View Full Version : Android Tablet as a second monitor?


Rafael Lopes
April 15th, 2013, 08:40 AM
Hi guys,

I have limited space at my place and I really cannot have another monitor hooked to my laptop 24/7. I need a solution that I can hook up when I need to edit on premiere and that I can remove when I´m not editing. I know there is a way to do this wireslessly with android tablets but it´s super slow and useless for editing. I need to know if there is any way to use an android tablet as a second monitor via USB or HDMI.

cheers

Rafa

Stephen Brenner
April 15th, 2013, 10:07 AM
As far as I know none of the tablets have an hdmi input port. It's too bad because the high resolution screen resolution on these tablets would make a great external monitor for a video rig. Lots of people are waiting for that to happen.

Rafael Lopes
April 15th, 2013, 12:54 PM
I know there is an app for Android called DSLR controller (or something like this) that allows you to mirror Canon EOS camera on your tablet or cell phone using a usb host cable (I´ve tested this on my cell phone and it actually works). For sure there must be a way to do something similar and use a tablet as a second monitor using a usb cable. I´m going to post this on android forum and see what comes up.

Jody Arnott
April 15th, 2013, 10:21 PM
I've tried to do something similar, and my research pretty much concluded that it currently can't be done. The tablet would need an HDMI input which none currently have.

Not all hope is lost though. Check here: http://mashable.com/2012/11/01/tablet-second-monitor/

There are ways to use a wireless network to your advantage. It won't ever be as good as a wired connection though.

Chris Medico
April 16th, 2013, 06:59 AM
The only way to do that is to use a network video encoder and send the video into the tablet via wifi. That solution is much more expensive than buying a reasonable monitor.

If you want to do it and cost is no object this is what you need - Teradek Cube | Teradek, LLC | Wireless HD Video (http://www.teradek.com/pages/cube)

Tim Kolb
April 16th, 2013, 06:20 PM
I'm struggling to figure out why a 17" display with a DisplayPort or HDMI input (or whatever the laptop can feed out) is not an option.

Trying to make a tablet do the job of a display seems like a complex solution to an exceedingly simple problem.

Rafael Lopes
April 17th, 2013, 10:43 AM
How about the lenovo LT1421 usb monitor? Has anyone tried it out?

Chris Medico
April 17th, 2013, 10:52 AM
Can you use your TV as your second computer monitor while you edit then buy a small field monitor to use on a shoot?

Rafael Lopes
April 17th, 2013, 10:56 AM
Here is the review of the Lenovo usb monitor. I think the bandwidth is just not enough.

Lenovo ThinkVision LT1421 ? Connectivity, Image Quality, Value and Verdict (http://www.trustedreviews.com/lenovo-thinkvision-lt1421_Monitor_review_connectivity-image-quality_Page-2)

Rafael Lopes
April 17th, 2013, 11:00 AM
Can you use your TV as your second computer monitor while you edit then buy a small field monitor to use on a shoot?

This would actually be really good as I would have it hooked to a 55" full hd beauty...butthis means moving the laptop along with a big cooling pad to another place each time I need to edit.