play content from win10 pc via ethernet to smart tv

[Sean de Silva]

My setup

Desktop pc running Win10 Home 64bit connected to TL-WR840N Wireless N Router via cat5e cable.
Panasonic 40HS450DX smart tv connected to the same router via cat5e cable.

The issue

I DO NOT want to play any content (audio, video, images) from the pc wirelessly to the tv.

I want to play content from the pc's internal hdd (audio, video, images) via the ethernet connection (router) to the smart tv. I have looked around online ad nauseam but not much information on how to do this. I find sites and forums advising how to cast content wirelessly.

I tried enabling sharing options in the network profile on pc to allow network/file/printer discovery. I enabled media streaming as well. All to no avail. Am I missing out on some important steps to accomplish this task?
Has anyone been through a similar situation trying to play content from their pc/laptop via a wired connection (router) to a smart tv? Your help and guidance would be very much appreciated.

 

[shuv]

You would need some kind of suitable App on the TV to access/process the files. Try KODI/VLC and point it towards the PC as network share. If the TV won't recognise the PC, try installing PLEX on both the PC and TV.
I did have to revert to WIN7 as they had removed the Homegroup Sharing on Win 10. Though, I've heard that the current version supports sharing. My PC is hardwired to the Router. But, my Firestick connects over the airwaves...

 

[Sean de Silva]

You would need some kind of suitable App on the TV to access/process the files. Try KODI/VLC and point it towards the PC as network share. If the TV won't recognise the PC, try installing PLEX on both the PC and TV.
I did have to revert to WIN7 as they had removed the Homegroup Sharing on Win 10. Though, I've heard that the current version supports sharing. My PC is hardwired to the Router. But, my Firestick connects over the airwaves...

Thanks for the suggestion. I will download kodi & plex right away on tv and pc.

 

[bornfi]

Please read about 10baseT and hdmi over cat5. This will require your pc to have hdmi out though.

the other option is if your tv is android based, try google chrome sharing but this will require you to play your content in chrome.

 

[Sean de Silva]

Please read about 10baseT and hdmi over cat5. This will require your pc to have hdmi out though.

Thanks for the suggestion. My pc does not have an hdmi port.

 

[Sean de Silva]

@shuv Thanks for the guidance. I just had to fiddle around with Kodi's UPnP settings on client (tv) and server (pc) in addition to setting up kodi's music library at the pc end and this has done the trick!

 

[sgajjala]

You can also try Samba Server if your router supports it. Once enabled, connect to the PC from Kodi

 

[Sean de Silva]

You can also try Samba Server if your router supports it. Once enabled, connect to the PC from Kodi

could samba server(smb protocol) have any advantages over my existing setup? Isn't samba used to interface windows and linux/unix based systems. Currently, kodi on the tv and pc communicates through the lan router via upnp. I think win10 does come with smbv1/2/3 disabled by default. hence wondering if I could activate smb on pc and reinitiate smb handshake from tv end.

 

[OM_2K19]

could samba server(smb protocol) have any advantages over my existing setup? Isn't samba used to interface windows and linux/unix based systems. Currently, kodi on the tv and pc communicates through the lan router via upnp. I think win10 does come with smbv1/2/3 disabled by default. hence wondering if I could activate smb on pc and reinitiate smb handshake from tv end.

Win10 out-of-the-box comes with SMBv2 enabled. Go via the Plex route if your Tv supports it. It's the easiest way to stream media from your HDD.

 

[Sean de Silva]

Win10 out-of-the-box comes with SMBv2 enabled. Go via the Plex route if your Tv supports it. It's the easiest way to stream media from your HDD.

In my experience plex is buggy and crashed unexpectedly several times. It even caused kodi to shut down. I've uninstalled it and only using kodi now.

 

[OM_2K19]

Odd, Plex always worked for me (Firestick/Tizan) flawlessly. Since, Samba (SMBv1) was never designed for media streaming, the final result may be a hit or miss. Probably Plex via Firestick (if you can grab one) is an option worth considering.

 

[sgajjala]

I have been using the setup like

• connected the hdd to router.
• enabled SMB in router.
• Installed Kodi in TV and Fire TV stick
• configured SMB setup in Kodi in both TV and Fire TV stick.
• I have multiple HDDs . I just need to connect the particular hdd and start using it. No need to change any settings in Kodi or router when I change the hdd. This way I can even connect the pen drive to the router.

This setup always works for me. I have been using the same from past 1 year without any issues.
media streaming was not smooth while streaming through upnp. So I opted for the above