What is MHL?                                                           Feb 25 2013


MHL: Mobile High Definition Link

MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) can transfer Full HD video and audio
You already know HDMI, used when connecting a Blu-ray player to your TV screen. Think of MHL as a similar standard; instead designed for connecting mobile devices to the TV.

MHL was created by a consortium consisting of TV companies. The small 5-pin connector can transfer video in full 1080p HD resolution, 192 kHz audio and 7.1 surround sound audio. The MHL cables and connectors are small but MHL can also be converted to for example HDMI.

However, MHL does not dictate one type of connector and because it only requires 5 pins it can be integrated into a variety of cables and connectors, allowing manufacturers to transmit video and audio with MHL via other designs.


MHL will let you connect your smartphone or tablet to a PC or TV screen
 

What does MHL look like?

What does MHL look like? There is no definite answer to that question and if you search the web for pictures you will most likely find different designs. Most often MHL is integrated into micro-USB cables but MHL cables and connectors can also look different.

Today, MHL is primarily thought of as an “accessory” because it often requires an adaptor that converts the cable to HDMI. The reason is that most flat panel TVs does not support MHL and therefore the cable has to be converted to HDMI in order to connect it to the TV. However, if you own one of latest TV models you might have full MHL support.
 


All smartphones and tablets with MHL can be connected to a TV with a MHL-> HDMI connector
 
MHL has also been included into some of the latest smartphones & receivers.

Why is MHL necessary?

You might wonder why MHL is really needed? We already have too many cable standards and the TV manufacturers’ inability to kill old standards such as SCART, composite, component, s-video and D-SUB (VGA) does not bode well for MHL. Do we now need even more cable standards? And when MHL often requires an adaptor why not just use HDMI?
 
Article above reprinted from