the main Devices Computers on the network as multimedia devices. Manage streaming settings in Windows Media. About media streaming and DLNA technology

Computers on the network as multimedia devices. Manage streaming settings in Windows Media. About media streaming and DLNA technology

One of the characteristics that distinguishes some modern TVs from others is the degree of their intelligence. In a figurative sense, of course. We are talking about the technological advantages of the so-called Smart TV. Regular digital TVs, as a rule, they can play the role of the TV itself, working in tandem with the receiver, play media content using the built-in player (alas, often with a limited list of readable formats), and also serve as a monitor for a computer, game or TV set-top box. Whereas Smart TV, they are also smart TVs, are able to participate more in the content playback chain as independent participants.

1. About media streaming and DLNA technology

Smart TVs are actually the same computers, because they have their own hardware capabilities, they have their own software, can connect to wired and wireless networks... And the last one is almost complete independence from source devices. The advantages of direct TV access to the Internet are obvious, but there are many of them with local access to a computer. Streaming media from PC to TV is the direct TV access to files on your PC. Streaming eliminates the hassle of flash drives and external hard drives. Files are transferred from the computer to the TV over the network. Without the participation of a computer, if only it is simply turned on, without the participation of a smartphone, without the participation of set-top boxes and other source devices, using the TV, all permitted material can be played - video, photos, music, any media files that such a TV can play.

DLNA technology allows devices on the same network to exchange media content. It is supported by many modern devices that can connect to the network - computers, tablets, smartphones, TV and game consoles, and, of course, Smart TV. For example, smart TVs from LG that support DLNA technology have a proprietary Smart Share application - a shell of this technology with a user interface. Apps of other brands of Smart TV are named differently and, accordingly, have a different interface. In particular, smart Samsung TVs the shell for DLNA technology is a standard AllShare application. And at Sony TVs Is a Vaio Media Server application.

How do I set up streaming media from a Windows computer - PC or laptop - to TV? We will examine this issue in detail below.

2. What do you need to set up streaming from PC to TV?

To set up streaming from PC to TV, as mentioned, you need the latter to support the network. By the way, for streaming media files, the Smart TV “status” for the TV is not required. The TV may not have super-functionality, it just has to support the network and allow the choice of the signal source at least with primitive standard functionality. Such a TV must have built-in either a Wi-Fi module or an Ethernet network port. As a rule, modern Smart TVs provide both options - wired and wireless. network connection.

Both devices - TV, PC or laptop - must be connected to a single local network. When connected to a router (router), any devices - computers, smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes, smart TVs - are automatically combined into one small network. Of course, if a router is not available, you can also get by with a direct connection of the TV to the computer over the network. To do this, you need to connect a network cable to the Ethernet ports of the devices. But in this case, if the computer has only one network port (one LAN card with one Ethernet port), you will have to constantly reconnect the cable from the TV and the cable from the Internet provider. It is not comfortable. A router must be in the house if there is a question of unlocking the potential of Smart TV. well and Wi-Fi router- a thing that is simply necessary if smartphones or tablets are used in the house.

The method of connecting the TV to the network - wired or wireless, if it provides for both options, is not critical.

The next condition for streaming is configured DLNA access to your library folders on your computer. On Windows, this can be done in several ways.

3. Configuring network access to computer files in Windows Media Player

The way to configure access to computer files in Windows without the need to install third-party software is to use the standard Windows Media Player.

On the Windows Media Player toolbar, click the "Stream" option and check the box next to:

"Enable streaming media ...".

After enabling this option, a system window with streaming parameters will open, where you can specify the name of the media library and flexibly configure the availability of media content for specific network devices: leave the preset resolution for some, and remove it for others.

Configured permissions will allow other devices to access files only in folders over the network user profile... These are the folders "Videos", "Music", "Pictures" that are displayed in Windows Explorer along with the disk partitions, drives and removable devices of the computer. If this is more than enough, you can already start testing the playback of files on the TV using local applications that work with DLNA technology.

But storing files in user profile folders on the system disk is not a good idea from the standpoint of having free space on the C drive, and from the standpoint of the safety of these files in case of a critical failure Windows work... As a rule, large media libraries are stored on non-system partitions of the computer's disk. The folders of such libraries must be added in a separate step to the Windows Media Player library,

To make the contents of other computer folders available for streaming to the TV, in the Windows Media Player window, click the "Organize" option, select the "Manage Libraries" item, and in it - one of the content types: "Music Library" for audio files, "Video" for video files , "Gallery" for photos and pictures.

A window will open with a list of existing libraries, and to add the desired folder to this list, press the "Add" button on the side. Add this folder in the window of the explorer that opens, then click "OK" in the window with the list.

An alternative way to add folders with media content to the system list of folders with open access for home network devices is to add them to the library using the context menu command in Windows Explorer. At any time, you can open access to any folder on your computer where videos, music or photos are stored for playback from network devices. To do this, open this folder in Explorer, call the context menu and select the "Add to Library" command. The folder will be added to the corresponding library and its contents will be available for streaming.

