In this article I will show you an easy way by which you can display a movie or other video, photo, music from your computer or laptop to the TV. In this case, we will output video to TV via Wi-Fi. That is, without wires. This is very convenient, since the computer and the TV can be located in different rooms, and we do not need to lay a cable, or come up with some complicated connection schemes. With this solution, you can send any media content to the TV screen. We will do everything using the standard Windows tool. No third party software. I tested on Windows 10 and Windows 7.
First, I'll tell you in a nutshell how it works. Everything is built on DLNA technology, which I have already talked about many times in various articles on this site. Modern TVs with Smart TVs and Windows have DLNA support. This is already enough for us to be able to play video, music, or view a photo (which is on the computer) on the TV screen. In this case, the model and manufacturer of the TV do not play a special role. I tested on Philips with Android TV and LG. On TVs Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, etc., it still works. The main thing is the presence of Smart TV and connection to the router.
The only condition is that Smart TV TV and laptop (or stationary computer) must be connected to the same router... That is, to one Wi-Fi network. Both devices do not need to be connected via Wi-Fi. It is also possible through a network cable. The main thing is through one router.
I myself use this feature a lot. Most often for watching movies on TV that I downloaded to my computer. In order not to copy a movie to a USB flash drive and watch it from a USB flash drive on TV, I just output the movie directly from the computer. I also often display photos on the TV screen when I need to watch them in a large company. It is very convenient and fast. I have two Smart TVs connected to my router and I can send any video, photo, or song to one of the TVs in a few clicks. From any PC or laptop on my home network.
This feature works great on Windows 10. Before writing this article, I decided to test it on a computer with Windows 7. Everything works there as well. There are practically no differences compared to Windows 10.
All you need to do is open the folder with the necessary files on your computer, right-click on a video file, audio, or photo and select "Transfer to device". Our TV should appear on the list. We select it.
It's pretty much the same in Windows 7. "Play to" item. I show it on the example of displaying a photo on TV.
After that, a small player window should open, where we can control the playback of the file on the TV.
You can add other files to the playlist (by dragging them there), delete them, pause, rewind, adjust the sound, etc. That is, we can control the entire process of playing a movie on the TV from the computer.
The TV will automatically start playing videos, photos, or music.
Perhaps, after choosing your TV, the following window will appear:
Click on the "Enable streaming media" button.
Then make sure that there is a check mark next to "Allowed" in front of your TV (although, as far as I understand, this is not necessary) and click Ok.
Try transferring the file to the TV again. Thereafter, this window should not appear.
Thus, you can play on the TV not one file, but a whole folder with video, music, or photos. In the same way, right-click on the folder and select "Transfer to device" or "Play to".
The photo will immediately appear on the TV screen, and in the player on the computer.
And if you watch a movie through "Movies and TV" in Windows 10, then you can play it on TV right from there.
Open the menu, click on "Transfer to device" and select your TV.
As you can see, nothing complicated. Sometimes the player itself hangs with the list of files in the queue. Usually, you just need to wait a little.
If the method that I described above does not work for you, then you can try to configure DLAN in another way. Here are some instructions:
- Setting up a DLNA server for your TV. Watching movies from a computer on TV
- How to watch movies from a computer on an LG TV (via wi-fi, or a network)? DLNA setup via Smart Share
- Cast videos, music, and photos from the Edge browser (Windows 10) to your TV
If the computer does not see the TV or video does not play
The scheme seems to be simple, the function itself is built into Windows, but problems and various errors are not uncommon. Since everyone has different devices, the solutions may differ. Let's try to figure out the root causes of some of the problems.
- The computer does not see the TV in the playlist. When we click on "Transfer to Device" the TV just isn't listed. First, just wait a little (the menu should be open). Make sure the TV has a Smart TV function and is connected to the same router as your computer. In my case, I didn't have to adjust anything on the TV. It just needs to be turned on and connected to the router.
- A certain video file does not play on the TV. Error "Format not supported" or "File not readable or not found". Yes, it happens. I've come across it myself. What this is connected with is not clear. The TV may not really support the video file format you are trying to play on it. Or maybe there is some problem on the computer. I just tried to transfer a movie from under Windows 10 to the TV and an error appeared on the TV that the file was not readable, and on the computer "An unexpected device error". Although other files were played. And in Windows 7, we managed to play this movie on the same TV.
- The movie stops playing or freezes. My playback also stops sometimes, but only when I open a heavy 4k video. This is most likely due to insufficient connection speed (weak router). Regular HD and Full HD videos should play without lag. For 4k video, it is better to use USB drives or external hard drives. Or connect to the router via a Wi-Fi network in the 5 GHz range.
You can share your problems and successes on the topic of this article in the comments. Good luck!
