How to hear audio from PC to TV
The quality of the sounds coming from the speakers of your computer does not satisfy you at all and you would like to use the integrated speakers on your TV to listen to your favorite music with the quality you want. You are well aware of the fact that, in order to do this, the two devices must be somehow connected to each other but, given your lack of competence on the subject, you just do not know how to do it. Let me guess: is this exactly the situation you are in? Then take five minutes of free time and try to put into practice the advice you find below.
In the course of this tutorial we will try to analyze, together, all the applicable methods to hear audio from PC to TV. We will see both how to connect the two devices wirelessly, and how to obtain the same result using cables and an adapter; in order not to miss anything, we will also take a look at what are the settings of Windows or macOS on which to act to “hijack” the audio of the computer on the TV.
I assure you, the solution to your current need is much simpler than you imagine. For this reason, I would say not to waste any more time and get to work immediately: find all the information you need below! Enjoy your reading and have fun.
Index
- How to hear audio from PC to TV without wires
- Miracast
- Google Cast / Chromecast
- AirPlay 2 / Apple TV
- How to hear audio from PC to cable TV
- Types of cable
- Adjust the operating system
How to hear audio from PC to TV without wires
Let’s start by analyzing the technologies (and devices) to reproduce the computer audio through the TV speakers wirelessly, without physically connecting the devices via cable.
Miracast
The first wireless connection technology I want to tell you about is Miracast: it is a protocol that allows you to send the audio (and video) stream from a computer running Windows 10 or later to a compatible TV, within a couple of click.
It should be emphasized that Miracast technology, being based on the Wi-Fi Direct system, does not require any supporting network devices (e.g. router) or Internet connection, as the connection is established directly between the computer and the TV ; obviously, it is essential that both devices involved are equipped with a working Wi-Fi card.
The Miracast protocol can be activated on compatible Smart TVs using a dedicated function, found in the device Settings, or by starting the dedicated application generally installed “as standard” on the TV. Depending on the manufacturer, it can have different names: Screen Share for LG Smart TVs, Wireless Screencast for Philips without Android TV, Wireless Screen for Philips with Android TV, AllShare for Samsung, Screen Mirroring for Sony Bravia and so on.
If your Smart TV doesn’t natively support Miracast or your TV doesn’t have Smart features, you can cope with this by purchasing a small receiver to connect to one of the TV’s free HDMI ports and to an external power source (even a USB port).
After opening the appropriate application on the TV, or having connected the Miracast receiver and set the TV to the correct HDMI source, go to the Windows 10 computer and, first of all, open the system notification area by clicking on the cartoon symbol next to it. to the clock.
Now, click on the Expand item located at the bottom (if necessary), to view all the quick functions available, press the Connect button and wait for the name of the Miracast TV/receiver to appear in the list of detected devices.
Alternatively, you can obtain the same result by opening the Windows Settings, using the appropriate item visible in the context menu of the Start button, accessible by right-clicking on it: once in the dedicated panel, click on the icon dedicated to Devices, then on the voice Bluetooth and other devices (left) and, later, the buttons Add Bluetooth device or other, and wireless Display.
Regardless of the detection mode you have chosen to use, to connect the computer to the TV, all you have to do is click on the name of the device or wireless receiver, which appears in the list of detected devices.
Following this operation, the computer screen will be reflected (or expanded) on the TV and the sounds coming from Windows 10 will be automatically “redirected” to the TV speakers (or to any sound bars or audio devices connected to the TV via HDMI ARC); if you only see the images coming from the destkop, but the audio continues to come out of the computer speakers, adjust the operating system as you find explained in one of the following sections of this guide.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to stream Mac audio via Miracast, as Apple does not offer support for the latter technology. You can still use one of the alternative wireless solutions listed below.
Google Cast / Chromecast
Another wireless connection system that you can use to connect a Windows computer or a Mac is Google Cast: this is a proprietary protocol of Google, integrated in all Smart TVs with Android TV , which allows you to transmit the audio coming from the computer, provided that the Google Chrome browser is installed on the latter and that both the devices involved are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
If you do not have a TV equipped with Android TV, you can still use Google Cast, by connecting a device called Chromecast to the TV in your possession: if you have never heard of it, it is an HDMI key produced by Google, capable of transform the TV (even non-Smart) into a Google Cast receiver, but not only.
The key in question is available in two versions: a basic (with support for Full HD resolution ) and an advanced, called Chromecast with Google TV , which comes with a remote control, has a dedicated app store and increases the supported resolution to 4K. HDR. If your purpose is solely to cast computer sounds to your television, the basic version of Chromecast is just fine.
In order to use Google Cast, if you have a TV equipped with Android TV, make sure that the latter is already connected to the Wi-Fi network (if not, my article on how to connect the TV to the Internet may be useful ); if, on the other hand, you have opted to use Chromecast, configure it and connect it to the Internet, following the instructions I have given you in this guide.
Once this is done, go to the computer, make sure that the device is connected to the same network in use on the Android TV / Chromecast, then open the Google Chrome browser, click on the button (⋮) located in the upper right corner of the program window and select the Transmit… item from the menu that appears.
Now, if you’re using Windows, use the Sources button to choose whether to cast the entire desktop and all computer sounds ( Cast desktop option ), or only the video and audio from a given browser tab ( Cast tab option ); on Mac you can only count on this last option, as the transmission of the desktop is allowed (subject to manual authorization), but it does not allow the sounds coming from the computer to be sent to the TV.
Finally, click on the name of the Android TV device or the Chromecast device, to establish the connection and send the audio (and video) coming from the computer to the TV; if the sound should also come out of the speakers of the latter device, click on the volume icon of the operating system (on Mac, you must instead click on the multifunction button located near the clock) and move the adjustment bar all the way to the left, in order to “silence” the speakers.
