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Displays Networking

Ask Slashdot: Best Wireless PC-to-TV Solution? 158

Posted by timothy from the how-would-you-do-it? dept.
jez9999 writes: I have a slightly unusual requirement. I don't want to use some console like an Xbox, Steam Machine, etc. I just have a desktop PC which I use for most of the stuff I do (gaming, video, work, etc.), and it's upstairs. From time to time, I'd like to use it downstairs. Is there a wireless solution that will let me take control of the PC from downstairs, using the TV (HDMI) as the screen, and the TV's speakers to replace my desktop speakers? Ideally there would be a wireless transmitter in the PC, and a downstairs wireless receiver box into which I could plug the keyboard, mouse, and of course, the TV via an HDMI cable. Obviously Bluetooth wireless peripherals won't do for this as there's no line of sight between downstairs and the upstairs PC, and besides, I prefer wired peripherals anyway which I can actually plug in to something (no battery recharging needed).
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Ask Slashdot: Best Wireless PC-to-TV Solution? More

Ask Slashdot: Best Wireless PC-to-TV Solution?

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  • If there was an easy answer to this, then everyone would be doing this to watch watch mkv files (with .srt files where you have to choose between them), and other things (streaming from popcorn site or whatever).

    I think this is a big gap in the market, but it's partially on purpose. Hardware makers don't want you to be able to watch downloaded media so easily...

    What I do is have a laptop with HDMI out that I can easily stick next to the TV when required. It's not ideal, though.

    • If there was an easy answer to this, then everyone would be doing this to watch watch mkv files (with .srt files where you have to choose between them), and other things (streaming from popcorn site or whatever).

      VLC on Mac + Apple TV let my wife and I stream DVDs during our honeymoon without any issue. AirPlay Mirroring sends an on-the-fly re-encoded stream to the TV, so it generally doesn't matter what format your content was in originally: if it can show up on your monitor, it can show up on your TV (with a few exceptions).

      That said, for the purposes of this summary's question, he'd likely be better served by something like a Steam Link [steampowered.com], since it has wired connections for his keyboard and mouse (it can also work

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by jez9999 ( 618189 )

        - Wireless HDMI (can be expensive to get low latency, doesn't do anything for peripherals)
        - Wireless USB hub (can be expensive last I checked, no clue how good it actually is)

        I'm starting to think that using these two in tandem is the best I'm gonna get. Ideally there would be a product that bundled them up into one high-quality WiFi connection, but I'm not seeing such a product sadly.

        • - Wireless HDMI (can be expensive to get low latency, doesn't do anything for peripherals)
          - Wireless USB hub (can be expensive last I checked, no clue how good it actually is)

          I'm starting to think that using these two in tandem is the best I'm gonna get. Ideally there would be a product that bundled them up into one high-quality WiFi connection, but I'm not seeing such a product sadly.

          Intel WiDi maybe? https://www-ssl.intel.com/cont... [intel.com]

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Gollum ( 35049 )

        I'm working on a WiFi Keyboard and Mouse interface, using a Cactus Micro v2 board. This has an atmega32u4, which appears to the PC as a keyboard and mouse, as well as an ESP8266 Wifi microcontroller, which connects to your home wifi and exposes a TCP service to accept K/M events. Connect to it using your phone/tablet, send keystrokes/mouse movements to your PC, view the results via an HDMI over Ethernet extender.

        Still in progress, but sounds like it might address your problem.

  • Get yourself a cheap used machine (laptop/old desktop) and remote desktop in over the lan if you really "need" to use that particular machine.

    • Yeah, nothing like using remote desktop to connect a cheap laptop to your high-end gaming machine and then trying to play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

      • What you really want is Airtame (https://airtame.com/). Anything that appears on your screen is sent to the TV. And it works as it's own wifi access point. The hardware is solid but the software is still under development. Worth waiting for I think. It will eventually work on Linux plus the other usual suspects, including IOS and Android.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by CAOgdin ( 984672 )

          Ping works, but there's no site there.

