Hi All,
My dream, one that I hope Android can help me fulfill is to hook my Galaxy S2 to a HDMI tv, fire up remote desktop and by using a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, effectively have a full desktop available.
I am yet to try hooking up my phone to a tv as I am waiting for the MHL cable, but issues I envisage are the following:
1) When the screen is mirrored on the TV, the RDP program will not use the TVs display show 'full screen'. I have installed some RDP applications and they allow you to select the resolution so perhaps this will resolve the issue
2) Are there any RDP applications that allow bluetooth keyboard and mouse entry?
This is the hold grail for me!! Many a time I have stayed in a hotel for work or holiday and not had my laptop with me and wished for such a solution. Combine this with Wake On Lan and it's perfect!
I hope someone can help!
I can't believe i'm the only one that wants something like this to work!
RDP programs should just take any inputs from your phone and pass them onto the remote machine so BT kb/m should work ok IMO. Not sure about the mirroring but if it is fullscreen on the phone then maybe the MHL cable will upscale for the TV.
rob_h said:
RDP programs should just take any inputs from your phone and pass them onto the remote machine so BT kb/m should work ok IMO. Not sure about the mirroring but if it is fullscreen on the phone then maybe the MHL cable will upscale for the TV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm waiting for the cable before I can try. In fact I would have had it by now but my girlfriend wants to buy some stuff for me for my bday and I believe she's already ordered it!
I should get mine tomorrow and I'll try it out.
Thanks! I'll check back on thread!
I've been doing some reading around and have found that BT keyboards and a mouse will work no problem.
I tried my MHL cable with the Android VNC viewer app and allows you to fit to screen but does not output at the tv's native res.
I have had similar experience with Remote RDP, it just mirrors the phone's native resolution. Hopefully this kind of thing will be supported soon, including internet browsing at 1080p.
Thanks guys, that sux!
I still haven't received my cable so I can't try for myself, but have you managed to make it work to a workable output on the TV?
would be interesting if we could port some parts from the atrix (webtop) over to this phone. I actually enjoyed that feature.
blunted09 said:
would be interesting if we could port some parts from the atrix (webtop) over to this phone. I actually enjoyed that feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perhaps, this kind of program may help to format the resolution?
Am I missing something? If you got a bt keyboard and bt mouse and the phone to tv hdmi, don't you have it all? Why would you need a remote desktop or vnc software?
Well, you'd have it all except for USB, which you might be able to live without.
ckinninger said:
Am I missing something? If you got a bt keyboard and bt mouse and the phone to tv hdmi, don't you have it all? Why would you need a remote desktop or vnc software?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it could pump out the full Remote Desktop resolution then you will effectively have a full desktop through your phone rather than just have the phone's software capability.
Fair enough you can surf the web and play a video but what if I want to use full excel or Word, and multi-task like on a desktop.
I've still not received my cable so I don't know whether the browsing the net with the phone's browser is legible on a big screen.
In my earlier post I complete missed off the applications name - LCD Density - haven't tried and I don't know if it's compatible with the SGSII, but sounds like it changes the native resolution of the phone.
Try Splashtop as your vnc app it is the only one to my knowledge that can stream audio almost perfect and video pretty good over vnc and works like a charm on the atrix.
Did you find a good BT keyboard that works well with the Evo? I'd prefer one with a built in trackpad, as my goal is to use this on the road (ie, airports, trains, etc), and would like to have an all-in-one keyboard/mouse.
The one thing that I haven't had time to tinker with have been HDMI goggles that can give a virtual display. Has anyone tried these w/ the Evo's mini-HDMI output?
I'm thinking of replacing my car stereo/navi unit with a 7" tablet. I'd like to know if I can use the tablet to access and navigate my phone's music and play it on the tablet so it will play through the car's speaker since my phone has more storage.
I use Team Viewer on my phone and that allows me to control my laptop so I'm looking for something along those lines but that will play the music as well, I guess it would sort of use my phone as an external drive but the tablet would also be tethered to the phone.
