How to Connect a TV to Computer

Connect the TV to your computer

It is much more convenient and practical to watch video on a big TV screen, especially since almost all modern video cards are equipped with a TV output.

The need to connect the TV to the computer also occurs when editing amateur videos. As you can easily see in practice, the image and sound on the computer are quite different from what you then see and hear on TV. Therefore, all video editors allow you to view the preliminary results of editing on the television receiver right from the working scale even before the movie is created. Experienced amateur videographers constantly control the image and sound, displaying them on the TV screen rather than on the computer monitor. Topics such as video card setup, video card standard selection, and comparing the quality of video output from different manufacturers and troubleshooting are beyond the scope of this article. here we will consider only the following questions: what connectors can be found on the TV set and on the video card, how they relate to each other and what are the ways of connecting the computer to the TV set.

Classic analog interface (VGA)

In computers, a 15-pin analogue D-Sub HD15 (Mini-D-Sub) interface, which is traditionally called the VGA interface, has been used for quite some time. VGA interfaces transmit red, green, and blue (RGB) signals, as well as horizontal scan (H-Sync) and vertical sync (V-Sync) information.

All modern graphics cards have this interface or provide it with an adapter from the DVI-I integrated (DVI-integrated) universal interface.

Thus, both digital and analog monitors can be connected to the DVI-I connector. The DVI-I to VGA interface adapter is a common component of many graphic cards and allows you to connect older monitors with a 15-pin D-Sub (VGA) plug.

Note that not every DVI interface supports analog VGA signals, which you can get through similar adapters. Some graphic cards have a digital DVI-D interface to which only digital monitors can be connected. This interface is visually different from DVD-I because there are no four holes (pins) around the horizontal slit (compare the right side of the white DVI connectors).

Often modern graphics cards are equipped with two DVI outputs, in which case they are usually universal. DVI-I. Such graphics cards can simultaneously work with any monitors, both analog and digital in any set.

But since the transition from analog to digital monitors is slow, the graphics hardware developers usually use these technologies in parallel. Besides, modern graphics cards can work with two monitors at the same time. The universal DVI-I interface allows both digital and analog connections, and DVI-D only allows digital connections. However, DVI-D interface is fairly rare today and is usually only used in low-cost video adapters.

In addition, digital DVI connectors (both DVI-I and DVI-D) have two varieties. Single Link and Dual Link, which differ in the number of pins (Dual Link uses all 24 digital pins, while Single Link uses only 18). Single Link is suitable for use in devices with a resolution up to 1920×1080 (full resolution HDTV), for higher resolutions requires Dual Link, which doubles the number of output pixels.

The HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) digital multimedia interface was developed jointly by a number of major companies. Hitachi, Panasonic, Philips, Sony, etc. The 19-pin version of HDMI is now widely used to carry high-definition television (HDTV) signals with resolutions up to 192080 (1080i). Higher resolutions require a 29-pin type B connector. In addition, HDMI can provide up to eight channels of 24-bit, 192kHz audio and has a built-in Digital Rights Management (DRM).

The HDMI interface is relatively new, but in the computer sector it has many competitors, both from the traditional DVI interface and from newer and more advanced interfaces such as UDI or DisplayPort. However, products with HDMI ports have been steadily moving into the market as more and more of today’s consumer video equipment is equipped with HDMI connectors. The growing popularity of multimedia computer platforms will continue to stimulate graphic designs and motherboards using HDMI ports, even though computer manufacturers have to buy expensive licenses to use this standard and still pay a fixed royalty each time an HDMI-enabled product is sold.

Licensing fees also lead to higher for products with HDMI ports for the final manufacturer. for example, a video card with an HDMI port will cost about 10. more expensive. In addition, it is unlikely that an expensive HDMI cable (10-30) will be included.), so it must be purchased separately. However, it is hoped that with the growing popularity of the HDMI interface, this markup will gradually decrease.

HDMI interfaces use the same TDMS signal technology as DVI-D, so there are inexpensive adapters for these interfaces.

And while HDMI interface has not yet replaced DVI, such adapters can be used to connect video equipment via DVI interface. Note that HDMI cables cannot be longer than 15 m.