        • Comment removed based on user account deletion
          • I could do an entire setup like what the OP wants for less than that. Raspberry pi + micro sd + usb wifi (assuming he's lazy and didn't run cat5 already) + wireless keyboard/mouse combo + hdmi cable + microusb cable (for powering the pi, assuming he doesn't have a box of old AC adaptors laying around). Hook the pi up to the TV and use it to RDP into the desktop PC.

  • Extra hardware (Score:3, Interesting)

    by darkNeko ( 1238104 ) on Thursday July 30, 2015 @03:48PM (#50217935)
    You can use a chromecast if all you want is video. If you want a more complete solution, try AirTame, a kickstarter product. The hardware looks good, but the apps and drivers are still beta. It works with Win-Mac-Linux tough.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jez9999 ( 618189 )

      I don't see how AirTame fulfils my requirements. It doesn't have slots I can plug a keyboard/mouse into, interactive with the upstairs PC. It's still just about streaming audio/video one-way.

  • There probably isn't one (Score:3)

    by danomac ( 1032160 ) on Thursday July 30, 2015 @03:50PM (#50217945)

    Especially if you are looking to wirelessly transmit 1080i/p reliably. I've tried and wireless was so unreliable (display artifacts and whatnot not present with wired) that I wound up going to the crawlspace and running wires to every device in the house.

    I wound up only using wireless for phones and tablets, every other device that has a physical LAN port is plugged in. I haven't had any network related issues since I ditched wireless.

    Back in the late 90s I tried a wireless video transmitter (back then it was composite video) and every time my neighbour turned on the microwave the signal cut out. Presumably for low res video you could probably get away with wireless.

    • Especially if you are looking to wirelessly transmit 1080i/p reliably. I've tried and wireless was so unreliable (display artifacts and whatnot not present with wired) that I wound up going to the crawlspace and running wires to every device in the house.

      Wired whenever possible, wireless only when you have to.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by jez9999 ( 618189 )

        Yeah, but this is a bit of a "when you have to" instance. Running wires all the way downstairs isn't really much of an option. Surely these days we have reliable enough WiFi to allow this, if the WiFi hotspot were dedicated to this sole purpose?

        • Then use a Homeplug setup to use the existing wires of your ring main. Get the pass through variety and plug in a WiFi access point into the downstairs one.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by gurnec ( 1011007 )

          FWIW I use Trendnet Powerline adapters where I have poor Wi-Fi coverage. This is an Ethernet-over-AC-power technology. Specifically, I use a pair of their 500 series. I just ran a quick test, and with a 1Mbps upload stream (from my PS3 location to my PC), I was able to pull a download stream of around 60Mbps - 100Mbps (it fluctuated a bit between those speeds).

          I occasionally have to reset them when they seem to lock up (say, once every 6 months or so), but overall I've been quite happy with them.

          If you do f

        • In addition to the "use ethernet over power line" (PLC = PowerLine Communication) as mentionned by the other,
          there's also the solution of using optical fiber.

          Recently there's been development in plain plastic optical fibers (POF) - the same cheap one that you use to carry digital audio, not the expensive glass ones (GOF).
          (Though as they are only permeable to red light, and not so much to infra-red, you need a pair of them).

          It's just a pair of fibers, so it much easier and more space saving than pulling Cat6

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      Especially if you are looking to wirelessly transmit 1080i/p reliably. I've tried and wireless was so unreliable (display artifacts and whatnot not present with wired) that I wound up going to the crawlspace and running wires to every device in the house.

      There are proprietary solutions, and generic solutions.

      I've seen proprietary HDMI to wireless to HDMI adapters - one end plugs into an HDMI ouput, the other end plugs into an HDMI input and it's supposed to work, but no idea how it works internally.

      Then the

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jez9999 ( 618189 )

      I'm one of those old-fashioned people who isn't obsessed with widescreen, and I only use a 1280x1024 resolution on my PC; not 1080p.

