Wireless PC to TV
Wouldn't it be great to pipe whatever is on your computer screen directly to your big-screen TV? Now you can wirelessly send YouTube videos, computer games and movies from your PC screen directly to your television screen. Even browse the web on your fancy HDTV. Here's how to make a wireless PC to TV connection...
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Display Your Computer Screen on Your TV
If you have a laptop or desktop computer with an average sized screen, you've probably thought "Wouldn't it be great if I could magically beam my computer screen to my nice big HDTV flat panel in the living room?" Poof... you can! There are several ways to do it with special cables (see my article TV as Computer Monitor, but they only work over relatively short distances, the cables can be messy and expensive, and it's kinda geeky.
Enter the age of the wireless video sending device. By connecting a wireless video transmitter to your computer, and a wireless receiver to your television, the problem is neatly solved. So how does it work, and which device is best for wirelessly sending websites, YouTube videos, games and other content from your computer screen to the TV? Let's look at five wireless video sending devices to determine which is right for you.
- Sewell Direct's Wireless Converter connects to any PC, video game console or other VGA source with the included cable. The SW-4261 sends both audio and video signals to your TV from up to 150' away. Connect the transmitter to your TV via video/audio cables. In addition, this unit can be utilized as a wired VGA to TV converter box with S-video, RGB and composite outputs. The Sewell Converter is very reasonably priced at $132.95.
If you want to send HD quality video wirelessly from your PC to your TV check out the InternetVue PC to HDTV Converter IV-2020. This is the only wireless device I've found that can transmit an HD (high definition) signal.
- AItek's ProPC/TV Wireless Converter not only looks good, it does more than just conversion. Connect your laptop, desktop or Media Center PC to a TV up to 100 feet away. With this device you can play a DVD, see what your kids are up to, display presentations and even send a greeting from your cubicle at work to the lobby, all from your PC. Add more receivers and send the media to multiple TVs. The ProPC/TV needs no software and has a price of $171.95, cables included.
- The D-link1200 MediaLounge PC-on-TV Player works like the others with wires or without. Compatible with almost any TV, it has an included remote with trackball for playing movies or launching applications. Watch TV shows, photos or music videos. Included is the free VeohTV, an application that permits downloading and recording from YouTube and other online sites. The MediaLounge has a MSRP of $199.95
- Grantec USA calls their converter Ultimate Wireless. Use it for gaming, presentations or just browsing on your Mac or PC. With four channels, it has a range of 125 - 150', needs no software and has menu controls as well as zoom. You need to purchase a soundcard if you want to add stereo sound. With composite, S-video and RGB output, it includes a battery pack for portable usage of the transmitter and has a price of $149.95.
- If you want something with a longer range, then consider the FlyBridge 5000. It has support for VGA/SVGA/XGA signals. This converter also comes with a remote with an IR extender. Integrate your IR mouse and keyboard and plug and play with no software needed. With a built-in antenna, you will get a range of up to 300 ft. while watching movies or other Internet content. The price of the FlyBridge is $126.96.
| Product | Input/Output | Range | Extras | Price |
| Sewell Wireless Converter | VGA/RCA/RGB/S-video | Up to 150’ | Video gaming | $132.95 |
| Aitech ProPC/TV | VGA/RCA/S-video | Up to 150’ | Presentations, works with video cam | $179.95 |
| D-Link Media Lounge | Component/RCA/ VGA | N/A | Remote/VeohTV | $199.95 |
| Grandtec Ultimate Wireless | Composite/S-Video/and RGB | Up to 150’ | Works with Mac | $149.99 |
| FlyImage 5000 | VGA/SVGA/XGA | Up to 300’ | Remote Control | $126.95 |
All of the wireless PC to TV devices do pretty much the same thing, yet each has features that are unique. When choosing one of them, check compatibility with your computer, and choose based on your personal requirements. Have you used a wireless device to transmit from your PC screen to a TV? Post your comment or question below...
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Posted by Bob Rankin on June 1, 2009 07:45 PM
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Article information: AskBobRankin -- Wireless PC to TV (Posted: June 1, 2009 07:45 PM)
Printed from: http://askbobrankin.com/wireless_pc_to_tv.html
Copyright © 2005 - Bob Rankin - All Rights Reserved
Most recent comments on "Wireless PC to TV"
(See all 15 comments for this article.)Posted by:
Michele
10 Jun 2009
Bob, In a (near) future newsletter, can you get us up to speed on TVs that are coming out that are internet ready to where we don't need to use these wireless devices...
