TV Audio/Video Input Source Select

Look for the “AV Source” input select button on your TV remote control. My TV is normally set to AV 1: SAT for DirecTV. In the image below, the laptop is logged into Netflix while the TV is showing a hockey game on DirecTV.

TV Audio Video Input Source Selection

Click the AV input source button on the remote to choose the HDMI port (in my case HDMI 1) which the computer is plugged into.

HDMI 1 Audio Video Input

Very important – you will see a blank screen on the TV until you tell the computer to use the external display! Refer to your computer’s user guide for the specific keystroke for selecting an external display. On the HP Pavillion laptop, press Fn + F4 keys together to toggle between the laptop display, laptop and external display (TV), and external display (TV) only. On a Dell LatitudeD630, the key combination is Fn + F7. (Do not press the plus + sign.)

In the next image, the laptop and TV displays are both active.

TV Audio Video Source set to HDMI Port 1

At this point, you will have video but no sound through the TV.

Configure Windows Vista HDMI Audio

It’s necessary to configure the Windows Vista HDMI sound device before watching Netflix. To configure Windows Vista, do the following:

1. Start → Control Panel → Hardware and Sound
2. In the Sound section, click Manage audio devices
   

   Control Panel: Manage Audio Devices

3. The Sound dialog is displayed. The computer speakers and headphone output is the default device as indicated by the check sign in the green circle.
   

   Control Panel: Sound set for PC Speakers

4. Click the Digital Output Device (HDMI) and click the Set Default button to change the default sound device to HDMI so we can hear the sound on the TV.
   

   Control Panel: HDMI Audio Output

5. Click Properties and the Advanced tab.
6. Click Test. You should hear a melody played on the TV speakers.
   

   Control Panel: HDMI Audio Test

7. Click OK and go back to the Control Panel.
8. In the Hardware and Sound section of the Control Panel, click Adjust System Volume. Verify the sound volume is at 100% for the Digital Device Output (HDMI). 100% is should be the default setting.
   

   HDMI Output Sound Volume

Configure Screen Saver and Power Timeouts

It’s necessary to disable the Windows Vista screen saver and “Turn off the Monitor” power management settings. Otherwise, you’ll be watching a movie only to have the screen go blank after 10 or 15 minutes when Windows goes to sleep!

Do the following:

1. Start → Control Panel → Appearance and Personalization → Change Screen Saver
2. Change the screen saver to 9999 minutes (or a period that is longer than your movie!) as shown.
   

   Screen Saver Timeout Set 9999 Minutes

3. Click OK to save and return to the Control Panel.
4. In the Control Panel, click on Power Options → Change when the computer sleeps
5. Set Turn off the display to Never, and Put the computer to sleep to Never
6. Click OK to save and exit the Control Panel.

Watch a Netflix Movie over the Internet

At the computer, login to your Netflix account, pick movie in the “Watch Instantly” category and click Play.

Netflix Watch Instantly - Moving Loading

To view the movie in full screen mode, scroll down and click the full screen button as shown:

View the Movie in Full Screen Mode

Once you’ve got everything setup correctly, turn off the computer display by pressing Fn + F4 (or the appropriate key combo on your computer) a couple of times – wait several seconds between keypresses – to turn off the laptop display and show the movie only on the TV.

Netflix Watch Instantly - Streaming Video over the Internet

My experience with Netflix streaming video has been great! The videos load quickly and movie starts playing in a minute or so over a 6mbps DSL connection over my home WiFi network. A refinement of my setup is to run a digital audio out line from the TV to my home theater audio system. Until then the stereo speakers on the HDTV do an acceptable job.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

• The most common problem is no sound on the TV speakers after configure the Windows Vista Digital Audio Device (HDMI). Save the HDMI configuration and try rebooting the computer.
• Check with your computer manufacturer for an sound device driver update for HDMI.
• Verify the TV volume is turned up. I have a home theater audio system so my TV volume is normally off.

Enjoy!
Bob Jackson

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Netflix from PC to TV

There is a growing number of Netflix Ready Devices on the market that make it easy to connect to the Internet and watch Netflix movies on your TV. However, what if I want to a YouTube or Hulu video? Or just watch streaming video any Internet site? I do have an Xbox 360 that is Netflix ready, but it’s connected to another TV downstairs in the game room.

I already have an HP Pavillion laptop computer with an HDMI port, so all I needed to watch Internet video on my HDTV was an HDMI cable.

Connecting a PC to a HDTV

Here’s the computer to HDTV connection diagram to watch Netflix, YouTube, Hulu or any streaming Internet video on the TV. If you’re like me, you already have a:

1. Netflix subscription
2. broadband connection
3. WiFi router
4. computer with a HDMI port
5. HDTV

The the only thing I needed buy was a 6-foot HDMI cable.

Computer to HDTV Connection Diagram

Choosing an HDMI Cable

I bought the cheapest HDMI cable I could find, a Dynex 6.5 foot HDMI cable with gold plated connectors from Best Buy for $39.99 over the objections of the sales staff who insisted that only the much more expensive Monster or Rocketfish cables would do. The Monster and Rocketfish cables are prominently displayed and I had to ask where the Dynex cables could be found – way off to the side at end of an isle. Aside: DYNEX is a trademark of Best Buy Enterprise Services and distributed by Best Buy Purchasing, LLC.

HDMI signals are digital – zeros and ones, similar in concept to the Ethernet technology, carry very little power and are less subject to interference. The Best Buy salesman was thinking (or hoping I would) about analog audio signals and speaker hookups that need hundreds of watts and big, expensive cables for the best sound. This is not the case with digital.

Try the cheapest HDMI cable first. If it doesn’t work, return it. In the digital world there’s usually no difference in picture/sound quality between the low cost generic and the expensive cable brand.

Laptop HDMI Cable Connection

The HDMI port and cable are shown here:

Laptop Computer HDMI port and Cable

Insert the HDMI cable fully into the computer’s HDMI port.

HDMI Cable Plugged into the Laptop Computer

HDMI Cable TV Connection

This is the audio/video connections summary from the User’s Guide for my Philips plasma HDTV. It has two HDMI ports labeled HDMI 1 and HDMI 2. Either HDMI port can be used, I choose HDMI 1 for the cable hookup.

HDTV Audio Video Connectors

The HDMI cable from the computer is plugged into HDMI port #1 on the back of the TV. (The other cables at the upper right are my existing DirecTV connections for S-Video and analog sound.)

HDMI Cable Connection to the HDTV

Click here to continue reading Part 2 to configure Windows Vista.

Take care,

Bob Jackson

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