How can I view my computer on my TV ?

[ameerat42]

It is (more below), though as Rick said above, look into a Chromecast box.

Below...
If you're going to get an HDMI cable, be aware that there are (at least) two standards.
ALMOST ANYTHING will let you connect 1080p source to 1080p receiver, such as the TV YOU HAVE NOW.

But if you want to eventually upgrade to a higher resolution TV - the 4Ks - then the lesser HDMI cable will still
only transmit a 1080p signal. If you were to go from -- now just hear me out -- 4KBlu-ray to 4K TV then you'd HOBBLE
the signal. You'd still get one to it, but it would be 1080p only and the TV would then have to work to upscale it.

Just sayin', is all. I'm not sure what the standard is for the higher capacity cable, but look for definite statements about
being able to transmit 4K on the packaging. Ye$, they do cost more than the 1080p cables.

[Cage]

And no, my PC doesn't appear to have WIFI which is where the problem lies.

[ameerat42]

Whod!?? I've lost track. Is it a desktop, or a laptop? If a desktop, you can get yourself an (~$20) wifi
dongle to put into a USB port. Check out the band of the dongle (N-band, AC-band, both) and compare it to those of
your router (I'd expect it would have both as well). That's if you want to go that way. I'm still partial to the cable, though,
and even if you get a 1080p version for the present.

Back to cables:
A bit of info in this tirade: http://www.cnet.com/au/news/4k-hdmi-...-are-nonsense/
And more sedately here: http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/hdmi_1_4/4K.aspx

Looks like you'd need a 1.4 standard.

[Cage]

Whod!?? I've lost track. Is it a desktop, or a laptop? If a desktop, you can get yourself an (~$20) wifi
dongle to put into a USB port. Check out the band of the dongle (N-band, AC-band, both) and compare it to those of
your router (I'd expect it would have both as well). That's if you want to go that way. I'm still partial to the cable, though,
and even if you get a 1080p version for the present.

Back to cables:
A bit of info in this tirade: http://www.cnet.com/au/news/4k-hdmi-...-are-nonsense/
And more sedately here: http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/hdmi_1_4/4K.aspx

Looks like you'd need a 1.4 standard.

Cheers Am.

It's a self-built desktop.

So the USB WIFI dongle seems to be my missing link and I can hopefully configure the TV to pick up it's signal.

Many thanks.

[arthurking83]

So you don't have a T-box between the router and the TV, and the TV is connected to the network via an ethernet cable.
Do you have an internet connection on the TV yet?

If so, then at least it's connected to the network.

Now all you need to do is to connect it to your 'homegroup' and get the TV and the PC to recognise each other.

To confirm this, on the PC in Windows Explorer, you should see the TV as some sort of device on the LHS column under Network and or Homegroup.

Even then! .. you don't really need the PC to recognise the TV at all.
With the DNLA feature on the TV, as long as you have media shares on the PC, the TV should see that.

So as per above. if the TV is connected to the internet, then at least it's connected to the router(half the job done).
Go into your apps list, is there a media/DNLA viewer thingy in there.
With the media share created on the Win10 machine, and the PC on, if you use the media viewer/DNLA app on the TV, it should recognise all media sharing devices on your network.
That includes the PC's media shares, any shared media you may have on your smartphone, or tablet device .. etc.
This is where the USB HDD comes in handy.

On my brother in law's TV, it came under a media section of the TV's menu system. But his is not a smart TV and so doesn't have 'apps' as such.

All this may work via the Wifi system of the TV too .. but I dunno how stable/capable it will be. You'd think that for a very modern TV with such a feature it should be full featured.
If the TV is close to the router (I'm assuming that the T-Gateway you referred too is the router??) I'd be more inclined to use an ethernet cable.

In your situations(as it becomes more clear) .. I'd say don't connect TV directly to the PC via HDMI cable.
if you want to view your images in a slide show manner, or manually, you have to do this via the PC. That is, you have to set the PC to automate this, or in manual mode(that is changing from slide to slide) you have to control the PC.

If you use <whatever media app> is available on the TV, you then use your remote to switch from slide to slide. Sit back on the couch with your favourite beverage and chill out watching your images slide past ...

[Cage]

@ Arthur .....

So you don't have a T-box between the router and the TV, and the TV is connected to the network via an ethernet cable.
Do you have an internet connection on the TV yet?

If so, then at least it's connected to the network.

Nope, don't have a T-Box, and the TV is a WIFI connection

Now all you need to do is to connect it to your 'homegroup' and get the TV and the PC to recognise each other.

