Select a media server for your home network. Home media server: setup and installation. Viewing files on TV

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. She is supported by many modern devices, capable of connecting 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 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, it's the Vaio app. media server.

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 configure access to computer files in a Windows system without the need to install a third-party software- using 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 option, the system window with streaming options, 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 drive C, and from the standpoint of saving these files in case of a critical failure. Windows work. 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 to this list desired folder 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 folder list with open access for home network devices - adding 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 desktop software. operating systems, through which you can configure access to media files on your computer. 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 Samsung program Allshare. 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 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 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 television).

"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 disks", " 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 unlocked 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.

Automate this process so that the DLNA server starts automatically with Windows startup, you can 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 displaying an image on a TV is also provided among the standard functionality in Windows versions 8.1 and 10. If the Windows system has permission to play computer media files on network devices in the Windows Media Player, as discussed above, the movie, audio track or photo can be launched on the computer, and continue watching or listening on the 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 Windows player Media with a playlist where you can additionally add some files.

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

Available for media files in Explorer's context menu windows function Cast to Device 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 individual applications, access to computer files can be configured by selecting the media server as the source. In many cases, the source button on the TV remote is called "Source".

Have a great day!

Today you will learn how to properly connect a TV to a computer and about all the possibilities of such a connection, as well as how to organize viewing of your media library on Smart TV and other devices that support a home DLNA server.

What is DLNA?

The Integrated Digital Network Consortium (DLNA) is a group of companies that have come together to create a generally accepted open standard for connecting devices so that all DLNA-enabled clients can automatically receive media viewing from each other while on the same network.

What devices support DLNA?

DLNA technology is compatible with any device:

• smart TVs;
• smartphones and tablets;
• PC and laptops;
• media players and Blu-ray players;
• game consoles;
• home media servers (NAS);
• wireless printers;
• photo and video cameras;
• audio systems.

All DLNA-enabled devices have an appropriate logo or sticker indicating the type of digital content supported (eg audio, video, photos) and the destination: server, printer, player, etc. DLNA is supported by most devices from major manufacturers such as Intel, HP, Motorola, HTC, Microsoft, Samsung, Sony, LG, Panasonic, etc. Apple has developed its own standard - AirPlay. If you have an Apple device, then it is not possible to use it in your media network consisting of clients from other manufacturers.

How does the DLNA network work?

As you already understood, DLNA devices are designed for interconnection: creating a multimedia network between themselves. Each device is assigned its own type depending on its purpose. For example, any storage device: smartphone, media player, TV or PC can belong to both the Digital Media Server and Digital Media Player types, because they are capable of both receiving and playing digital content from another DLNA device.

How to create a DLNA network?

Wireless router (or wifi router) is the central element in the network and is used to connect devices to each other in a common home wireless network.

Equipment for building a home network with DLNA

You will need:

• TV with DLNA support;
• DLNA digital media server (such as a file server, PC, laptop or media player with HDD);
• wifi router.

I will talk about building a DLNA network not only with a wireless connection, you can also use the wired method of connecting devices, instead of a wi-fi router, use a regular router (switch) to connect the file source ( home server– DLNA server) with a display device (DLNA client). You can also use (to distribute the Internet through the power grid), in addition, you will need Ethernet cables to connect devices to your network.

How to set up a DLNA home media server?

1 Connecting a TV with DLNA support to a wi-fi router (for example, Samsung with Smart TV).

Option 1 - wired connection. Connect using an Ethernet cable to the router. It is enough to connect one end of the cable to the LAN port of the TV, and the other to a free port on the router (or switch, depending on the structure of your network).

Option 2 - wireless connection. If you are using a wi-fi router (wireless router), then it is enough to connect the TV to an existing wireless network via the built-in or external (USB) wi-fi adapter, directly to the router. If the TV is very far from the router, then you can install a wireless bridge (use the router in Bridge mode or buy) to connect the TV to the router. I also recommend reading the article about. The wireless bridge is connected to the TV to the LAN port, and to the router via a wi-fi access point.

Option 3 - Connecting with Powerline Adapters. This type connection uses the power grid without running Ethernet cables. This method will help you set up your home network using existing electrical wiring and cables to connect DLNA clients are no longer required. Powerline adapters are produced by almost all manufacturers of network equipment: TP-Link, Netgear, D-Link, etc. They are called Powerline devices. Next, you simply plug the router, TV and other devices into the power outlet as usual, but now all your devices will form a DLNA network.

2 Adding other DLNA compatible devices to your home network

Now you can connect DLNA servers (devices from which you want to play files on a smart TV) to the router - PC, laptop, phone or media player. All servers will be displayed on the smart TV, as they are on the same network, and you can play the content that is stored on their media. There are various ways to set up various types of devices on a DLNA network.

