Computer Related > Laptop screen Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Pat Replies: 97

 Laptop screen - Pat
I was working yesterday and decided to bring the laptop home to update it as I can't get onto the internet in my training room.

It was fine when I shut it down but when I started it up this morning there is a series of fine red lines about 2'' wide on the left hand side of the screen and about 1/2'' on the right.

I have googled it and based upon the results I have .....

Wobbled the screen, no effect

Bent the screen gently, no effect

Downloaded updated drivers for the graphics thingy, no effect.

Downloaded the latest chipset for the graphics thingy, no effect.

The lines are there and visible when booting up as well.

Any ideas if I need to cancel the holiday and buy a new laptop for work instead, or not:)

Pat
 Laptop screen - Pat
Missed the edit: The lines look like how I would draw a sound wave, if that helps.

Pat
 Laptop screen - Zero
It's the cable, screen or video chip in order of expense

Cable, about 30 quid fitted, screen about 80 - 100 quid fitted, video chip is new laptop time

You need to take it to a man who knows to decide which
 Laptop screen - Pat
Next question: Will the lines show when I'm connected to a projector, and will they get worse?

Pat
 Laptop screen - No FM2R
If it is the cable or screen, the lines will probably not show.

If it is the video card/chip, then they probably will

It will probably fail completely at some point.
 Laptop screen - Pat
Thanks, you two are always the bearers of bad news!

So, bearing in mind I don't really need to go on the internet and just use it for presentations and storing sensitive data on, what's the cheapest option for a replacement?

I really don't want to go down the windows 8.1 route for this one.

Pat
 Laptop screen - No FM2R
I just had to sort out my S-i-L's 8.1 laptop, and I must say its quite a lot better than I remembered. I think perhaps my previous experience was 8.0 and now 8.1 is considerably better.

Whichever, it was loads easier than I remembered.

Frankly if its just data storage and presentations I wouldn't worry too much, its not going to wreck its disk just because the screen goes t/u.

First thing is plug the projector or an external monitor in and see if it works ok (without lines).

.*********

Perhaps a bit of research now (and Zero is far more able to guide you on that than I) so that you know what you will have to get at some point.

Perhaps worth watching eBay and if you see a reasonable second hand bargain, then get it.
 Laptop screen - No FM2R
>>.*********

Dammit.

something like;

"Of course, if it doesn't work then you'll have to buy soon. Other than that, I wouldn't worry too much about it, keep going until it breaks".
Last edited by: No FM2R on Mon 15 Jun 15 at 17:52
 Laptop screen - Pat
Yeees, but my projector is at work, the laptop is at home and I'm off on holiday this week and need it to work seamlessly on my return for a presentation:)

Pat
 Laptop screen - No FM2R
Do you have an external monitor? Anything you can just plug in and try (or your neighbours etc.).

Because if that works, then so will your projector.
 Laptop screen - Pat
I do, but I don't think I have a lead or even know what lead I need to look for.

Pat
 Laptop screen - VxFan
Pat, it depends on what socket output(s) and input(s) you've got.

Most probably the projector will have a VGA input, which is a 15 pin connector. If your laptop also has one of these, then all you need is a VGA to VGA lead.

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/SVGA_port.jpg

If both devices have HDMI, then all you need a HDMI lead. Same sort of thing that connects from your HD PRV digi box / Sky HD box to the TV.

 Laptop screen - No FM2R
It can vary, but probably one of these;

Its the same lead that it plugs into a desktop with. Typically quite thick, often blue plugs, about 1" wide with 15 pins which looks like this....

www.laptopmarket.ie/Male-to-Male-SVGA-VGA-Lead-cable-for-Computer-Laptop-Monitor
 Laptop screen - No FM2R
Dave types faster than me.
 Laptop screen - VxFan
7 minutes faster ;)
 Laptop screen - Pat
Yes, I've got one of those....but it's in the training room with the projector and I'm trying to avoid going to fetch as I'll just get roped in for something while I'm there.

I have a monitor with my desktop here, can't I plug it into that but all the wires are tucked behind my desk in a right old birds nest. Which one is it likely to be in the back of the tower unit?

I do appreciate your help, flying around like a ble a**ed fly the next 2 days before we go!

Pat
 Laptop screen - Gromit
"Which one is it likely to be in the back of the tower unit?"

It'll be an identical match to whatever's plugged in next to the electric lead on the back of your monitor.

Either a rectangular VGA (usually white, blue or black) or HDMI (like a fat version of the USB plug on a smartphone charger) as shown in the pictures above.

Once you plug it in to the laptop, you'll then need to toggle the display to show on the external screen. A HDMI cable should automatically recognise the external screen and make the laptop switch to it. A VGA needs to be switched by you.

On the laptop's keyboard, look for the "Fn" key. One of the number keys will have a symbol that looks like a screen on it in the same colour as Fn is printed. Hold down the Fn key, then press the number. Each press should cycle between displaying on the laptop screen only, external screen only, or both simultaneously, in turn. You want to keep going until you are seeing Windows on the external screen only.
 Laptop screen - VxFan
>> Either a rectangular VGA (usually white, blue or black) or HDMI (like a fat version
>> of the USB plug on a smartphone charger) as shown in the pictures above.

