Getting HD video from laptop to my HD TV

[Ole Anderson]

I have edited several slide/video presentations of past trips using Windows Live Movie Maker. Good camera, a Canon T2i. I have made DVDs so I can play them on my TV and see them on the big screen. DVD beats the heck out of VHS format, but isn't up to HD standards. But I also save them in an HD format (1080P). I don't have an HDMI out from my old laptop nor does it have a Blu-ray burner but would like to view them on my new HD TV. Right now my laptop is on a LAN as is my Blu-ray player which is how I view internet content on my TV. The TV is also a "smart" one IIRC. Is there a way to stream them to the TV without uploading HD files to YouTube and then loosing quality in their compression techniques?

[Dan Hintz]

Google Chromecast?

[George Bokros]

Does your TV have wireless capability? I can see my TV on in home network. I can even control my TV with my iPhone wirelessly.

[Chuck Wintle]

I have edited several slide/video presentations of past trips using Windows Live Movie Maker. Good camera, a Canon T2i. I have made DVDs so I can play them on my TV and see them on the big screen. DVD beats the heck out of VHS format, but isn't up to HD standards. But I also save them in an HD format (1080P). I don't have an HDMI out from my old laptop nor does it have a Blu-ray burner but would like to view them on my new HD TV. Right now my laptop is on a LAN as is my Blu-ray player which is how I view internet content on my TV. The TV is also a "smart" one IIRC. Is there a way to stream them to the TV without uploading HD files to YouTube and then loosing quality in their compression techniques?

i am not sure but can you access your laptop thru the lan from the tv? Or possibly can you save the video to a usb key to plug into the tv? What is the file extension of the file from the camera? If it is comething like a canon file then maybe a the free program called "handbrake" can re-encode it. what brand of television is it and the model, maybe we can help you more precisely with this info.

[Larry Browning]

Ole,
I think Chuck my have the simplest answer for you if your TV or Blu-Ray player has a USB port. You may run into file format issues, but like he said Handbrake may be the answer. However Handbrake has many options, most of which will compress the video as a part of it's conversion which will degrade to picture quality.

[Ole Anderson]

I was able to view it on a small HD TV once by putting the file on a USB drive, then using my buddy's laptop which does have an HDMI output. Pictures and video was fantastic. File format is .WMV. 4 gigs for my out west trip video which lasts 40 minutes. I checked and my 47" LG model 47LN5200 does not have wireless, so it isn't as smart as I thought. It does have a USB port however which would be good for viewing static photos, but running a movie requires a program to view the file AFAIK. The .WMV file is the result of importing photos and video clips, overlaying music and using titles and transitions between photos and movies, so it is more than just running a slide show. I gave away my ChromeCast when I got my Blu-ray player to properly stream Netflix to the TV. If I put the USB drive into the TV, it does not recognize the .WMV file. When I pull up the USB icon on the TV, it only has choices for audio or picture files.

How does Handbrake send a video to the TV? It seems that it is just a format conversion program. Is there (is that) an all-in-one program that will fit on a USB and actually run a video?

[roger wiegand]

My Samsung TV will access photos and videos stored on my computer over ethernet, basically using the computer as a file server. The interface is fairly kludgy though, so I more commonly use Twonky Server to stream all kinds of media to the TV. I see Twonky now has a Twonky TV app that may be even better for what you want, I haven't tried it. I've been very happy with the performance of Twonky Server, Ive been using it to play the music thats on the computer in the house out in the shop for a good 10 years now. Very solid product.

[Chuck Wintle]

You should be able to put the movie on a usb key and then play it on your tv. the file extension should be mp4 so you will need to convert from .wmv to mp4 or m4v which may be possible using handbrake(maybe). I just checked and handbrake will convert this. I think the quality will not be affected.

[Chris Parks]

The specs of the TV connectivity say it has



MHL™ Mobile High Definition Link
SIMPLINK™ (HDMI™ CEC)

I would suggest a read of the manual may help understand what all that means.

[Ole Anderson]

MHL appears to be a non iOS hard connection between a smartphone and the TV, so no joy there. And the SimpLink is just a way of controlling other HDMI devices from each other or a remote control, so no help there either, but thanks for the research Chris. I went to the Twonky website and couldn't make sense of it. I will try converting the .wmv file to an ,mp4 file.

[Lee Reep]

Google Chromecast?

Chromecast is a really neat way to go. I got rid of the DishTV receiver in my basement a few weeks ago (thats a whole other discussion - - we are about ready to dump DishTV if they don't get the Fox issue resolved). I was thinking I'd just put a old stero in the room, but I put my "roving" HDTV in the shop now, and use a Chromecast stick to feed it. It mostly gets used for YouTube or Netflix, but since you can cast anything in a Chrome browser window to the TV, I could use it for anything that comes up in a browser, like radio channels. I was using my iPhone to control the Chromecast, but I jsut put an old laptop in my shop as the control center. At some point I may add a BluRay player to the setup, but that seems a little overkill right now.

Chromecast devices are amazing. I am doing home remodeling now, and you can drag a TV wherever you go, and watch things wirelessly using Chromecast (provided the TV has HDMI input). Best of all they are only $35.

[Myk Rian]

Are any of your devices Divx compatible? That's a very well supported variety of video.

[Chuck Wintle]

MHL appears to be a non iOS hard connection between a smartphone and the TV, so no joy there. And the SimpLink is just a way of controlling other HDMI devices from each other or a remote control, so no help there either, but thanks for the research Chris. I went to the Twonky website and couldn't make sense of it. I will try converting the .wmv file to an ,mp4 file.
i tried to play a movie on a usb key with a movie on it on my tv and could not because my is an older generation Samsung flatscreen. If it were a music file or photographs, yes, but movies no.