PCs and laptops on a DLNA network

Connect your computer or laptop to your router or router using any of the above options. The most important point in setting up DLNA on a PC or laptop is the need to install the appropriate program - the media center (media shell). The most popular of them (each program has a link with information about it and settings):

• Serviio

It is possible not to resort to installing media center applications to create a DLNA server, but to use Windows Media Player 11 or 12. To use them as a DLNA server, you must allow access to files on your laptop or PC: open Windows Media Player, go to Options menu, then click the Sharing tab Windows files Media and activate media sharing.

You can select a media shell to use as a DLNA server from the list above. After installing the program you like to create a media center (DLNA server), you should configure it and select files (photos, videos, music files) to transfer to a TV or other display device.

Mobile devices on a DLNA network

3 DLNA setup on TV

After you have connected all DLNA devices, turn on your TV and go to the home screen of your Smart TV (using Samsung TV as an example). Find and launch the AllShare app, which will allow you to find music, photos, and videos stored on DLNA devices on your network.

If you have a Sony TV (model before 2015), then you need to turn it on, press the "Home" button and turn on "Media Player". After you select the type of content: music, photos or videos, you will be able to see the DLNA servers on your home network.

4 Using DLNA on Android OS

To view video from a computer on smartphones and tablets with the Android operating system, you need to install a special application. There are quite a few such applications, I can recommend MediaHouse or Bubble UPnP, which can be downloaded for free on Google Play.

After you install the application, you need to take a few simple steps:

• select the source - your computer or other device with DLNA support and installed from which you will watch the video;
• select a receiver, that is, your Android device;
• select a video from the list of available files.

In addition to universal applications, manufacturers mobile devices offer their own software with DLNA support. Samsung has AllShare, LG has SmartShare, etc.

Using DLNA-enabled apps on Android devices does not require any configuration. It is enough to launch a DLNA server (for example, Kodi on a computer), and it will immediately appear in the list of available connections in the application on a smartphone or tablet. Select your computer from the list, click "Browse" and select the required folder. Do not forget that your smartphone can also act as a DLNA server.

In general, the Home Media Server program is conceived by the developers as a home media server. But most often HMS is used as a DLNA server. It is ideal for this purpose and has many useful settings, often functioning even better than official programs such as LG SmartShare PC SW and the standard way. DLNA settings through Windows Media Player. The point is to let the TV play movies, music, pictures and other content directly from your laptop or computer. At the same time, they must be connected to the same home network, which is usually organized by a router or router. After that, it remains only to configure the program, and the trick is in the bag. You can download it on the official website http://www.homemediaserver.ru by clicking on the “Download” button.

Installing Media Server is as easy as shelling pears: unpack the archive and run “setup.exe”, where we agree with all the conditions and click the “Next” button everywhere. After successful installation and launch of HMS, the main program window will appear. When you launch it for the first time, select your TV from the list of devices (for example, LG TV). You can add media resources that your TV will have access to in the next window or in the settings later. In the window for backing up and restoring program data, click "Run" and "Close".

HMS as a DLNA server

We immediately go to the program settings. Here we have to set up our home DLNA media server. To do this, in the “Media Resources” category in the very first tab “Directory List”, using the “Add” button, specify the paths to the folders on our computer where the media files that you would like to see on an LG TV or other are located. After adding all the folders, click "Scan". Although we will set up auto-scanning of new media resources, new elements still sometimes do not appear automatically, and you need to do scanning using this button manually.

On the “Scanning” tab, it is important to enable automatic scanning of directories when they are changed and the program is launched so that new media files are immediately displayed on the TV.

In order for the Home Media Server to start when the computer boots up, in the “Advanced” category, check the boxes “Start the program at the start of a Windows session” and “Install the Windows Home Media Server service ...”. HMS setup for DLNA server is completed, click OK.

Next, select the “PC Connection” tab and click 3 times, click the “Next” button. Please note that your home network is selected in step 3 (wired or wireless, depending on how the TV is connected), otherwise select it.

At step 4 you should see your PC. If it's not there, restart the server, this usually helps. Next, select the device and get into the "Connected devices" item.

View Media

After the first connection, our device will be displayed in the last item of LG SmartShare - “Connected devices”. If it is not there, restart the server on the PC. For example, to watch movies, you need to select the “Movies” folder, then “Media Resource Directories”.

Here you will see a list of folders added in the HMS settings. We go to any folder and start the movie. Sometimes the TV may write that “File type is not supported”. Do not despair, this is a glitch, try to start again and everything will work out 2-3 times.

HMS Features

The advantages of a home media server from Serviio are as follows:

• on the TV you can see a clear folder structure of the PC;
• the ability to start playing media files on TV from the program itself on the PC. To do this, select a file from the list and click on the green Play button, which is present if the TV is turned on;
• relative stability of work (after LG's PC SW DLNA is just a fairy tale);
• a large number of settings.

Disadvantages:

• some confusion for beginners;
• sometimes automatic scanning of new files does not work;
• periodically you have to restart the server for the device to appear on TV.

