Connectivity Kit

[FlapjackFinn]

Afternoon all,

I received my cosmo just before the Holidays at the end of last year.  It's generally been pretty great.

There was only one thing i was truly gutted about,  my existing USBC to HDMI adapter doesn't seem to function with the cosmo.
I was really hoping that it would as Planet's "Cosmo Connectivity Kit" is on the rather pricey side.

Have any of you guys had any luck with non Planet Computers branded HDMI/ethernet cables/adapters?
Also, does it matter which USBC slot you use on the cosmo as an HDMI out?

I've contacted PC about this but I've had no luck with a reply.

Cheers,

F l a p j a c k
########

Oh! Happy new year ^.^

[gymbo]

Afternoon all,

I received my cosmo just before the Holidays at the end of last year.  It's generally been pretty great.

There was only one thing i was truly gutted about,  my existing USBC to HDMI adapter doesn't seem to function with the cosmo.
I was really hoping that it would as Planet's "Cosmo Connectivity Kit" is on the rather pricey side.

Have any of you guys had any luck with non Planet Computers branded HDMI/ethernet cables/adapters?
Also, does it matter which USBC slot you use on the cosmo as an HDMI out?

I've contacted PC about this but I've had no luck with a reply.

Cheers,

F l a p j a c k
########

Oh! Happy new year ^.^

For both the Gemini and the Cosmo it is only the Planet supplied USB-C to HDMI adapter that works. Of course, if one was to manufacture an identical cable, with the exact same wiring, it would work as well   . But this "feature" is quite specific for Planet (and maybe other manufactures using Mediatek-chips) so you need the proprietary cable to make it work...

And the cable will only work on the right hand side USB port...

Edit: There have been people reporting getting HDMI by using a DisplayLink (I think that was it) adapter as well...

[spook]

Yup - I can confirm that a DisplayLink adaptor is the only other type that will work. Unlike other adaptors, I believe it actually has a small graphics chip integrated into the adaptor, so it can work independently no matter what the device supports. You just need to download an app from the Play Store (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.displaylink.desktop.demo). It basically acts as a driver from what I can tell. As soon as the DisplayLink adaptor is plugged in, the app runs in the background and outputs your display.

I actually purchased a DisplayLink adaptor because I found the PC one was a little hit-and-miss. Sometimes it would work on some HDMI displays. Sometimes I had to toggle the button. Sometimes I had to reboot the device. Sometimes it just wouldn't work at all. I think it is very particular on what type of display it is connected to. I never got it to work with a HDMI->DVI adaptor.

On the other hand, my DisplayLink adaptor works 100% of the time, on any digital screen, with any type of adaptor. I have tried it with DVI adaptors and DP adaptors and both work fine. It only mirrors the display, but that's all I need it for. It is also a bit chunkier than the PC one - which is a shame. They can also be a bit pricey (due to the integrated graphics chip, I assume) but shop around and you might be able to get a good price. Make sure the adaptor is “DisplayLink Certified”.

Good luck!

[ehem]

Yup - I can confirm that a DisplayLink adaptor is the only other type that will work. Unlike other adaptors, I believe it actually has a small graphics chip integrated into the adaptor, so it can work independently no matter what the device supports. You just need to download an app from the Play Store (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.displaylink.desktop.demo). It basically acts as a driver from what I can tell. As soon as the DisplayLink adaptor is plugged in, the app runs in the background and outputs your display.

I would suspect that displaying application is unneeded, except for extra features.  What this sounds like is that perhaps the MediaTek chip is implementing either the DisplayPort or MHL USB-C alternate modes, but many cables are for the HDMI alternate mode.  The HDMI alternate mode is merely a specially wired cable which doesn't do any protocol conversion, this is cheaper, but requires hardware features on the phone.

[spook]

I would suspect that displaying application is unneeded, except for extra features.  What this sounds like is that perhaps the MediaTek chip is implementing either the DisplayPort or MHL USB-C alternate modes, but many cables are for the HDMI alternate mode.  The HDMI alternate mode is merely a specially wired cable which doesn't do any protocol conversion, this is cheaper, but requires hardware features on the phone.

For DisplayLink adaptors, you definitely need to download the App. It doesn't work without it. But you just need to download and install it. Then as soon as you plug in a DisplayLink adaptor, the app comes up and asks you if you want to connect and you can say "Yes" and tick the box to remember for next time.

For the PC adaptor you don't need any app.

[mmbika]

After unsuccessfully trying to use three hubs from my Mac graveyard (Arc Hub, Dell Adapter with VGA-HDMI-Ethernet, Oscoo and Energizer) I found that none of them work, as long as display was concerned. I didn't try anything other.

Finally I got a Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter V2, which works when you select Cast Screen option and check Enable Wireless Display option. As this is HDMI cable replacement, you can connect to other wifi networks for internet or anything and this cable works on sort of its own wifi which remains totally separate to other wifi networks. So far so good. Can mirror the screen, however it doesn't look that fantastic as it is android. Videos play great through, only problem I had is with audio as audio cannot be routed to phone speakers or headphone port for which I have bought an HDMI with 3.5mm audio out port.

To take full advantage of this setup, all I need now if full blown desktop OS, i.e. linux so I can enjoy 1080p display as it should be.
,