  • Compustick (Score:3, Interesting)

    by sectokia ( 3999401 ) on Thursday July 30, 2015 @03:51PM (#50217955)
    You can get a Intel compustick for like $100. Full pc that can simu wifi to a shared folder and play whatever you want, plus as it runs windows or Linux you can do anything you want

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by ajedgar ( 67399 )

      Seconded. The computestick can stay attached to one of your HDMI ports, with keyboard and mouse tucked away somewhere until you need them, then you can simply share a drive or do remote desktop, VNC or run standalone.

    • Re:Compustick (Score:4, Insightful)

      by amicusNYCL ( 1538833 ) on Thursday July 30, 2015 @04:18PM (#50218221)

      You can get a Intel compustick for like $100. Full pc that can simu wifi to a shared folder and play whatever you want, plus as it runs windows or Linux you can do anything you want

      A PC that can play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in high-definition and costs 1/6th as much as my video card? Impressive. Or are you using a slightly loose definition of "play/do whatever you want", more along the lines of "do anything it was designed for?"

      • With another computer (like the Intel stick), you can use TeamViewer to remotely view and control your main computer. LogMeIn can provide an even more robust solution, though it's not free like TeamViewer.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jez9999 ( 618189 )

      It doesn't seem to be quite what I'm looking for, though; instead of forwarding through the video/audio/USB/etc. from my main PC, it actually acts as a separate computer. I'm literally looking to just take remote control of the PC as if it were sitting there wired up to the TV.

      • Re:Compustick (Score:4, Informative)

        by Guspaz ( 556486 ) on Thursday July 30, 2015 @05:10PM (#50218639)

        You may be looking at two different solutions, then. One to handle the audio and video, one to handle the keyboard/mouse.

        Does it absolutely need to be wireless? Both HDMI and USB are easy to run over ethernet cabling with pretty cheap passive adapters, and it's the only solution that isn't going to have any sort of lag or quality loss. $12 adapters get you 150ft over ethernet cabling for USB, $20 gets you HDMI over 98 feet of ethernet cabling, and there are active solutions if you need to get HDMI farther. Drill some holes between each floor and hide the cable and that should work for you. Note that these don't use a network for extending, they use the ethernet cabling directly.

        If it does need to be wireless, it's not going to be cheap, it's not going to be lossless, and it's not going to be low latency. There are various solutions, like WHDI transmitters (~30 feet through walls, maybe $170 for a kit), or h.264 transmitters (~60 feet through walls, maybe $500 for a kit). You may also be able to combined the h.264 transmitters with a powerline network to get more range (the ones that I have do wireless or ethernet, since they use UDP/IP). Both will add latency and reduce quality slightly.

        USB is trickier, as wireless USB extenders are VERY rare. The few that I could find had all been discontinued, so the only option might be enterprise-grade USB-over-IP extenders that might work over wifi adapters (they're not tested over wifi).

        Really, just drill some holes and run some Cat6 cable with some cheap Monoprice HDMI-to-Cat6 and USB-to-Cat6 passive adapters. This will save you hundreds (or thousands) of dollars as compared to wireless gear that will always be a really crummy experience.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by jez9999 ( 618189 )

          I already laid one cat5e Ethernet cable all the way from my master phone socket to my PC upstairs when I got FTTC broadband installed. I don't care to repeat the experience. :-) It was a nightmare drilling a hole through the floor and now that we've got it done I'm not in the mood to drill any more.

          Frankly, given the (rather depressing) answers here, I'm thinking the best option is me buying a laptop. I use WiFi to copy data between it and my PC, plug the keyboard/mouse into it on my coffee table, and us

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Guspaz ( 556486 )

            Short range wireless audio/video is still going to have a lot of the same issues in terms of quality and latency. Some solutions will do lossless video over short distances (the 60GHz wireless video stuff for example), although I'm not sure about latency.