Despite these shortcomings, HMS is ideal as a home media server, including DLNA. The details of setting up the Home DLNA server are in the following video.

Other features

The possibilities of the considered Home Media server do not end with DLNA. HMS can also provide access to computer media resources using UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) technology and HTTP protocol. This is more relevant for smartphones and tablets.

But also for DLNA given server maybe a lot more. For example, you can give access not only to computer resources, but also to the Internet radio stream and television IPTV. It is also possible to broadcast so-called podcasts from various online cinemas, such as hdserials.ru, hdkinoklub.ru and hundreds of others. There are also options for transcoding media files in a format that is not supported on TV. How do you like that? All this will be discussed in the following articles, subscribe to our newsletter, as well as VKontakte and Twitter.

Note.

Home media server - rich in settings, free app to share and share files on Windows 7, 8 and 10 PC with other UPnP, DLNA, HTTP devices on the network.

It will turn out to be a convenient option for watching streaming TV, radio broadcasting and local video on gadgets without additional steps for downloading and converting content, connecting flash drives and HDMI cables.

Features of the Home Media Server

Handles requests from client devices for movies, images, and audio data without playing or generating anything on its own. The program supports Smart TV, game consoles, media players, and mobile gadgets - almost any technique can be a full member of the multimedia network. Endowed with a number of possibilities:

• converting content to the desired format;
• adjusting video frame parameters;
• switching audio streams and support for subtitles;
• redirection of streaming online broadcasting;
• support for digital television;
• simultaneous launch on a group of devices;
• work with podcasts;
• remote control via WEB-interface.

The home media server also provides the option to back up the database and settings. It may be useful in correcting errors in the use of the program and possible errors in the work.

Advantages in Home Media Server

The main advantages in comparison with similar products include:

1. Absolute free. No advertising banners and intrusive third-party software.
2. Multifunctionality. A universal "harvester", the potential of which knows no bounds.
3. Support for trans encoding. Automatically detects and recodes an unreadable source file in real time.
4. Russian localization. With the extensive functionality of the utility, it will be easier to deal with the options in an understandable language.

You can download Home Media Server for free for operating Windows systems 10, 8 and 7 at the link https://website/domashnij-media-server/ below, and a large number of settings and parameters will help users to fine-tune the application for themselves.

All devices that have a DLNA module have been tested in advance and have a corresponding sticker on the case.

It is also necessary to have a description of the type of content supported, there is a DLNA server, a printer or a player, that is, the module allows you to transfer a certain type of content - images, signals, sound.

All these devices can freely connect to each other, depending on the purpose, the technique has its own class. The classes can be distinguished as follows:

1. Digital media servers. This category includes storage devices such as mobile phones.
2. Digital media players. This includes devices that can receive and play digital content. For example, a TV that can play music and sound from another device.

How to create a home network

The home network layout for DLNA is similar to the internet data transfer scheme.

It is he who provides the connection of devices to each other. To set up a home network, you will need the following:

1. TV to play.
2. Media server for data storage, phone or laptop.
3. Router - used to ensure the connection of receiving and transmitting devices.
4. Cables or wireless adapters are required to connect DLNA to the network.
5. Powerline adapters - allow you to distribute the Internet over the mains.

The first thing to do is to connect the playback media device to the router.

There are several ways to do this - connecting via the mains, via a cable, or via a wireless bridge.

• Connecting your media device to the mains is a great way to set up a network throughout your home. For this, ordinary electricity is used, cables are not needed. Only an adapter for a Powerline socket can be useful for setup.
  All that is required is to simply connect the TV to the network through the adapter and the DLNA home network will start functioning.
• If the router and TV are located nearby, it is best to use a cable connection. The Ethernet cable is connected to the port of the TV and the router.
• Creating a media group using a wireless bridge is appropriate when the TV is located far from the router. The bridge can be connected to a TV via a cable, and to a router via a wireless network.

Advice: optimal solution for any case there will be an electrical connection.

The next configuration step is connecting other DLNA devices to the router.

After connecting to the TV, you can connect any DLNA server to the network - laptop, phone, tablet.

But if this is not possible, you can connect them in the ways indicated above.

Thus, the TV will be able to "see" the devices and play content.

Setting up DLNA homegroup devices

In order for the TV to recognize the content, you need to set up media group devices. For a laptop and tablet, you will need to install special software.

These may include the following programs:

• Windows Media Player 11 or 12.
• VAIO Media Server (for Sony TV).
• AllShare for Samsung.
• LG Smart Share.
• home media server.

It is necessary to allow group access to the laptop, this can be done in the software settings by activating media sharing.

These can be music files, images or videos. Typically, a library or list is created that can later be played by a media device.

Not every smartphone can be connected to a DLNA group. But those that have this feature connect via Wi-F to a wireless router.