How to Use TV as a Monitor for your Windows 11 PC

Having a bigger, better screen is always preferable; and what better alternative than your swanky TV sitting idle in the center of a wall. Moreover, connecting one with your Windows 11 PC is a breeze.

On the flip side, if you use a desktop, you can also hook up a TV to your machine, and permanently use the TV as your monitor. Whatever your use case be, using a TV as a monitor is as plain sailing as it gets.

Connect your PC to a TV Using HDMI Cable

One of the simplest ways to use your TV as a monitor is by plugging in an HDMI cable and your desktop/laptop computer will be able to relay the video and audio signals to the TV without any hiccups.

As mentioned, the very first step is to connect your PC and your TC via an HDMI cable.

Then, if your TV has multiple HDMI ports, make sure you have selected the correct source by clicking on the ‘Input/Source’ button on the TV remote.

Once you have hooked on the HDMI cable, press Windows+P keys together on your keyboard. This will bring up the projection options on the right side of your screen. For your better understanding, below is a gist of them:

• PC screen only: Choosing this option will turn off the projection to the connected screen and only your PC screen will be active. (Option available only on laptop computers).
• Duplicate: When this option is chosen, your PC screen will be duplicated and the content will be displayed on both the screens simultaneously.
• Extend: This option is mostly suitable when you are using a second screen in addition to your primary monitor.
• Second screen only: When you wish to project your PC screen, this is most suitable option as the external connected screen is treated as the primary monitor.

Now, click on the ‘Second screen only’ option to start projecting your screen on your TV.

In case the projected screen on your TV is a bit blurry, don’t worry, all you need to do is adjust your screen resolution.

To adjust your screen resolution, head to the Settings either from the pinned apps on the Start Menu or by searching for it. Alternatively, you can also press the Windows+I keys together on your keyboard to open the app.

Next, make sure you have selected the ‘System’ tab from the Settings window.

Then, locate and click on the ‘Display’ tile to continue.

After that, scroll down until your reach the’ Scale & layout’ section. Then, click on the drop-down menu present on the ‘Display resolution’ tile.

On the drop-down menu, click on the resolution mentioned as ‘(Recommended)’ to ensure a clear and crisp display of contents on your screen.

Then, a prompt will appear on your screen asking if you wish to keep the changes, click on the ‘Keep changes’ button to permanently apply the new resolution.

And that’s it, you have now successfully changed your resolution to fit your TV display.

Connect your PC to a TV Wirelessly

If you are not a fan of wired connections, you can also project your Windows 11 PC screen to a TV wirelessly if your TV supports incoming WiFi connections.

However, before you can project your PC to you have to make sure that your PC has the capability to cast the screen.

To check if your PC can cast the screen wirelessly or not, press the Windows+R keys together on your keyboard and press Enter. This will bring up the ‘Run’ command utility on the bottom left corner of your screen. Now, type dxdiag and hit Enter on your keyboard. This will bring up a separate window on your screen.

After that, from the ‘DirectX Diagnostic Tool’ window, click on the ‘Save all information’ button. Then save the file in your preferred location using File Explorer.

Next, double-click on the saved file to open it.

Now, scroll down till you locate the ‘Display Devices’ section and look for the ‘Miracast’ option under it, if it says ‘Supported’ your machine supports wireless screencast. However, you will still have to enable the wireless cast feature on your laptop.

In order to enable the feature, head to the Settings app either from the pinned apps on the Start Menu or by searching for it.

Next, click on the ‘Apps’ tab from the left sidebar of the Settings window.

After that, from the right section of the window, click on the ‘Optional features’ tile to continue.

Then, click on the ‘View features’ button present on the ‘Add an optional feature’ tile. This will open a separate window on your screen.

Now, on the separately opened window, type Wireless in the search box. Then, from the search results, click to tick the checkbox present on the ‘Wireless Display’ tile and click on the ‘Next’ button to continue.

On the next screen, click on the ‘Install’ button to commence the download.

Note: Before proceeding ahead make sure you launch the ‘Miracast/ScreenCast/WiFi Casting/ Screen Mirroring’ app on your TV to accept the incoming connection.

Once the feature has been installed, press Windows+K keys together on your keyboard to bring up the casting options. A separate window on the bottom right corner of your screen.

Now, on the cast window, your TV name should appear in a few seconds. Click on it to initiate the transmission.

It might take a few seconds to connect. Once connected, your screen should be displayed on your TV.

Using a TV as a monitor definitely sounds fun, however, make sure you maintain an appropriate distance from the big screen to avoid unnecessary headaches.