There are two options for transferring video from your phone or computer screen to your TV: video mirroring and video streaming. They are fundamentally different from each other in how the shared content is shown on the display.
In Screen Mirroring, as the name suggests, you are copying the contents of the source device to your TV. Everything that appears on the first device is also displayed on the second. In the case of streaming media, the display receives the content through a digital media player.
This technology does not duplicate content on your device’s screen.
Video mirroring
To connect your TV to your laptop, you need the following:
- At least one video communication port.
- Correct cable type.
Types of video connectors
There are two types of video transmission: digital and analog. If you try to connect a digital jack to an analog port or vice versa, you will not be able to view video. Also, if you try to play protected high definition digital content, such as Blu-ray movies, over an analog connection, you will likely receive an error message or the movie will play at a lower resolution.
| HDMI connector (digital) |  | The HDMI connector is a digital type of connection for transmitting high definition video signals. When used with a compatible monitor or TV, HDMI has the ability to transfer video and audio, as well as HDCP protected content (for playing high definition Blu-ray movies). Monitor or TV with HDMI must have speakers to listen to sound |
| DisplayPort (digital) |  | DisplayPort is a digital type of connection that transfers high definition digital video and audio to a DisplayPort monitor. DisplayPort has very similar characteristics to HDMI, but can also support a content protection method called DPCP in addition to the general HDCP format |
| VGA and SVGA (analog) connector |  | VGA connector is a video connection for sending analog video signals to a monitor or TV |
So, the above video connectors are present both on many laptops and on monitors, TVs and projectors.
To transfer an image from a computer to a monitor or TV set, they should be connected as shown in the photo below.
Setting display properties to use additional displays
Once you connect your computer to your TV, you need to adjust your display settings. To do this, follow the steps below.
Step 1. In the Windows search box, search for and open Display Settings.
Open the menu in the “Multiple monitors” section and apply the desired configuration
Step 2. Open the drop-down menu in the Multiple Monitors section and apply one of the configurations.
Open the menu in the “Multiple monitors” section and apply the desired configuration
Once you set up your screen, the image will appear on your TV. You don’t need to do anything else.
Special programs for displaying images on the screen
There are also wireless video mirroring methods. This is done through special programs.
Miracast
Miracast is one of the most widely available screen mirroring technologies. Miracast is part of the WiFi Alliance and was released back in 2012.
Note ! Miracast is not a product, but a technology. It implements peer-to-peer WiFi Direct and allows you to stream 1080p HD video as well as 5.1 surround sound. As of March 2017, there are only about 6,700 WiFi Alliance certified devices to support Miracast.
DLNA
DLNA, which stands for Digital Living Network Alliance, is one of the powerful standards for screen mirroring. The only problem is that it was introduced by Sony and accordingly works best with Sony devices such as Sony Bravia, Sony PlayStation, Sony Xperia and Sony VAIO.
DLNA works using a client-server model. This means that when the client and server are connected, the client can access the files present on the server. Simply put, if your computer and TV are DLNA capable, you can access the files present on your PC from your TV.
Streaming video
Streaming media means getting online content from a streaming device to your TV. There are now several media players on the market from Apple TV to Roku. A popular example of a media streaming device is Google Chromecast. It is a digital media player capable of playing online content on your TV. This differs from HDMI wireless streaming in that it does not mirror the content of your PC or smartphone, but actually receives content from the internet.
How media streaming works?
So what exactly does Chromecast do? It downloads content from the Internet to your TV on the fly. Media streams are quite predictable in nature when you consider that mouse movements and operations are performed randomly. For this reason, streaming media has a much higher latency compared to screen mirroring.
The difference is felt when watching a movie using screen mirroring and watching a movie using a media stream. Mirroring screen may lag or clash with audio, while streaming will give the best result.
How to stream video via Chromecast?
Chromecast device looks like a USB flash drive
A Chromecast device is like a flash drive that can connect to the network and stream content using Chrome extensions.
Step 1. Connect the device to your computer.
Step 2. In the settings of your computer, select the appropriate option as the source.
Step 3. Now open a browser on your computer. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select the “Cast” section.
Go to “Setting up and managing Google Chrome” and select the “Cast” section
A special icon will now appear in the extension bar.
Step 4. Find the video that you would like to transfer to the computer screen.
Now all you need to do is click on the button that was shown in the previous step, and your the video will appear on the computer screen.