Earlier this year, Intel announced a new UDI (Unified Display Interface) digital interface to connect digital monitors to the computer. So far Intel has only announced the development of a new type of connection, but in the near future she plans to completely abandon the old analogue interface VGA and connect computers to display devices through a new digital interface UDI, recently developed by the engineers of this company.

The creation of a new interface is due to the fact that the analog VGA interface, and even a digital DVI interface, according to representatives of Intel, now hopelessly outdated. In addition, these interfaces do not support the latest systems of content protection, which are equipped with the new generation of digital media, such as HD-DVD and Blu-ray.

How to connect a computer to a TV set via Wi-Fi

In this article we will tell how to correctly connect your computer via WI-FI to the TV, consider a few of today’s most popular options. The point of this connection is to be able to comfortably watch videos and photos stored on your computer or streamed over the Internet on a large screen.

What you will need to establish a wireless connection?

Since Wi-Fi is supposed to exchange data via radio channel, first of all you have to make sure that your Smart-TV, just like your computer, has a built-in Wi-Fi module or supports this technology as an option.

As for laptops, almost all modern models have hardware built-in Wi-Fi. If you want to connect a desktop computer to the TV, you will have to buy a special Wi-Fi adapter.

The adapter can be made as a PCI card with an antenna built into the system unit, or as an external USB module that resembles an ordinary flash drive. The same external Wi-Fi adapter may need to be connected to the USB-connector of your TV, if the latter is not initially equipped with a built-in module. To avoid problems during connection and setup it is better to buy adapters of the same brand as your TV.

It is worth paying attention to the version of the Wi-Fi standard which is supported by the modules. It is better to stay with the most current and fastest version of IEEE 802.11n. It has a wide bandwidth and will not cause delays and freezes the image on the TV screen. Don’t forget to update the drivers for all your network devices as well.

The easiest way to wirelessly transmit pictures or music from your computer (laptop, tablet) to your TV is to use the following methods:

• Through the local LAN via a Wi-Fi router (computer. router. TV).
• With Intel Wireless Display (WiDi) or Wi-Fi Miracast (wireless monitor) technologies.

Connecting your TV to your PC using a Wi-Fi router (DLNA technology)

To organize wireless data transmission between several devices, they must have built-in or external Wi-Fi modules and be connected to a single local network via a Wi-Fi router. Your TV must support DLNA technology. a set of universal standards for multimedia exchange. The presence of this feature can be checked in the accompanying technical documentation, although today all Smart TVs support DLNA.

Connect your Wi-Fi router and configure it for DHCP mode (automatic distribution of network settings) and assign a password to log on to the local network.

Connect the TV to your local network

Using the remote control, enter the TV menu, go to “Network” and open the “Network Setup” tab. In the opened wizard of the network connection settings we activate the item “Wireless connection”. Select your Wi-Fi network from the list that opens, wait until the connection is checked and enter the access password.

If the router supports WPS, it is even easier to connect the TV to the Wi-Fi network. Select the appropriate item (WPS/PWS) in the Setup Wizard and hold the WPS button on the router for a while until the connection is established.

Set up a media server on your computer

Simply put, to transfer files to your TV over the local network, you’ll need to create several folders on your computer for storing different types of multimedia files (videos, music, photos). Then you must allow advanced access to these folders from all devices connected to the network, including the TV.

The easiest way to do it is to use any convenient for you media server program designed for organizing access to network resources from various connected devices. There are many programs that solve this problem: AllShare (Samsung Link), Samsung PC ShareManager, SmartShare, Serviio media server, Plex Media Server, Home Media Server and others.

The program should be downloaded to your computer, installed, conveniently set up and run. After the media-server is launched you should enter the TV settings where you will see the folders with media content available for demonstration. Now you can browse your computer files, running them directly from the TV screen.

Connecting your TV to your computer using WiDi/Miracast technology

Unlike DLNA technology, this variant of wireless display of multimedia information from your computer to your TV set allows you to watch not only the files stored on your computer hard drive, but also those played back online in its built-in web browser.