Or even DVI-I or DVI-D.

www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/pc-peripheral/how-tell-dvi-i-dvi-d-cables-apart-3365585/
Last edited by: VxFan on Tue 16 Jun 15 at 20:55
 Laptop screen - No FM2R
In the back of the tower will be a rectangular plug, see Dave's picture. It will be larger than anything else plugged in.

Just pull it out. It may be held in by two screws. It will almost certainly be identical to tge one that plugs into your projector.
 Laptop screen - No FM2R
This may help....

www.coolnerds.com/newbies/ports/ports.htm

 Laptop screen - Pat
Just done that and the laptop recognised the monitor straight away when I plugged the big blue plug in and the good news is....it doesn't show on the monitor screen at all.

Thank you all so much, I really am grateful to have my mind put at rest before I go away.

That at least, buys me a bit of time to decide what to do with it now.

Thanks again

Pat
 Laptop screen - rtj70
You will have to tell the laptop to use the external display. How you do this depends on your laptop.

Sometimes it's a function key combination on the keyboard or an application. You can usually have it display on the laptop and external display (mirroring), only on the external display, only on the laptop or extend the desktop across both displays.

Let us know what laptop it is and one of us can probably help.
 Laptop screen - rtj70
Note that if the lines are there when booting up (i.e. Windows is not running) this is not a driver issue or anything to do with Windows. It's either the screen or chipset.

You need to tell the laptop to switch to using the external display.

On my work laptop, the quick way to swap between both, laptop and external is using a Fn key. On mine it is F10 which has a little screen icon on it. Pressing the Fn button and F10 repeatedly will cycle through which screen it will use.
 Laptop screen - Pat
See the above post rtj!

As soon as I plugged the blue lead from my monitor into the laptop the screen of the laptop came up on the monitor....but without the red lines, thank goodness.

Pat
 Laptop screen - rtj70
Sorry misread/skimmed it. I saw it didn't show - as in nothing.

So the laptop should be fine back on the projector.
 Laptop screen - Pat
I forgot to update this thread.

The first time I took it to work and set it up to do a presentation, the screen started to scroll faster and faster!

Yet, on the projector screen it was displaying perfectly ok but impossible to use as I couldn't read, or navigate from the laptop screen.

Luckily I keep a very, very old Dell in the training room linked to the printer and with a memory stick that managed to get me out of trouble!


Pat

 Laptop screen - Pat
Another update.

I decided to get another screen for the laptop and was looking around this morning and found one on Ebay for around £33.

I wasn't sure which one to order so emailed them the details I had only to have an email back asking me to take the screen to bits and send them the details off the back of it.

Well, I'm feeling quite pleased with myself, armed with Ian's tiny screwdrivers and a You Tube video I managed to get it off ok but had to use a bradall to get the screw protectors out.

New screen ordered and I now think I'm going to have a go at fitting it too!

Pat
 Laptop screen - Stuartli
A local computer shop replaced a friend's seriously damaged HP laptop screen for just £45.....
 Laptop screen - Pat
Yes, I know I could probably have sent it in somewhere but sometimes I like the challenge of being independent still:)

If I can't re-connect it all then I'll have to admit defeat.

Pat
 Laptop screen - Stuartli
Good luck...:-)
 Laptop screen - RattleandSmoke
Considering a new screen is about £30 trade price plus delivery, I fail to see how on earth a shop can charge £45 for it! Going rate is about £80 to £90. £45 is just mad you cannot make any money at all but I suspect the shop will soon disappear.

 Laptop screen - No FM2R
>>£45 is just mad you cannot make any money at all

That would kind of depend on how much money you put into quality.

A new screen for my phone was £140. I could get a reputable, though not original, screen for £95.

However, there were some available for £55.00

One can only imagine. Typically with these things its failure rates which rise as price/quality fall, as I'm sure you are aware, so you can be lucky.
 Laptop screen - RattleandSmoke
With laptop screens there isn't that much choice with regard to quality some screens are better than others, but they are no really cheap and nasty screens compared to brilliant expensive ones. I suspect though with phones it differs.

On the same subject I don't know how any of these mobile phone repair places make any money as they charge so little labour.
 Laptop screen - rtj70
>> With laptop screens there isn't that much choice with regard to quality some
>> screens are better than others, but they are no really cheap and nasty screens
>> compared to brilliant expensive ones.

The 2560x1600 screen on my Macbook Pro is really good. I suspect a replacement 13" screen from anywhere other than an OEM equivalent is poor. Screen thankfully is still fine.
 Laptop screen - RattleandSmoke
That is a bit of an extreme example though, most laptops that need a replacement screen are just cheap generic laptops with a cheap design in the first place. I was meaning given the same spec there isn't actually that many manufactures of screens on the open market. Some have poor contrast etc, but it is not like mobile phone parts where are some really iffy parts in the channel.

