Wireless video/audio transmission from PC to TV

[d_dgjdhh]

Hi everyone.

Is there such a method, to transmit one's desktop computer activites from the computer tower to a HDTV wirelessly?

Here's the scenario. I currently have my desktop Windows XP 64-bit computer situated in my basement. My Sony Bravia TV is located in the living room, 1st floor.

I've experimented with wires. I went to Best Buy, found out that I needed about 50ft in VGA cables to connect the desktop to the TV. My keyboard and mouse is already bluetooth capable, so I was about to use the computer in the living room. My TV also has a DVI input and my video card has HDMI input available too. I already have an adapter to convert the HDMI cable to DVI. But I didn't experiment with HDMI/DVI, so I don't know if the TV is capable of using it. Using the VGA cable, I was about to get 1360x768 resolution, but not higher than that.

Now the cables are returned (one of the few good things about Best Buy...they don't care what the reason is, you can return the hardware for full refund, lol). I went to a small computer store, and asked for prices on 50ft VGA cables and the 1/8" audio jack line. Comes out to about $57.00 for both @ 50ft each.

My concern now is whether I could get a wireless solution. If for example I start moving the furniture around, the wires might come out short. The 50ft cables from this other computer place have to be specially ordered and are not returnable if the sale goes through. The next larger sizes are 100ft each, those being non-refundable too.

I heard from someone that Sony TVs have a special wireless stick you can put in and would work for Apple computers, but I don't use Apple.

So, could anyone please provide your opinions on what could be done? If worse comes to worse, I can always buy the 100ft cables. Probably come out to $100 if it's 100ft for both cables. It's much better than the $206 charged by Best Buy anyway for 50ft of VGA only, lol. Or if you have other recommendations (that doesn't involve getting a laptop, lol), then I'd like to know. Thanks.

[Mordant17]

I'd suggest googling your TV's model number and seeing what sort of connection options it has available.

[whiterider]

The simplest solution, if you have a spare old laptop or something hanging around, would be to hook that up with wires to the TV then remote desktop it to the desktop in the basement over your wifi. I've not heard of a TV with native wireless support, but it's possible that there's a system equivalent to that Apple stick available for general wifi.

[ellacharmed]

I don't understand the objective, though.
"to transmit one's desktop computer activites from the computer tower to a HDTV wirelessly"

You want to be able to monitor whatever the person is doing at that PC from the TV upstairs? Or, do you mean you want to be able to access the contents of that PC from the TV, like photos, music & videos, i.e. consume your media from elsewhere while not at the source desktop?

There are a lot of options, primarily depending on how you mainly connect to the Internet on the WWW, in the WAN (Wide-Area Network):
- via a DSL line (phone line)
- via a cable modem (cable TV),
...which would determine what choices you have, in order to connect devices within your house in the LAN (Local-Area Network).

Other considerations are if you have:
- gaming consoles like PS3, XBox: do you want these devices connected to the Home Network as well?
- do you have non-Windows devices that you want to connect, like Android tables/phones, Apple iPads, etc?
- do any devices that are natively not connectable wirelessly, have a USB port to connect a wireless adapter/dongle to?
- maybe others that have not crossed my mind...

Things would be easier if you're on Windows 7, though. Here are some guides I found via searching the 'webz today...
- http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/Play-your-digital-media-anywhere-in-the-home-using-Windows-Media-Center
- http://www.cnet.com/1990-10839_1-6224209-1.html?tag=rb_mtx;dh
- http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/network-wifi/3223378/how-to-set-up-a-home-network/
- http://computer.howstuffworks.com/power-network1.htm
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNpEIqq77Fk
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sue1Zvmh8JA
(apologies for being redundant if you've come across these links in your own research, but my target audience is not just you but our whole MTS community) :)

[d_dgjdhh]

Sure, no problem.

As for what i mean about trasmitting desktop activities to the HDTV. What I mean is when you operate your desktop computer, you need a screen. Basically I already have a screen in the basement, I connect the tower to the screen and use the computer. I'm not just interested in connecting the the Internet. Cable companies already provide that service for a fee, but I'd like to tramsmit my activities without going through the Internet and using bandwidth (whether streaming, downloading, or otherwise).