Or... can the Galaxy Tab 2 read a 64gb card fine, like my Rezzy does?
Oh, just thought of something else. If I can't take the tablet out of the car dash, I can change out the music on the card using the tethering? I can send load files via wifi, right?
You clearly need a HUD
DIncLover said:
You clearly need a HUD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
?
I would mount the tablet in dash so that would be my HUD. Is that what you mean? Or are you trying to fix me up with Paul Newman?
I want to do what this guy did in his Alpha Romeo: http://dev.mittelmedia.it/2010/12/14/asdas/
The Galaxy Tab 7" is the right size to replace my current HU. So I use the tab to control everything, would have it tethered to my phone for data access, and would like to be able browse and play my phone's music with it. :good:
feralicious said:
?
I would mount the tablet in dash so that would be my HUD. Is that what you mean? Or are you trying to fix me up with Paul Newman?
I want to do what this guy did in his Alpha Romeo: http://dev.mittelmedia.it/2010/12/14/asdas/
The Galaxy Tab 7" is the right size to replace my current HU. So I use the tab to control everything, would have it tethered to my phone for data access, and would like to be able browse and play my phone's music with it. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you've got an unlimited data plan and a home broadband connection with a dedicated machine at home, set up a Subsonic (or equivalent) server and use the client on your tablet, you'll have access to all of your music...
I use this version for my server - http://forum.subsonic.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=10445
It'll run on a variety of OS's.
You can use the modified client in that link or the official ad free one here - http://www.subsonic.org/pages/apps.jsp#android
I was being unhelpfully facetious .... HUD as in Heads Up Display .... visibly superimposed on the windshield as you attempt to keep your eyes on the road......
DIncLover said:
I was being unhelpfully facetious .... HUD as in Heads Up Display .... visibly superimposed on the windshield as you attempt to keep your eyes on the road......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OIC. I like the Paul Newman plan better IF he's the same age he was in HUD.
mjones73 said:
If you've got an unlimited data plan and a home broadband connection with a dedicated machine at home, set up a Subsonic (or equivalent) server and use the client on your tablet, you'll have access to all of your music...
I use this version for my server - http://forum.subsonic.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=10445
It'll run on a variety of OS's.
You can use the modified client in that link or the official ad free one here - http://www.subsonic.org/pages/apps.jsp#android
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ooh... I like your thinking... How powerful does the machine need to be? I have an ooooold box running WinXP, I don't even remember the specs of it, it's been a long time since I booted it up. I suppose I could buy a cheap bare bones system considering the tablet is $400-1400 less than getting an entire new HU with navi.
Or... I'm going to be building a home theater pc that would be on a micro mobo to fit in a case that would be in my AV rack. I would be using that for all my media and it will be hooked up to my whole AV system and home network. Could that be used? Or is that a bad idea?
Or... can I just use a NAS drive that's connected to my router?
feralicious said:
OIC. I like the Paul Newman plan better IF he's the same age he was in HUD.
Ooh... I like your thinking... How powerful does the machine need to be? I have an ooooold box running WinXP, I don't even remember the specs of it, it's been a long time since I booted it up. I suppose I could buy a cheap bare bones system considering the tablet is $400-1400 less than getting an entire new HU with navi.
Or... I'm going to be building a home theater pc that would be on a micro mobo to fit in a case that would be in my AV rack. I would be using that for all my media and it will be hooked up to my whole AV system and home network. Could that be used? Or is that a bad idea?
Or... can I just use a NAS drive that's connected to my router?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't require a lot of horsepower, I have mine on an old Dell Poweredge SC420 machine thats running Windows Home Server. Personally I'd put it on the home media machine if it's gonna be dedicated and running all the time. You will need to forward the one port needed, I believe it defaults to 4040 but you can set it to anything.