The list of folders with open for streaming video and audio files will also change when you make changes to it using the standard Windows 10 "Movies and TV" and "Groove Music" applications. In the settings section of both apps, you can add and remove folders to your local video and audio collections. Local application collections work in conjunction with system libraries.

4. Configuring Network Access to PC Files Using LG Smart Share

Some Smart TV brands have their own software for desktop operating systems, through which you can configure access to media files on your computer. These programs can be downloaded from the website of the TV manufacturers or on the Internet. For example, to enable Samsung smart TVs to access computer content, a South Korean corporation created Samsung program Allshare. And for LG TVs, the company's website is available for free download Windows program LG Smart Share for PC. Let's consider it in more detail. On the LG website, select the Windows version and download.

LG Smart Share installation is standard. After launching the program, you must select any of the proposed content settings options - Movie, Photo, Music.

Access must be enabled in the window that appears. If it is disabled, set the switch to the "On" position.

Switch to the "My Shared Files" tab. Here you can allow access to files in the specified folders. Using the button in the form of a folder with a plus sign, it is necessary to add any other folders with media content in addition to the existing folders of the user profile. After adding, click the "Apply" button at the bottom, then - "Ok".

All - now the content of all folders displayed in the program's "My Shared Files" tab will be available for network devices, in particular for TV.

In the program settings tab just below - "My device settings" - you can change the computer name. Using this name, the computer will be identified on the network for other devices.

The LG Smart Share utility will automatically launch with Windows to provide further access to your computer's media files.

To make sure everything works as it should, launch the SmartShare application on the TV.

Go to the "Devices" section and select our media server.

Open any of the shared folders that contain media files.

Trying to play the file.

5. Configuring network access to computer files using the "Home Media Server" program

Another way to provide access to TVs, set-top boxes, mobile and other devices that support network and DLNA technology to the media content of a computer is the Windows program "Home Media Server (UPnP, DLNA, HTTP)". The program works with many popular TVs: LG, Samsung, Toshiba, Sony, Philips. With this program, a DLNA server is launched on the computer, to which all devices on the network can connect. By default, the program allows you to control the server files from the TV - in fact, the computer files.

The advantage of using Home Media Server over all of the above methods of providing access for streaming is more features and more customization. The program provides for the presence of various transcoders of video and audio files, which allows you to convert media content, if it originally exists on a computer in a format unsupported by the TV, into the format that it supports. You can additionally set up the broadcast on the TV of individual Internet channels (radio and digital TV).

"Home Media Server" can be downloaded absolutely free of charge on the website of the creators.

Download the program, install it and run it. At startup, the initial settings window will appear immediately. In it, you can leave everything by default and refuse to scan media files. Let's go to the program settings in a separate order.

In the program window, click the "Settings" button on the toolbar at the top of the window.

In the settings window that opens, we will see the tab categories on the right. In the first tab “Media resources”, we can use the “Add” button, respectively, to add any folders with media content to the program list in order to open them access for streaming. Shared access can be opened at once to all partitions of the computer disk (C, D, E, etc.), to all network drives, to all connected removable media. To do this, at the bottom of the window, check the boxes next to the necessary options - respectively, "Local drives", " Network drives"And" Removable devices ".

The Media Resources settings tab provides many options for the added folders. For example, by clicking the "Change" button, we will be able to exclude the hiding of files and directories, remove certain types of files, set a different folder name - and all this as part of the DLNA server, without changes on the computer.

At the bottom of the tab "Media resources" there are separate sections with an abundance of different settings... In the "Scanning" section, you can pay attention to the "Always use the file name as the name of the media resource" option. Without checking this option, the names of media files in Russian will be converted to transliteration in Latin or unreadable crocozyabra.

In the "Devices" settings tab, we will see a list of all detected network devices that will have access to DLNA server files. Any of the devices on the list can be disabled by removing the green activity button.

In the “Server” settings tab, instead of the default DLNA server name, we can set our own name, for example, more user-friendly. Next to the server name field, we will see its port - 45397. It may happen that the antivirus or firewall running on the computer will block the DLNA server. In case of such a blocking for the DLNA server port, you must provide permission to work in the antivirus or firewall settings.

Also, in the "Server" tab, you should pay attention to the default option that prevents the computer from going into sleep mode while the DLNA server is running. If it becomes necessary to put a PC or laptop into sleep mode, the DLNA server will need to be stopped in the future. If, on the contrary, the checkbox on the option "Prevent the computer from entering sleep mode while the server is running" is not checked for some reason, it is better to check it. Otherwise, watching a movie on TV will be unceremoniously interrupted as soon as the laptop falls asleep to conserve battery power.

The Home Media Server program has a very rich choice of settings, and its potential can be unlocked gradually, testing certain features as you become familiar with them. In the meantime, we will restrict ourselves to the settings already made and save them. Click "Ok" at the bottom and agree to scan media files in the configured folders.

