How to disable the search for media files. Removing unused hardware How to remove a media device from the network

One of the characteristics that distinguishes some modern TVs from others is the degree of their reasonableness. In a figurative sense, of course. We are talking about the technological advantages of the so-called Smart TV. Ordinary digital TVs, as a rule, 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 to a greater extent 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, have their own software, and can connect to wired and wireless networks. And the last 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. PC to TV media streaming is the direct access of the TV to the files on the 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 was simply turned on, without the participation of a smartphone, without the participation of set-top boxes and other source devices, all permitted material can be played using the TV - 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. Applications of other brands of Smart TV are called differently and, accordingly, have a different interface. In particular, for Samsung smart TVs, the shell for DLNA technology is a regular AllShare application. And for Sony TVs, this is the Vaio Media Server application.

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

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

To set up streaming from a computer to a TV, as mentioned, it is necessary that the latter supports the network. By the way, for streaming media files, the “status” of Smart TV for the TV is not required. The TV may not have super-functionality, it just needs to support the network and allow the selection of the signal source at least with primitive regular functionality. In such a TV, either a Wi-Fi module or an Ethernet network port must be built-in. As a rule, modern Smart TVs provide both options - both wired and wireless network connections.

Both devices - both the TV and the 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 the router is not available, you can get by with direct connection of the TV to the computer via the network. What you need to do this is 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 network card with one Ethernet port), you will have to constantly reconnect the cable from the TV and the network cable of the Internet provider. It is not comfortable. The router must be in the house if there is a question of unlocking the potential of Smart TV. Well, a Wi-Fi router is a necessary thing if smartphones or tablets are used in the house.

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

The next condition for streaming is configured access using DLNA technology to the media library folders on the computer. On a Windows system, this can be done in several ways.

3. Setting up network access to computer files in Windows Media Player

A way to set up access to computer files in a Windows system 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 media streaming...".

After enabling this setting, a system window with streaming options 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.

The configured permissions will allow other devices to access files over the network only in the user profile folders. These are the "Video", "Music", "Pictures" folders that are displayed in Windows Explorer along with 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 through local applications that work with DLNA technology.

But storing files in user profile folders on the system drive is not the best idea, both 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 of Windows. As a rule, media libraries of impressive size are stored on non-system partitions of a computer disk. The folders of such media libraries must be added to the Windows Media Player library in a separate step,

To make the contents of other folders on your computer available for streaming to a 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, click the "Add" button on the side. We add this folder in the window of the opened explorer, then click "OK" in the window with the list.

An alternative way to add folders with media content to the system list of shared folders for home network devices is to add to the library using the context menu command in Windows Explorer. At any time, any folder on the computer where video, music or photos are stored can be shared for playback from devices on the network. 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 appropriate library and its content will be available for streaming.

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

4. Setting Up Network Sharing of Computer Files Using LG Smart Share

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

Installation of LG Smart Share is standard. After launching the program, you need to select any of the proposed options for setting up content - Movie, Photo, Music.

Access should 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, you need to add any other folders with media content in addition to the existing user profile folders. After adding, click the "Apply" button at the bottom, then - "OK".

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

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

The LG Smart Share utility process will automatically launch with Windows, allowing you to access your computer's media files later on.

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

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

Open any of the shared folders that contains media files.

Let's try to play the file.

5. Setting up 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 the 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. Using this program, a DLNA server is launched on the computer, to which all devices on the network can connect. By default, the program provides for the management of server files from the TV - in fact, computer files.

The advantage of using the Home Media Server program over all of the above methods of providing access to live streaming is more features and greater customization. The program provides for the presence of various video and audio file transcoders, which allows you to convert media content, if it initially exists on a computer in a format that is not supported by the TV, to 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 on the website of the creators.

Download the program, install it and run it. At startup, the initial settings window will appear immediately. You can leave everything in it by default and refuse to scan media files. Let's move on 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 category tabs 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 list of the program in order to give them access for streaming. Shared access can be opened immediately to all computer disk partitions (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 hiding files and directories, remove certain types of files, set a different folder name - and all this within the framework of the DLNA server, without changes on the computer.

