By — Posted on July 25, 2017 12:00PM PST 07.25.17 - 12:00PM PST We’ve all watched YouTube videos on a laptop while the TV sat unused across the room. The TV is bigger, and looks better, but connecting to it sometimes just isn’t worth the hassle. There are a lot of devices designed to solve exactly that problem. Works if you’re deep into Google’s ecosystem, and is the tool of choice for Apple fans.
Our Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter review could hold the answer for Windows loyalists. Microsoft hopes it’s the $50 Wireless Display Adapter. Unlike the Chromecast and the Apple TV, this isn’t a device with an app ecosystem: it’s simply a way to wirelessly turn your TV or HDMI-compatible display into an external monitor. It does this using the 1080p Miracast protocol, support for which is baked into recent versions of Windows and Android. But is a wireless HDMI cable a good alternative for the Chromecasts and Apple TVs of the world, or is it too complex for most users to worry over? Two plugs connected by a wire Looking at the Wireless Display Adapter, you might think it’s some sort of USB to HDMI cable, instead of a wireless adapter.
But there’s a full Wi-Fi card and antenna hidden in those dongles, and that’s what you’ll use to connect your laptop or phone. The USB plug is only for power, while the HDMI plugs into your display. The two dongles are connected by an 11.5 inch wire, which should be long enough to connect to a USB port on the back of the display. If you need just a little bit more length, the included 6 inch extension cable should help a little bit, but something longer would have been better.
Wireless HD Display Adapter for Mobile and PC. The Diamond WPCTV3000 Wireless HD Display Adapter is an easy-to-use live streaming device that offers you a premium experience in Wi-Fi streaming to your large screen TV.
If there’s no USB port on your TV, you’ll need something else to plug into. The Adapter does not come with its own power supply. For travel, both sides of the adapter plug into a handy plastic insert. This should let you take this Adapter on the road without getting tangled up with your phone charger and headphones. There’s no on or off switch. To start it the Adapter, just plug it in.
On your display you’ll see the Microsoft logo during boot, until eventually you’ll see a screen with instructions for connecting your device to a Windows phone or PC. Perfect for photos and videos, useless for gaming We tested the Wireless Display Adapter with two devices, a Lenovo laptop running Windows 10, and a Moto X running Android 5.1. We found video playback to be smooth, and audio synced up without problems. Connecting with a Windows 10 device couldn’t be quicker. Open the Action Center, click “Connect”, and you should see the display listed as an option.
By default your display will be mirrored at a maximum resolution of 1080p (1920×1080 pixels), but on Windows 10 devices you can also choose to extend your display so different windows show up on your TV and your laptop. Audio will also be sent to the display, which is great for watching movies. At first glance the picture looks great, almost as though you’re using a standard HDMI cable. We could imagine using this for showing off PowerPoint presentations or photos without any problem.
Pulling up the latest highlights from NHL.com, we found video playback to be smooth, and audio synced up without problems. However, the higher the quality of the video, the more likely you are to run into problems.
We noticed significant latency issues when watching videos which, instead of the usual 25 or 30. The Wireless Display Adapter just can’t handle all those extra frames, and ended up turning any 60 FPS video into a garbled mess. Additionally, we can’t recommend this technology for is gaming. Full screen games like didn’t even show up on the display, and even while simply browsing the web there was a great deal of lag between moving your mouse and seeing the cursor move on the big screen.
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The delay made simple games like Tetris hard to play. Connecting with an Android device was also straight-forward.
On most devices, the “Cast screen” icon found in the drag-down menu is all you need. Connecting was fast, and again we could see this as a great way to show off photos. There were framerate issues not witnessed with Windows, however. Videos on the TV sometimes looked choppy compared to the phone itself, though for the most part were perfectly watchable.
