Streamer gadget promises too much

This is a swell idea: an easily portable device that would let you screen share from and to a variety of devices. Could be an Apple iPhone, an Android phone or a device running Windows. And the destination could be any display that has an HDMI input - a TV, a monitor or a projector. 

Sadly the ARPENOY Wireless HDMI Display Adapter did not live up to that expectation. 

For my tests I used my 32-inch Insignia TV. Setup using iPhone 14 went smoothly. I plugged the provided HDMI cable into an open port on the TV, and connected ARPENOY's power cable to a USB port on the TV. When I launched Screen Mirroring on the iPhone, RENKCHIP appeared with my Apple TV and Roku streamers. I clicked to connect and my phone screen instantly appeared on the TV. I displayed websites, photos and videos with no problems. 

Then I tried connecting an Android phone. It was a no-go with my daughter's Google 7 Pro. No streaming options were available. Then my son tried to connect with his Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra phone. He found RENKCHIP and made a connection. At first the device would only show his phone screen flipped on its side - a narrow vertical screen displayed horizontally. After a few tweaks, he got a wide-screen image.

We got streaming video to display but not in a manner that you would want to watch. There was too much stuttering and buffering, as if the ARPENOY was struggling to maintain the connection. 

So maybe this is the portable screen-sharing device that Apple owners can use until Apple makes a better one. But I wouldn't recommend it for Android lovers.

         

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Written by Ric Manning

Follow me on Twitter @ricmanning and read my technology columns at My Well Being.