We all agree that connecting a computer to a TV was a dreadful process. First of all, I had to bother with a whole bunch of cables. We also had to constantly adjust the output to match the resolution of the TV.
Thankfully, modern technology has made this a lot easier. Of course you can still use HDMI, but there are much more convenient solutions. The most widely used is the Chromecast.
It simplifies the process of displaying the contents of a computer screen on a TV and can be used for a variety of purposes.
If you haven’t done this before, here’s everything you need to know.
How does casting work?
Casting allows you to wirelessly cast the content of your computer screen to your TV. There are two main ways to do this.
The first is to use services supported by Chromecast, such as YouTube and Netflix. Basically what you need to do is tell the Chromecast to show videos from these services. It will then go online and look for that service.
The second method is the focus of this guide. You can stream content from your PC using your home network. There are no online services involved, all you need is a PC, Chromecast and TV.
The main difference between these methods is that what you transmit from your computer screen is highly dependent on the performance of your PC as well as your network. There are other differences as well, which we will discuss in the next section.
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Before sending
Before you start casting your screen on your TV, there are a few things you need to check. The first is to make sure both your computer and Chromecast are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. This is very easy. Just click the Wi-Fi button on the screen and check the network name.
To make sure your Chromecast is connected to the same network, open the Google Home app. This app is used to manage Chromecast and other Google devices. Tap the menu icon in the upper left corner and select Devices.
When you get there, look for the name of your Chromecast and then go to Settings. When opening device settings, make sure the Wi-Fi name matches the name connected to your computer.
Tap casting
Chromecast allows you to cast a tab or your entire desktop. Tab Casting is useful when you don’t want to show the rest of your computer screen.
If you want to transfer a tab, here’s how to do it:
1. Launch Google Chrome and go to the page you want to view on the TV.
2. Click the menu icon in the upper left corner and go to Send.
3. A list of all devices available for transfer is displayed. Click the arrow at the top before selecting the one you want. When the ‘Select Source’ window appears, you can click on the Cast tab option.
All tabs are now displayed on your TV and you can easily navigate the pages. When finished casting, close the tab or select the Chromecast icon and click Stop.
full screen transfer
The steps for transferring a desktop are very similar to transferring a single tap. The only difference is that you have to select Cast Desktop when clicking the arrow in the options list. After doing this, simply select the Chromecast name from the list of devices.
If you have more than one monitor, you will be prompted to select the screen you want to cast. Select it and go to Share.
However, there is one problem you may face. Transferring the desktop also transfers the audio from the PC. That is, the audio is transmitted double. To prevent this, you can turn off the sound on your PC.
When the screen transfer is complete, you can stop the screen in the same way as we saw in the previous section.
last words
Casting your computer screen using Chromecast is a very convenient way to stream your favorite content.
As you can see, the setup is not a difficult process. All desktop content on your TV is instantly available with just a few clicks.
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