Laptop to tv .. via wifi?

[Cloudsailors 10]

Hi

 

i was wondering.. if i could connect my laptop to my tv via wifi.. in the same way i use my s6 edge to play youtube on my not-so-smart tele?

 

my mobile connects to the router just as my lappy does so surely it should work the same??

 

but it doesn't!

[tzijlstra 11]

Depends on the brand and type of TV. Older Panasonics have the ability to use a plug-in Wifi adapter, specifically designed for them.

 

Another route might be through the DVD player (if that has wifi ability).

[Guest]

You're trying to display what's on your laptop on your TV yes?

 

Which TV do you have so we can see what it can do.

[sgtkate 10]

A Chromecast would work, but it appears you might want to avoid this? As others have said it'll depend on your TV and whether it can handle a signal from a laptop or not. What's the model?

[Cloudsailors 10]

hi & thanks for your responses... its not a smart tv its called AKURA? probably some generic of a more well known brand...

 

as I feared, my cheap end tv might not support lappy to tv although it confuses me to know I can use my Samsung mobile to play you tube on the same telly. oddly enough, now ive swapped to virginmedia I cant even get teletext on the telly...

[Love2print 10]

Are you using the Youtube app built in to your Virgin Media box? If so this explains why you can control it with your phone. I used to have Virgin Media and an ordinary non-smart TV but I could use the Youtube app on my phone to control the Youtube app on the Virgin Box.

 

If you wanted to view what was on your laptop on your TV you could connect it via HDMI if you have that or if not you should have a VGA monitor output on your laptop. Most TVs will have a VGA input on them. But this would mean physically connecting them.

 

As sgtkate mentioned a Google Chromecast is an alternative. Pretty cheap especially if you don't want a HD one. You can then use your laptop to watch Youtube on the TV wirelessly.

[stimpy 10]

hdmi cable from laptop into tv would be the easiest way.

[Ghozer 112]

It also depends on your laptop, as you may be able to set up a DLNA system, where you us some software to capture your desktop, and 'stream' it via WiFi to your TV, where you ask your TV to play via DLNA - the issue with this method is there's often a few seconds delay between it playing on your laptop and viewing on your TV....

 

but you need to know if your TV has DLNA compatibility also...

[Cloudsailors 10]

i'll look into the dlna system. it sounds like it might be what i'm after. i guess the hdmi cable is the easiest option although i wanted wifi so im not anchored... i have some video clips and photos of my mum stored on my lappy and as she's no longer with us i wanted to maybe have a family get-together where we could all sit around the telly and relive some magical times...

[sgtkate 10]

i'll look into the dlna system. it sounds like it might be what i'm after. i guess the hdmi cable is the easiest option although i wanted wifi so im not anchored... i have some video clips and photos of my mum stored on my lappy and as she's no longer with us i wanted to maybe have a family get-together where we could all sit around the telly and relive some magical times...

 

Then think about putting them on a USB stick. That might well be the easiest way if you TV has that capability. Or install a media server onto your laptop that works with the TV. I use Servio and it simply appears as an input (like HDMI1, HDMI2, AV etc) letting me access videos, photos and so on directly on the TV wirelessly.

 

http://serviio.org/

Edited March 15, 2017 by sgtkate

[walkertelecoms 16]

I use Chrome Cast every now again and seems to work a treat. Not as steady a flow as piping HD through my gigabit network, via my Western Digital Box.