Upload your music to Google Music, tether phone to tablet, stream music on tablet. Would that work?
Or you could use ES file explorer, create Bluetooth link and access the phone through the tablet that way...
Phaded said:
Upload your music to Google Music, tether phone to tablet, stream music on tablet. Would that work?
Or you could use ES file explorer, create Bluetooth link and access the phone through the tablet that way...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a thing against using cloud storage. Comes from my paranoia I suppose.
I just found an article on using ES Explorer to access a shared folder on a pc from your phone/tablet. Will explore your idea as well.
Hello all! My first attempt at any type of guide or help, so give me pointers if you notice a better way to go about this than what's here.
This was done by me on my Ultra that broke, but I would imagine the same works for any other device that has a Snapdragon 800, and probably earlier chipsets as well. SPMC and XBMC have documentation about the supported hardware.
Doesn't it suck when you crack the screen on your baby and she no longer responds to touch input? We've probably all been there with one device or another. But don't let that busted phone gather dust, turn it into a full fledged media center! These quad core beasts can do so much more than the phones of a few years ago. I take no credit for anything here, as I'm just passing along my experience so others can make use of a disabled phone.
I have used Plex, Chromecast, etc, but no combination of those gives me the control of XBMC, and the ability to play mostly any codecs without the need for transcoding.
A few things before I get into the steps:
1. I started with a rooted phone, but you don't necessarily need one. It just helps later on if you want more control over the device functions.
2. I recommend using the most up to date firmware possible, I am on 4.4.4 myself, using this rom here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2800414
3. You'll want a usb OTG cable like the one I used here, along with a cheapo wired usb mouse so you can control the phone until it is set up to work with a remote.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00871Q5PI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
4. You'll also need an MHL adapter. I used this one here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KPXI4S2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
5. You'll need wifi, assuming you have moved the sim to your next device.
6. You will want some form of controlling XBMC remotely. I use Yatse for Android, installed on my replacement phone and it's a godsend.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.leetzone.android.yatsewidgetfree&hl
Here we go.
1. Clean that busted phone up. Reset to factory settings, flash a new rom, OR just remove any non-essential apps. I only have my phone signed into Google so I can access the Play store, which you will want to do as well.
2. Install this if you are rooted. It will allow the phone to disable the screen when the MHL adapter is plugged in, saving battery and keeping it nice and dark around your TV. The wizard should guide you through a fairly simple set up. What you are looking for is for the app to disable/suspend/standby the screen when it detects MHL.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nkahoang.screenstandby&hl
3. Install SPMC. This is a forked version of XBMC for Android, and frankly, it's better suited for this application. It has more features, and takes better advantage of the hardware.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.semperpax.spmc
4. After installing SPMC, you can use it as a launcher, meaning the phone will boot directly into SPMC. Just press home and you'll be given the option.
5. Launch SMPC, go into Settings-Services-Webserver and check Allow control of XBMC via HTTP.
6. At this point, you can now control SPMC with Yatse or another similar XBMC remote app on another device. Depending on your situation, you may still want that mouse to do a few more things before you connect to the TV.
Options Options Options
I use XBMC in my living room on a dedicated PC. My media resides on a NAS, wired via gigabit ethernet to an AC wireless router. Since I wanted to use this broken phone as a sort of satellite system in the bedroom, I set up a MySQL server on the same NAS. It can be daunting, but XBMC provides great documentation and this method makes getting your media onto the phone very easy.
http://kodi.wiki/view/MySQL
If you do not have another XBMC or do not wish to share the library between devices, skip this section.
1. If you have another instance of XBMC, give this a serious look, as both the library and the playback status will be synced among all devices. You can stop in one room and resume in another.
2. Running the current version of SPMC, and XBMC 13.2, I had no issues with MySQL, despite the warning to use the same build date.
