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In a dorm room: Have netflix app for iphone 3G S, want output on flat screen TV

N

nihao1234

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 12, 2008
62
0
Hi there,

I'd really like to be able to watch movies in my dorm, and I just got a new Vizio TV from walmart. If I have the netflix app on my iphone, how would I go about connecting the iphone to the TV, to take advantage of the unlimited movies? What exactly do I need to buy, and would the output be high quality and worth it?

Oh, and I'm not considering doing it through my computer because my internet usage is somewhat monitored,and my university will bill me if I go over. I have 5 bars anyways so it's not that big of a deal.

Thanks so much!
 
While the above link does show the Apple cable to allow TV out... it does not work with my Slingplayer app and my not work with Netfilx (unless the above poster already tested it to confirm).

Anyhow if it won't work stock, I believe you can JB your phone and install an app from Cydia that will allow you to output any screen/video playing on your iPhone. Also consider that over 3g (even wifi) the resolution being streamed to the iPhone app is rather small vs any TV so the picture will degrade accordingly to how large your TV is. Larger the screen... the more graining the picture will be. Just FYI. Good Luck.
 
bossxii said:
While the above link does show the Apple cable to allow TV out... it does not work with my Slingplayer app and my not work with Netfilx (unless the above poster already tested it to confirm).

Anyhow if it won't work stock, I believe you can JB your phone and install an app from Cydia that will allow you to output any screen/video playing on your iPhone. Also consider that over 3g (even wifi) the resolution being streamed to the iPhone app is rather small vs any TV so the picture will degrade accordingly to how large your TV is. Larger the screen... the more graining the picture will be. Just FYI. Good Luck.
Click to expand...
The app is called TVOut, you just need the app and the cable and you're set.
 
Also the new apple tv is capable of trimming video from the iPhone to the tv, though it is twice as much as the cables. Also not sure if that feature is available now or if it will come with 4.2.
 
Since we're talking about the possibility of needing to jailbreak to do this anyway: Another option (which may be cheaper depending on what cables you already have) would be to use MyWi to tether your computer and stream Netflix from your computer to your TV that way. This MAY result in a better overall picture quality. I went on vacation earlier this summer and I did this to watch a few Netflix movies on my MacBook Pro via the internet connection on my iPhone 3G, and the picture quality was good, but it would rebuffer once or twice per movie.
 
That's a stupid idea. If you have a laptop, get a VGA cable and male to male 3.5mm headphone jack cable and plug them into your laptop and Vizio
 
I might jailbreak the phone and use mywi or whatever that app is (sorry I don't jailbreak), but it lets you use your phone as a wifi hot spot.

Then I would get a $69.00 Roku device and hook that up to the tv to stream netflix.

I think that would work fairly well. The roku box is AWESOME for watching netflix on a tv. Given those cables are $49.00 and component, and the Roku is $69 and will feed high def to the tv, it is no contest.
 
Off topic, but I never understood why most of Netflix's HD content will only play in HD on a TV. What's the difference between allowing content in HD on the TV vs. on the computer?
 
marksman said:
....Then I would get a $69.00 Roku device and hook that up to the tv to stream netflix....
Click to expand...
For that he can just buy the new :apple:TV for $30 more ($99) and do more... and maybe cheaper if they sell them at the OP apple store campus (supposing he has one)...
 
Bandolier said:
That's a stupid idea. If you have a laptop, get a VGA cable and male to male 3.5mm headphone jack cable and plug them into your laptop and Vizio
Click to expand...

Read the original post again, he's trying to avoid using his dorm bandwidth (apparently limited, which is pretty lame) by using his AT&T 3G data instead. (Hence my suggestion of using MyWi)
 
DirtySocks85 said:
Read the original post again, he's trying to avoid using his dorm bandwidth (apparently limited, which is pretty lame) by using his AT&T 3G data instead. (Hence my suggestion of using MyWi)
Click to expand...

Exactly. I'm actually also interested in this, not for the 3G side, but to verify that the TV out cables Apple sells will actually allow me to watch the Netflix App on TV.
 
Interstella5555 said:
I'm actually also interested in this, not for the 3G side, but to verify that the TV out cables Apple sells will actually allow me to watch the Netflix App on TV.
Click to expand...
The Netflix app does not support video out using cables with your iPhone connected to a TV....yet. Hopefully they will update is because clearly they are being short sighted.
 
Get Resupported4 from Cydia (requires jailbreak), and the Component AV cable from apple (or a cheap 3rd party composite cable, Resupported4 enables video output over cables that are not officially supported by Apple). This app will also "resupport" video output in apps that do not normally, such as Hulu+, Netflix, VEVO. Best $4 I've spent on an app, makes Hulu+ really worth it.
 
I think you would be better off getting an adapter cable to connect your computer to the TV and running the netflix app from the computer, even via MyWi if necessary. I tested the MyWi connection on my iP4 last night, and it was running about 3.5-4 Mbps, which should be more than adequate for a decent netflix stream.

Usually, college dorm LANs have tons of bandwidth, I would be surprised if it was not significantly better than your 3G connection.

I use a DVI-HDMI adapter to watch movies from my MBP on my LCD TV all the time, and it works very well. Combined with the Rowmote Pro app, it makes for a pretty damn good multimedia experience.
 
jason221 said:
Off topic, but I never understood why most of Netflix's HD content will only play in HD on a TV. What's the difference between allowing content in HD on the TV vs. on the computer?
Click to expand...

Because people can decrypt and copy content on a computer?
 
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