Droid Bionic won't play streaming video on hdmi out?

The issue here is processing power.

To stream the HD signal to your phone is one thing...but to render it on the fly and then simultaneously mirror to a screen while still downloading and parsing the streaming file for the phone, requires a tremendous amount of processing power and we just are not there yet.

That being said...I would not doubt if someone designs a program that can achieve this on the next gen of phones...but the end quality of the picture and the playback will likely be severely compromised.

To give you a real world comparison ... when I build the PC components for my auto-stereoscopic 3D HDTVs (no annoying glasses) that receives and converts the video stream to the proper output for that particular screen (based on screen dimensions and the distance of the viewer to the screen). We typically need 3GHz+ processor and at least 4Gigs of RAM.

I am sure when the Quad Cores come out and SSD tech starts making its way into our phones...you will see this become a reality.

 

Too bad we can't just send it to the other screen instead of mirroring it. It would probably take less processing power.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

Good tip....This could be a deal breaker for me. If my next purchase has to last me 2 years, the ability to pump netflix or hulu into an HDMI out (maybe watch my show on the hotel room tv recorded on my slingbox) is a something I will wait for.

Of course, easy to say when my NE2 is 8 months away and my contract isn't up for another 12 months.

 

The other issue I forgot to mention is the GPU. With PCs needing a separate and powerful GPU to truly put out an accurate 1080HD signal also requires a fairly sizable amount of crunching ability. So we need to add that part to the puzzle too.

 

@Blackcharger06

I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. With your background with video editing...you probably know what I mean when I say that there is HD...then there is Real HD. And I am not referring to a technology...but actual quality.

Unfortunately...there is a lot of misinformation out there and people think just because they have a 1080p screen with 50,000,000:1 contrast ratio and 360Mhz that it must be better than everything out before, and side by side will always win. But this is not true..A top of the line 3 year old Pioneer Elite Plasma Screen (with only 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio and only 120MHz and it will still beat just about every LCD/LED sold at Best Buy today.

Then there is the signal and the data file size. A full blown feature movie in on BluRay takes anywhere form 15 to 50 Gigs of space. To get that same quality on a video output to your tv while you stream via your phone...you will need to stream that same amount of data, and then process it for the display. And it is going to get worse. Right now I believe a 3D BluRay movie needs between 45 and 250 gigs.

Having said all that...you will see why just because Moto claims a phone can put out 720pHD or 1080pHD out via HDMI...that I call BS.

We are in the process of building a network of 3DHD tvs that will be installed in retail locations and other venues around the country. And even when we have our dedicated NOC...we still will need to push the data to a central server at each location that then passes the data to each other unit at that location. Just too much data to pass through live. And this will be a technology and network built to actually do what we are discussing. With the knowledge of how difficult this is when it is our core business and we designed our tech and network around it...there is no way the mobile world can do it competitively.

Again...that does not mean they will not find an acceptable (to the avg consumer) work around by compromising the video and data quality.

 

You all are boiling it down to hardware and it was my understanding that it has to do with digital rights or lack thereof. Similar to the reason we have to get hulu plus on any device other than a real computer or stream netflix from the ipad out to a tv. I believe engadget did an article on it some months ago. I think there is a jailbreak hack around it. This is why Netflix hasn't brought an app to android yet because they are concerned about people finding a way to copy the content since android at the moment has a lack of DRM security.

 

Makes total sense...I think what you are asking is probably going to be a reality by the end of the year.

What I am not sure of is how it would look for all the people who are so excited to hook their droids up to there 1080p HDTVs to play games and watch streaming movies/tv/sports expecting the picture to be like it is when watching their Cable or BluRay. But with things moving as fast as they are these days...it will happen sooner or later.