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Video from laptop to large screen TV freezing
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dunroving
Posts: 1,903 Forumite
in Techie Stuff
As part of my frustration with media suppliers almost forcing you into buying "their" boxes and gadgets, I watch BT Sport and NowTV by playing through my laptop/interWeb, and relaying to one of two large-screen TVs via HDMI cable.
When watching via the Samsung in my living room, I noticed there would always be a slight delay - audio was about 1 second ahead of video). Thus, I'd know someone had scored before I actually saw it! Ah well, the price of technology.
Now, however, things have got a lot worse. While trying to watch BT Sport last night, the picture kept freezing/jerking about every 5 or 10 seconds. In connection with this, the video increasingly lagged the audio, until the two were several seconds apart.
This only happened if I was trying to watch full screen in the video player, relayed to the large-screen TV. So, (a) if I exited full-screen, the jerking went away, and (b) if I disconnected the HDMI cable and watched on the laptop only, the jerking went away. I also use two Dell wide=-screen monitors in my home office (this is my primary use of the laptop), and the full-screen video doesn't judder in that situation also.
This (the juddering/freezing) is a new problem ... have been using this set-up for about 2 years with only the slight delay problem ... will be very annoying if this problem prevents me from watching any pay-per-view content entirely.
From online searches, I have come across a recommendation to change monitor settings and/or download video drivers - but I can't see why this would work as the set-up has been working OK previously.
When watching via the Samsung in my living room, I noticed there would always be a slight delay - audio was about 1 second ahead of video). Thus, I'd know someone had scored before I actually saw it! Ah well, the price of technology.
Now, however, things have got a lot worse. While trying to watch BT Sport last night, the picture kept freezing/jerking about every 5 or 10 seconds. In connection with this, the video increasingly lagged the audio, until the two were several seconds apart.
This only happened if I was trying to watch full screen in the video player, relayed to the large-screen TV. So, (a) if I exited full-screen, the jerking went away, and (b) if I disconnected the HDMI cable and watched on the laptop only, the jerking went away. I also use two Dell wide=-screen monitors in my home office (this is my primary use of the laptop), and the full-screen video doesn't judder in that situation also.
This (the juddering/freezing) is a new problem ... have been using this set-up for about 2 years with only the slight delay problem ... will be very annoying if this problem prevents me from watching any pay-per-view content entirely.
From online searches, I have come across a recommendation to change monitor settings and/or download video drivers - but I can't see why this would work as the set-up has been working OK previously.
(Nearly) dunroving
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Comments
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Dodging your issues, I suggest you try a Roku Streaming device. BT and NowTV supported.
EDIT: looks like I got my Roku and Chromecast mixed up. See below.If you put your general location in your Profile, somebody here may be able to come and help you.0 -
No BT TV or BT Sport on my Roku.
BT Sport is only supported on Chromecast and it also supports NOW TV and many others as does Roku.0 -
Maybe I just need to bite the bullet but, having already purchased an Amazon Fire Stick and running out of HDMI ports (have a Freesat PVR, DVD player, Blue-Ray player), I'm not even sure if I have a spare port to plug in a Chromecast stick ... also, the second large-screen TV I use is in the attic (I watch rugby while riding the turbo trainer up there) - I'm about to try that with the laptop this afternoon and if it also is jerking around, I'll be right ticked off.
All this fancy technology and one half doesn't seem to work with the other half.
I haven't looked into it yet, but can I play from my laptop through Amazon Fire Stick via Bluetooth? Wondering if this might be more amenable than via HDMI.(Nearly) dunroving0 -
No to Bluetooth.
A HDMI switch with add a few extra ports from around £10.
Or do you need both the DVD and Blu-ray players, it would free up a socket.0 -
Need both DVD and Blu-Ray players because the BlueRay can't be hacked to play Region-free (I have a large-ish collection of DVDs from 20 years living in the US).
Mind you, since LoveFilm closed down I haven't played any disks for about 3 months ... maybe I just need to get a Chromecast. Yet another blinkin' gadget. Augh.
Also, would this definitely solve my problem? What if it has nothing to do with using the HDMI cable ...?(Nearly) dunroving0 -
Sorry, more dumb questions. So, Chromecast, if I am understanding correctly ...
Allows you to access content via the interWeb (is it wireless only, or does it have an Ethernet port for Ethernet input? My Wi-Fi signal is a bit patchy in certain corners of the house)
Allows you to install apps to watch NowTV and BT Sport ... presumably you'd just input the relevant Login details into the app?
Can be moved from one TV to another (so I would not need to get a separate one for the attic)?
My useage of these gadgets would be primarily to watch sports via NOWTV (I usually take up a 1-month special offer at times like rugby tours and the Tour De France) or BT Sport Lite (comes free with my BT package). I just don't watch enough sport besides rugby to warrant a full-fledged package like Sky Sports and am already perfectly happy with my Humax Freesat recorder.(Nearly) dunroving0 -
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Sorry, more dumb questions. So, Chromecast, if I am understanding correctly ...Allows you to access content via the interWeb (is it wireless only, or does it have an Ethernet port for Ethernet input? My Wi-Fi signal is a bit patchy in certain corners of the house)
Wi-Fi out of the box, Ethernet / mains adapter is £15 extra. CC itself is regularly on offer for £19 if you can wait.Allows you to install apps to watch NowTV and BT Sport ... presumably you'd just input the relevant Login details into the app?
Yes. NOW TV allows four devices, your phone will count as one and the CC one also.Can be moved from one TV to another (so I would not need to get a separate one for the attic)?
Yes if both have HDMI sockets and there is Internet access.My useage of these gadgets would be primarily to watch sports via NOWTV (I usually take up a 1-month special offer at times like rugby tours and the Tour De France) or BT Sport Lite (comes free with my BT package). I just don't watch enough sport besides rugby to warrant a full-fledged package like Sky Sports and am already perfectly happy with my Humax Freesat recorder.
I purchased Eurosport player usually £30 a year for £2 a year with their Black Friday deal, regularly deals around for £15 or £20 again it you wait. TDF is free on ITV 4 also.0 -
Thanks for that. Not wishing to sound like a Luddite Grinch, but I just read a review of CC and among other things, it said:
"If you’re a BT customer and have BT Home Hub, you may come across some issues when setting up your Chromecast thanks to BT’s Smart Setup feature. Usually, this fires your newly connected device over to a BT Broadband splash page and that can cause issue for devices that don’t have a web browser built in. Don’t worry though, if this seems to be happening to you, disable Smart Setup on your Home Hub 4 or 5 before you connect your Chromecast.
Where available, the Chromecast supports surround sound, such as 5.1 from Netflix content. If you want to use this, you'll be best off plugging the Chromecast directly into your surround-sound amp. You can run an optical cable from your TV to your amp instead, but this doesn't always work, as many TVs only pass on stereo sound in this way.
As good as iPlayer, Now TV and BT Sport are, it's a real shame that there's no ITV Player, 4oD or Demand Five support at the moment. Nor is there support for Sky Go. Admittedly this is the same as with the Apple TV, but it's frustrating that so many of the UK's big TV stations won't take this kind of technology seriously and enable support."
The stuff in bold drives me batty.(Nearly) dunroving0 -
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