Connect FP3 to non-smart TV

In these strange times I find myself with a desire to display Zoom on my TV. I was able to mirror a laptop on the TV but the laptop was too old to use Zoom. So I want to connect my FP3 to the TV instead. I’ve watched several videos about how to do this but they weren’t FP3 specific so I’m confused about what would work.

The TV is an older version with no internet capabilities. Looking online I see cables that claim to do this but I gather that FP3 doesn’t support HDMI output? I don’t mind buying some cable or whatever but I just don’t want to get the wrong thing!

Alternatively I have a PlayStation 3 connected to the TV and WiFi, is there any way I can use that?

Maybe this - rather old - guidance for the FP1 can help you.
It explains how to use a WiFi-dongle, as no cable will do.
I have no idea, how it exactly has to be done, but at least this should work for the FP3 as well:

And here’s another thread for the FP3 (in German) with furthter links (in English) discussing your problem:

Thanks for your reply. I had read some of that before but there are so many unfamiliar words I was as confused as ever! I don’t know what MHL or DisplayLink is.

The dongle post makes more sense - basically I need to make my TV connect into the WiFi? The PlayStation already does that but I can’t think of any way to get it to work with the phone.

Neither do I; especially since I don’t have a playstation.
But shouldn’t you be able to connect the phone to the PlayStation?

Searching the TV (on my FP2 with Android 6.0.1) I find the TV like this:
Settings -> WiFi -> Settings (3 dots-menu) -> Advanced -> WiFi - Direct
On the page opening the TV is listed as “Peer device

Do you find your Playstation likewise (it has to be turned on obviously)?

I think it’s super simple! Android 9 allows you to cast your screen when you swipe down so all you need is a Chromecast. It connects to your TV via HDMI and it connects to your wifi. It can use the TV as a power source via USB or you can hook it up to a power outlet.

Edit: also works for Spotify, YouTube and Netflix :wink:

I’ve investigated the PlayStation in more detail but it looks like I can only connect it to a phone to access photos etc. Sadly I think the technology is just too old to do what I want.

I’m a bit reluctant to spend £25-30 on a Chromecast but I think you might be right that this is the thing with the best chance of working. I can already use the PS3 to stream Netflix etc so it would really only be of use for Zoom. Or maybe I should just get a webcam for my PC :neutral_face:

If I were you I’d decide between a Chromecast and a webcam based on what you will still be likely to use in post-covid-19 times :wink: good luck!

Well, I ordered a Chromecast which finally arrived. However it’s not a real Chromecast and I can’t get it to work. :roll_eyes: I think it does something with Miracast. My own fault probably for getting something cheap and not checking it out properly.

I guess you need a Miracast compatible client then.

A second hand Chromecast should be very cheap. Especially the first-gen, because they no longer receive feature updates.

There are tons of other solutions available, but not as cheap/user-friendly (though with other positive aspects). For example, NexDock 2, is a user-friendly hardware solution.

You could also connect the TV with HDMI out as a monitor to a computer (even a Raspberry Pi). On such a computer you can use whatever.

You should also consider if you cannot use an alternative to Zoom, due to its privacy and security concerns.

I haven’t tried with my FP3 yet, but on the FP2, the Android built-in “Cast” feature is Miracast for all I know. I’ve used it together with a Samsung BluRay player, a Conferencing System at work and a Microsoft HDMI display adapter.

Is there a way I could get this Miracast thing to work with my FP3 then? My understanding was that the cast feature of the FP3 was incompatible with Miracast.

Having being burned this time I’m a bit reluctant to buy another piece of hardware that I don’t understand. :exploding_head:

My laptop is too old to run zoom and my PC doesn’t have a webcam (it’s also really far away from my TV).

The reason I’m wanting to use Zoom on a bigger screen is for my kid’s science class which has moved online. So it’s not really up to me which programme is used. But I have read about the security concerns and I’m not massively worried. They’ve emailed me about it and tried to address some of those issues. I wouldn’t say I trust them particularly but it doesn’t seem like they are any worse than Facebook.

I found some time to test with the two devices I have at home

Both work and I can mirror my phone screen on the TV.

The MS page says, the adapter supports “Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ Miracast®” so that obviously works with the FP3 :wink:
The Samsung manual speaks of “DLNA Cast” which has to be enabled on the device (i.e. the phone). I honestly have no idea if that’s the same thing or not :thinking:

P.S.: I remember that in the Ubuntu Touch groups a lot of people said that screen mirroring didn’t work well except for the MS adapter and that was true for my FP2: with Android I could connect to both the BluRay player and the Display adapter, but with Ubuntu Touch the connection to the BluRay player froze after roughly 10sec. So it does seem to matter what other device you want to connect to, even if they in general are supposed to support the same technology.
P.P.S.: I think I had to install a firmware update for the MS Display Adapter first and that was only possible from a Windows machine

Thanks for checking that out but I still don’t really understand how I can use my FP3 to connect to this thing. When I go to cast it says no nearby devices are found.

Ah, yes, I remember there is one not so intuitive step involved…

What I usually do is this

  1. Tap the “Cast” quick settings icon
    Miracast01
  2. Tap on “Settings”
    Miracast02
  3. Tap on the three vertical dots
    Miracast03
  4. Actually enable wireless display
    Miracast04
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It’s working! Thank you so much, I never would have realised about enabling the wireless display.

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I teach my English classes in Microsoft Teams using my students’ school accounts for Microsoft 365. What school chooses Zoom as a medium? Seems irresponsible and in the Netherlands it might even be against the latest privacy laws.

I’m also doing a second degree and my university uses Blackboard Ultra, which is amazing. There’s a button for raising your hand if you want to say something and the teacher can split the class up in random discussion groups.

Sorry off topic.

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It’s not school-based, it’s a class for pre-schoolers run by a franchise called Mini Professors. As such it’s entirely optional and I could choose not to do the Zoom sessions. I’ve heard Teams is good but obviously you need a licence etc. Most people have the technology to use Zoom on their phone and it’s free up to a point so I guess that’s why it is being so widely used in the current circumstances.

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Great! I took the opportunity to mark my post with the screenshots as solution to the initial question, if that’s fine with you.

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