Motorola Z2 Play Projector
Hortense Malovich
The Motorola XOOM is able to support projection to projectors or other monitors with HDMI to VGA converters.
As there are different variants of projector that follows different standard and different brands of HMI-to-VGA converters that has different wiring, not all projector and converter combination works. Unfortunately, Motorola is not able to support clients to set up this projection as this highly depends on the projector and converter type.
HDMI Mirror mode
When using HDMI, the bottom 80 pixels of the display where the navigation keys and notification menu are displayed is not projected on the external display. This is done by design and is not a defect with either the device or the external display.
Note: The Motorola XOOM HD Speaker Dock's HDMI output can enable music from the tablet to be played on devices which have HDMI inputs like a PC monitor with speakers. The monitor must have the speaker dock HDMI input selected in order for the audio to be heard. In this case, audio will be heard on the monitor speakers and not on the Speaker Dock. If the proper input on the monitor is not selected, audio will not be heard on the monitor or the Speaker Dock. Removal of the HDMI cable will cause the audio to revert back to the Speaker Dock
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So, a few months ago when I was looking to buy a new phone, the local Verizon store folks talked me into the Moto Z2 Force, along with it's promotion at the time for the free projector - which they had on display at the store playing the NFL app. Since we're cable-cutters at home and don't get channels like ESPN for example, this was the #1 selling point for me to go with this flagship phone as opposed to a more inexpensive phone...being able to project every NFL game without cable/satellite at home was going to be awesome!
However...something changed and now the NFL app won't let you use the projector anymore. It's been like this for the past few weeks...and yes, granted this season is about to be over - but what about the future?
I really just kind of want my money back at this point. I've seen threads around the internet for a number of apps that don't let you use the projector, and especially without the NFL app, I see no reason to be paying through the nose for this thing.
Regardless, Verizon was using the NFL app explicitly as a demonstration and selling point in their own Verizon-owned stores (not 3rd party stores). So "closing a loophole" doesn't really cut it - it's a bait & switch. I bought a phone and a service explicitly because it provided the NFL app and the ability to project it as demonstrated and assured by Verizon staff. Now it's gone.
The app itself is still owned by NFL. They dictate the terms, and the way the projector works is by invoking the HDMI standard through the pins. NFL does not allow MHL or any content through HDMI for a long time now. You'd have to convince NFL to change that stance.
If Verizon couldn't be assured that the NFL app would always work via the projector, they shouldn't have ever been showing it and using it as a sales pitch in their stores. At no point did anyone say, or post a sign saying that "BTW, this might stop working at any moment."
Everyone can't know everything about every product. The projector works for Netflix, but doesn't work for Hulu. Unless a person owns the product and actively use every streaming service they are not going to know. Not surprisingly there is not a whole lot of information as not a lot of people have bought the Z Force line.
Also Verizon can't know exactly what NFL mobile will do. They don't know if Netflix will change their mind on streaming through MHL or HDMI. At no point they have a crystal ball that will tell every rep or the company what any other company they have no control over will do. That seems like unrealistic expectations.
Say you buy a hybrid car. After some period of time, it stops running on the battery and instead only works with the gas engine. Is it OK with you that the dealer says something like "Well, something about the battery system wasn't under our control, and now it doesn't work. You'll just have to run on gas from now on." Or were you thinking that being able to run on battery was kind of a key reason why you bought the car...and now that the battery function doesn't work, you feel cheated - even though you can continue to use the car?
If the usefulness of the projector was subject to the caprice of content providers, Verizon would have always known that - and shouldn't have been using the demonstration of such functionality as a key selling point in their stores. Because just as you wouldn't buy a hybrid car with a disclaimer that said "BTW, the whole battery thing might stop working at some point," I also wouldn't have bought this phone if I was told "BTW, app owners may decide at any time that they don't want to work with the projector, so that feature may stop working at some point."
You're trying to absolve Verizon of any responsibility for having actively advertised, promoted, and used as a sales tool the feature of using the projector with the NFL app (or any other app, really). They don't get that absolution.
That would be up to the company that MADE the car, not the company that SOLD you the car. Like I said Verizon didn't make the app and the services NFL makes. You could sue the dealership, but you can ask an AG about this and they'd tell you to go after the maker and not the dealership because they have no control of what the auto maker does and doesn't do. So then the AG is also trying to absolve Verizon of responsibility as well? So explain how the dealership is going to know everything the maker is going to do?
You're not making a valid point - if you want to swap out "dealer" for "manufacturer" go right ahead. The issue is that at no time was I dealing with a non-Verizon agency. So there's no middleman here to blame.
Verizon is the middleman. You asked a question about some other companies product and they said it should work under the premise that based on their knowledge it was working at the time. Verizon or it's employee has no clue what NFL mobile will do the next day or the day after that. They do not work for nor work on NFL services.
As noted above, your Verizon-employed staff at a Verizon-owned retail store were promoting the device by playing live NFL games projected on the wall, and leading with the capability to use the NFL app to project every single game every week. At no point did anyone suggest that the ability to do so was at the whim of the NFL, or anyone else outside of your control.
I don't use the projector with anything else - although I learned from researching this issue on the web that this is a common issue with the projector mod - apps deciding that they will no longer work with it. So it seems that the projector is actually not at all useful. In my case, using the projector with the NFL app was the one and only reason why I purchased this device, based on the Verizon employee's recommendation. Aside from that, it continues to make phone calls and texts...just as well as a $100, or even $50 device would have done. Which is what I would have purchased if I was made aware that Verizon wouldn't assure the capability to use the projector mod with the NFL app.
The 50-lumen projector is not bright by any stretch of the term (but you should have known this from the 50-lumen rating). In a fully lit room, it gets washed out. Here is a comparison pic to a 3200-lumen projector in a fully lit room:
###5 - Notifications
The projector mod is good about notifications - it gives a quick notification when your mod battery reaches 15%, then another when you are out of battery on the mod itself. It does this all without interrupting the playback, letting you choose when and if you want to pause to get your charger.
I know - how can they own my display output? If I can get the video to my phone, I should be able to get it to my TV. Or my Instashare projector. I was actually excited about this potential feature because, surely, having a specific phone for this was different than just casting to a TV.
In July, Motorola launched the Moto Z and Moto Z Force Android handsets with an innovative smartphone expansion feature called Moto Mods. Beyond their premium build quality, great performance and punchy OLED displays, these phones offer something different that cuts above the noise floor in a crowded market of handsets with all too common features. Moto Mods executed the concept of attachable smartphone add-on features exceptionally well, with impressive new capabilities, from simple wireless charging battery packs, to amplified speakers and even a pico projector mod that turns the Moto Z series into a mini movie theater-on-the-go. It all was made possible by Motorola and Lenovo's patented, magnetized interface on the back of the devices that allows them to connect and function so seemlessly and easily.
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