3. If you have this type of setup, all you need to do is copy the advancedsettings.xml file you created from your original XBMC install, and paste it into the userdata folder deep inside the SPMC file structure. This is usually found inside sdcard/Android/data
4. Once you do this, launch SPMC and your existing library will be there.
5. I have not tried this, since I went through the trouble to set up MySQL before, but you can alternatively use Media Browser 3 to serve up your library, and it does appear
to be easier to set up. Download the XBMB3C plugin inside XBMC/SPMC to allow for this.
http://mediabrowser.tv/download/#server
Add Media
Alternatively, you can navigate to videos inside SPMC, select files, and then choose Add Source to add your media from wherever to your new library. There is lots of documentation over at the official XBMC site, so go there if this is your first foray into this type of thing.
I've found that I just have to turn the phone on when I walk into the bedroom, and it will boot directly into SPMC. From that point I can use Yatse on a different device to control the media center. When I am done watching content, the shutdown option inside Yatse will shut the phone off, and it just goes into a powered down charging state.
Mostly everything should play after the install, but you may need or want to adjust some settings inside SPMC/XBMC. Again, look to the official XBMC wiki for help if you need it.
If you're rooted, you can probably do without the USB OTG cable. You could use ADB to install packages and the shell (or a wrapper like this — worked well for me a few months back) to control the screen. This might also be useful if your screen is dead.
There is a new specific xbmc for android that comes preconfigured with the most important repositories for those that really don't want to dabble with all of that kind of stuff. Just install and all the main plugins are automatically installed for you. You can find it here http://www.tvaddons.ag/tvmc-android/
Is TVMC anything more than XBMC 13.2 with preconfigured settings? Seems redundant slightly because SPMC (version 13.3.2) actually contains fixes to XBMC 13.2 to enable hardware acceleration on more devices. With the Z Ultra specifically, under XBMC 13.2 official, even though hardware acceleration was enabled in the settings, it was not working. SPMC is built by official XBMC team members and contains "fixes" that were left out of the official spin for whatever reason. The settings are also mostly preconfigured, at least the defaults are different than regular XBMC, and for me at least, everything worked right away.
What are the possibilities for a phone that does not support MHL? (Oppo Find 5) I had the same idea after I broke my screen, but I am not sure now what to do. A mediacenter seemed great to me. A webserver is possible too, but I don't like how it won't use it's media capabilities anymore.
The device supports wireless screen (Miracast?) but I don't think that works great and I can't get it to work really.
Well, Android Lollipop will support Chromecast Mirroring, so if you are able to find a rom for that device when Lollipop makes its way around, that would work. There seems to be a good amount of development for that phone on XDA, so you might just need to wait it out a bit.
HaTeNL said:
What are the possibilities for a phone that does not support MHL? (Oppo Find 5) I had the same idea after I broke my screen, but I am not sure now what to do. A mediacenter seemed great to me. A webserver is possible too, but I don't like how it won't use it's media capabilities anymore.
The device supports wireless screen (Miracast?) but I don't think that works great and I can't get it to work really.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mailme45 said:
Well, Android Lollipop will support Chromecast Mirroring, so if you are able to find a rom for that device when Lollipop makes its way around, that would work. There seems to be a good amount of development for that phone on XDA, so you might just need to wait it out a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This may be worth a look if you are interested in chromecast mirroring.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/har...experimental-enable-mirroring-device-t2812193
mailme45 said:
Hello all! My first attempt at any type of guide or help, so give me pointers if you notice a better way to go about this than what's here.
This was done by me on my Ultra that broke, but I would imagine the same works for any other device that has a Snapdragon 800, and probably earlier chipsets as well. SPMC and XBMC have documentation about the supported hardware.
Doesn't it suck when you crack the screen on your baby and she no longer responds to touch input? We've probably all been there with one device or another. But don't let that busted phone gather dust, turn it into a full fledged media center! These quad core beasts can do so much more than the phones of a few years ago. I take no credit for anything here, as I'm just passing along my experience so others can make use of a disabled phone.