To confirm this, on the PC in Windows Explorer, you should see the TV as some sort of device on the LHS column under Network and or Homegroup.

Nope, under Networks it only shows the T-Gateway and CAGE - PC. My PC is not WIFI enabled.

The TV is internet capable, I can go to websites, watch stuff like SBS On demand etc

This is doing my head in so I think I'll give up on it and put it in the TBH basket.

[John King]

Gidday Cage

Read up on Miracast here:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/29075...n-your-tv.html

Unlike Google's Chromecast, it does not require you to send everything you want to watch via Google's servers ...

[ricktas]

Nope, don't have a T-Box, and the TV is a WIFI connection

.

Just get a wifi USB dongle off the net, and chromecast. Plug the wifi dongle into your PC and setup (easy) and then you have a wifi enabled PC. Plug the chromecast into a spare hdmi on your tv and setup, and then you are set to go. Should cost under $100.00

[ameerat42]

SBS on demand, etc, sounds like Freeview Plus to me. That does not require an Internet connection,
only a FvP enabled TV.

To enable the Internet on your TV it needs a connection to the Net via a modem and a router. You can have
such a connection via an ethernet cable or by WiFi to your modem/router.

To have a TV connected to the Internet, you should ideally have pretty high download speeds. For MOST
ADSL2 and Cable connections, running an Ethernet cable from the router to the TV is best.

But you have the NBN and a you-"byout" WiFi router (I imagine), so you should be able to get away with a
WiFI connection. That's what I would try to set up first.

Now I've lost track of details, so I must ask: Have you set up WiFi for your router? (Never mind if it is
a combined modem/router, as it's the router part that transmits the WiFi signal. If not, then you need to
do this first so that you will have a WiFi signal. Another thing: I expect you router will be dual-band, ie,
with both a 2.4GHz (N-band) and a 5GHz (probably-AC-band). Your TV (like most) will probably ONLY be
able to use the 2.4GHz N-band. So, if you DO set up both bands on your router (and with different names
as recommended to avoid confusion), expect to see only the 2.4GHz band on your TV. AND ALSO, make sure
you are looking at your OWN WiFi, not one from your neighbour.

To set up a LAN connection on the TV, go to the manual. It will direct you to the Menu option for setting up
a network connection. You will see a choice of both methods, Ethernet and WiFi (2.4GHz).

With the WiFi method you will have to - at some stage - enter the Router's password for its WiFi network.
Do that and within a few shakes you will be connected to your LAN via WiFi and

AFTER THAT...
Well, many TV browsers and TV input devices are HOPEless-ly slow and NOT DEVOTED to you when it comes
to inputting stuff. I find I do MINIMAL browsing on the TV. Mine, unfortunately, does not accept a normal USB
keyboard/mouse

Anyway, you'll have the TV as part of your LAN, and who knows what....

- - - Updated - - -

Just get a wifi USB dongle off the net, and chromecast. Plug the wifi dongle into your PC and setup (easy) and then you have a wifi enabled PC. Plug the chromecast into a spare hdmi on your tv and setup, and then you are set to go. Should cost under $100.00

As aforesaid, agree this will be easiest for TV-Computer connectivity and sharing. (My next move.)
You will still have to enable WiFi on your router.

You can do both: get a Chromecast device AND set up TV to network/Internet.

[ricktas]

As aforesaid, agree this will be easiest for TV-Computer connectivity and sharing. (My next move.)
You will still have to enable WiFi on your router.

No you won't. Wifi dongle and chromecast can talk to each other directly, without the need for wifi on the router, if you are only going to use it to mirror your computer

BUT, if you want to use the chromecas to watch netflix or youtube etc, you will need internet, which means enabling the wifi on the router.

[arthurking83]

@ Arthur .....



Nope, don't have a T-Box, and the TV is a WIFI connection




Nope, under Networks it only shows the T-Gateway and CAGE - PC. My PC is not WIFI enabled.

.....

It's probably a lot easier than you think.

What I think has happened, is that the T-gateway (router) has separated the wifi network from the cabled one. (ie, could be set to a guest network or whatever)
could even be something simple such as a separated IP allocation.

If the TV has a wired connection, I'd say do that(if it's easy to cable it to the T-Gateway).

Going by your schematic, it looks like the router(gateway) is a TG797n v3(as far as I can see).
The manual for it is useless, and doesn't explain anything about the device.(typical ISP devices .. all pretty much useless!)

