This blog is about anything technically opensource or copyleft-ed/ GPL-ed, obviously most of it Linux or connected to Linux in some way.

Saturday, August 6, 2022

Use your (old) VGA or HDMI monitor as a wireless display and/ or TV

I was using an external VGA monitor as an extention screen to my laptop during my classes, etc, with an HDMI to VGA convertor. Unfortunately, the junk Dell laptop HDMI port failed! Since months, I've been trying to find an external wireless monitor or even a TV but nothing seemed affordable. So, finally, I found a hack into it. Of course, Google Chromecast comes to mind first, but mirroring is easier than extending the display using Chromecast, or so I hear. Here's what I did instead with a cheaper but better hardware and got free TV features too:

  1. Buy the cheapest Amazon FireStick (AFS).
  2. Buy an HDMI female-to-female coupler.
  3. If you need to use it as a TV, buy a bluetooth headphone/ earphone. If your monitor has built-in speakers, this isn't needed.
  4. If the monitor is VGA only, buy an HDMI to VGA convertor; if your monitor has built-in speakers, buy one with audio socket.
  5. Connect as follows:
    1. Plug the AFS into one end of the HDMI coupler. 
    2. Plug the HDMI cable (OR HDMI-VGA convertor) to the other end of the HDMI coupler and attach it to the HDMI monitor (or the VGA cable to monitor from the convertor).
    3. Plug the AFS to power source.
  6. Switch on. Set up the WiFi network (and Amazon prime account optionally) using the supplied remote.
  7. In Settings->Display and Audio settings->mirroring: switch on mirroring.
  8. On your laptop, setup the display for extension or 2nd display only or duplicate/mirroring.
  9. For TV use, set up bluetooth headphone in Bluetooth Devices. Or if you have speakers built-in, plug in the audio cable to the HDMI-VGA convertor.
I am not going into other details of AFS. However, if you find the extension/ mirroring slow, look up and install freeware Spacedesk on Google Playstore

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