            What are you actually looking to put on the TV, though? If it's just media playback, there are lots of solutions involving either dedicated media players or HTPCs that are going to provide a much smoother user experience than how you describe using the lapt

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by jez9999 ( 618189 )

              It's various things to put on the TV, as I mentioned in the OP; interactive desktop computing in general, including maybe programming, possibly videos and gaming (although I do accept there may be latency and quality issues, the games I play tend to be single player turn-based anyway so that's not so much of a problem). It needs to be interactive so some media streaming device isn't what I need or want here.

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by adolf ( 21054 )

                Latency isn't just a problem for gaming. Latency is a problem for even getting a mouse to work in a sensible manner, with the feedback loop between your hand and your eyes.

          • Frankly, given the (rather depressing) answers here, I'm thinking the best option is me buying a laptop. I use WiFi to copy data between it and my PC, plug the keyboard/mouse into it on my coffee table, and use one of the various wireless audio/video options for casting the laptop to the TV.

            If you do go the laptop route, and you have data you'd want / need to work on from either system, why not store that data on a NAS instead of moving it around?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by jez9999 ( 618189 )

          USB is trickier, as wireless USB extenders are VERY rare. The few that I could find had all been discontinued

          Out of interest, could you provide me some links even to the discontinued products?

          I don't see why a wireless USB extender is such an issue. Compared to the bandwidth needed for wireless video (for which there do seem to be some solutions), the bandwidth needed for wireless USB should be very low (at least for just a keyboard and mouse), no?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mcrbids ( 148650 )

      I'm using an MK809 Android TV stick that cost me about $35 on Amazon. Plays my Samba shared media over wifi flawlessly, as well as Hulu/Netflix/NBC/CBS, all while using the USB port on my TV as its power supply. It really doesn't get much more efficient than that.

      Instead of a TV remote, I use a "flying mouse" that you can find for around $15 on Amazon. Held like a remote, it's a mouse; hold it sideways if you need to type. I leave the TV's volume always on max, and control the audio thru the TV stick.

      It's s

  • Get a NUC.
  • yeah wires

  • Raspberry Pi (Score:3)

    by i_ate_god ( 899684 ) on Thursday July 30, 2015 @03:55PM (#50218011)

    If ALL you want to do, is watch your media on your TV, then get a Raspberry Pi + wifi dongle, and share your media drives on your LAN.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jez9999 ( 618189 )

      That's not all I want to do. I want to interactively control my computer from in front of my TV, too.

  • Other posters have already suggested ways to get the video upstairs wirelessly, with the caveat that you'd probably not receive satisfactory performance for HD videos. It is manual, dirty, (sometimes) frustrating work, but so long as you've got the network infrastructure to handle 1080p streams, your most reliable performance will come from a strand of CAT6/7.
  • Chromecast with a Ethernet cable adaptor attached would do nicely. If you wanted keyboard mouse etc. It allows that as well. It also can be controlled with a phone....

  • This is easy. (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Get an apple tv, ipad, and remote desktop software for the ipad. connect to the computer over rdp with the ipad. share the ipad screen with the apple tv.

    Done

  • Intel WiDi (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Intel WiDi, I haven't used it myself though, but this is what it's for.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Trongy ( 64652 )

      Miracast is the name for the industry standard which Intel WiDi is part of.

      If your TV can't nativly receive Miracast (TV manufacturers give it different names. e.g. Samsung Allshare Cast) you can buy a miracast receiver dongle.
      That's the easy bit.
      From browsing intel forums, it seems WiDI is mainly supported on ultrabooks which have all Intel components, including the wireless network adapter and display.

  • There are some issues in what you want to do. Some free video sites go to great lengths to prevent you from watching them on a TV (such as Hulu, but not Hulu Plus). But you can watch many sites (including Popcorn) directly on the Roku. For video that you already have on the PC you can use a free DLNA player and search through your computer (or your NAS storage device) right from the Roku. Control of the PC isn't included with this, but there is a free Roku app that will let you send video from the browser t

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by bws111 ( 1216812 )

      I don't see anything in his request about playing media (although maybe he wants to do that). It seems to me what he wants is some cheap device that acts as a VNC client (with sound), using his TV as the monitor.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by jez9999 ( 618189 )

        Not necessarily cheap, but basically yes, your summary is correct. I probably wouldn't watch much media with it, and if I did, I'd probably be satisfied with low(ish) quality.