The config web page for the device appears to be 10.0.0.183, where if you type that address number into your favourite web browser on your PC, it'll take you into the configuration pages of the router .. where you can set some stuff to make it all work.

I had a quick look and the router seems to be a Thompson branded device.
I found a manual for the Thompson branded device and it seems to be very similar to Telstras rebranded item.

The USB port does do UPnP/DNLA .. this is what you want(as you seem to be only interested in browsing your media on your PC .. yeah?)

Like I said earlier .. I reckon forget about connecting the TV to the PC. It's a bit more cumbersome, and obviously the power wastage in having the PC on to view the media.
use the USB port on the router.
In the Thompson manual it says that many file systems are possible. For simplicities sake, I'd say just use FAT32(unless you want to store large video files!)

Note too that you can connect up to 5 USB storage devices to this port too(via a USB hub obviously!) .. not many routers allow this(most more modern ones do tho).
So for example, if you want to really save power, instead of using a USB HDD(which uses power) you can connect multiple USB thumbdrives, which use far less power!

Anyhow, what you would then do is to go through the router's config page and set up the USB devices as either File Server(for any file type) .. or UPnP(for media).
I'm assuming that the differences will be that while you can access any file type with the file server mode, you won't get the eye candy interface that the UPnP mode will give you(again this is common).
The problem that I can see with Filer Server mode is that the TV may not recognise it(again only first hand interaction will tell!).
So the UPnP mode is the best choice to use.

Actually .. instead of me rabbiting on like a looney tunes character .. here's a link to the much more informative Thompson TG797n v2 manual!

For the Content Sharing section scroll down to pg 73(and beyond) of the PDF .. which translates to pg 65 of the actual paper copy.

Hopefully Telstra haven't stuffed up the configuration interface too much from the original Thompson one too tho.

if you configure the USB storage feature on the router, then all you then need to do is drag and drop any files from the PC to the USB storage device on the Router(under the Network tab in Windows Explorer)

side note: Jev said earlier that you don't need to set a drive assignment to the shared storage drive on the router. That's true.
But if you do set up a networked drive in Windows, then it comes up as another drive(just like your C:\ Drive and D:\ drive under the This PC index in Windows Explorer)
So if you do something like this(which is done via Windows!!) .. you would for example call it a T:\ drive(which makes sense for obvious reasons).
Why this is handy is that not all software is made network aware. And as I don't know what software you always use .. sometimes it's handy to have the mapped drive for those software that aren't.

eg. say you use a program called PhabulousImage101, which is uber fantastic for editing images and making them look super sharp .. but the software is light and small and fast(because they haven't bloated it with network awareness addons!)
You can't then see this router shared drive as a source or destination in that program, so you need to send the files you uber edited via some other program(usually windows explorer or whatever).
By setting up a networked drive(ie. mapped drive to T:\) in PhabulousImage101 the drive that shouldn't be seen is now seen .. as the T:\ drive.

If you want more help don't be afraid to ask (PM or email .. or whatever).

[Cage]

The WIFI connection seems fine.

I just had AP up on the TV via google, and it has saved links to YouTube etc in it's apps menu.

The PC is already connected to the modem with an Ethernet cable so I need to work out how to display the PC on the TV.

@ Arthur .... Thanks for the link to the modem. Mine is called 'technicolour' but the model # is the same, TG797n v3.

This is a snip of the T-Gateway page . Dunno if it helps.

Gateway Snip.jpg

[Cage]

I've noticed that my TV displays three available networks, a Telstra one that is the internet connection, plus another Telstra one and an Optus one. The latter two I suspect are the result of signals the TV is picking up from the two respective local 4G towers.

I'm leaning towards Rick's and Am's suggestion for a USB WIFI Dongle in the hope that the TV will pick up it's signal and all I have to do then is configure the TV to display the input, or go with Rick's Chromecast suggestion on the TV.

[ameerat42]

The other two could belong to your neighbours. I suppose you can ID yours by its name.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and this is PURELY as an aside:
Just a while ago I was watching one of those "Selling channels" where they were featuring a device
called a GO-GO stick - a so-described micro-computer that plugs into you TV's HDMI nad USB ports
and also touted as a "Chromecast/AppleTV/Ruko/... - killer". You know, one of those long-winded ads
where you wait years till they get to the price... Anyway, yeah,... this is it.

Wonders never crease! - Have you ever seen a wrinkled wonder?

