Connecting display device technology: Differences between MHL and OTG technology

Mobile phones and tablets have become an indispensable part of people's lives. The intelligence and diversification of touch-screen mobile phones have also driven the development of peripheral devices, such as monitors or TVs connected to mobile phones. Currently, there are two ways to connect mobile phones to display devices, one is HDMI and the other is MHL. I believe everyone is familiar with HDMI, while MHL is still a relatively new technology and interface.

A few days ago, Lin Bin, co-founder of Xiaomi Technology, posted a Weibo post to popularize the MHL technology of Xiaomi Mi 2 and explain to everyone what MHL is. At the same time, some netizens also asked about the difference between MHL and OTG. Today, the editor will focus on answering this question.

What is MHL?

MHL: is the abbreviation of Mobile High-Definition Link, a standard interface for high-definition audio and video for mobile terminals. It is a standard interface for connecting audio and video of portable consumer electronic devices. It uses the existing Micro USB interface, and can directly transmit complete media content to the display or TV without damaging the high-resolution effect of the video, whether it is a mobile phone, digital camera, digital video camera or portable multimedia player.

Full screen display without affecting image quality

It is very convenient to connect to the monitor directly. Some monitors have an MHL hotkey on the menu. Just touch it and you can see the same picture on the real screen as on the mobile device (MHL mode). Touch the MHL key again to exit MHL mode.

In addition to synchronizing the screen of the mobile phone and the monitor, the MHL cable can also output digital audio signals, which is actually to achieve audio and video synchronization between the mobile phone and the computer. Because MHL can support high-quality digital high-definition video with a resolution of up to 1080p through a single cable, the mobile phone and the monitor can be fully synchronized when playing games, which is really cool. In addition, MHL also has a built-in charging function. As long as it is connected to the monitor, the charging icon will be displayed immediately. Users can charge while playing without worrying about insufficient batteries. It is also compatible with the HDMI input interface used by most digital TVs now.

What is OTG?

OTG is the abbreviation of On-The-Go. It is a technology developed in recent years. It is mainly used for data exchange between various devices or mobile devices, especially PDA, mobile phones, and consumer devices. It can change the inconvenience of data exchange between various connectors of different standards between devices such as digital cameras, camcorders, printers, and up to 7 types of memory cards.

On a tablet or mobile phone with OTG function, we can connect various USB devices, such as mouse, keyboard, U disk, etc., which is still useful for mobile office. Especially for reading U disk, card reader and other devices, you can use these devices directly with mobile devices when there is no computer around.

In fact, to put it simply, MHL technology can synchronize what is displayed on the mobile phone to the monitor or TV. The OTG function can exchange data and store files with some portable digital devices. It can also view data information in USB flash drives, digital cameras and other portable devices on the mobile phone.