Connecting TV to PC via WiFi

Relentless81 · 27 Aug 2013 at 14:08

Hi,

Without using a laptop, whats the best way to connect my TV to my PC in another room via WiFi?

The PC has a Bluray drive and video files which I would want to watch in 1080P so it would need to be a HDMI connection I think?

Thanks

wazza300 · 27 Aug 2013 at 14:09

tversity software on pc and stream the video files from pc to tv through wifi

that's assuming your tv supports wifi?

Relentless81 · 27 Aug 2013 at 14:26

No thats the issue, TV does not have WiFi

wazza300 · 27 Aug 2013 at 14:28

no internet port either?

idk other than a long hdmi cable

I use a Samsung wifi stick on my tv

fted · 27 Aug 2013 at 14:36

Worth looking to see if you can just buy a usb wifi dongle for the tv.

I have plex running on a boxin another part of my house. My TV has a built in Plex client and wifi so it's easy. In your case you will need something small with wifi and a client running on it which you then plug into the tv.

Their are lots of different ways to do this.

If my tv wasn't wifi enabled I would buy a raspberry pi and run something like http://rasplex.com/

If you feeling less adventurous and don't want to do any work - something like a zbox would work fine

dan958 · 27 Aug 2013 at 14:37

I have a raspberry pi and run 'Raspbmc' Little laggy sometimes on the menu (not whilst watching) but that's probably because I have lots on it!

wazza300 · 27 Aug 2013 at 14:38

^^ +1

if your tv has a usb port you can buy an android smart/wifi stick that would work,seen em on a popular auction site

Relentless81 · 27 Aug 2013 at 14:41

It has a network port but the router is too far away otherwise that would be a given

It has usb so i wonder if its compatible with a dongle, ill check samsungs website.

Wanted a tv with a built in wifi but they were so much more expensive

MAllen · 27 Aug 2013 at 14:44

Do you have a BluRay player for the TV? Maybe time to buy a new one...

A cheap way to add a DLNA client to a TV is to buy a Smart BluRay player. You can then connect this to your network via Ethernet or WiFi depending what is available near the TV.

I have a Panasonic BluRay and that will use the DLNA client to connect back to my Win7 PC from which I then play back films, music, photos, the lot.

You'll also find Samsung do one (and probably others). If you find something that works with standard DLNA then you don't need to add any special client software to the PC.

MAllen · 27 Aug 2013 at 14:45

Lack of network socket near the TV? Then buy some HomePlugs to do the job. Runs Ethernet across your household mains wiring. I use the Devolo ones and have had good success with my clients.

wazza300 · 27 Aug 2013 at 14:46

if it hasn't got built in wifi or wifi support then Samsung dongle wont work

best cheapest way is to go out and buy a wd tv live box,and stream to that from pc

Idleman · 27 Aug 2013 at 14:51

Relentless81 said:
It has a network port but the router is too far away otherwise that would be a given

It has usb so i wonder if its compatible with a dongle, ill check samsungs website.

Wanted a tv with a built in wifi but they were so much more expensive

What about using a couple of Powerline adapters.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=46&catid=1604

Relentless81 · 27 Aug 2013 at 14:52

MAllen said:
Lack of network socket near the TV? Then buy some HomePlugs to do the job. Runs Ethernet across your household mains wiring. I use the Devolo ones and have had good success with my clients.

If i buy two of these and connect the tv to my router, will i be able to see the shared areas of my pc from the tv without issue and are the connections quick enough to stream the files?

One if my concerns is i am currently using a laptop but with an i3 and Intel graphics it seems to struggle a little with the 1080p, how does the rasberry stuff and other none windows based hardware get around this?

dan958 · 27 Aug 2013 at 15:20

Relentless81 said:
If i buy two of these and connect the tv to my router, will i be able to see the shared areas of my pc from the tv without issue and are the connections quick enough to stream the files?

One if my concerns is i am currently using a laptop but with an i3 and Intel graphics it seems to struggle a little with the 1080p, how does the rasberry stuff and other none windows based hardware get around this?

I only ever stream 720p content from my network drive to my Pi. I know people that stream 1080p just fine.

bicpug · 27 Aug 2013 at 15:22

Powerline adapters are an internet connection pure and simple, your TV needs to support it if you want to play back video/netflix etc; otherwise the best bet is something like a WDlive box that adds these features to any tv.

Relentless81 · 27 Aug 2013 at 16:09

I think I'm going to build a media centre to connect via HDMI and WiFi to get around this using my old PC bits as i'm building a new pc over winter

What I dont understand is why the laptop is struggling a bit with 1080p but a basic little device has no issues, makes me wonder if it is the laptop at fault

Thanks for the advice all

d_brennen · 27 Aug 2013 at 16:19

^ Hardware decode, if your machine lacks it for a certain video format, the decode will be done in software, which is CPU speed dependent. A <1w ARM CPU with the proper hardware decode block can run rings around a 100w CPU that lacks hardware decode in video performance

TheVoice · 27 Aug 2013 at 16:57

Relentless81 said:
If i buy two of these and connect the tv to my router, will i be able to see the shared areas of my pc from the tv without issue and are the connections quick enough to stream the files?

That depends on what features your TV has. You haven't given much info.

Relentless81 · 27 Aug 2013 at 18:50

d_brennen said:
^ Hardware decode, if your machine lacks it for a certain video format, the decode will be done in software, which is CPU speed dependent. A <1w ARM CPU with the proper hardware decode block can run rings around a 100w CPU that lacks hardware decode in video performance

Ah I see, thanks

TheVoice said:
That depends on what features your TV has. You haven't given much info.

Not really sure what to provide I'm not great with TVs, at the time of buying I just wanted a bigger TV and 1080P but as the laptop is an inconvenience for streaming content from my PC I'm looking at other options, what do you need to know?

lucid · 27 Aug 2013 at 21:15

Relentless81 said:
Not really sure what to provide I'm not great with TVs...what do you need to know?

Actually, you find this info yourself as long as the TV is a mainstream brand. i.e. Samsung, Panasonic, Sony etc and not Techwood/Technika/Hokey-Cokey

Either read your manual or go to the manufacturer's support site and get the info from there. What you're looking for is whether the TV supports streaming via the network connection. If as youu say you're building a PC then you'll be used to reading manual and understanding what works with what. A TV is no different.

So, streaming is like file and printer sharing on a PC. This is not the same as playing media files off a USB drive. That's something different. If there's no Ethernet port or Wi-Fi feature then your TV will not support streamed content. That's dead simple and it means you need an outboard box (WD TV Live or Boxee or similar) to do the streaming playback. If your TV does support streaming then the next thing to find out is what file formats it can cope with. Since you can't dump new CODECs on a TV then you're stuck with whatever support is built in to the telly. Find the supported file formats and make sure that you either rip to or convert existing files to those that are supported.

So, to recap..... Has the TV got some sort of network connection?

> No - go buy a streaming player.
>Yes - go find out what file formats it supports.