screen onto one of my monitors?

I want to basically play my Android games, using my Android phone, but have them displayed on my monitors. My 24 inch monitor has the same resolution as my phone, so I figure the graphics should be great.

I am trying to find a WIFI/micro-usb cable solution to this problem without buying any types of additional connectors.

Answer 1

You mentioned in your question that you don't want to buy any additional connectors. Any reason in particular? How unwilling are you to spend money? Resolution isn't going to be the problem, it's latency.

If you're absolutely adverse to paying, try running a VNC server on your phone then connect to it using a VNC viewer program on your computer. Laptop Magazine has a very good walkthrough here: How to Control an Android Device From Your PC. They reference VMLite VNC Server which is $9.99 but you can find other VNC server programs that are free (though several don't look terribly trustworthy, IMO). You're getting what you pay for, however; a cheap wireless solution means input lag. Your games are going to be very hard to play and the experience will be generally poor.

If you can manage a few dollars, then an Micro USB to HDMI MHL Adapter (with 5pin to 11pin Micro USB Adapter for your S4 - be sure to read the fine print!) as referenced in gt7599a's answer is the way to go. $15 (ish) plus an HDMI cable gets you a wired solution with very low latency.

If you want something wireless but are also wanting to be able to actually play games, your best bet is an adapter that takes advantage of the S4's WiFi Direct/Miracast capabilities. That means a Samsung WI-FI All-Share Cast Hub ($55), NETGEAR Push2TV ($60), or similar.

How much is it worth to you?

Answer 2

Just to update this answer-- the Chromecast and Nexus player or any Android TV device can now do this for you.

Answer 3

Mugen Power Batteries released a USB Desktop Cradle with HDMI Support for the S4.

Unfortunately, it seems to be out of stock right now. You can try and tweet @MugenBatteries when they will restock. I bought extended batteries from them, and will usually give you a discount code if you ASK. :)

Answer 4

A solution is a dock or MHL (micro-USB form factor) to HDMI adapter. A quick Google or Amazon search should find what you need under $20 USD if you go with a 3rd party and not Samsung.

Note: some ROMs on some models of phones don't support HDMI out (e.g. CM10 on the i9100 I have) probably not be an issue on your S4 but if you've flashed a non-Samsung ROM you might want to double check.

Answer 5

No need to pay for an expensive hardware connector. You can simply use Screen Stream Mirroring app for Android :) -> I think and I hope it answers well to your question.

Answer 6

I would suggest you take a look at the srcpy application available for all platforms. Fully open source. No need to install anything on the phone. Works very well over usb cable (one can game or even stream videos without any lag). Works over the TCP/IP network too.

All you need to do is enable USB debugging on your phone (you may also need to allow USB debugging input in some phone if you want to control they phone). Enabling usb debugging is the same as the no root install instructions for the screen stream app above.

You can also consider changing the display dpi of your phone so that it looks much better on your monitor You could change it in Settings > Display > Display size.

Or

Open an adb shell or a root shell and type wm density DPI where DPI is the typically higher dpi that looks good on the PC monitor. Rotating to landscape view also helps. You may need to reboot for the dpi settings to be activated, but typically not required. Be sure to set it back otherwise your phone UI may become too small.