[Cage]

The other two could belong to your neighbours. I suppose you can ID yours by its name.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and this is PURELY as an aside:
Just a while ago I was watching one of those "Selling channels" where they were featuring a device
called a GO-GO stick - a so-described micro-computer that plugs into you TV's HDMI nad USB ports
and also touted as a "Chromecast/AppleTV/Ruko/... - killer". You know, one of those long-winded ads
where you wait years till they get to the price... Anyway, yeah,... this is it.

Wonders never crease! - Have you ever seen a wrinkled wonder?

Astute observation Am.

I know my neighbor on one side has Optus NBN, and the neighbor on the other side has Telstra NBN so that possibly solves that riddle.

I'll have a look at the GoGo stick. Does it come with a pole ?

[ameerat42]

Yes. A small antenna flips up. - Silly, but troo

[arthurking83]

The two important boxes in that block are:

Devices: one eth one Wifi .. so like you said, it seems the PC and the TV are connected.

The next important info box is on the last line, second from the left.

Content Sharing: File Server enabled and DNLA enabled.

I reckon plug in any USB storage device(whatever you have available for now).
Plug it into the USB port on the router

That title called Content Sharing looks like it's clickable, which probably opens a box to get into some settings.
Somewhere in there should be some configs to set file system type and so forth.
It'll be easy to set up.
Once you do that, whatever device you plug into the USB port on the router should subsequently be seen in Windows Explorer under either or both, the Network index, and or some media area(maybe). . but for sure under the Network index, under the name of the router.

eg. a screen cap of my Windows Explorer index
network screencap.jpg

Note under the R6300(my router) there is a folder called TV Drive. This is a folder I created on an old USB HDD connected to my router. There is no drive letter assigned(I haven't mapped this one) so it onlyu comes up under the network list, under the device that hosts it(the router).
This is accessible by the PC and also by my TV under the media menu.
(it's old recorded tv shows and stuff like that).
I can easily send any file to that folder via Windows Explorer ... copy/cut/paste/send to(if I set that up) .. etc
So if I send something to that folder on the PC, in a few moments it's there for the TV to see it too.

--------------------

Above that is a listing for the DNS-327L. This is my new 'emergency' Network Attached Server(NAS) box. (I had to get something to replace my dead main photo archive storage drive, and this was basically it)
This is also under the Network tab in the index too.
Note it's a two bay NAS, where I have two HDDs installed. One is for all media(Volume1) and the other is set as my (now) primary backup for photos(Volume2) .. the replacement for the dead USB3 drive I used to use.
Both those two NAS drives have been mapped to Windows, and also come up under This PC .. just like your regular drives do. Vol1 is Y:\ and Vol2 is X:\
Again, with this system, you can easily send files to(and from) any of those drives via Windows Explorer.

-------------------

Basically what this means, is that you can use any such drive device(on the router) as a back up location if you feel it's needed. Otherwise, just use something like that as the primary media storage.
The bonus is that any device can write to that drive(if you set it up that way) .. ie. allow all rights.
So for example, lets say you're browsing stuff on the tv and you download something to view, you should(in theory) be able to save it to the networked drive .. and then later be able to see it on the PC if you like .. nd vice versa.

- - - Updated - - -

The two important boxes in that block are:

Devices: one eth one Wifi .. so like you said, it seems the PC and the TV are connected.

The next important info box is on the last line, second from the left.

Content Sharing: File Server enabled and DNLA enabled.

I reckon plug in any USB storage device(whatever you have available for now).
Plug it into the USB port on the router

That title called Content Sharing looks like it's clickable, which probably opens a box to get into some settings.
Somewhere in there should be some configs to set file system type and so forth.
It'll be easy to set up.
Once you do that, whatever device you plug into the USB port on the router should subsequently be seen in Windows Explorer under either or both, the Network index, and or some media area(maybe). . but for sure under the Network index, under the name of the router.

eg. a screen cap of my Windows Explorer index
network screencap.jpg

Note under the R6300(my router) there is a folder called TV Drive. This is a folder I created on an old USB HDD connected to my router. There is no drive letter assigned(I haven't mapped this one) so it onlyu comes up under the network list, under the device that hosts it(the router).
This is accessible by the PC and also by my TV under the media menu.
(it's old recorded tv shows and stuff like that).
I can easily send any file to that folder via Windows Explorer ... copy/cut/paste/send to(if I set that up) .. etc
So if I send something to that folder on the PC, in a few moments it's there for the TV to see it too.

