Check Your Cable Subscription First
Do you have a cable subscription? If so, you may already have access to live TV on your PC. Many cable companies offer streaming live TV as part of their standard cable package. Comcasts Xfinity and AT& Ts DirectTV Stream are examples of Internet-enabled cable packages that can stream to not only a PC, but also to mobile devices like an iPhone or Android device.
This is the best option for streaming live TV to your computer. A cable subscription will offer access to dozens if not hundreds of channels, including location television and live sports events.
Comcast
Comcasts Xfinity service lets you watch live TV on your PC.
The interface and apps offered by Xfinity, DirectTV, and similar services are mediocre, but they have the benefit of bringing your cable subscription to multiple devices. Most services will let you pause or record live television on a device and then pick it up later. You can schedule to record a favorite show from your PC, for example, then watch it later on your TV.
Whats the downside? Price. Cable subscriptions typically start a hair below $100 per month and more appealing subscriptions are well over that. With that said, a cable subscription is arguably the best value overall, as it will provide access to tons of channels and many live events.
Hdmi: Connecting With A Cable
This is the most direct and reliable way to hook up your laptop to your TV. It’s also the most limited by your home layout. It’s a simple solution: Run a physical HDMI cable between your computer and your TV and you’ll get the best performance and reliability. A wired connection means the best picture quality and lowest input lag, and it won’t be affected by the wireless network environment around your home. It’s what I use in my apartment, and it lets me play PC games on my TV. In fact, the low lag of a wired connection makes this one of the few acceptable ways to play PC games on your TV . It also supports 4K resolution, if your laptop can handle it in the first place.
Then again, my apartment isn’t huge, so using an HDMI cable is easy. If you keep your computer in a separate room, running a cable isn’t the most convenient or realistic solution. If you don’t mind a little construction, you can build conduits between rooms and keep a cable in-wall to avoid clutter, but that isn’t feasible for everyone . There’s also the distinct limitation of range. At best, you can run 50 feet of HDMI cable before losing signal quality. More realistically, you might seem some hiccups in the picture if you go past 25 feet. There are HDMI amps that can extend the reach of your cables, but that adds more cost and complication to the setup.
If you decide to go this route, make sure to read our explainer on What You Need to Know About HDMI Cables.
Connect With A Vga Cable
The third method you can use to stream video on your TV from your computer is using a VGA cable. If you have an older computer and/or TV, this can be used as an alternative to an HDMI connection. VGA cables will allow you to use your television screen as a larger screen for your computer. If you also want to stream audio through your TV, youll need an auxiliary audio cable in addition to a VGA to send audio signal from your computer to your TV.
To connect your computer to your TV using a VGA cable, plug one end of your VGA cable into your computer, and the other end into your TV. Using an auxiliary audio cable, plug one end into your computers headphone jack, and the other end into your TV or speaker system. Set your TV to the appropriate source.
Read Also: Connect Samsung To Vizio TV
Get Everything On The Same Network
Just like when people had issues connecting the PipBoy app to their Fallout 4 game, getting things talking on the same network is key. If youve got multiple wireless SSID channels in your home then try and make sure both your PC and smart TV are on the same one preferably the 5GHz band, as it will be faster.
If you can have everything running on a wired network, thats even better. The lower the latency in your connectivity between devices, the better the streaming performance will be, and wired will always be king in that respect. Oh, and dont forget to make exceptions in the firewall on your PC if its blocking Nvidia GameStream traffic.
Adding A Powerdvd Channel To Roku
If you have a Roku casting device, you can stream PowerDVD media to your TV using the above steps. However, before you can stream via Roku, you must first add the PowerDVD channel to your Roku interface.
To add PowerDVD to Roku, select the file you want to play in PowerDVD and select Roku from the Play To menu. If you are streaming to Roku for the first time, a notification popup will appear in PowerDVD, asking you if you want to add a PowerDVD channel to Roku.
Click on Install to open the Roku interface on your TV. Then, click on Add Channel using your Roku remote to add the PowerDVD channel to your Roku menu.
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Stream From A Mac To A Firestick
Theres no direct way to mirror your PC or stream content from a Mac to a Firestick. There are a few apps available on the Firestick that take advantage of Airplay technology to allow screen mirroring. Well be using AirPlayMirror Receiver as an example.
Connect Powerdvd Wirelessly To Your TV
The TrueTheater feature may seem redundant when streaming original-source media. However, these media enhancement features are highly valuable when it comes to home videos and other personal media.