      • I don't see anything in his request about playing media...

        You don't seem to have been paying attention. The one example that I saw was watching Popcorn (one of many many free movie sites that the Roku supports including Crackle). He did mention doing video, gaming and work on the PC but wasn't clear on what he wanted to use the TV for. There are some games available for Roku, even a few free ones, but I wouldn't call it a good gaming solution. I still think the best idea is buying a small computer to

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by bws111 ( 1216812 )

          See the post directly above yours (from the submitter). It wasn't me who was not paying attention.

          • See the post directly above yours...

            When my first post in this thread was written there were only two other responses in the thread, neither from the original poster. I can't be faulted for "not paying attention" to something that was posted while I was writing. On the other hand, you stated " I don't see anything in his request about playing media ..." when the original poster clearly mentioned watching the Popcorn movie service.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by bws111 ( 1216812 )

              The submitter never mentioned popcorn. The first RESPONSE mentioned popcorn, but that is NOT the original poster. If you are going to chastise or correct someone (twice), if helps if you are correct.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jez9999 ( 618189 )

      There are some issues in what you want to do. Some free video sites go to great lengths to prevent you from watching them on a TV

      This solution would involve streaming the video from the PC onto the TV. If it can be streamed onto the PC, it could be streamed onto the TV. I'm not really seeing the problem there.

      Basically I'm looking for a solution that would be just like plugging a laptop into a TV, but instead, it's wirelessly connecting a desktop (probably using WiFi).

  • Make sure your graphics card has an H264 encoder built-in (the likes of geforce GTX 660 and up, Radeon I-don't-know-which-ones).
    This is what allows streaming of video games (nvidia feature, Valve's Steam feature) over the network. GTX 960, 970 and 980 even have a H265 encoder but you will have trouble finding something on the receiving end, as of yet. It might make using wireless more realistic but not that much.. good old 100BaseT would feel more reliable.

    For other PC use (desktop, even video) I don't know

  • All the wireless solutions are flaky or expensive. Go wired.

    HDMI can go up to 45 feet. If you need to go farther than that there are HDMI to Cat6 converter boxes. Run the HDMI over the Cat6, run it through the conduits... easy peasy.

    If you tell me "I don't have conduits" or "this sounds like too much work"... You're shit out of luck so far as I understand the issue. That is how I understand that has to work.

    Yes... there are wireless options but the most you would want to do with those is maybe a movie. If y

  • I've been playing with OBS "Open Broadcaster Software" streaming video from my PC to a Raspberry Pi. OBS is designed for live-streaming games, but seems to work well for general video as well. In my experience, there's about a half-second of lag, so it's terrible for UI, but the transmission is smooth, so actual video playback is nice.

    You should be able to simultaneously run a remote desktop session or VNC on the Pi to control the UI in a relatively lag-free way, hit a key to start streaming, and enjoy t

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jez9999 ( 618189 )

      Otherwise, why not just use what you already have and set up network shares on the PC?

      Because I'm thinking of more interactive things that just video, in addition. Like browsing the web and doing email stuff. Maybe even some Visual Studio development. It can just be nicer doing that in the living room on a comfy sofa with the TV than in the study.

      • Right, I get that, and I should've been clearer in how I wrote my comment. It was more of a rhetorical question to acknowledge that the system that I described is a little round-about, and that if the use-case was more limited, there would be better answers for a subset of what you want to do.
      • Is there some reason you can't use a pi to remote desktop or VNC your desktop PC while using the TV as the pi's screen? You could probably build the entire setup for under $150.

        If the remote desktop solution isn't acceptable for streaming video, then you can just use VLC or the pi itself to stream it.