--------------------

Above that is a listing for the DNS-327L. This is my new 'emergency' Network Attached Server(NAS) box. (I had to get something to replace my dead main photo archive storage drive, and this was basically it)
This is also under the Network tab in the index too.
Note it's a two bay NAS, where I have two HDDs installed. One is for all media(Volume1) and the other is set as my (now) primary backup for photos(Volume2) .. the replacement for the dead USB3 drive I used to use.
Both those two NAS drives have been mapped to Windows, and also come up under This PC .. just like your regular drives do. Vol1 is Y:\ and Vol2 is X:\
Again, with this system, you can easily send files to(and from) any of those drives via Windows Explorer.

-------------------

Basically what this means, is that you can use any such drive device(on the router) as a back up location if you feel it's needed. Otherwise, just use something like that as the primary media storage.
The bonus is that any device can write to that drive(if you set it up that way) .. ie. allow all rights.
So for example, lets say you're browsing stuff on the tv and you download something to view, you should(in theory) be able to save it to the networked drive .. and then later be able to see it on the PC if you like .. nd vice versa.

ps. moral of the story: if I were to spend any money on anything(in your situation) .. I'd be getting say a 1Tb USB drive(USB2 is fine) .. keep it cheap/affordable. You can never have too many HDDs

[Cage]

Many thanks again Arthur.

While I was looking in File Explorer at the network tab I was rather disconcerted to see the following pop up.

NETWORK with KOGAN.JPG

I don't own anything 'KOGAN' so it has me baffled. It keeps popping up for a minute or so then goes away. I grabbed a Properties snip of it and googling comes up with a download for a 'tun.ko module for a KOGAN Android TV'

KOGAN DEVICE.JPG

Could I be picking up a signal of some sort from one of my neighbours.

Very Confusing.

[arthurking83]

.....

Could I be picking up a signal of some sort from one of my neighbours.

Very Confusing.

Definitely a neighbour(if you don't any Kogan devices).

That tun.ko download message is a small file used to helps getting a VPN going. It's for the Kogan device.

What's curious is why the T-Gateway allows the Kogan device(could be a TV) to access your PC network, but it's not allowing the Panasonic TV? .. YOUR! Panasonic TV.

What you can do in the router(most good routers have this feature) is to set specific mac addresses through into the network .. or not.,
This is called mac address filtering.

It could be under the [Wireless], [Devices] or the [Local Network] boxes(I really dunno).

Some of those routing type devices have the ability to allow mac addresses only(handy, but painful to setup).
And some have the ability to allow mac addresses, but also deny specific mac addresses into the network(very handy .. especially in your situation here).

You already know the mac address of the Kogan thing now(04:3D:98:A0:E4:CA)
If the T-Gateway has a mac filtering feature .. and allows you to set it to 'deny' or 'block' mode, then type that address into the address field.

Now, in saying that, if the Kogan wifi device has been allowed access to the wifi network and the T-Gateway only says 1 Wifi device connected, is the TV(your TV) actually connected?
Or is there a time lag between some of those screen shots(eg. where the number of wifi devices on the T-Gateway may now be 2 or more devices).


Anyhow ... my two recommendations.
If you don't really need wifi, turn it off. That is, if the device is close to the router and can be cabled in .. better off cabling it!
With wifi off, you don't get these intruder devices .. even tho in general they're harmless(it's pretty unlikely that next door is snooping on you and your stuff)
It's just cross talk ..
You can minimise it by turning off the discovery settings on the router. There's a setting labelled SSID which broadcasts the name of the router continuously. It's helps new devices find it.
Once your device has been connected tho, the SSID broadcast isn't needed. Some older wifi devices may need it .. but this is rare. You almost certainly don't have one so don't need to worry 'bout it.
Do you have a wifi/smart type phone .. or any other wifi-ish device(tablet, camera .. etc)

[Cage]

I think the easiest way to watch a website on my TV is to load the website into the TV's favorites menu via google, a procedure I used to view AP on the TV. A bit more mucking around than pushing a couple of buttons on the remote, but it will do for the odd time that I'd use it.

re the available networks on my TV:

- The first is my router showing my routers ID and is password protected, with five bars of signal strength
- The next is an Optus connection, also PW protected, with 3 bars of signal. My Optus neighbour's router is about 5m away from my TV.
- The last is another Telstra router # with 2 bars, also PW protected. The other neighbour has Telstra NBN and their router is about 15m away.

As all these connections seem to be Password Protected I don't feel I have any problems in this area.

I just spoke to my Optus neighbour and she does indeed have a Kogan TV. She assures me that it is up to date with software, but why it is offering Apps to my Computer/TV and not her's is a mystery. Seems harmless so I'll just ignore it.

Thank you all again for you help and patience, particularly Uncle Arthur.