What I aim to do is use the computer on an HDTV in the living room...about 50ft away from the tower in the basement. I don't want to move the tower from the basement to the TV for the following reasons:
- Lots of cables being attached to the tower. Disassembling and reassembling the cables each time I'd like to use the HDTV upstairs then bringing the tower downstairs again isn't ideal.
- The HDTV is being shared with my mom and grandma...so it can't always be used for computer screen activities. The TV's primary purpose is for television watching, with computer activities being secondary.
- I'd like to try operating the computer in different surroundings aside from just the basement. During times where I have the house to myself, I'd like to use the computer in the living room, instead of the basement.

Someone on another forum I asked the question to showed this Nyrius wireless video/ and audio trasmitter & receiver (http://www.amazon.com/Nyrius-NAVS500-Wireless-Transmitter-Receiver/dp/B005H3AU1Y/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1342403200&sr=1-2&keywords=video+transmitter+wireless). It seems interesting, but customer reviews are mixed.

There were also several wireless transmission devices while googling for results, but they need to be in open space, rather than going though walls/ceilings like bluetooth.

[ellacharmed]

Without knowing the TV model, I can't help much with suggestions.
And also why I asked how you connect to the world. Which would also give me a clue if you already have a router or might need one.

Does the model you have not have Internet built-in? Is it WiFi Integrated or Wireless-Ready?

Are you sticking with Windows XP or might be going to Windows 8, in the coming months?

If you already have a router, and the TV has no WiFi Integrated but is Wireless-Ready, then all you need is one of these Wireless-Adapters dongles (http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=31&name=Wireless-Adapters), preferably one that is reviewed to work with the brand and model of router + modem you have. But for the most part, these adapters are universal and fit any USB 2.0 port.

If the TV is not even Wireless-Ready, then you have more stuff to purchase and to set up. If all it has is an Ethernet port, then you're limited to just using cables and tracking that throughout the house. You'd also need a wireless or bluetooth keyboard, I think.

All of this info is in the links, or linked to from those pages.

And oh, you are using the Internet and using bandwidth, just within your local LAN. And if you're doing reason #3 in above post, you'll indeed still be going through the Internet when you surf websites or play online games, right?

[d_dgjdhh]

The HDTV I have is this Sony Bravia 46" (http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&partNumber=KDL46S5100#specifications). I connect to the Internet through my computer tower using a BELL FIBE Sagemcom 2864 F@st Router. I plan on continuing with Windows XP in the foreseeable future. Yes, I already have a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, so that's covered.

I saw this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt9iPGJFiRs), but it seems that wireless USB stick doesn't show desktop activities. I guess a wired VGA cable & 1/8" audio jack is the best I can do at the moment. Anyway, thanks for the information guys, I think I'll be doing a wired connection for now. I got a quote for 100ft of cabling for video and audio wires...$60.90 in total. Maybe in the future, there'll be more reliable wireless connections.

[ellacharmed]

Ah, now I understand why you need that transmitter+receiver thingamajig. That HDTV model does not appear to be Internet/Wireless-ready. The specs state it does not have an Ethernet port and the USB port is for the USB 1.1 standards. I'm thinking if using regular USB Wireless dongles in the market these days, the connection might be throttled or the drivers are simply not recognized, and plug-n-play won't work so well, as USB standards are backwards compatible.
Which makes me question the HDMI standards version the HDTV has. If you read the reviews to the Nyrius product you linked to, and basically most other HDMI wireless products, the ones who gave them 1 rating are the ones who complain of it not working. Because they found out after purchase the standards are different on the product and on their HDTV, and had to return it as it don't work. So, you should make sure of this. I cannot find the info on the Sony website, but it should be on the manual.

"but it seems that wireless USB stick doesn't show desktop activities"
That's why I asked what the objective was. For your purposes, you need a HDMI connection.

I've also been pondering the wireless Keyboard issue - to plug to the PC or the TV, and the range if it is on the PC over that much distance? I've been searching and found this one thread - Wireless keyboard in different room than PC (http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/60449-3-wireless-keyboard-room) and I'm still confused. So I hope that answer is able to help you...
More results in http://bit.ly/OeUdk8, if you're wondering what search terms I used.