        If for some reason you don't want to do that, use a wireless HDMI cable (I'm assuming they make such a thing, if not then I suggest you man up and poke some holes in your wall) to clone the desktop monit

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by jez9999 ( 618189 )

          Is there some reason you can't use a pi to remote desktop or VNC your desktop PC while using the TV as the pi's screen? You could probably build the entire setup for under $150.

          Because then I'd have to use a wireless keyboard/mouse and I cant stand those. I want something to plug them in to. I'm guessing there's no "receiver box for USB peripherals" that could be plugged into the mains as I'd hoped, so it looks like I'm going to need to use a laptop.

          • Because then I'd have to use a wireless keyboard/mouse and I cant stand those. I want something to plug them in to

            You plug them into the pi. The pi shares them to the desktop PC over your favorite 802.11 protocol via Synergy. The pi is kept headless, and in theory can be run completely wirelessly (get one of those external batteries with the USB outputs for charging cell phones).

  • Perhaps overkill for what you want, but MythTV can be be used across multiple systems in a client-server setup for live/recorded TV, photos, videos... You can install the server on your desktop, with a capture card if you want live or recorded cable/OTA TV, and the client side on a less-capable system attached to your TV (really easily if your TV has a VGA port (like mine) or your PC has an HDMI port ...). All you need is to network the two systems. It can also be controlled via a remote or keyboard. Not

  • > I have a slightly unusual requirement.

    Nothing really unusual about this.

    > I just have a desktop PC which I use for most of the stuff I do (gaming, video, work, etc.),
    > and it's upstairs. From time to time, I'd like to use it downstairs. Is there a wireless solution
    > that will let me take control of the PC from downstairs, using the TV (HDMI) as the screen,
    > and the TV's speakers to replace my desktop speakers?

    What you are asking is how to work remotely from TV room to your personal computer

  • Used to work well for me for 3-4 years and then suddenly stopped. Full name is ASUS WiCast EW2000 Wireless HD Video Transmitter and Receiver but not available on Amazon now. Pixel perfect HDMI transmission with zero latency.

  • OK here is how you do it. 1. Get a napkin. 2. Scribble your design idea on napkin. 3. Fly to SV. 4. Meet with VC 5. Raise $300M in startup capital. 6. Employee folks from ./ community. 7. Blow through $300M in short order. 8. Fold company. No problem..... I really do not understand some of the stupid questions that get asked on here. Almost as dumb as the polls...
  • For example, you can use: http://www.monoprice.com/Produ... [monoprice.com]
    that will get you the HDMI over a distance using CAT6
    Then you would use something like:
    http://www.monoprice.com/Produ... [monoprice.com]

    The second is only usb 1.1, but for a mouse and keyboard you probably don't need much more than that. You would need to wire each end directly to each side using CAT6 and there might be other devices to run USB 2.0/3.0 over CAT, but these work fine for me. I run them about 85' between my kids' room and the living room so the

  • Ideally there would be a wireless transmitter in the PC, and a downstairs wireless receiver box into which I could plug the keyboard, mouse, and of course, the TV via an HDMI cable

    I can't think of any OOB ready-made solutions to this. At least none that would be cheaper than buying a dedicated downstairs computer. Even then it would be a kludge: you could teamview from the downstairs computer into the upstairs computer; that would do it but it would be clunky.

  • I have a Western Digital WD Live, with a wireless adapter plugged into one of it's USB ports. It works fine for what I want, which is to watch most mkv files. It has YouTube and a few other "apps" on it. I've got an older model, but apparently they've kept it up to date, it seems to plays most things I try on it. I keep a shared directory that I put files in on my PC and the WD Live connects and lists them all for me to choose. Connected to the TV via HDMI. These go for around $60-90 or so, depending on mod

  • Answer for "why all answers here seem a bit off" (Score:3)

    by cloud.pt ( 3412475 ) on Thursday July 30, 2015 @06:43PM (#50219195)

    There is a very specific reason that you can't find any decent sugestion on these comments getting 5+. To put it simply, there's no silver bullet.

