Stream Like a Pro! 🚀
The StarTech.com WIFI2HDMCGE Wireless Display Adapter offers a seamless way to extend your smartphone or tablet's display to a larger screen. With native support for Miracast and WiDi, this adapter ensures hassle-free installation and operation, delivering stunning 1080p video quality without the need for additional software or drivers.
O**I
Five Stars
Great unit and working fine
R**H
Fantastic HD quality with this adaptor (but only when configured right!!)
So, I'm gonna make an honest review about this item. I've given it 4 stars instead of 5 as although it's essentially a 'plug and play' device, you can literally take it out of the box, plug it in and start using it, there are a few setup tweaks you really need to look at to get your streaming perfect without any breakups, dropouts or pixelation.I am using this primarily for showing music videos and visualisations on an extended desktop mode through my laptop as I work as a DJ, mobile disco operator and live sound engineer. Using the available screens or TVs in a venue can add a lot of professionalism and excitement to your event! I wanted a wireless solution because I'm not always situated near the screen or don't want unsightly wires hanging behind me, frankly I have enough wires to worry about already.I've had to do A LOT of research into Miracast, networking, Wi-Fi Direct and other similar adaptors just to get my head around how this device works in order to get the most reliable and constant quality out of the picture at HD resolution. So, here are my observations and free advice...Wi-Fi Environment: This may work really well in your home but take it out into the world, say a pub with a busy wi-fi area and you will have interference. The WIFI2HDMC runs on 'Wi-Fi Direct' which is a peer-to-peer connection and as such doesn't need to have a Wi-Fi router nearby to work, and doesn't affect your bandwidth. However, it is susceptible to interference from devices on the same band or channel, such as Bluetooth. This will show up as glitches on your display if you are running a video or anything with busy frames in it, you'll be fine with a static screen.The secret to getting this to work flawlessly is the radio band and channel. You can't assign a channel to Miracast, by default it uses channel 11 at 2.4ghz, which happens to be the busiest wifi channel available! There are no Miracast settings you can change either. There are a few ways to force the device to use a different band or channel, one way is to connect to your home wifi first, and set this up to a non-busy channel through your router settings. I use two apps on my Android phone to find the least congested Wi-Fi channels, WifiExplorer and Wifi Analyser (for 5ghz). The adaptor will always use the band and channel that your Wi-Fi uses if you connect to that first, otherwise it will default to 11.The other easier way (especially if you're away from home) is to connect to ANY open network which is on a channel by itself, preferably a 5ghz band as then the device will use the 5ghz network, which is much more stable for video streaming, it has a higher bandwidth and also less prone to interference as not many devices are using the band, normal Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cordless phones and even microwaves use the 2.4ghz band.There are two modes available for this device, the Screenshare Mode and Miracast mode, switchable by using a button on the device. I've never got the Screenshare mode to work properly with my laptop but you can change some settings, do firmware updates and run things off a memory stick using this mode.The Miracast mode is by far the most stable. You can display your screen either mirrored or extended with your laptop, I'm running Windows 8.1. It's a bit choppy with my mobile phone though (Sony Xperia M). The lag is there but it's pretty low, around 100 ms, which is fine for video and powerpoint etc but not so much for gaming.You can send up to 1920x1080 full HD resolution over the connection really well, although the refresh rate is capped at 30hz, which is annoying as it could be smoother. This is not a fault with the device, rather a limitation of Windows 8.1. I am told they will be addressing this in Windows 10.The data rate is about 15mbps max over the Miracast connection, which is fine for Youtube videos and other HD content or downloaded movies you have on your computer, but not great for Blu-Ray or any other high bit rate content, you may run into the screen breaking up.So to sum up, it's a great device, works well once the channel and band have been assigned, and a good price for the quality of the picture. When I had this running at peak performance, I had trouble telling it apart from my normal wired HDMI connection! Check out your Wi-Fi environment, make changes in your router settings, and you should have no problems. Also, the tech support from Startech is first rate, give them a call if you're stuck!
P**D
Miracast technology for streaming needs improving
I have a Samsung HD6400 TV and a Samsung Tablet Tab 4. I expected the screen mirroring to be perfect but it was terrible - the sound was out of sync with the picture by about 2 seconds - way beyond any TV adjustment. With this unit the picture and sound are more or less in sync - within the TV's adjustment, so that's good. However, the picture quality is not perfect, it will occasionally pixelate even though the tablet and TV are only a few feet apart. Also, when watching Netflix or other streaming service the picture is only 90% of the screen - better than watching on the tablet screen but it's a shame it's not 100% of the TV screen. There is a setting for 90% (no explanation) but it made no difference, whether on or off. For mirroring a spreadsheet or document it's probably OK but for streaming films and sport it's not perfect. Google's Chromecast is better for streaming films and sport as 100% of the TV screen is filled and the picture quality is clear and stable (specified HD). I've tried a cheaper Miracast dongle and that had the same picture size issue and slightly worse picture quality.
Trustpilot
3 weeks ago
1 week ago