Viewing laptop content on a Smart TV.

[MP1975]

Hello all !

Been a while hope all is well.

Here's my problem, At work we want to be able to view video content from a Laptop on our TV, wireless.
We will be using both a HP Envy laptop running 8.1 and a Acer Aspire running 7 to a Visio 46 inch Smart TV.

Thanks in advance,
MP.

[Salmon Trout]

Do you mean Vizio with a Z? What model?

[MP1975]

Yes, Sorry, Vizio with a "Z".

Not sure what model. It is a TV at work, no paper work, and when I used the manual from the TV itself it didn't tell me.
It's 46 inches and about 4 years old. I can connect it to the router and we get Netflix but we need to connect a laptop to it
so we can do presentations etc etc power point. I know apple has an external adapter you plug into the TV and does what we need but we don't use Apple at work and was hoping there was something out there for windows.

Thanks,
MP.

[strollin]

Win 8.x supports Miracast so if you get a Miracast dongle that will plug into an HDMI port on the TV, you will be able to project the laptop's screen to the TV wirelessly.

[MP1975]

Strollin thanks much. The laptop does support Miracast and it sound like my 8.1 problem is solved.
Any hope for also getting the same results for 7 ?

[strollin]

Oftentimes the Miracast adapter will offer support for other OSes as well.  Depends on the adapter you get.

[MP1975]

Thanks I'll dig deeper. I only read 2 reviews / articles and I was under the impression it was only for certain versions of firmware of 8.1 ? Luckily mine has it.

Thanks again.

[MP1975]

Some win 7 PC's may also support Miracast. May help someone else.

I have a PC or Android device. What do I need to stream video?

You also have two possibilities: Miracast or Chromecast.

Miracast is the most feature-rich technology, but not many devices support it. Here are the requirements.

Computers: Many newer Intel-based PCs and Windows 8.1 OS. (If you have Windows 8, you can upgrade to Windows 8.1 for free.) To see if your hardware supports Miracast, from the Start screen, swipe from the right, click "Devices" and then select "Project." If you see "Add a wireless display," your PC is up to the challenge. Some Windows 7 PCs also support Miracast, but it can be a nightmare to figure out. Go with Chromecast instead.

[strollin]

Chromecast's ability to display video content stored locally on your computer is very limited.  It works best with services like Netflix and Hulu that have applications that support Chromecast.

What type of video content are you wanting to use?

I own and have used both Miracast and Chromecast and frankly, neither work as well as an HDMI cable connection between the laptop and TV.

[strollin]

Does your Vizio TV support DLNA?  If so, another possibility is to run a media server on the laptop that your TV can connect to and play videos stored there.  I have Vizio TVs that can do that but they are newer than the one you have.

[Salmon Trout]

If the TV is smart enough to have a DNLA client built in you could install a free DLNA server on the laptop such as Plex or Serviio and then stream over a wireless or wired Ethernet network connection. The model number will usually be on a makers label on the back of the set. One 46" Vizio model number is M3D460SR. The DLNA client functionality may be included in an option called "Media".

[Salmon Trout]

Me and Strollin had the same idea.

You can get DLNA dongles for older TVs that do not have a client built in.

http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Full-HD-1080P-WiFi-Display-Dongle-HDMI-Wireless-PTV-Support-DLNA---Miracast-316815.html

Lots of Android ones here in a camparison article

http://blog.appszoom.com/2013/11/24/android-tv-dongles-guide-the-good-the-cheap-and-the-freaky/

[evangeline]

You can wirelessly mirror  Laptop/Mobile/Tab screen to your Samsung TV through a new device name prijector .

Its a  Airplay for all your devices and works very well for presenting wirelessly and wireless video conferencing from famous apps like Skype hangout Microsoft Lymc Cisco jabber .Have a great weekend