    (for brevity I'll summarize my sugestion here, just combine the following: Control the PC with Remote Desktop for Android; Stream Audio+Video with Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter or a cheap Miracast Dongle; Have a PC that enables flawless screen casting over wifi, preferably using Intel WIDI on Win8+ and an Intel GPU; Have some very good domestic WIFI network; Forget long cables exist: they won't give you control over the PC, they are more expensive than a good enough router and they are cumbersome when you don't need their lenght anymore)

    Everyone has very specific needs (marked with * are yours):
    - some already have a gigantic library, so they need fast/reliable access to it wherever it is (also varies)
    - most (of the afforementioned) formats are picky: lossless/lossy/weird audio formats and won't play everywhere nicely
    - ...and they may also need subtitle support
    - some just want to stream popcorntime (or youtube, or hulu, or [insert your brand of constantly updated content])
    - others just want to cast their PC screen *
    - then they realize they also want to control it from afar...*

    But then, everyone has very specific, sometimes catch-all habits:
    - some want to use the thing everyday, so they want swift performance, intuitive UI control and quick pinpoint of programing, even some form of "zapping"
    - some watch sporadically and can take the hit on performance, usability, and even availability
    - some want to use it once a year, but they want it to be flawless that once

    Everyone has a certain flavour of a crucial part of the "system":
    - no decent internet uplink from the ISP
    - no decent WIFI for streaming HD content (remote or local)
    - no chance to wire the place around for solving previous issue
    - Linux, Mac, Windows, Android, HDMI (and its versions), DVI (and its versions), DisplayPort (you knwo how it goes), D-SUB..... USB (...Micro; Type-C lel)...

    And then there's the real nitpicky shyte: low power usage, low noise, below 50$, must use https/proxy/VPN yada yada. Seriously I think there isn't two people in the world that, whatever solution they attempt, both of them will never be completely happy with that solution. But there's certainly one for your needs and I have a sugestion that just might be it:

    Since you want video, audio, and control over two separate floors, you surely need to use that WIFI network. No way around it: and HDMI cable won't totally control your PC from afar. So you want at the very least 802.11n everywhere (router, tv-side, pc-side, smartphone-side). If you are thinking of streaming to pc from the interwebs, you might even need either wired connection router->PC, or alternatively dual band "ab" stuff so local throughput doesn't get chopped by the big mesh dynamics going on. Since we got the "medium" out of the way, now we need your "control device". Three words: Android Remote Mouse (google it). Now the most important part: how to get your display+audio out of that PC and into that HDMI? Unfortunately there's only one decent choice in my humble opinion (it has many names though...) Miracast/Widi/screencasting. And that narrows your choices a lot: PC side you need an intel CPU and Windows 8+ as they are the (to my knowledge) the most viable way to share desktops SEAMLESSLY; TV side, I will say you want a Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter or any decent Miracast dongle that suits your pocket. People say chromecast will also allow it but I wouldn't trust 2yo product on a constantly feature-changing (sometimes without warning) software platform.

  • You can usually find ~$100 laptop with a broken screen with reasonable specs on Craigslist, Ebay, etc. Connect to TV, plug in your mouse/keyboard, connect to Wifi (preferably N, or run a string of copper).

    Use some form of remote desktop software to connect to primary workstation.

    Essentially you've created a thin client. Network bandwidth and wifi latency will be the killer in this situation, though. As mentioned above, run a string of Copper if possible.

    Good luck.


  • This is pretty much what you need to do if you want the versatility of your desktop on your TV.

    Hook a small PC up to your TV and leave it there. A $10 USB WiFi adapter can connect it to your network. This is about the cheapest and most versatile solution. A < $100 box will do the job. Just find a small, old dual core box, install your OS of choice, maybe add some RAM and/or a SSD if you wanna splurge (also < $100) and you are all set. You can remote into or load files from your main desktop u

  • An ip kvm will do exactly what you want. They are used in data centers to control machines throughout the building. You can get a used Raritan on ebay for about $200-$250.