Gaming, again, was out of the question. The delay made a game like completely unplayable. Occasionally, the display would glitch out entirely while trying to play, likely due to the frame rate issue again. Surprisingly good range Microsoft advertises the Wireless Display Adapter as having a 23-foot range, which we found to be conservative. Results will naturally vary by environment and depending on what device you’re connecting with, but we found walking 30 or even 50 feet away from the adapter didn’t stop the signal. Avideo kept playing on my TV with my laptop sitting in the driver’s seat of my car, 40 feet away and one story down from my television.
You shouldn’t buy this device planning around a use case like this, but the fact that I could pull it off makes me think connectivity won’t be much of an issue for most people. Supports Windows 8 and 10, Android 4.2 and later, and absolutely nothing from Apple The Wireless Display Adapter is based on the open protocol, which uses Wi-Fi to stream 1080p video. Microsoft added support for this protocol to Windows 8, and added even tighter integration to Windows 10. Windows Phone devices also support the protocol. Google supports Miracast in recent versions of Android, meaning if you’ve got a device running Android 4.2 or later it will also work with your phone. Google’s ChromeOS, meanwhile, does not support the protocol. Linux doesn’t support it out-of-the-box either, but users have created a variety of hacks that supports the protocol.
Connecting with a Windows 10 device couldn’t be quicker. Notably absent from the list of compatible operating systems is Windows 7. Those users might not be completely out of luck, however: third party tools like support the Miracast standard, and might be able to hook up your Windows 7 device. But what will not work, under any circumstances, is anything created by Apple., iPhones, and iPads do not support Miracast, meaning if you own one of those devices you’ll need an to wirelessly share your display. Configured with software from the Windows Store No third party software is necessary to connect to the Adapter, but to configure and update the firmware requires the free Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter app from the Windows Store.
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This simple software allows you to set a password for the Adapter, change the display name, adjust overscan, and update the firmware. Just connect to your display wirelessly, then open the app, and you can configure it. Warranty lasts for one year Microsoft offers a limited 1 year hardware warranty for the Wireless Display Adapter, which is standard for most devices at this point. Simple, functional, not perfect If all you want is to turn your TV or other display into something you can connect to wirelessly for quickly showing off photos or videos, Microsoft’s Wireless Display Adapter is a good buy. For $50 is provides an easy way to project Windows and Android screens’ to a TV, and with Windows 10, even extends your desktop. But if you’re hoping for something more functional than what’s offered by an HDMI cable, you’re out of luck. And if you were hoping to do some big-screen gaming from your laptop or phone, you need to look elsewhere.
The biggest problem might be the price point. $50 isn’t unreasonable, but the only costs $40, comes with a remote, a library of content you can stream without your TV, and can be used as a Miracast receiver just like the Wireless Display Adapter. Google’s $35 Chromecast offers similar functionality at an even lower price point. If you’re mostly interested in streaming video, these are both better options.
But neither of those devices can match the Wireless Display Adpater for functionality, as it can turn your television into a second PC screen. If you want a simple way to occasionally show off your photos, watch YouTube videos, or edit PowerPoint on a big screen, the Wireless Display Adapter will be worth the slightly higher price tag. But, if you’re turned off by the latency issues, you have plenty of options available — be sure to check out our breakdown of the. Updated 7-25-2017: Re-tested with the latest version of the device.
Is a great way for you to connect any device to a TV or an external display. It allows you to project media playing on your small-screen device to a more visually accessible display so that more people can have a look at your content; the biggest downside is that it requires a physical connection-cables can be hazardous to clumsy people. When it comes to wirelessly mirroring your device's screen, there are a few options to consider. One of it is Miracast. Miracast utilises WiFi Direct technology to build a connection between two devices without the need for a router.
