How to Watch iPhone Video on Apple CarPlay - CarlinKit vs Ottocast HDMI to CarPlay Adapters Compared

[@CarPlayLife]

Update #1: So I bought another HDCP cable, this time a 2.3 version of HDMI to USB-C cable and I am still getting the same issue. Looking at the error number I found out why! Basically, Netflix doesn't allow streaming from mobile to TV on its add-supported or mobile plan. You need to be on their ad-free, standard or premium plan for it to work. I am on their ad-supported lowest plan and that's why I am getting this error, it's nothing to do with the cable - or it still could be. Hmm..maybe I'll upgrade for a month to test this out and see if any of the hubs or cables are the issue. Update #2: I upgraded to their standard plan and all three cables now work. So it is likely the hubs also will because the cheaper non-2.2 HDCP compliant cable worked also, so that's that issue solved! "Happy Days!"

[@ryanbane]

As someone who has this exact setup, this video was super helpful. Thanks!

[@CarPlayLife]

Thanks Ryan, glad it was useful. Thanks for watching.

[@rocky_H102]

I noticed that the ottocast has an extra USB-A port. What is this for? Can it power the fire stick?

[@CarPlayLife]

Sadly not, it is only meant for updating the adapter, which can also be done over the air. Its power is very low so charging a phone from it will be more trickle charge than anything significant.

[@abdelrahmanmostafa1654]

Unfortunately carlinkit hd didn’t work on my suzuki 2024

[@CarPlayLife]

Sorry to hear that. This one does seem quite picky with what it works with

[@stevenmoormann3644]

Can you adjust the audio sync on firestick to work perfect in the vehicle? Thank you!

[@CarPlayLife]

Good question! I’ll have to explore that to see if it’s possible. Usually I found the delay in audio is set on the display end and not the adapter itself.

[@Daproffessa]

Is the ottocast HDCP compliant so I can watch Hulu in my car?

[@CarPlayLife]

Hi. I’m not sure. Netflix works fine.

[@tonep3168]

Thanks for the informative video, but you need to set your camera that is facing the radio screen to manual exposure and set the car radio to show a bright screen, then turn the exposure down until the white is not blown out.

[@CarPlayLife]

Don’t I know it! 😂Had a right mare with this over the last few vids. My fault for not checking the feed during the recording. I had AE/AF lock on the iPhone to fix it going out of focus when hands comes into view (thinking that would give a better quality/sharper view) but that also locks the exposure. Soon as you hit record I can’t take it out of that without stop and starting again AFAIK. Lesson learned for next time, as per the second half of the video. 😉

[@pistolgrip70x]

Hi where did you get the short lightning cable to hdmi single cable

[@CarPlayLife]

All the cables I use in this video are HDMI to USB-C. Search for ‘hdmi to lightning cable’ on Amazon and you’ll find many out there.

[@pistolgrip70x]

Ottercast worked much better for me

[@CarPlayLife]

Good to know. Thanks for sharing. I do wonder how both perform on portrait displays.

[@mike12check]

This is not working on an Audi

[@CarPlayLife]

Oh no! Which one, Ottocast or CarlinKit?

[@mike12check]

@@CarPlayLife Carlinkit HD2CP

[@CarPlayLife]

That’s a shame. Right not I don’t know if the adapter can be updated to enhance compatibility. I’d return it and wait or reach out support for advise on when Audi will be supported.

[@Ibrahim-l6v3c]

What is the technical reason that some adapters cannot display in full-screen mode? How can I choose an adapter that can display full screen?

[@CarPlayLife]

If you mean CarPlay HDMI adapters, I would say CarlinKit is a safer bet than the Ottocast in a VAG ground brand of car, otherwise anything goes. I would buy from Amazon for easier returns should I not work out. As for HDMI hubs/cables it’s hit n miss at the moment. I’ve yet to find a cable that does Netflix. I have one on order arriving tomorrow with HDCP 2.3 and if that doesn’t work they are all being sent back. I’ve also asked if the bottleneck is at the CarPlay adapter side. I’ve tried the cables directly into a monitor and they won’t work with Netflix either. So the jury is still out on that one.

[@robertmorgan2145]

I read in an Apple forum that beginning with iOS 16, Apple blocked Netflix from streaming out the HDMI port on the adapter. So you might try a different phone that is running iOS 15 or earlier.