However, the WiDi/Miracast technology (screen mirroring) is very demanding to the computer resources, and is supported only by individual computers (laptops, tablets) with powerful hardware. And, of course, these advanced technologies must be implemented in the TVs themselves. If your TV only optionally supports WiDi/Miracast, you’ll need to purchase a special adapter, which you can then plug into one of its HDMI ports.

The principle of wireless monitor technology is that the picture, which is currently displayed on your computer screen, is compressed using a special algorithm, and then mirrored over the Wi-Fi channel to the big screen TV. There is no need to connect the TV set to the local Wi-Fi network together with the computer using a router: the TV receiver organizes a separate mini-network to communicate only with the PC.

To begin transmitting an image, you must install a special application Intel Wireless Display on your computer (if it is not pre-installed) and run the broadcast there. You must have WiDi/Miracast enabled in the TV menu. You can do this in its settings by going to the “Network” tab, and then selecting the “Miracast/Intel WiDi” item.

If this article has not helped you to solve your question, ask it on our forum.

How to connect your computer to the TV via Wi-Fi

Modern smart TVs can be connected to computers wirelessly via a local Wi-Fi network. Technologies like DLNA and Wi-Fi Direct allow you to stream videos, music, and other content onto your TV screen or wirelessly duplicate your computer’s screen onto your TV, turning your TV screen into a wireless display. And in the case of Wi-Fi Direct you don’t even need a router.

Wireless connection settings may differ depending on the TV manufacturer and model. Some devices establish a connection in semi-automatic mode. Others require additional software to be installed on the connected computer.

So it’s difficult to formulate a universal instruction that would be suitable for all users. If you want to connect your TV to your computer via Wi-Fi, you will find the necessary information in a paper manual or on the manufacturer’s official website along with the necessary software for this.

How to Connect an LG TV to Your Computer

Modern LG Smart TV. models with integration of the Internet and digital interactive services are essentially computers, designed to watch video content. But sometimes owners have the need to connect a computer or laptop to the TV.

Thanks to this, in fact, you can use the TV as an additional external monitor, which is very convenient if you want to watch a movie with a laptop, show your friends photos from vacation, stored on your computer hard drive or run a computer game on the big screen.

It is possible to connect LG TV to a computer or laptop of any manufacturer. You can do it in several ways, both wirelessly and wirelessly.

Connecting LG TV to PC: step by step instructions

SmartShare is an application specially designed by LG to make the process of transferring music, videos and photos from your laptop or connected USB-devices to your LG Smart TV as easy and comfortable as possible. Data transfer speeds are faster with this method than with Bluetooth, so of all the wireless SmartShare is the preferred way to connect your TV to your computer.

• Download and install SmartShare software on your PC.
• Connect your computer and TV to the same local network. If you do this with an Ethernet cable, it will increase the data transfer speed and minimize the risk of interference or audio and image mismatching when watching video on your LG TV.
• On your computer/laptop, activate content streaming. To do this, locate the “Media Streaming Options” section on the control panel (Media Streaming Options).
• Find the name of your LG TV in the list of suggested devices and check the box next to it.
• Confirm by pressing the OK button at the bottom of the screen.
• On your TV remote control, press the Smart button.
• On the menu that appears on your TV, go to SmartShare.
• Locate Devices. Here you will see the name of your computer.
• Clicking on it will give you access to the files. Select the one you want to play on your LG TV.

You can also connect your TV to your computer with Miracast. Like SmartShare, this standard was designed for wireless transmission of a multimedia signal and is based on Wi-Fi Direct technology. This method does not send the files from your computer to your TV, but sends video signal packets in ITU-T H format from your computer to the TV set.264, which means that you can not only play the content of files wirelessly, but also duplicate the computer screen display on the TV screen.

As with SmartShare, if you connect your TV and laptop to the local network using a cable, the data transfer speed will be faster and the connection. more stable.