I have used Plex, Chromecast, etc, but no combination of those gives me the control of XBMC, and the ability to play mostly any codecs without the need for transcoding.
A few things before I get into the steps:
1. I started with a rooted phone, but you don't necessarily need one. It just helps later on if you want more control over the device functions.
2. I recommend using the most up to date firmware possible, I am on 4.4.4 myself, using this rom here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2800414
3. You'll want a usb OTG cable like the one I used here, along with a cheapo wired usb mouse so you can control the phone until it is set up to work with a remote.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00871Q5PI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
4. You'll also need an MHL adapter. I used this one here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KPXI4S2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
5. You'll need wifi, assuming you have moved the sim to your next device.
6. You will want some form of controlling XBMC remotely. I use Yatse for Android, installed on my replacement phone and it's a godsend.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.leetzone.android.yatsewidgetfree&hl
Here we go.
1. Clean that busted phone up. Reset to factory settings, flash a new rom, OR just remove any non-essential apps. I only have my phone signed into Google so I can access the Play store, which you will want to do as well.
2. Install this if you are rooted. It will allow the phone to disable the screen when the MHL adapter is plugged in, saving battery and keeping it nice and dark around your TV. The wizard should guide you through a fairly simple set up. What you are looking for is for the app to disable/suspend/standby the screen when it detects MHL.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nkahoang.screenstandby&hl
3. Install SPMC. This is a forked version of XBMC for Android, and frankly, it's better suited for this application. It has more features, and takes better advantage of the hardware.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.semperpax.spmc
4. After installing SPMC, you can use it as a launcher, meaning the phone will boot directly into SPMC. Just press home and you'll be given the option.
5. Launch SMPC, go into Settings-Services-Webserver and check Allow control of XBMC via HTTP.
6. At this point, you can now control SPMC with Yatse or another similar XBMC remote app on another device. Depending on your situation, you may still want that mouse to do a few more things before you connect to the TV.
Options Options Options
I use XBMC in my living room on a dedicated PC. My media resides on a NAS, wired via gigabit ethernet to an AC wireless router. Since I wanted to use this broken phone as a sort of satellite system in the bedroom, I set up a MySQL server on the same NAS. It can be daunting, but XBMC provides great documentation and this method makes getting your media onto the phone very easy.
http://kodi.wiki/view/MySQL
If you do not have another XBMC or do not wish to share the library between devices, skip this section.
1. If you have another instance of XBMC, give this a serious look, as both the library and the playback status will be synced among all devices. You can stop in one room and resume in another.
2. Running the current version of SPMC, and XBMC 13.2, I had no issues with MySQL, despite the warning to use the same build date.
3. If you have this type of setup, all you need to do is copy the advancedsettings.xml file you created from your original XBMC install, and paste it into the userdata folder deep inside the SPMC file structure. This is usually found inside sdcard/Android/data
4. Once you do this, launch SPMC and your existing library will be there.
5. I have not tried this, since I went through the trouble to set up MySQL before, but you can alternatively use Media Browser 3 to serve up your library, and it does appear
to be easier to set up. Download the XBMB3C plugin inside XBMC/SPMC to allow for this.
http://mediabrowser.tv/download/#server
Add Media
Alternatively, you can navigate to videos inside SPMC, select files, and then choose Add Source to add your media from wherever to your new library. There is lots of documentation over at the official XBMC site, so go there if this is your first foray into this type of thing.
I've found that I just have to turn the phone on when I walk into the bedroom, and it will boot directly into SPMC. From that point I can use Yatse on a different device to control the media center. When I am done watching content, the shutdown option inside Yatse will shut the phone off, and it just goes into a powered down charging state.
Mostly everything should play after the install, but you may need or want to adjust some settings inside SPMC/XBMC. Again, look to the official XBMC wiki for help if you need it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im confused. How does the phone charge while its hooked into the TV?