EDITOR'S NOTE: Already done! See http://askbobrankin.com/internet_connected_hdtvs.html
Posted by:
Dave
11 Jun 2009
I use Apple TV with very good success, watching movies on my computer. It's wireless as well as Ethernet capable.
Posted by:
Rick Walker
26 Jun 2009
Hi Bob,
I don't think your article specifically answers my question, but apologies if it does.
I stream TV channels via the web to my system, which work well, but would like to wirelessly transmit these audio/video streams to my large screen TV directly. I don't think it's possible to record these streams to my system ( not coming through a TV tuner).Can this be done using any of the converters you mention, or should I be looking for some other solution?
EDITOR'S NOTE: Maybe I'm missing the point of your question, but I think that's exactly what the article is about -- sending whatever is on your PC screen, wirelessly, to your TV.
Posted by:
Adrian
21 Jul 2009
Hi Bob, Which of these devices works best with text? I want to display a website on an external LCD screen, and whilst the video/audio is fine, the text is completely illegible. Using MacBook pro with highest output display resolution setting. I'm using the FlyImage 3000, and all Internet research seems to agree that video is fine, but text is awful.
Any suggestions? Any wireless PC to TV products that can transmit DVI or HDMI quality signals? Thanks!
EDITOR'S NOTE: None that I know of, sorry. Have you tried a direct cabled connection from the PC's DVI/HDMI port to your TV?
Posted by:
Adrian
22 Jul 2009
Hi Bob,
Thanks for the quick reply.
Yes, i have connected directly from laptop DVI (with VGA adaptor attached) to LCD VGA input, and quality is great.
I'm desperately looking for a wireless option though, and there just doesn't seem to be anything out there that can handle crisp text.
Please let me know if you stumble upon any suitable device.
Thanks for the assistance - much appreciated. - Adrian.
Posted by:
adam zisserman
28 Jul 2009
Hello
Good grief, how difficult can it be to view the laptops display on a TV?
All of the above aren't wireless are they? They all seem to need leads from the laptop to the sender. That is unacceptable.
All i want is to see on my TV (with VGA or HDMI or whatever input) exactly what I can see on my laptops display.
Surely there is a way of doing this over a standard home wireless network?
I have tried using an Xbox - but that is no good, i don't want to select from the Xbox what i see I just want to see my PC display on my TV, whether it's a word document or a website.
Oh well maybe one day, after all it's only 2009
from
adam zisserman
Posted by:
John
31 Jul 2009
Bob, Thanks for the good information. I plan to ditch cable and use my PC to show all of our TV programming: Sports, Netflix, etc. Is the quality just as good using the wireless converter? For a PC with built in Blu-Ray player, will it show this just as well on the HDTV?
EDITOR'S NOTE: I don't think any of the wireless transmitters I reviewed can send an HD signal. But this product does claim to have HD capability: http://sewelldirect.com/InternetVue-PC-to-HDTV-Converter-IV-2020.asp
Posted by:
Ken
31 Aug 2009
Hello Bob,
I have been reading your newsletters for a number of years now, and find them very useful introductions to some topics.
This article seems to indicate a need for a wireless unit at each end - i.e. a sender at the PC end and a receiver at the TV.
A lot of households already have a sender at the PC to connect to a home network via a wireless router. So my questions is: Is there a unit to attach a TV wirelessly to a home network router? That would allow me to send photos, videos and music over the home network, without creating a rival network that could interfere with the home network.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Cool idea... that would make the TV just another device on the network, so you could send files to it for display. I'm not sure if such a thing exists...
Posted by:
Alex
26 Sep 2009
Hi everyone. I just bought Grandtec Ultimate Wireless, I connect my HP Laptop to Sharp LCD display, but quality of picture are very poor. In manual they wrote about menu bottom, this bottom not working. Do I make some wrong or this product not good? Or, laptop from TV just less than 10 feet away. Do you know what is the best PC to TV transmitter?
Posted by:
Bill
11 Oct 2009
Bob - My PC is connected to my condo neighbor's wireless network. Do you think I can still use a wireless PC to TV converter, or will there be too much interference?