And, I'd forgotten to ask what graphics card model you have?

[d_dgjdhh]

The keyboard and mouse work over 50ft in distance between the TV and the PC tower. I can even bring the keyboard to the second floor of my house from the PC in the basement, and it'll still respond (e.g. ~80ft in distance). I can start and stop music from Windows Media Player, for example. As for the mouse, I don't know, since I didn't plug the computer tower to any screen upstairs yet to see if the mouse responds that far.

As for the video card, it's an nVidia GTX 560 (http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-560). It has two DVI outputs, and a mini HDMI output.

EDIT: Seems like the keyboard and mouse works upstairs too (at about 90ft to the LG HDTV upstairs). Sony seems very particular about its VGA signals. The LG tv upstairs reads several resolutions up to 1920x1200 (although the picture quality on that TV isn't great). The Sony Bravia TV nows reads only 1280x768 or 1024x768 using the 100ft VGA cord I bought. Weird.

Does the VGA cord length matter much? It's a thicker cord than the original VGA cables I bought from Best Buy. The picture quality looks acceptable, nothing too pixelly. From what I understood, it's just when there's lots of interference from magnetic fields that it could impair the quality of the picture or signals. And then that forum has a link to an article comparing cheap cables verses monster cables (http://gizmodo.com/268788/the-truth-about-monster-cable-part-2?tag=gadgetshdmicablebattlemodo) in terms of which, if either, is reliable. I've skimmed through it, but so far it's an interesting read. You could probably get away with using cheap cables to get the same result on signals sent from PC to the monitor.

Incidentally, I bought this 100ft VGA cable (http://www.acceselectronique.ca/lesite/product.php?id_product=170). Good thing they were able to provide a box for storing the cabling, when not being used.

[ellacharmed]

That's great news about the Keyboard distance coverage! :up:
It would only be 1080p on HDMI. You won't be able to get that resolution on a VGA solution.

Going VGA means you need separate audio cables too, right? HDMI provides a 2-in-1 video+audio capability. And VGA being an Analog technology would need extenders/repeaters/boosters whateveritscalled kinda thing, I thought? So the signals won't get lost before it reaches its destination?

You've decided not to go with HDMI Wireless solution with the Nyrius product and other products of that sort, or is the HDMI standard the issue? Main con is the latency, I suppose, once the HDMI 1.x version is confirmed.
If you can run the HDMI cables in the walls/ceilings in the next renovation or home maintenance project, HDMI wired is the best solution, I think.
If going that BIG (involving that amount of work), I guess have to also consider "futureproofing". If this HDTV would last you much longer or would you be upgrading and whatnot. And that the PC and TV spots won't change and would remain there forever.

[d_dgjdhh]

Oh, things will be different a year or two from now. My mom and I are planning to buy a house and some new furniture and electronics, which will include a new HDTV. Don't know if we'll be keeping the HDTV, but we'll see later on. I'm most likely going to stay away from Sony, after this debacle with the HDTV not reading other resolutions, lol.

I've tried one time plugging the computer upstairs and used a DVI cable+DVI to HDMI adapter. Looked quite ugly on the TV. So I stuck with VGA. I'll probably consider the Nyrius wireless transmitter in the future, or if something new pops up at Best Buy, I'll test it out & return it, lol.

As for the VGA analog signals...I guess for very long distances, yes, one would need a booster for the signal to continue forward. 100ft I guess isn't that long of a distance, even when heading upwards. Or perhaps there's not much interference in my home with the devices around.

My mom doesn't like keeping furniture the same setup for too long...she'll need to move the TV around too at times, so can't keep the wires stationary for too long.

[ellacharmed]

Oh, I think you just got bit by Sony's first foray into HDTV (was it one of their first models?), first generation technology always have some teething issues, especially when the standards change just as fast. I think the newer ones wouldn't have any of these issues.

Based on the temporary situation, and especially of replacing the TV in a year at the minimum, spending and hacking the house for wiring does not seem the way to go. And wireless still seem the best bet for long-term, especially if the wireless products can outlast the current HDTV.

Good luck for whatever choice you make!