One of the few new products in Windows 8.1, which has long attracted great interest, is Miracast technology. This is a standard for wireless transmission of video and audio between devices in a peer-to-peer mode (without the mediation of other networks or devices). It works regardless of the hardware manufacturer, the type of software used, or the operating system — it is important that the transmitter and receiver support this technology. In a nutshell - this is a virtual HDMI cable. Wherever the physical HDMI cable is used, it can be replaced with Miracast.
Work with Miracast technology on Windows.
What it is
Miracast is a virtual HDMI cable, wirelessly transferring images from one device (laptop, tablet, phone) to another. Usually it’s just a big screen (a big TV on the wall or a projector in the room), the so-called Wi-Fi display for Windows. Viewing images from your laptop on a big screen TV with friends, a presentation at work or at a lecture, watching a movie on a laptop through a projector or a large TV - all this can be done using Miracast. Miracast supports the modes of sending images from a laptop in both screen duplication mode (on the TV screen is the same as on a computer or laptop monitor), as well as screen expansion (view the same presentation on a TV or projector and parallel operation on a computer).
The image is transmitted between devices in 1080p (Full HD) format with 5.1 surround sound, which is a very good picture and sound quality. Miracast cannot fully compensate or replace the monitor where fast user interaction is important - the image and sound are transmitted with a minimum, but still delay. For many applications, this does not matter (even for HD movies), but in games it can cause some problems.
Benefits:
- The contents of the source screen are duplicated identically without the need to connect an HDMI cable.
- The Miracast program for Windows 10 uses Wi-Fi Direct technology, which provides a seamless connection between devices.
- Miracast support in Windows 10 is ideal for connecting a PC, laptop or tablet to facilitate business presentations to the projection screen.
Disadvantages:
- You cannot do many tasks because the technology is designed exclusively for mirroring the screen.
- It only works with Android and Windows devices, isolating Apple users.
- Buying technology-enabled devices will cost at least $ 60.
Connection
Two things are needed to enable Miracast on Windows 10: a transmitter and a receiver. If both initially support Miracast, their configuration will be simple and fast. If you have a computer with Windows 8.1 (transmitter) and, for example, a TV with support for Miracast (receiver), then you will have the perfect match. But what steps need to be taken if your receiver does not support this standard?
Transmitter - Windows Computer
And now, when it comes to equipment, Miracast is on the transmitter side. In fact, all new computers with Intel processors (including the 3rd generation Intel Atom, Bay Trail, or 4th generation Intel Core Haswell) support the technology by default, because it is in the processor. If your processor is older, then it is important to have the latest drivers for the devices on your computer (sometimes referred to as “optional”!). And if you have Windows 8.1, you do not need to do anything - you can simply point to a specific receiver in the system interface. If you have a previous version of Windows 7, then Miracast can be configured on it. If Windows 8 is installed, it is recommended to upgrade to version 8.1 for free.
On Windows 8 or Windows 7, you can install and configure the service, but you will have to install Intel WiDi software. Windows RT 8.1 also, of course, supports this technology (as long as the video card's processor also supports it - NVIDIA releases its ARM processors with Miracast support).
IMPORTANT. Windows computers are described here, but there are other systems that support Miracast (for example, Android). Android version 4.2 should also have built-in support for Miracast.Receiver - TV or projector
More and more equipment for receiving the signal begins to use the built-in and standard Miracast. You can check this on the manufacturer’s website or on the hotline (some manufacturers, for example, LG, have a dedicated website), or directly on the Wi-Fi Alliance website, where lists of certified receiving devices are published. Technological progress allows more and more such devices to be produced. So, all new generation Samsung TVs support the technology, just run Miracast on your PC.
Using Miracast is the work of two elements. First of all, you need to connect two devices, but, fortunately, it needs to be done only once - it will take about 3 minutes. The next time you just need to select the target device (receiver), and nothing more needs to be done. Access to the device connection in Windows 8.1 is available after pressing Win + C and selecting "Add a wireless device."
IMPORTANT. If you do not see this line, it may mean that your hardware (transmitter) does not support Miracast or you do not have the latest hardware drivers. In the latter case, it is worth checking Windows Update and the site of the hardware manufacturer (WDDM 1.3 and NDIS 6.4 WiFi drivers are required). Also worth updating the firmware.At this stage, devices that support Miracast will be checked, and if you select your device, the pairing process will begin. On the TV screen (receiver) you will see the connection attempt and the security code, which you must enter in the interface (transmitter) of Windows 8.1. At this stage, devices must be paired. And from this moment you can use the second “display”.
Image projection
After pairing, this process will be performed every time you want to connect to an external screen. Press the key combination Win + C, then go to “Devices” - “Project” (“Devices” - “Projection”). And in the list will already be your paired devices. Next you need to choose only the method of transferring the image - duplicated, expanded, only the second screen.
If you want to turn off the screen, simply close the application or select the project again and click "Disable". To call the quick menu, press the key combination Win + P. In this menu, you can select the projection mode.
Technical aspects
When two devices that support the technology are looking for each other, then a point-to-point connection is established between them via Wi-Fi Direct. Security is established using Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS), and all communication between devices is provided by WPA2-AES. When the connection is established (2.4 GHz by default), the devices synchronize their capabilities (for example, the resolution or the refresh rate of the screen), local coding of the image and sound, and then send a signal to the receiver. It decodes the signal and displays it. Therefore, in fact, everything that you see on the screen can be sent to the receiver - so you are not limited to any application or part of the screen of the monitor, projector or TV.
What if Miracast on Windows 10 does not work
Many users face potential problems that may arise while using the technology.
Sound is played on the computer, not on the TV.
It may happen that the sound will be played on the computer. To solve the problem, you need to change the sound and playback settings - right-click on the speaker in the system tray and select "Playback devices". There you need to select the desired receiver.
No connection
It turns out that in the Windows 10 Firewall network, Miracast does not always work - the Wireless Display network is blocked. Because of this, unfortunately, the transmitter can not always connect to the receiver, because all traffic is limited here. If you use the Miracast service, for example, in your office, then the only solution to the problem when there is no firewall in the corporate network is simply the removal of the computer from the corporate network.
Noise or black screen
Unfortunately, due to the fact that the image sent via technology is encoded, it may happen that when you use a device like Netgear and connect the projector, the image will look like noise. This does not mean that your PC does not support Miracast. The problem is related to the HDCP function in HDMI. Its purpose is to protect content from unauthorized use. Unfortunately, if you connect such a device to an HDMI cable that later passes through some kind of splitter (the usual situation at conferences and conference rooms), then HDMI detects an attempt to send a signal to other devices and begins to encode the image. The problem can be solved only if the additional devices are removed from the communication sequence.
Image of poor quality
If the image is transferred, but it is of poor quality - it is worth changing the resolution on the computer to a lower one. Also a common problem is that the device simply does not support Miracast technology. In this case, contact your supplier - here you will get advice on what equipment needs to be replaced. Miracast, as well as wireless communication in general, have a guaranteed future. The main advantage of this technology is the absence of "cables" and, therefore, ease of use of devices and the realization of all their capabilities. A big plus is the unification of technology, so regardless of whether we have devices A and B, or A and Z, Miracast will work.
There are already many devices on the market that allow the use of technology. Among them are tablets and televisions, the number of which is constantly growing. If you do not have a TV that supports technology, you just need to buy a suitable adapter that can be connected via USB or HDMI.