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

In the “Devices” settings tab, we will see a list of all detected network devices that will have access to the DLNA server files. Any of the devices in 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 convenient for perception. Next to the server name field, we will see its port - 45397. It may happen that an antivirus or firewall running on the computer blocks the DLNA server. In the event of such a blocking, the DLNA server port must be granted permission to work in the antivirus or firewall settings.

Also in the "Server" tab, you need to pay attention to the default option that prevents the computer from going to sleep while the DLNA server is running. If it becomes necessary to put the 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 going to sleep while the server is running” is not checked for some reason, it is better to set it. Otherwise, watching a movie on the TV will be unceremoniously interrupted as soon as the laptop goes to sleep to save battery power.

The Home Media Server program has a very rich choice of settings, and its potential can be revealed gradually, testing certain features as you become familiar with them. In the meantime, we will limit ourselves to the settings already made and save them. Click "OK" below 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, click 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.

You can automate this process so that the DLNA server starts automatically with Windows startup in the program settings. The last tab of the settings “Advanced” provides in the “Startup” column the options for autoloading the program itself when Windows starts, autostarting 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 available media content on the computer can be played on the TV through a local application to interact with DLNA technology. The TV app will show the DLNA server as a connected playback device. Inside it, folders with computer media content configured in the Home Media Server program will be available.

You can launch available media content for playback not only in the TV application. You can also entrust the launch of playback of media files on the TV to the tools of the Home Media Server program. To do this, in the main window of the program, select the appropriate content - click on the toolbar at the top of the button "Movies", "Music" or "Photos". In the right part of the program window, the folder files that were previously opened for broadcasting to a TV will be displayed. We select the desired video, audio file or picture in 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 expand on the TV screen.

6. Cast To Device feature Windows 8.1 and 10

The function of launching playback of media files on a computer with an image output to a TV is also included among the standard functionality in versions of Windows 8.1 and 10. If Windows has permission to play media files on a computer by network devices in Windows Media Player, as discussed above, a movie, audio track or photo You can run it on your computer and continue watching or listening on your TV. This is a handy thing when there is no particular desire to fiddle with the TV remote control and look for, for example, the desired movie among a bunch of other media files, killing nerves by monotonously flipping through file after file.

To launch a media file on a computer, you need to call the context menu on it in Windows Explorer and select the "Cast to device" command. This is a Windows 10 command. 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. We choose a TV. The launched file will unfold on the TV screen, and on the computer screen we will see a small window of the Windows Media player with a playlist, where you can additionally add some files.

7. Cast to Device feature in Windows 10 Movies & TV app

The “Cast to device” feature available for media files in the context menu of Windows Explorer is also implemented in the Windows 10 Movies & TV app. It works on the principle of launching a video file in an application on a computer and continuing to watch it already on a network device, in particular, on a TV screen. Open the "Movies and TV" application, launch the video and in the view mode, press the first button below - the button for connecting to available playback devices. In a small window, a list of all network devices defined for outputting a video file will appear. We choose a TV.

In the future, you can continue watching the movie again on your computer, in the Movies & TV application. This is a great idea for a home filled with digital technology, which is connected to one network. For example, if you start watching a movie on the TV screen in the living room, you can continue watching it on the kitchen TV screen. And then you can again move into the living room with the film. 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 ways to configure the computer part of the chain of interaction between the computer and the TV over the network is great. Despite the fact that the article turned out to be voluminous, in fact, not all programs on the software market for implementing multimedia streaming from a computer to a TV are considered. TV setup is easier.

As mentioned above, media files on your computer 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. In conventional TVs that support the network, where the firmware does not provide separate applications, access to computer files can be configured by selecting a media server as the signal source. In many cases, the source button on the TV remote is called "Source".

Have a great day!

After setting streaming media, known as media access in older versions of Windows Player, you can choose which music, videos, and pictures are available for streaming on devices and computers on your network.

Automatic sharing of media

If you don't want to set up individual streaming settings, you can by default share your media libraries with all devices that are or will be on your networks in the future.

To do this, follow these steps.

open 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 grant access to any computer or media.

Attention! Automatic provisioning of streaming access 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 to stream media to the player on the computer. Thus, the computer turns into a playback device. You can do this if you want the specific camera type used by the player to play back images and videos.

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

Attention! Allowing remote control of the player is recommended only on secure networks. When connecting to a new network, remote control is disabled by default.

Changing the library name

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