Roseysdaddy said:
Im confused. How does the phone charge while its hooked into the TV?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The mhl adapter is powered.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71TmMtz9uIL._SL1500_.jpg
One port to rule them all
adfurgerson said:
The mhl adapter is powered.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71TmMtz9uIL._SL1500_.jpg
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Galaxy Note 2 with the same issue,
What is confusing me here is the phone has one MicroUSB into which three things need to plug into it
Power
OTG for Mouse and Keyboard
MHL adapter
ShiversZN said:
I have a Galaxy Note 2 with the same issue,
What is confusing me here is the phone has one MicroUSB into which three things need to plug into it
Power
OTG for Mouse and Keyboard
MHL adapter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. The mhl is a Y cable with a male micro usb on the end of cord and a female at the end with hdmi that requires power which runs adapter and charges phone.
2. OTG is only for initial setup and will not be used with mhl ( OP states this is for screens that will display but not respond to touch) after setup control will be via a second device using yatse or another remote control app.
3. See #1.
This thread is great i ened up doing this very thing after destroying the digitizer on an s3 a while ago (I was one unlucky sap to try replacing a cracked screen) and the resultof having a usless phone was made better by having a perminant xbmc device connectd to my tv-way better than satellite or cable
Awesome!
I have a few devices that I keep around. Note 2, galaxy S2, nexus 1 (and my retarded/retired phones iphone 5S, ipad and blackberry playbook). I will definitely give it a try and let you guys know how it goes.
Have you tried on your S2?
Although I've touch screen working, but my gorilla glass is broken. I dont know some are saying that they've to replace whole assemble costing $125 here. While some people on the internet say that it can be done and on ebay I saw front panel(Gorilla) being sold in India.
I just came across this thread after my own experiences with getting this going yesterday! I have an LG Optimus G (E973) with a cracked digitizer, and I was about to buy an Android box, when I realized this phone would be more powerful, and have more features, than anything I could buy in the $100 range.
I made an OTG cable myself. Very easy to do, all you need is a microUSB cable male end, and a USB female end... except, problem #1, I found out my phone doesn't support OTG power. So I had to turn it into an OTG Y-cable so it can receive power (and charge the phone) simultaneously. Then, problem #2, my kernel doesn't support OTG. I wasn't able to figure this out. So I looked for another solution.
Maybe I could install VNC or one of those ADB viewers? Hook up my computer... problem #3, not authorized for adb. Can't authorize without touchscreen. (I later discovered the device keys are stored at /data/misc/adb/adb_keys, and could have added my computer in recovery.) Went to the gf's house and found my old MacBook Air, turns out that one was authorized!
Great! I'm in... now... after fiddling around trying to get it to work in Windows and OSX, problem #4 neither VNC or ADB viewers worked. I could SEE the screen, but interaction did nothing.
Eventually, I decided to just manually run touch events from the adb shell, a la adb shell input swipe 0 0 0 1280 to pull down the menu. Armed with this, I hacked together a script with JavaScript and PHP to have a web interface I could interact with my phone through. It's SLOW as hell at 768x1280 (max 1fps, I'd say), as it uses screenshots.
If anyone is interested, here's the script I made. https:// gist.github.com/shahyar/8d24815b54b8ca1c1d9c
...It didn't end there. I decided now that I have it working, I'll reset the data. Problem #5: I forgot that this also resets debug to off. I had to calculate, using a ruler, where to swipe and tap to enable developer mode, and then enable USB debugging. I wrote an init.d script which did this.
Now, I'm just waiting for my MHL cable and Bluetooth keyboard. Let's hope those go a little better than how the rest of this adventure did.
Screen cracked and not usable
I have a further issue in that my screen is cracked and I can't see what's happening on the screen.
Any thoughts on how to set it up in this case?
Great guide, thank you for taking the time to write it mailme45
tithij said:
I have a further issue in that my screen is cracked and I can't see what's happening on the screen.