Note: if you start the broadcast of a tab in which a compatible audio streaming site is open (such as YouTube and Spotify, for example), the corresponding application on Chromecast will automatically open, thus stopping the video broadcast. In this case, the opened tab will become a real “remote control” through which you can select the contents to be played on the TV.
AirPlay 2 / Apple TV
If yours is a Mac and the previous solution seemed a bit restrictive, you can always fall back on using Apple’s AirPlay technology. If I had never heard of it, it is a communication system developed by the company of the “bitten apple”, integrated on all the computers in the house (but also on the iPhone and iPad), through which it is possible to send audio content and video from your Mac to a compatible TV or device, as long as all devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
Numerous modern Smart TVs produced by Samsung, LG, Sony or VIZIO are natively compatible with AirPlay 2 technology: to make sure, take a look at the sales package, the technical data sheet or the operating manual of the audiovisual device and look for the label Works with Apple AirPlay 2. The complete list of TVs that support Apple’s protocol is available on this web page.
If the TV – Smart or not Smart – does not natively support AirPlay, you can fall back on the purchase of the multimedia box produced by the Cupertino big, called Apple TV, which allows you to transmit audiovisual content coming from your computer directly to the TV (but also to use the applications downloaded from the internal store).
Apple TV is available in two different models, both of which come with remote control: Apple TV HD, which has 32GB of storage space and supports Full HD resolution; and Apple TV 4K, supplied instead in denominations of 32 or 64 GB of memory and with support for the maximum resolution of 4K / Ultra HD. For the purposes of this guide, the basic version should be more than sufficient.
To “redirect” the audio coming from the Mac to a TV compatible with AirPlay 2 already connected to the Internet, or to a suitably configured Apple TV box, open the system Preferences of macOS by clicking on the gear symbol attached to the Dock bar, press on the Sound icon and then on the Output tab, visible in the window that appears. At this point, click on the name of the Smart TV / Apple TV resident in the list of detected audio devices and that’s it.
Alternatively, click on the multifunction icon visible in the macOS menu bar and, holding down the alt button on the keyboard, click on the sound box; finally, press on the name of the Smart TV / Apple TV under the item Exit and that’s it.
Note: some applications, such as Music or Spotify, allow individual content to be sent via AirPlay (e.g. the songs you are listening to) leaving the other sounds to play on your computer. To take advantage of this function, just click on the AirPlay icon in the main program window and select the name of the TV / Apple TV from the menu that opens.
How to hear audio from PC to cable TV
Do you think that wireless solutions are not for you and would you like to hear audio from PC to TV relying on good, old cable? In this case, you will find extremely useful the information that I am going to give you below.
Types of cable
The simplest solution to transmit the audio (but also the video) coming from the computer to TV and Smart TV in wired mode is to use a good quality HDMI cable, to be connected to the homonymous inputs on the devices involved. Read more here.
If your computer does not have standard-sized HDMI outputs, but only mini HDMI (type C connector) or micro HDMI (type D connector) ports, you can purchase special adapters or cables designed to use these ports.
If, on the other hand, you have a relatively modern laptop, a MacBook or, in general, a computer with only USB Type-C outputs, you must purchase an adapter or a cable specially designed for the purpose.
If you have an older Mac or MacBook with Thunderbolt ports only, you may need to purchase a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter/cable to connect to your TV.
If your TV does not have HDMI inputs, or if you want to transmit only the sounds but not the images, you can use a male RCA / Jack 3.5 mm male cable, which consists of three “plugs”: the classic jack from 3.5mm to plug into the headphone output of the computer and two RCA connectors to plug into the red and white RCA ports of the TV. Before buying it, however, make sure that the appropriate RCA ports are present on the TV.
Alternatively, you can also opt for a male-to-male AUX cable with 3.5mm stereo audio jack on both sides, to be plugged into the appropriate TV and computer ports (if available).
Once the devices are physically connected via the cable (and adapter, if necessary) of your choice, the audio and video transmission should start automatically, without the need for additional configuration. If the sounds were still emitted from the computer speakers, you must configure the operating system appropriately, as you find explained below.
Adjust the operating system
Have you already connected your PC to the TV via HDMI cable but the audio keeps coming out of the computer speakers? Don’t despair, this usually happens when Windows or macOS don’t automatically set the HDMI output as the default audio output. To fix this, you simply need to set the HDMI device (or headphone source, if you used an RCA cable or male-to-male AUX connector) as the sound output device.
Doing it is really simple: if you use Windows 10 or later, click on the volume icon located near the clock and press on the item related to HDMI, Headphones or AUX, to change the audio output device.
On Windows 8.1 and previous versions of the Microsoft operating system, the procedure is a little more complex: first, click on the Windows Start button, open the Control Panel from there and click on the Hardware and Sound icon, located in the window that opens.
Now, click on the Manage audio devices option located under the heading Audio, select the Playback tab located in the new window that appears, right-click on the HDMI / Headphones / AUX item you see in the list of connected devices and click on the option Set as default device, located in the menu that appears.
Do you use a Mac? Nothing could be simpler: you can do the same thing by going to System Preferences (using the gear icon in the Dock bar), selecting the Sound item in the window that opens and moving to the Sound tab. Then locate the entry for the TV / HDMI and double-click on it to set the TV as the default output device for Mac audio.
Well now the situation should be resolved and you should be able to hear the computer audio through the TV speakers. However, I recommend that you, after disconnecting the two devices, make sure that the default sound output device matches the computer speakers again (otherwise repeat the steps I indicated earlier and select the Internal Speakers / Speakers item as the output device. ).
