Today, almost all TVs are smart, but it’s not so common for the same thing to happen with computer screens. They have lots of hertz, dizzying resolutions and many other technologies, but almost always with an empty coconut. That’s how mine was, until I decided to increase his IQ with the help of Google gadgets that I had at home.
A monitor with free HDMI and a new Chromecast with Google TV were all I needed convert my monitor to a smart monitor with Android TVto have a sort of secondary television in the office and be able to relax and watch content with the comfort of having a remote control and without depending 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 intelligent: it just shows what comes in through its input and that’s it, which is usual. Smart TVs are very common, but Smart monitors are still rare
Considering the fact that I have a Chromecast with Google TV that I use mainly for traveling without using it much, I decided to use it to spice up the monitor, adding Android TV. And the truth is that the experience was satisfactory and it is very easy to reproduce by anyone, with very few prerequisites.
Log in and nothing else
I’m lucky that my monitor has HDMI, DVI and Display Port inputs, of which I only use the DisplayPort port to connect my PC. This leaves me free the HDMI to be able to connect the Chromecastalthough this will not be the case on all monitors.
Yes, it is still quite common for monitors to maintain VGA/DVI and HDMI inputs, so in some cases you can plug the Chromecast into the monitor’s HDMI by connecting the PC to the VGA. If necessary, you can always use an HDMI to VGA converter to connect the Chromecast, although this is not highly recommended.
For the rest, all that is missing is power the Chromecast, which in the version with Google TV requires the use of a normal charger and not a USB, as in those of yesteryear. It’s almost better this way, since my monitor doesn’t have a USB port that could serve as power anyway.
A problem with a simple solution: audio
In my case, I am lucky that my monitor has speakers, so by changing the image source on the monitor from DisplayPort to HDMI, I switch from monitor mode to Android TV mode, being able to listen to the videos that I see without problem. Netflix or YouTube, but Not all monitors have speakers. Or, like mine, it has speakers but they sound horrible.
If your monitor has speakers, the connection is fine. Otherwise, you can solve it with a Bluetooth speaker.
There is a simple solution because you can connect a Bluetooth speaker or headset to the Chromecast, to listen to the audio. On Android TV, this is done in the section Control and accessories.
In my case, I took advantage of another smart device that I had at home, the Xiaomi smart speaker, Xiaomi Mi Smart Speaker, which looks a bit like Xiaomi’s Google Nest. It would literally work with any Bluetooth speaker you have at home, as long as you can put in pairing mode
In the case of Google smart speakers and similar, this is done from the Google Home app, by entering the settings of the device in question and pressing Paired Bluetooth devicesto press later Enable pairing mode. Then it shows up on TV and they may be related.
At this point, I already had the image and sound correct. The transformation from stupid monitor to smart monitor was already complete It took me about ten minutes and zero dollarssince these were all devices I already had at home.
Useful if you don’t care for traditional TV
This invention is great if you’re one of those people who can’t remember the last time you saw a live TV show and not streaming, of course. you’re relegated to streaming and applications available on Android TV.
Perhaps the only possible downside is the audio, but it’s easily fixed and the result upgrades your monitor to something like a TV or, at least, a place to consume content more comfortably than browsing the websites of each streaming site.
In Xataka Android | Android TV is the best operating system I’ve tried on a TV and here are the reasons
Table of Contents