Any thoughts on how to set it up in this case?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was in a similar situation when I embarked on this little project, my screen was completely dead but i could hear sounds from the physical buttons so I knew the phone was on. There are a few solutions to get your phone setup, assuming you are still looking for a solution, if not I'll just mention it for the next person in this predicament. If you didn't buy your mhl adapter yet and your screen doesn't work at all, then I suggest buying a mhl cable with CEC function; this will allow you to control your phone with your tv remote when connected. These mhl adapters cost more than the ones found on ebay but also come with more features. The rocketfish RF-G1171($12 at bestbuy) for example will work with most phones including 11-pin samsung models so if you didn't buy a mhl yet, I would recommend getting one with CEC or one that comes as part of a hub, search ebay for the 5in1 mhl. If you already bought a cheap ebay one, continue reading below.
You will need a mhl cable, otg cable and usb mouse/keyboard; These steps are for people with a dead screen and digitizer. If your screen works but touch does not, just use a otg cable and mouse and if your screen doesn't work but touch does then use mhl cable and control using the touch screen.
Note** If you had USB debugging enabled already, skip to step 5
Step 1: connect the MHL cable to your phone and connect with your TV/Monitor and wait for your device to boot into the lockscreen
Step 2: Once at the lockscreen take out the mhl cable and use the otg cable to connect your mouse and swipe to unlock, switch back to mhl cable to make sure you got passed the lockscreen.
Note** If you had a password lock or pattern lock this will be very annoying, use the otg with keyboard if its a password and use mouse for pattern; might take awhile since you will be doing the pattern blind.
Step 3: use the keyboard to navigate to Settings > About Phone > scroll to "build number" and hit enter 7x to turn on developer options.
Note** As each phones menu, app layout and UI is slightly different, you may have to switch between mhl and otg just to see where you currently as you navigate. I suggest taking your time and switching between the two for each action you make, as we will only have to go through this process once.
Step 4: with developer options enabled, navigate to the "developer options" menu and turn on USB debugging.
Step 5: At this stage there are two methods, if you are lucky option 1 will work, if it does not, sadly you will have to go through the annoying mhl/otg switching to navigate one more time.
Option 1:
Install a google chrome app/extension called Vysor on your pc
Link: Vysor
This is an app developed by Koush that allows you to connect, view and control your android device on your PC through USB. The app is still in beta phase so might not work with every phone. Drivers will need to be installed for this app to work, which can be found at the Vysor homepage(I can't link to outsite sites so just google it) along with instructions. If the app works for you, I suggest the first thing you do is turn off certain features like lockscreen and sleep timer; next install a bluetooth keyboard/mouse/controller, something that will allow you to control the phone when connected to the tv/monitor through mhl. Finally you can also do all the required setups mentioned in this thread to get kodi running and when you are satisfied with the setup, connect the phone back to the tv/monitor.
Option 2:
If you were unlucky and Vysor did not work for you, navigate to the play store by switching between mhl and otg and install an app called Teamviewer Quicksupport. Install teamviewer on your PC; launch the app on your phone and you will be given an ID, use the ID on your PC to connect to the phone. When you try to connect from your PC, you will get a confirmation on your phone; make sure your phone is connected through mhl so you can see the confirmation. switch to otg to accept then switch back to mhl since you will be prompted to install an add-on, this add-on is necessary to view your phone screen on your PC. Once the add-on is installed, you will be able to see and control your phone from your pc, use your pc to setup your phone. As mentioned in option one, turn off certain features that are hindrance like lockscreen and install a bluetooth device that will let you control your phone wirelessly.
Hope this helps people with a completely dead screen but otherwise working phone, It can be very frustrating and time consuming but once you get past the initial stuff, you should be able to either link using vysor or wirelessly using teamviewer for feature setups.
So this is a great idea, except that it doesn't work for any other apps, since I do most of my watching on Netflix and HBO and I can't figure out a way to control the phone outside of Kodi.