• Press the Smart button on your LG TV remote control.
• In the list of applications that opens on the TV screen, find the application “Connection Manager”. It lets you connect your Windows computer or laptop to your TV.
• Locate “Applications” and there the “Connection Manager” section.
• Confirm by pressing OK on the remote control.
• In the “Connection Manager” page that opens, you will see various devices that you can connect to your TV: home theater, smartphone, Blu-ray player, soundbar, etc.д. Select PC from this list.
• By clicking on it, find the Screen Share box at the bottom of the screen.
• On the left side of the screen, find the Miracast line.
• Click “Start” to confirm your actions.
• On the right side of your TV screen, you’ll see the “PC Windows 10” line. Select this to stream information from your computer to your LG television.
• Open “Action Center” on your computer (you can do this by double clicking on the “Notifications” icon in the lower right corner).
• Select the Project option. Then click on “Connect to Wireless Display.”.
• You will see the name of your TV. Choose it.
• Click “Connect.

Important: If the sound is played from a computer while watching a video, you will need to designate the TV as the sound source. To do this, open the “Start” menu, select “Sound” (the “Speaker” icon). On the “Playback” tab, select your LG TV. Press “Default” and confirm with the OK / Apply key.

Check to see if your computer or laptop has an appropriate HDMI connector. If you do not have one, you will need to buy a USB-C, DVI or DisplayPort adapter, depending on which port your computer has.

To connect via HDMI or Displayport

To make your TV work as a monitor for your computer, you need to connect it properly. An HDMI interface was created for this purpose and is found in most consumer electronics. It is used for connecting game consoles, projectors, players, various equipment and computers. The feature and advantage is the transmission of high quality video with simultaneous transmission of clear sound.

Displayport. development of VESA for connecting technology to your PC. It is essentially an improved version of HDMI, but not the equivalent. The quality and speed of file transfer by this method is much faster and better.

But not all manufacturers have a PC input for DP. They give preference to HDMI only, which reduces the possibility of playing resolution of 4K and higher.

Advice. If you plan to use a laptop with a separate screen, it is better to pay a little extra and immediately buy a variant with a Displayport connector. This gives you more user flexibility than with HDMI.

Plan to connect your TV to your PC via HDMI

The easiest way to connect the TV instead of the monitor is via HDMI. Most of the modern appliances have this plug. And it is not hard to find it. it is signed with the corresponding letters.

• Check that your laptop or PC and your TV have the appropriate connectors.
• Purchase a cable of the right length so that the plugs fit freely into the connectors, without straining the wire.
• Plug one end into the PC, the other end into the TV.
• Take the remote control from the TV. Find the Input key or in the menu and go to “Source” and change it to HDMI. Some TVs offer HDMI 1 and 2. You need to switch to the one with the plug inserted.
• The TV screen may start blinking slightly, and then the correct signal and the PC desktop display will appear.

When you connect the technique for the first time, you may have problems with the screen not displaying correctly. You can correct the error through the appropriate settings on your PC. To do this you need to:

• Right click on the empty space on the screen.
• Choose “Properties” in the drop-down window.
• Find tab “Settings”.
• In them find the “Advanced” button and select the desired option in the drop-down menu for the screen settings.
• Press save with the OK key.

There it is desirable to set the maximum resolution of the selected screen. The subsequent connection should go automatically.

Additional connection settings

Sometimes additional settings are needed to configure the TV as a monitor. These are required if the computer does not find the TV automatically. To do the search you need to:

• Right-click on the blank space on the screen. Select Properties-Preferences in the menu that opens.
• There in the center, where the monitors are drawn, press the “Find” key.
• After completing the search select the maximum value of the screen sweep.
• Go to the “Monitor” tab and select “Frequent Update”.
• Then, go back to the setup and assign each display a number, where 1 is the main display and 2 is an additional display.
• Click on “define”. Number 2 will be displayed on your TV.
• Save all changes.

Important! To make the most flexible settings, it is worth taking into account the characteristics of the video card. And only then set the resolution and color palette. After making any changes, you must restart your PC.

Fixing of errors with sound transmission

Sometimes the sound does not play when your TV is connected as a monitor. The HDMI or DP cable itself transmits audio and video tracks simultaneously. To fix this parameter you need to:

• Click the right mouse button on a free space on the screen.
• Find the item “Playback Devices”.
• In the open menu, select in the list of connected devices “Speakers” and “LG TV” or other connected equipment model.
• Click on the name of the TV set. And put “Use Default.”.
• Press the “OK” button to save your changes.