Therefore, you will be able to connect a mobile device (laptop, smartphone or tablet) to a secondary display receiver (TV, projector or monitor)-with it, your what is on the screen of your mobile device will be mirrored on a TV, projection or monitor screen. Its peer-to-peer connection means that it has a secure connection so that any protected content like Netflix or Blu-ray cannot be streamed out. These days, there are around 3,000 Miracast-supported devices-seems a lot, but there is still much room to be filled. Part 1: Does Miracast have Mac version? Like many other pieces of technology, there will be some compatibility issues with Miracast. To date, both of Apple's operating systems, OS X and iOS, do not support Miracast; therefore there is no Miracast for Mac version that exists. This is simply because Apple has its own screen mirroring solution, AirPlay.
AirPlay allows users to view and watch media content from a source device i.e. iPhone, iPad, Mac or MacBook to an Apple TV. Unlike Miracast, which is purely a mirroring solution, AirPlay allows users to multitask while streaming the media content on your source device. This simply means that you can use your iPhone, iPad, Mac or MacBook for other things and it would not appear on your Apple TV screen. While it does have its perks, it does come with a couple of limitations.
First, it can only work with Apple devices; therefore, you cannot use AirPlay to mirror screens from or to non-Apple devices. AirPlay is also currently compatible with only second- and third-generation Apple TVs so you are out of luck if you have a first-generation model.
Part 2: How to Mirror Android to Mac? Apple products are tricky to use because they are usually not compatible with other brands-this is why most Apple users will tend to have everything Apple. However, if you are the kind who likes to mix things up, there is still hope. If you have an Android mobile device and want to mirror it to a Mac, there are ways you can experience playing a game on your Mac or use WhatsApp on a bigger screen. Since there is no Miracast Mac, follow these steps for the simplest and quickest way to mirror your Android on your Mac screen: #1 The tools Vysor is a great way to duplicate your Android screen onto your Mac's screen. All you need are three things:. Vysor Chrome app-install it in Google Chrome.
Since Chrome is a multiplatform browser, this app should work on Windows, Mac and Linux. A USB cable to connect your Android to your Mac.
USB-debugging enabled Android device. #2 Getting started Put your Android device on USB debugging mode:. Head to your device's Settings menu and tap on About Phone. Find the Build Number and tap on it seven times. Go back to your Settings menu and tap on Developer Options.
Find and tap on Enable USB Debugging Mode. Click OK when prompted. #3 Mirror on Now that everything is ready, you can start mirroring your Android on your Mac:. Launch Vysor from your Chrome browser. Click Find Devices and choose your Android device once the list populates. When Vysor starts up, you should be able to see your Android screen on your Mac. Tip: you can use your mouse and keyboard when your Android screen is mirrored on your Mac.
How great is that? Part 3: How to Mirror Mac to TV (without Apple TV) What if you do have an Apple TV but it decided to retire one day? Google Chromecast is an alternative to AirPlay that allows Mac or MacBook users to mirror their screens to a TV. Here is how to do so: #1 Setting up Google Chromecast After completing Chromecast's physical setup (plugging it on your TV and powering it up), follow these steps:. Launch Chrome and go to. Click Download to get the Chromecast.dmg file on your Mac. Install the file on your Mac.
Click the Accept button to agree to its Privacy and Terms conditions. It will start searching for available Chromecasts.
Click on the Set Up button to configure your Chromecast after the list populates. Click Continue when the software confirms that it is ready to set up the. Select your Country so that you are able to configure the device properly.
This will prompt the software to connect the device to the app. Confirm that the code that appears on your Chromecast app (Mac) matches the one displayed on your TV-click the That's my code button.
Select the WiFi network that you want to connect to and enter the password. You will be able to then change the name of your Chromecast device. Click Continue to connect the HDMI dongle to your WiFi network. A confirmation will be displayed if the configuration is a success on your Mac and TV. Click the Get Cast Extension button to install the Cast browser extension. A Chrome browser will open. Click the Add Extension button.
Click the Add button when prompted. A confirmation will pop up after a successful installation.
You will see a new icon on the Chrome toolbar. To start using Chromecast, click on the Chromecast icon to enable it-this will send the contents of your browser's tab to your TV. It will turn blue when in use.