Wireless TV is a general term used to send photos, videos, or other media from a smart device or computer to television without cables.
A wireless TV connection, also sometimes referred to as a cordless TV connection, can be made by using a variety of wireless solutions ranging from wireless USB and HDMI devices to sending data over a Wi-Fi network.
Here’s everything you need to know about how to get wireless TV working in your home or workplace and which forms of cable-free solutions are the most popular.
Wireless HDMI
Wireless HDMI is a cordless TV solution for connecting devices such as a DVD or Blu-ray player to television without using HDMI cables. This method usually requires the use of two specifically designed wireless HDMI devices, with one meant for broadcasting a signal from the media player and another for receiving it and sending it to the TV. These are typically referred to as a transmitter and a receiver.
A wireless HDMI extension system can cost a few hundred dollars for one that supports HD signals and several hundred dollars for a 4K compatible one. This high price point is likely why wireless HDMI is rarely used by the average consumer and is mainly seen in public places such as a bar or hotel.
WirelessHD
WirelessHD refers to a specific technology that uses the 7 GHz channel in the 60 GHz radio band to make a wireless TV connection. Like wireless HDMI, WirelessHD uses a transmitter that connects to a media source and a receiver to receive the signal and display the media on a television screen or monitor.
WiGig, WHDI, and WirelessHD are all variants of this same base technology. There have been various products released that use them, most usually costing a few hundred dollars.
Wireless USB
Wireless USB can be one of the most straightforward solutions for getting wireless TV working on a more traditional television model that doesn’t support any built-in wireless functionality. Your TV will need to have a USB port, however.
Once set up, the wireless USB devices use a radio signal which can send media from your computer or another device to your TV screen. Similar USB devices are also often used to connect printers, video game controllers, and scanners to a computer wirelessly though these won’t work for connecting to your TV.
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi is by far the most common way to connect laptops and other devices to a TV wirelessly due to the massive support for the technology in modern TVs, computers, smartphones, and tablets. This method involves connecting your TV and chosen device to the same Wi-Fi internet connection, which then transmits data wirelessly.
Miracast, Apple’s AirPlay, and Google’s Chromecast are all forms of Wi-Fi, and at least one of these will be supported on your computer or smart device.
Wi-Fi is also used by wireless TV headphones and wireless surround sound speakers for TV and wireless home theater setups.
If your TV model lacks support for Wi-Fi connectivity, you can use a streaming product such as an Apple TV, Chromecast, or Fire Stick to receive the signal instead. Video game consoles such as Microsoft’s Xbox One and Xbox Series X and Sony’s PlayStation 4 and 5 also support this functionality.
Native Apps and Cloud Streaming
The proliferation of smart TVs has, in many situations, made both wired and wireless connections redundant. It’s because the majority of smart TVs are now powerful enough to run media apps themselves, which completely bypasses the need to stream content from a smartphone, tablet, computer, or via one of the various methods mentioned above.
Popular streaming services such as Netflix, Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Disney+ can now run directly from many TV models. Several cloud services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive also offer smart TV apps to stream your files from your preferred cloud account. There’s even a Facebook Watch TV app available on many smart TVs, which allows for viewing Facebook videos without the need for your laptop or mobile device.
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