After these simple settings, you can use the TV instead of a monitor.

Connecting a 4k TV to your computer. Ultra HD over HDMI

If you have an Ultra HD TV (aka 4k) and your video card supports this resolution, then there is a chance to get a nice, crisp image. I checked it, it works. I have a 4k TV from Philips. And the computer has a GeForce GTX 750Ti, which supports resolutions up to 4096×2160.

There are a lot of nuances. I am not a gamer, so I will try to explain how I can. The thing is, it is possible to output 4k video via HDMI. But most likely we will get a refresh rate of 30 Hz. Which is very little. To get 60 Hz, we need a video card with HDMI 2.0 and the same cable. That is why we use DVI cables to connect to 4k monitors. I have not seen DVI in TVs.

I connected everything, started the computer, and saw that the image on the TV screen was somehow strange, with wrong colors. This might be just the case for me.

It’s very simple. First, I tried in the TV settings to disable UHD (Ultra HD) for the HDMI port to which the PC is connected. The image is now normal, but the resolution is the usual 1920×1080. So, this way doesn’t suit us very well.

To get a true 4k image with natural colors you simply need to change the display properties in Windows 10 to the maximum resolution of 3840×2160.

The picture immediately went back to normal. I also automatically zoomed in at 300%. Otherwise everything would be very small. You can change it if you want. Play at this resolution I have not tried. But I don’t think that’s realistic. Especially since the video card on my computer is not the newest and not the most powerful.

I’m waiting for your Комментарии и мнения владельцев. Ask questions and don’t forget to share your tips. Have a nice day!

A step by step guide to connect your TV to your PC or laptop

Let’s start with the TV and computer connection first. To start with, it is advisable to find out which connection method is optimal, least expensive and will provide the best image quality.

The connectors such as Display Port or USB-C/Thunderbolt are not listed below because most TVs currently do not have these inputs (but I don’t rule out that they will in the future).

Determine which video and audio output ports are available on your computer or laptop

• HDMI. If you have a relatively new computer, it is very likely that you will find an HDMI port, which is a digital output that can carry both high-definition video and audio simultaneously. In my opinion, this is the best option if you want to connect your TV to your computer, but this method may not be applicable if you have an old TV.
• VGA. very common (although the latest graphics cards do not have it) and easy to connect. Is an analog interface for video transmission, audio is not transmitted through it.
• DVI is a digital interface of video signal transmission, is present almost on all modern video cards. Through output DVI-I can transmit an analog signal, so the DVI-I to VGA adapters usually work without problems (and it can be useful when you connect a TV).
• S-Video and composite output (AV). can be found on older video cards, as well as on professional video editing cards. Do not provide the best picture quality on your TV from your computer, but might be the only way to connect your old TV to your computer.

These are all basic types of connectors used to connect TV to your laptop or PC. It is very likely that you have to deal with one of the above, as they are usually present on the TV.

Determine the types of video inputs present on the TV set

Look at the inputs your TV supports. on most modern TV sets you will find HDMI and VGA inputs, and on older ones. S-video or composite input (tunepines).

Choose what kind of connection you will use

Now I will list in order the possible types of TV connection to the computer, with the optimal ones in terms of picture quality at first (in addition, using these options is the easiest to connect), and then. a couple of options for last resort.

You may have to purchase an appropriate cable from the store. As a rule, their price is not too high, and you can find various cables in specialized radio stores or in various retail chains where consumer electronics are sold. Note that different “gold plated” HDMI cables for wild amounts of money will not affect the quality of the picture at all.