Another benefit of streaming to your TV from PowerDVD is that you dont have to connect your PC to your TV using a cable. Instead, you can access content on your PC or CyberLink Cloud directly from your TV using the PowerDVD apps available in Roku, Apple, and Amazon Fire TV. Access TV shows and movies on your mobile devices, such as a tablet or phone, using the PowerPlayer App.
To start streaming your PC to your TV wirelessly, download CyberLink PowerDVD today.
- Setting Up a Home Theatre
- Best Media Player for Windows
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How Do I Stream Video From My Computer To TV
Alternatively you may want to connect your PC to a TV via HDMI, especially if your tablet supports mini HDMI outputs. If you plan on combining content on two screens, connect the HDMI ports of the computer and TV to a separate HDMI port. If you are connecting a smaller tablet to a larger screen, use Mini HDMI to HDMI.
Use The Pc On TV Function When You Work And Learn At Home
As time goes by, the functions that can be performed on your TV are becoming increasingly developed. The TV itself also supports many features, and if your personal computer is available as it is on the TV, the possibilities of what you can do will be more extensive.
In addition to PC remote access and PC mirroring, you can access Microsoft 365 directly and work on documents on your TV. Check out the features available with the PC on TV function.
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Use Steam Remote Play On Your TV
Want to know how to play Steam games on a TV without additional hardware?
With a PC running Steam, you can cast PC games to a Smart TV or any device using Apple TV or Android TV.
Big name Smart TV manufacturers like Sony and Samsung offer Steam Link among the apps. If yours doesn’t, then you can use Apple TV or Android TV boxes instead.
Whichever method you use, start by following the steps above to configure Steam for streaming. Once this is done, install Steam Link on your Smart TV or on your Apple TV or Android TV box.
Steam Link for AppleTV | Android TV
You now know how to cast steam games and play them on a TV. With a game controller paired to your PC over Bluetooth, its time to enjoy yourself.
Related: How to Use the Steam Link App for Android
Stream From Pc To A TV In Any Room
You currently have five options to stream video games from a desktop or laptop computer to TV:
We’ve listed these in ascending order of effectiveness. So, while using a Miracast dongle will let you stream a PC game to your TV, it won’t be as responsive as Nvidia GameStream or Steam remote play.
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How To Stream From Pc To TV Wirelessly
Even though your PC and TV systems offer great entertainment features, they are not optimally compatible. You cant simply play a video from your PC to your TV unless you do so via an HDMI cable. But who wants to connect their computer to their TV every time they want to watch a movie.
CyberLink PowerDVD offers the perfect media casting solution. Below, we take an in-depth look at how to stream from a PC to a TV using the software. Download PowerDVD to follow along with this guide and stream media throughout your home.
What Cables Do I Need To Connect Older Laptops
If you’re not worried about streaming in HD when connecting up to an older CRT television, for example then the best option is to use the S-Video port. It doesn’t provide High Definition quality, and only carries the video signal, so you’ll also need to hook up a separate audio cable to the audio inputs on your TV.
Your TV will need one of two things: either separate S-Video and phono audio ports, usually found on the front of the TV, or a SCART socket found on the back. You’ll then need to purchase an S-Video cable of suitable length, along with a separate audio cable. If necessary, purchase a SCART adapter to connect both sets of cables to your TV.
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Wireless Windows Standard: Miracast
Intel’s WiDi wireless display technology has been discontinued, but Miracast carries on the torch, and it’s natively supported in both Windows 10 and Windows 8.1. Just click on the notification button in the system tray, expand the buttons on the menu that pops up, and click Connect. You’ll be able to mirror your screen directly to any Miracast-compatible device on your network. That includes many smart TVs and media streamers. You can also get a dedicated Miracast receiver and plug it into your TV . With your PC connected, the screen will show up on your TV through its Miracast-compatible screen streaming mode, or Miracast receiver.
It’s a more economical solution than using a wireless HDMI extender, and depending on your TV’s smart platform, you might already be able to use it. Like the extender, though, video resolution usually tops out at 1080p. If you have a higher-resolution monitor, the screen will probably be scaled down as it’s transmitted to the TV or adapter. Like most wireless solutions, it can also suffer from display lag, which will hurt playing games over it.
Pros: Natively supported by Windows 8.1 and Windows 10, and some smart TV platformers. Receivers are relatively inexpensive.
