Here, the laptop connects to the TV using a feature called Wi-Fi Direct or Miracast. This means you must have a smart TV that supports screen mirroring via Wi-Fi Direct. Your laptop must also support wireless screen mirroring. Newer laptops should support this feature. You can look this up online by checking the characteristics of the processor your laptop uses. With the help of Wi-Fi Direct, both devices can connect directly to each other.
Use the TV remote control and select the source to mirror the screen. It will display a screen with the name of the TV. On the laptop, press the Windows button and type ‘Settings’. Then go to ‘Connected Devices’ and click on ‘Add Device’ option at the top. The dropdown menu will display a list of all the devices you can mirror to. Select your TV and the laptop screen will start mirroring to the TV. The name of the TV is also saved in the list of connected devices, making it easy to connect the laptop to the TV in the future.
Apple MacBooks use AirPlay for screen mirroring. However, your TV must support AirPlay. AirPlay also requires that you connect both devices to the same wireless network. On Apple Macbook, you can find the AirPlay option under “Settings” and then under “Display”. Other than that, the process is similar to a Windows laptop.
If you don’t have a smart TV, you can still connect your laptop to the TV using an HDMI cable. In addition to mirroring your screen, you can also use it as an extended display, such as a dual monitor setup. This helps a lot with multitasking, while also having multiple apps running on screens. You can even drag and drop apps from one screen to another. To connect the laptop to the TV, use an HDMI cable. Almost every laptop sold today has an HDMI port. HDMI cables can carry Full HD and 4K video and surround audio to the TV. If you don’t have an HDMI port, you can use a VGA (D-Sub) cable. VGA only carries video, so you’ll need to use a 3.5mm audio port to send audio from your laptop to the TV or external speakers. In the event that the TV does not support VGA, you will need to use an adapter. First connect the TV to the laptop using the HDMI (or VGA) cable. Switch the TV source to the HDMI (or VGA) port using the remote control.
On a Windows PC, you can press ‘Windows Key + P’ to open display settings immediately. Some laptops may also have another shortcut. This will offer different screen settings –
- Mirroring – This works the same as screen mirroring. Play your laptop screen on TV. It is ideally used when giving presentations, where it also requires the laptop screen to be turned on in front of you.
- Extend – This allows you to use the TV as a secondary screen, as an addition to the laptop screen. Here, you can drag windows from one screen to another. Help while working on multiple applications in parallel.
- Second Screen Only: This allows you to use the TV as the only screen. The laptop screen turns off. This is useful while watching movies on the big screen. By connecting a USB keyboard and mouse, you can also sit comfortably away from your laptop, on your couch.
Choose the setting you want, and your laptop will start mirroring on your TV. Not only that, you can further adjust the display settings to take full advantage of the screen size and resolution of the TV. Ideally, the laptop will run its default resolution (1366 x 768, in most cases) on the external display. However, if your laptop supports it, you can change it to the native resolution of the TV. If your laptop can handle 4K resolutions and your TV supports it as well, you can increase the resolution to 4K.
Using a high resolution gives you a much larger work area. For example, if you set the resolution to 4K (3840 x 2160), you’ll get four times the screen space you would compared to a Full HD TV. You can change the resolution by going to the ‘Display’ settings, then ‘Advanced’. Click on ‘Resolution’ and select the desired resolution from the list. The process of connecting a MacBook to the TV is pretty much the same as it is on a Windows laptop. Some MacBooks don’t have an HDMI port, in which case you’ll work with a mini DisplayPort or USB-C port.Regardless of what you have on the MacBook, you’ll need an adapter to connect the laptop to the TV. On the MacBook, you also have the option to use the TV as an extended monitor and change the resolution. These settings are available in ‘System Preferences’ > ‘Display’. These were some ways to connect your laptop to your TV. If you don’t want to use a cable and don’t have a smart TV, you can always consider buying a smart box or streaming device like Google Chromecast and Apple TV. They are affordable and can let you enjoy screen mirroring and a host of other media playback features on your non-smart TV.
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