    As others have pointed out, hdmi video is multiple gigabits, so you're not going to have Bluray quality video, or gaming FPS, without a dedicated tables. If you want that kind of video, the standard is called hdbase-t. You can run it over cat5e or cat6.

    You do NOT need to drill new holes and go through the same trouble you did when you

  • You sound like you're asking for a WiFi KVM (keyboard, video, and mouse).

    Hardware KVMs are somewhat rarer now than they used to be, as software alternatives are now good.

    You might look at something like this:
    http://djlab.com/2012/05/porta... [djlab.com]

    I have used good HDMI over IP products and good WiFi bridges, but never tried them together. On the software side, I was impressed with HP's RGS, but there are a ton of alternatives now. For small form factor PCs, I like the Brix Pro series.

  • Most of the solutions for this sort of thing I have done involve wired HDMI extenders over Cat6 and a wireless USB mouse/keyboard. There are "wireless" solutions but all of them are way overpriced for residential use and many are limited in application because they HOG bandwidth. Technically you can do it, but it won't be very responsive without using ac wifi. I personally ran my own extender to do this at my house, was actually really easy to do with some fish tape/firebreak drill bits. That is what I

  • I use Serviio [serviio.org] (Free/25$) and while it's not perfect it's pretty damn good.

  • Be aware, Chromecast doesn't let you stream anything unless it is connected to a Wifi network that has Internet access.

    Obviously, Google needs to know what you are streaming from your laptop to your TV in order to provide 'best user experience', I guess.

    They failed to mention this requirement anywhere on the box, but they mention "steam local content" quite few times.

    So, just be aware of it before you buy.

    I got screwed, since wanted to stream content from laptop in place where I don't have Internet. Whoops

    • Is that it? It's how the USEU is going to become a dictatorship? Just because people can't be arsed to launch a video file from a file manager, stored on a hard drive with the computer connected through VGA to the fucking TV.

  • Use a $35 Chromecast!

    You can send your entire screen to your TV with a Chromecast [allaboutchromecast.com]. You'll probably want to find some kind of wireless keyboard and/or mouse to do this.

    You could also look at Android TV and see if there's a screen mirroring application. I don't know if Android TV can run ordinary Android apps, but if it can, there's already a screen mirroring program. [techhive.com]

    Finally, stick PCs [cnet.com] are a thing. You could always run a screen sharing program on a stick PC.

    IMO, I think trying to connect a PC to a TV is qui

  • Greetings OP, I have one of these rigs: Actiontec My Wireless TV WiFi / HDMI Multi-Room Wireless HD Video Kit http://www.amazon.com/exec/obi... [amazon.com] I use it to sling HD video, USB and IR from my downstairs to upstairs, and it works great! There is a small amount of latency but it's not at all unusable. Sounds like it would do exactly what you want! I'm very happy with mine--normally I'm a bit skeezed out by Actiontec products (FiOS wireless router ugh) but this one has been completely solid. Good luck! Reg

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by 4pins ( 858270 )

      Mod parent way up!

      Someone who tried to answer the question posed, with an actual currently available product and personal experience!

  • I tried Chromecast but hated it. Eventually I realized the best solution was connecting my laptop to my home theatre via HDMI. When I need it I just select the video setting and when finished selected back to TV. No need for special apps or even an internet connection. Even when my TV is off I can play music from my laptop through the home Theatre speakers. With Blackberry Blend I can see my incoming email/BBMs when I am watching movies. Video chats on my big screen TV are amazing and remind me of th

  • If you told us what you wanted to do remotely. Watch video? Browse the web? Play games?

    Essentially what you need is what you explicitly state you do not want: a console, Steam Machine, etc. Maybe you could get away with a Raspberry Pi with a wifi adapter and Chrome remote desktop or Team Viewer. It might work for gaming if you can install the Steam client on it, and you should be able to stream video (probably better off putting video files into a shared folder or USB stick and playing them locally).

    But no,

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