After the program completes the scanning process, we can start the DLNA server. To do this, press the "Run" button on the toolbar at the top of the main program window.

Home Media Server runs in the background and the program can be controlled from the system tray. By calling the context menu on the program button in the system tray, the DLNA server can be stopped, started, and restarted.

Automate this process so that the DLNA server starts automatically with running Windows, you can in the program settings. The last tab of the “Advanced” settings provides in the “Startup” column the options for autoloading the program itself at Windows startup, autorun the DLNA server along with the launch of the program, as well as installing its background service in the Windows system.

Once the DLNA server is up and running, all of the available media content on the computer can be played on the TV using the local DLNA technology interface application. The DLNA server will appear as a connected playback device in the TV app. Inside it will be accessible folders with the media content of the computer, configured in the program "Home Media Server".

You can launch available media content for playback not only in the TV application. You can also instruct the Home Media Server program to start playing media files on your TV. To do this, in the main window of the program, select the appropriate content - click on the toolbar at the top of the button "Films", "Music" or "Photos". In the right part of the program window, the files of the folders will be displayed, to which access was previously opened for broadcasting to the TV. We select the desired video, audio file or picture from the list, call the context menu on this file and select “Play to” among the commands. In the list of devices that appears, select the TV. The selected movie, track or photo will unfold on the TV screen.

6. Function "Bring to device" Windows 8.1 and 10

The function of starting playback of media files on a computer with image output to a TV is also provided among the standard functionality in Windows versions 8.1 and 10. If Windows is set to allow network devices to play media files on your computer in Windows Media Player, as discussed above, you can play a movie, audio track, or photo on your computer, and continue watching or listening on your TV. This is a handy thing when there is no particular desire to tinker with the TV remote control and look for, for example, the desired movie among a heap of other media files, killing your nerves by monotonous flipping through file after file.

To launch a media file on a computer, open the context menu in Windows Explorer and select the "Bring to device" command. This is the command for Windows systems 10. In Windows 8.1, this context menu command is called Play To.

After that, we will see a list of network devices available for playback. Choosing a TV. The launched file will unfold on the TV screen, and on the computer screen we will contemplate a small window Windows player Media with a playlist, where you can additionally add some files.

7. The "Bring to device" function in the Windows 10 "Movies and TV" application

Available for media files in context menu Windows explorer the function "Bring to device" is implemented in Windows application 10 "Cinema and TV". It works on the principle of launching a video file in an application on a computer and continuing to view it already on a network device, in particular, on a TV screen. Open the "Movies and TV" application, launch the video and in the viewing mode, press the first button at the bottom - the button for connecting to available playback devices. In a small window, a list of all network devices defined for outputting the video file will appear. Choosing a TV.

In the future, you can continue watching the movie again on the computer, in the "Movies and TV" application. This is a great idea for a digital home that is networked. For example, if you start watching a movie on the TV in the living room, you can continue watching on the TV in the kitchen. And then you can move back to the living room with the movie. And for this you just need to interrupt for a couple of simple actions on the computer.

8. Conclusion

As you can see, the choice of methods for setting up the computer part of the chain of interaction between a computer and a TV over a network is great. Despite the fact that the article turned out to be voluminous, in fact, not all programs on the software market are considered for the implementation of streaming multimedia from a computer to a TV. Setting up your TV is easier.

As mentioned above, computer media can be accessed from local smart TV applications. And these are the above-mentioned Smart Share for LG TVs, AllShare for Samsung, Vaio Media Server for Sony and others. On conventional TVs that support a network, where the firmware does not provide for separate applications, access to computer files can be configured by choosing a media server as a signal source. In many cases, the source button on the TV remote is named “Source”.

Have a great day!

After setting streaming media known as Media Access in older versions of Windows Player, you can choose what music, videos, and pictures are available to stream to devices and computers on your network.

Sharing media automatically

If you don't need to customize your streaming settings, you can, by default, grant access to your media libraries to all devices that log on or will log on to your network in the future.

To do this, follow these steps.

Open up Windows Player.
Switch to library
Click Stream and select Automatically allow devices to play my media.
In the dialog box Allow all media streams click Automatically grant access to all computers and media.
To block access to all devices, click Do not give access to any computer or media.

Attention! Automatic sharing of streaming data to all devices is recommended only on secure networks.

Allowing other devices and computers to control the player

Can be allowed other computers and media devices on the network stream media to the player on the computer... Thus, the computer turns into a playback device. This can be done if you need a particular type of camera used by the player to play back images and videos.

Open up Windows Player.
If the player is already open and in playback mode, press the Switch to library in the upper right corner of the player.
Click Stream and select Allow remote control turntable.
In the dialog box Allow remote control choose Allow remote control on this network.
To block remote control of the player, select Deny remote control on this network.

Attention! We recommend that you only allow remote control of the player on secure networks. When connected to a new network, remote control is disabled by default.

Changing the name of the library

When sharing media with other devices or computers, the media is identified by the other devices or computers with the library name. The library name can be changed at any time.