[@TheGamerExperiences]

adroid auto what is the best ai or android auto regual what y the difference

[@stefanguddat4125]

Hey Anthony, thanks for all your reviews here on YT! One question to those HDMI adaptors... will they work in parallel with wireless CarPlay enabled cars? So could you have all those CarPlay benefits next to also having iOS mirroring? Or is wired and wireless CarPlay not possible at the same time? Otherwise that would be awesome! Thanks

[@CarPlayLife]

Thanks for watching ☺️ I highly doubt it will work, because as soon as wired CarPlay is connected it usually overrides wireless. They would also fight over what to display on the CarPlay source channel if they did work. Hope this helps

[@stefanguddat4125]

@@CarPlayLife Ok, then I would need to plug in the HDMI adaptor when needed and otherwise use wireless CarPlay. I think that would work. Thanks

[@stefanguddat4125]

One more benefit from this is -> there is no additional WiFi network (e.g. mobile hotspot) needed to connect to first when using a FireTV or similar 😀

[@CarPlayLife]

That’s right. Just as long as the device can auto connect to it.

[@rjmorgansd]

Is this supposed to take over the screen and mirror your phone automatically when plugged in? I got one for my 2022 Chevy and it does not work. Car was in wired CarPlay mode and when I plug in this adapter I get a message on screen that says, "check phone for message". That's all. Was looking for any advice before sending it back to Amazon.

[@CarPlayLife]

That’s odd. Yes you just plug it into your CarPlay port and once connected to phone via HDMI cable or hub it will mirror the display on screen (just like in the video). It sounds like a compatibility issue with your car system. If it also does wireless CarPlay, this might be the issue, as it might be configured to only work well enough with wired only CarPlay systems. As for a resolution, I can’t really think of one. You could try the Ottocast car mate instead, but they both might operate the same way with your car system. So the experience may be the same, but worth a try.

[@robertmorgan2145]

OK thanks for the reply. I suspected an issue supporting wired and wireless CarPlay. I normally use my iPhone 13 with wireless CarPlay, but I deleted the phone from the car and began anew by plugging in the USB cable and configure it as a wired only CarPlay phone. Then I again tried this cable and it gave me the same result. So yes, there is evidently some compatibility issue. Going through the support website it seems to indicate they have over the air updates, but it looks like in order to initiate the update you have to successfully connect via CarPlay first. So it appears I’m stuck.

[@CarPlayLife]

The CarlinKit can get updates from any WiFi where you can set the password to 12345678. I tired a hotspot but my phone never showed up. Maybe a guest WiFi from a home router will work?

[@rjmorgansd]

OK I’ll give that a shot. I’ll set my home guest Wi-Fi password to that, and then plug the carlinkit into power. I can poke around in the network and see if it shows up as a DHCP client. If it does and it has its own Webpage I could then connect to it. At least I will try that before sending it back and I will let you know the result. Thanks again!

[@robertmorgan2145]

I spent another hour with it today and no luck. It says in the instructions Wi-Fi password can be 12345678 but it doesn’t say what the name of the network should be. You can’t connect to a Wi-Fi network without knowing the name of the network. So maybe it has wired ethernet? Not sure. I plugged it in and powered it up at home and looked for any new Wi-Fi networks appearing and there were none. Same with Bluetooth. I checked the power and found that it only draws 100 mA from the car outlet which isn’t a problem. Once again I deleted my phone and all Wi-Fi information from the car and started from the ground up and it will not connect. The light goes from solid green to yellow then to off and the car display says “check phone for messages.” It seems there is a compatibility issue possibly related to vehicles that have both wired and wireless CarPlay. Possibly a firmware update may correct it but I was unsuccessful getting it to connect to any network. And I used to be a network engineer so I tried a couple things. I even tried the Chevy Wi-Fi network to configure it with the password 12345678, however the password has a minimum requirement of 12 characters. so I’m all out of ideas. Connecting this to this car is not trivial. If it works for you, great. You are lucky.

[@NeilLavitt]

While I understand the value of this for moments where waiting for people while the car is stationary, it worries me that real muppets will use it to watch TV while driving.

[@CarPlayLife]

Sadly that is always a risk. But then it can still be done with just a phone mounted on a dash. You don’t even need a dongle to enable this muppetry 🙃

[@NeilLavitt]

@@CarPlayLife this is true and even worse someone watching it on a tablet in their lap.