How To Cast From PC To TV

I very often have to answer questions that sound something like this: “Is it possible to use a TV as a wireless monitor for a laptop or smartphone?”. “How to display the image on the TV from a tablet, computer, or phone, but not via cable, but via Wi-Fi?” “How to make sure that everything on a tablet or smartphone is displayed on a TV, and that everything is airborne?”

In this article, I will try to answer the questions posed. We will figure out whether it is possible without a cable to display the image on a modern TV, and how to do it using Intel WiDi or Miracast technologies.

Before proceeding to the main part, in which I plan to tell how all the same you can turn a TV into a wireless monitor, you need to understand something:

May slow down by air, use cable

If you want to display a picture on TV from your laptop in order to play games or watch movies, then it is best to do this via an HDMI cable. There shouldn’t be any problems with the computer, since now almost every laptop or every card has HDMI, and on TVs this is far from uncommon. How to connect all this, read the article How to connect a TV to a computer (laptop) using an HDMI cable? TV as a monitor.

No wireless technology will provide the quality of the image that you get on a digital HDMI cable (at least for now). Yes, I want it without wires, but using wireless technology, there will be slowdowns, although not big ones. But playing games, or watching movies with some delays in the image, is not very pleasant.

You can display and photos on a TV without special technologies

In this article, we are talking about duplicating absolutely everything that is happening on the screen of your device on a TV.

But, in order to simply transmit photos ors from your computer, smartphone, or tablet via Wi-Fi to TV, you don’t need any special technologies. Almost every modern TV supports DLNA technology (if there is a Smart TV, then it definitely supports it). Computers and mobile devices are also able to transmit media content using DLNA technology. Android certainly knows how, iOS, too (if I’m not mistaken), and in Windows Phone, such an opportunity will appear after upgrading to version 8.1 (at the time of writing, an official update wait about another month).

In order to configure the broadcast of photos and movies over the air from a computer to your TV, see these instructions:

If the first article is only suitable for LG TVs, then the second can be called universal.

Well, if you still need to completely duplicate the picture on the TV, and even without wires, then read on.

The image on the TV from a laptop, or smartphone via Wi-Fi

I noticed that many people want to, for example, run on a tablet, in a browser, watch an online movie and display it on TV. But in order to broadcast a movie on DLNA, you must first download it. Not everyone likes it, and not everyone knows how to download movies on a tablet or smartphone. If you have Smart TV, then you can watch online movies directly from the TV, and you do not need any additional devices for this. How to do this, read this article.

There are two main technologies that allow you to wirelessly duplicate all that you see on the screen of your laptop or mobile device over the TV network wirelessly. This is technology Intel Wireless Display (Intel WiDi), and Miracast. Most likely, you have already heard about these technologies, or saw them in the settings of your devices.

If you explain their work in your own words, then everything happens like this: the image that is displayed on the screen of your computer or mobile device is compressed, and transmitted via Wi-Fi to the TV. All this happens very quickly, and delays are almost not noticeable.

You simply turn on Miracast, or Intel WiDi on the TV (if it supports this technology, if not, then you need a special HDMI adapter), and on the mobile device or laptop using a special program, start the broadcast. The devices are connected and the picture is transmitted to the TV. By the way, a Wi-Fi network (router) is not needed at all, the TV itself creates a network that you just need to connect to. Something like Wi-Fi Direct.

At first glance, everything is very simple. But, at the moment, not all devices support these wireless technologies. Although, I think that in a year, this will no longer be a problem.

By the way, Intel WiDi (starting with version 3.5) is compatible with Miracast. Therefore, Intel technology can be considered universal.

How to display the image on the TV from an Android tablet, or a phone using this technology, you can read in this article.

Which devices support Intel WiDi and Miracast?

As for computers (laptops), for Intel WiDi technology to work, you need a 4th generation Intel processor, Intel graphics, and an Intel wireless Wi-Fi adapter. As you already understood, not every laptop can boast of such a configuration. Or, you need a special prefix.

If we talk about mobile devices, then they should also have support for Intel WiDi, or Miracast. If you plan to use these technologies, then look at the characteristics of the devices and check the availability of these technologies before buying.

You can see detailed information on devices that support this technology on the official website http://www.intel.ua/content/www/ua/uk/architecture-and-technology/intel-wireless-display.html.

Intel WiDi and Miracast on TVs

With the devices that will transmit the image through the air, we figured out, now as for the TVs that will display this same image. On the TV, either there should be built-in support for Intel WiDi / Miracast, or you will need to buy a special receiver that connects to the HDMI connector of your TV.

As I understand it, almost all televisions of popular manufacturers: LG, Samsung, Toshiba. starting from the 2013 line, and which have Smart TV support, have built-in receivers and are able to work with the Intel WiDi / Miracast standard.

If the TV does not have built-in support, then as I wrote, an external HDMI adapter will help. By the way, through it the image goes even better than through the built-in.

For example, the LG 32LN575U TV is an inexpensive model with the Smart TV function, there is support for Intel WiDi / Miracast. It looks like this:

Perhaps I will somehow demonstrate the operation of this technology, but it will already be in another article.

Afterword

Let’s summarize. If you want to use the TV as the main or second monitor for your computer or mobile device, and you do not have an urgent need to connect them through the air, then it is best to do this with a cable. It’s cheaper and the picture quality will be better.

Do not forget that with the help of DLNA technology, and via Wi-Fi, you can broadcast photos ands to a TV. But displaying the image by launching the game while in a browser or on the desktop will fail.

If you still want everything that is displayed on the screen of your computer, smartphone, or tablet to be displayed on the TV screen, then look towards Intel WiDi and Miracast technologies. If your devices do not support these standards, then you will have to buy special consoles and receivers.

If you are just planning to buy new devices, and intend to use these wireless technologies, then before buying, see if they support these standards.

I also recommend watching a on the topic. Overview of Intel WiDi technology from Natasha.