Gadgetory

some Android devices let you mirror your screen with an HDMI cable others use proprietary solutions like Samsung's AllShare cast and then you've got the chromecast which kind of lets you mirror but is really just designed to work with select apps it's the same Android fragmentation story you've always heard so here's where a new standard called miracast comes in it lets you mirror your android 4.2 device or later to your TV it's 1080p 5.1 surround sound and it's wireless but if it was really that simple you'd probably already be using it so here's how it works to get your screen mirroring you'll need a miracle compatible receiver which can either be your TV or a dongle you connect to it check out the Wi-Fi Alliance website for the complete list of compatible devices my TV isn't compatible so I'm using net gears push 2 TV it's 60 bucks so it is a little pricey for a device that does only one thing but that's an option if you want to get mirroring with that connected mirroring is simple just head to settings display then wireless mirroring on your Android device and switch it on when it scans you should see your receiver pop up now what's great about miracast is that unlike airplay it doesn't require your local Wi-Fi connection instead the receiver creates its own ad-hoc network for your Android device so tap the receiver name wait for it to connect and there's a device on the big screen that means everything including videos photos webpages and apps will show up on the TV with audio now if you know you'll be mirroring for a while you'll probably want to hook up your device to its charger because the screen has to stay awake while it's mirroring if the tablet gets locked the TV will blackout it's not ideal for watching movies but if you bring the brightness down it'll save you battery and it won't dim the TV this set up is just one way to take a Vantage of miracast keep an eye out for more miracast enable TVs coming to the market if you have any questions hit me up on Twitter and check out how to Cena comm for all the ins and outs of this technology for cnet.com I'm Sharon Vaknin