Almost all TVs today are smart, but it’s not that common for the same to happen with computer monitors. They have a lot of hertz, dizzying resolutions and many other technologies, but almost always with an empty coconut. It was mine, until I decided to increase his IQ with the help of google gadgets that I had at home.
A monitor with a free HDMI and a new Chromecast with Google TV was all I needed to convert my monitor to smart monitor with android tvto have some kind of secondary television in the office and be able to relax and watch content with the comfort of having a remote control and not being dependent on the web versions of streaming sites like Netflix.
From dumb to smart monitor
I’m happy with the monitor I have on my computer, but it’s not particularly smart: it just shows what’s coming in through its input and that’s what it usually is. Smart TVs are popular, but Smart monitors are still rarewith a few exceptions like this smart monitor from SPC.
Taking into account that I have a Chromecast with Google TV which I mainly use for trips without much use, I decided to use it to spice up the monitor, adding Android TV. And the truth is that the experiment was successful and it’s very easy for anyone to replicate it, with very few prerequisites.
Login and nothing more
I’m lucky that my monitor has HDMI, DVI and Display Port inputs, of which I only use the DisplayPort port to connect to my PC. that leaves me Free up the HDMI so you can hook up the Chromecastalthough this is not the case on all monitors.
Yes, it’s still quite common for monitors to maintain a VGA/DVI and HDMI input, so in some cases you may be able to connect Chromecast to HDMI of monitor connect PC to VGA. If necessary, you can always use an HDMI to VGA converter to connect the Chromecast this way, although it’s not highly recommended.
For the rest, it just lacks power the chromecast, which in the version with Google TV requires the use of a normal charger and not a USB, as in the past. Almost better that way, because my monitor doesn’t have any USB ports anyway that could be used as a power supply.
A problem with a simple solution: audio
In my case, I’m lucky that my monitor has speakers, so by changing the image source on the monitor from DisplayPort to HDMI, I go from monitor mode to Android TV mode, being able to listen to the videos that I see on the screen without apps like Netflix or YouTube, but not all monitors have speakers. Or, as is the case with mine, which has speakers but sounds awful.
If your monitor has speakers, the connection is correct. If not, you can fix it with a Bluetooth speaker.
This has an easy fix, because you can connect a Bluetooth speaker or headset to the Chromecast, to listen to the sound. In Android TV, this is done in the section of Control and accessories.
In my case, I took advantage of another smart device I had at home, the Xiaomi smart speaker, Xiaomi Mi Smart Speaker, which looks like Xiaomi’s Google Nest. It would literally be worth any Bluetooth speaker you have at home, with the one requirement that you can put in pairing mode.
In the case of Google and similar smart speakers, this is done from the Google Home app, entering the settings of the gadget in question and pressing Paired Bluetooth devicesto press later Activate pairing mode. Then it already appears on TV and they can be related.
At this point, I already had decent picture and sound. The transformation from dumb to intelligent monitor was at most complete. it took me about ten minutes and zero dollarsWell, these were all devices that I already had at home.
Useful if you don’t care for traditional TV
By changing monitor input, I can switch between PC and Android TV apps
This invention is great if you’re one of those people who can’t remember the last time you saw a TV show live and not streaming, because obviously you’re relegated to streaming and applications available on Android TV.
The only possible downside might be the audio, but it’s easily resolvable and the result turns your monitor into something like a TV, or at least a a place to consume content more comfortably than browsing the websites of each streaming site.
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