• HDMI.HDMI. The best option, just buy an HDMI cable and connect the appropriate connectors, not only the image is transmitted, but also the sound. Possible problem: No sound from HDMI on laptop or computer.
• VGA TO VGA. Also easy to implement way to connect the TV, you will need the appropriate cable. Many monitors come with these cables and you may find one you aren’t using. You can also buy them in the store.
• DVI TO VGA. Same as in the previous case. You may need either a DVI to VGA adapter and a VGA cable, or just a DVI to VGA cable.
• S-Video to S-Video,S-Video to Composite (via adapter or appropriate cable), or Composite to Composite. Not the best way to connect due to the fact that the picture on the TV screen will not be clear. As a rule, with modern technology is not used. Connection is similar to home DVD, VHS, and other players.

Connect the computer to the TV

I want to warn you that it is better to do this action completely turn off TV and computer (including unplugging from outlet), otherwise, though not very likely, but damage to equipment due to electric discharges is possible. Connect the desired jacks on your computer and TV, and then turn on both of them. On your TV, select the appropriate video input signal. HDMI, VGA, PC, AV. If necessary, consult the TV’s instruction manual.

Note: if you are connecting the TV to a PC with a discrete graphics card, you may notice that the back of the computer has two locations for video output connectors. on the video card and on the motherboard. I recommend that you connect your TV in the same location as your monitor.

If everything has been done correctly, the TV screen will probably start to show the same thing as the computer monitor (it may not start, but it’s solvable, ). If no monitor is connected, only the TV will be displayed.

Despite the fact that the TV is already connected, you are likely to be faced with the fact that the image on one of the screens (if there are two. monitor and TV) will be distorted. You may also want the TV and monitor to show different images (the default setting is mirror image. the same on both screens). Let’s move on to setting up the TV-PC bundle first on Windows 10, and then on Windows 7 and 8.1.

How to establish communication “by air”?

The connection is over WI-FI. If the TV set has such an option, use it to connect the TV device to the laptop. To use a computer with a system unit to set up a connection is unlikely to work, because it does not have a system WI-FI adapter. To unite the devices you can buy WI-FI adapter. It will allow you to connect the system unit to the LAN, and then it will be possible to work in pair with the TV device.

To connect a system unit with a TV-set you can use a WI-FI router. Use DLNA technology for this. This type of pairing works thanks to the LAN setting, exchanging information between devices on that network. Simply put, the computer connects to the router, and the TV is connected to the router. Being in the same LAN network, two devices can exchange information.

You must first create a DNA server on your computer for the connection to work. Select the media file to play here, right-click on the context menu. Click “Transfer to Device” on your computer. This action activates importing information from your laptop. The TV screen should appear in the list of connected devices. Select your TV device, adjust the playback of media content on the player, change the list of shows.

The previous “over-the-air” connection method implied that only existing video would be played. But there is another way to get full access to your desktop PC files from your TV screen. Work on getting your DLNA server up and running. Windows 10 has built-in server functionality. On older versions of the OS you will have to install a third-party program.

DLNA can be set up from the Control Panel. In it find the line “Network and Internet”, go to the Network and Sharing Center. The tenth version of the OS has a section called “Multimedia Streaming Options”. The item is responsible for starting the DLNA server. It remains to think of the name of the local network, go to the TV access settings.

On the TV screen, you will need to open the “Media or Analog” application. This software helps you to find a server and connect to it.

If you plan to watch Internet content on your TV then the previous connection method is no good. It is good for viewing files that you already have on your PC. If you use Miracast technology you can watch videos on your TV directly in your computer’s browser.

This method differs from the previous one by the absence of the need to have any router. To see if you can connect, go to your TV’s settings and look there for the Miracast receiver.

You can even use keyboard shortcuts to activate the wireless display connection on your notebook computer. WINP will bring up a context menu. When you select “Connect to wireless display”, the OS will search for a TV to connect to. When the device appears in the list, select it. Additionally, you may need to agree to pair the devices on the TV itself.

This connection option allows you to broadcast high-definition video as well as audio. There is no way to replace a full-fledged PC LCD monitor with a TV device, since this solution is suitable for dubbing multimedia with good resolution. Most programs do not support duplicating media content to a second display.

Provided a modern TV, the way of connection “by air” is considered a priority. It allows you to connect devices, which are located even in different rooms. If using the wired method, you would have to buy a rather long HDMI or VGA cable and constantly unravel the wires.