Screen mirroring allows you to view content from one screen on another, such as from your smartphone to a television. This could be to showcase your snaps from your recent holiday, or showcasing a PowerPoint presentation in a board meeting. No matter the application, knowing how to screen mirror is always handy.
In this guide I’ll go through the different ways you can connect a phone, tablet or laptop to your TV.
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How to connect a laptop to a TV
The easiest way to connect your laptop to a TV is using an HDMI port if one is built-in to your computer. Some thinner laptops don’t have it available but might come with an adapter which will have the audio-visual output connector. Some laptops also have mini- or micro-HDMI ports, while others opt for the newer mini-DisplayPort and USB-C ports.
Once connected, presuming you’re on a Windows machine, your laptop should recognise the television as an external display. If it doesn’t, hit the Windows key and search for ‘Rearrange multiple displays’, this will pop out a new window, and allow you to detect the television. If you’ve got a television with a higher resolution than your laptop, you might not see it properly display, and it might appear stretched or letterboxed. If this happens, switch over to extending the display instead of mirroring it, using the TV as a second desktop.
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How to connect an Android phone and tablet to a TV
Google Chromecast is a cheap, affordable device that plugs into your TV via an HDMI connection. Chromecast can mirror your Chrome web browser using a wireless network, be it tethered or via your home router.
As an added bonus the device lets you stream content from apps in Full HD, or even at 4K if you purchase opt for Chromecast Ultra.
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How to connect a PC to a TV
Miracast is a wireless display standard that works using peer-to-peer Wi-Fi direct to enable a connection between two devices without the need of a wireless network, such as a wireless router.
You can stream 1080p content and 5.1 surround sound through Miracast, and for your peace of mind is encrypted. This means sensitive content can be mirrored to a TV wirelessly without worrying about snoopers.
Many TV manufacturers build support for Miracast into their TVs, but if your TV doesn’t have it built-in, you’ll need to buy a compatible adapter, which needs to be plugged into an HDMI and USB port. Microsoft's Wireless Display Adapter or Asus’ HDMI Miracast dongle are affordable devices.
On the software side, you need to be running Windows 8.1, Windows Phone 8.1, Android 4.4, BlackBerry 10.2.1 or greater. Unfortunately, Apple devices don’t support Miracast directly – the tech-giant has its own equivalent AirPlay technology.
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How to connect an iPhone or iPad to a TV
If your Mac is a post-2011 device, then you’ll find that Apple’s AirPlay technology allows you to wirelessly mirror your display to a TV. In order for your TV to receive content from your iPhone or iPad, you’ll need an Apple TV box for your television. This isn’t cheap, but is the best solution to seamlessly mirror your Apple device on the big screen.
Setup is very straightforward, and once it’s up and running you should see the AirPlay icon appear on your Mac’s menu bar (a square with a triangle pointing into it). Click on this to show your options allowing you to use your TV as a secondary monitor too.
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How to connect an older device to a TV
If you have an older device, all is not lost, there are various display ports on both your television and device that’ll allow you to mirror your content. For example, the dated VGA connector, or even a DVI port - these are older and yet still relevant ports in 2017. However, these older ports have been phased out for a reason; they only carry video, not audio.
So, if you’re looking to connect your television and want to playback or mirror a video on your computer, then it’ll be inaudible. This is where DisplayPort and HDMI come in handy as they both offer a audio and video signal. If you are looking for audio, the cheapest way to bypass this, would be to get a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable to connect to and from your computer and TV.
If the cables are a bit too much, then look into the Chromecast or Miracast dongles instead.