Cons: Doesn’t usually support 4K. Too much lag for games.
TV Tuners + Antennas Are Affordable But Limited
The Winegard Elite 7550 antenna.
A TV tuner converts radio waves into picture and sound for a television or other device. Adding a TV tuner to your PC will let you attach a standard television antenna and watch free, over-the-air TV broadcasts on your computer. Some tuners support Android devices, as well.
Mentioned in this article
Youll find two basic types of TV tuner: USB and add-on cards. USB TV tuners are easy to install because they attach to a USB port on your PC. Just plug the tuner into USB, attach an antenna to the tuner, install a compatible software or app, and youre good to go.
An add-on card plugs into a desktop computers internal PCI Express slot. This makes installation more complicated and limits it to conventional desktop computers, but doesnt take up a USB port while in use.
The only cost is the price of the TV tuner and the antenna youll attach to it. Once installed, the TV tuner receives free over-the-air broadcasts.
Sounds great, right? Unfortunately, youll pay with another valuable resource: time.
Jared Newman / IDG
An over-the-air DVR, such as the Tablo Quad, gives you more control than the cloud DVRs streaming services offer.
The best OTA DVR for most people
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Method : Media Servers
Required Transmitter: PC, Mac, Android device or iOS deviceRequired Receiver: Almost any computer, mobile device, streaming player or game console
Although media servers require a few minutes to set up, theyre a much more reliable and efficient way to stream content than screen mirroring is.
Media server programs essentially turn your PC into a remote server that streams video to a receiver thats hooked up to your TV. Receivers will often optimize video streamed from media servers, regardless of the format its saved in, making it a good choice for anyone with a Wi-Fi connection thats not reliable enough for perfect screen mirroring.
MORE: How to Buy a Streaming Media Player
Quality media server programs are a dime a dozen, especially on Windows and Android. While we cant discuss the specifics of every single program on the market, well give one free-software recommendation per system. If youre curious about other options, just search for media server on Google and see what comes your way.
No matter which system you use, I do have one recommendation: Put all of your media in a single, easy-to-find location call it something like Media,Media Server or Video Collection. Keeping everything in one place will make your media server easy to navigate, and it will keep out all of the ancillary video and audio files from elsewhere on your system.
Stream Your Pc To Your TV With These Easy Methods
ByChris Martin, Reviews Editor| 24 Jan 2019
Your TV may be ‘smart’ and come with fancy features but it probably can’t do everything that your PC can do. Here’s how to stream from PC to TV.
One example of why you might want to do this is when your TV doesn’t offer the catch-up service you want to use. Or, you might want to show holiday photos on the big screen but they’re stored on your laptop’s hard drive. You might even want to play PC games on your TV, but you don’t want a big, noisy PC there in the room.
There are several ways to connect your PC to your TV, but the best will depend on whether you need to play HD video or games.
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How To Connect Pc To TV With Hdmi
This article was written by Travis Boylls. Travis Boylls is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. Travis has experience writing technology-related articles, providing software customer service, and in graphic design. He specializes in Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux platforms. He studied graphic design at Pikes Peak Community College. This article has been viewed 442,294 times.
This wikiHow teaches you how to connect your PC to a TV using an HDMI cable. Connecting your PC to your TV will enable you to display your computer screen on your TV, so you can watch movies or browse the internet on the big screen. All you need to connect the two devices is an HDMI cable.
Mirroring With An Hdmi Cable
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A standard HDMI cable is still the best way to get your PCs screen onto a TV. This is true whether that computer is a living room PC using a TV as its only video output, or PC with its own monitor thats mirroring the contents of the primary display to the TV.
Getting this solution hooked up is pretty simple. You probably already have an HDMI cable. If you dont, you can buy a cheap cable like this one and skip the unnecessary expensive cables. Plug one end into an HDMI port on the back of your TV and the other into the HDMI port on your laptop or desktop. Switch the TV to the necessary input and youre done! You can also use the display options on your PC to configure how the display workswhether the TV mirrors your main display or functions as a secondary desktop.
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Thats the theory. In practice, many modern laptops dont ship with a built-in HDMI portat least, not a full-sized one. Modern, super-thin laptops just dont have space for those large ports. You can still connect your laptop to a TV with an HDMI cable, thoughyoull just need the necessary adapter for the port your laptop does include.
Be sure to check exactly what type of port your laptop has before purchasing such an adapter.
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