I think the design of the laptop itself has more influence in how strong the screen is rather than the actual LCD panel.
 Laptop screen - No FM2R
>> most laptops that need a replacement screen are just cheap generic laptops with a cheap design

Imagine that there is a box of 10 screens which have come straight off the assembly line from Manufacturer X. Statistically 4 of those will fail.

You are prepared to pay £100 for that box of screens at £10 each which the supplier is happy with since he had no wastage and didn't pay for any irritating inspection processes.. However, you know that those 4 that will fail are going to give you grief - warranty returns, need to be replaced etc. etc. You can charge your customers £15 each, because even though that's cheap they know they are quite likely to fail.

But wait, the supplier is prepared to offer you another box of 10 which has had extra quality checks done and now only 2 of them are likely to fail. He wants to charge more because now he's got 20% wastage and expensive quality inspections. You are prepared 10 pay £120 for the box (£12 each) because you''' get so much less grief. Indeed your customers are so impressed with your reliability that they are not prepared to pay £25 each.

And then there is the final box. The suppliers have been through them with every test and check they can think of. There are no screens likely to fail though he has damned expensive quality processes and 40% wastage. However, this box is now a premium box and with no likely failures you can sell them to people who really need or want reliability and are prepared to pay heavily for that. So you buy the screens at £50 and sell them at £75.

Thing is, it was the same design screen, same manufacturing, same materials all the way through. It was just that some were batches checked more and the dodgy ones weeded out.

And that, Grasshopper, is why you pay substantially more for different quality levels even though you are buying the same brand screens.
 Laptop screen - Stuartli
>>£45 is just mad you cannot make any money at all but I suspect the shop will soon disappear.
>>

Wrong. The computer shop in question has been around for many years and the owner has always been renowned for excellent repairs at reasonable charges.

Hence it's consistently recommended by those who use it - the best form of advertising for any business or service.
 Laptop screen - RattleandSmoke
I just fail to see how he is making any money at all on that, unless there was a mix up and that price didn't include labour, or unless a second hand screen was used. I know the trade price of screens, it is a bit less than it is on ebay/amazon and you can get small discounts if you buy in bulk but even then I can't see them getting them for much less than £30. £15 labour to fix a screen is just madness, you have to offer a warranty on it too then there is the cost of tax, VAT on the labour, business rates, business insurance etc. It costs me £10 per job in overheads and I don't even have retail premises to pay for!

Then there is always the odd laptop that doesn't like the new screen which then causes problems. I would also be interested to know how long they kept the laptop if they are doing it for just £45!
 Laptop screen - Pat
To be fair Rats, it only took me 10 minutes to get the old screen out and 5 of those minutes were trying to find a tiny screw I dropped on a black carpet:)

Now I've never seen inside a laptop before and was watching a You Tube vid for instruction, so assuming an expert can put a new one in as quick there isn't a lot of labour involved, is there?

Pat
 Laptop screen - RattleandSmoke
It depends on the laptop, sometimes it requires the motherboard to come out and the bezels are often so fragile clip in things with no screws it requires a lot of care to remove. Most places have fixed rates on screens and the easy jobs cancel out the hard ones. But yes it can take 10 minutes to replace a screen but £15 labour is no where near enough considering the overheads for a shop to that repair would be at least £15 unless they are cutting corners with all the legal side of things.

It is like a garage that charges £50 an hour labour, a huge amount of that labour costs pays for the building, tools, heating etc.

Also with screen replacements I always back up the hard drive, then test the drive because if a laptop has been dropped there is a good chance the hard drive didn't like it! It is a bit like changing a head gasket without checking how the head gasket blew in the first place.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Wed 9 Mar 16 at 09:26
 Laptop screen - smokie
What you may not have considered Rats is that the consumer break/fix may just be icing on the cake of a few juicy support contracts which cover their running costs and salaries. I was once in discussion with a small business about doing just that for them, and they were prepared to pay me quite a decent retainer pa just to "be there" for them, on stand by, then pay T&M for any work which required doing. If I could have picked up maybe 50 like that (which admittedly is a lot) then I'd have been on an OK salary for not doing a lot much of the time, although there would be a limit to how many business a single person can support on that basis.

Back to the laptop screen, I remember doing the course with a major manufacturer where we completely stripped and rebuilt a laptop each. Everybody including the instructor had some screws left at the end... :-)
Last edited by: smokie on Wed 9 Mar 16 at 09:53
 Laptop screen - No FM2R
Rats,

If you are in a shop all afternoon running a retail business then the incremental cost of performing a repair may be negligible - your main costs already being funded by your retail business. You may think " well, I'm sat here anyway so I might as well"

Hence the perennial argument about cost allocation and the reason that full cost allocation can easily sink a product line whereas marginal costing can make it look great.

Ask Leyland, TVR, Lotus, Austin, etc etc.
 Laptop screen - Zero
>> To be fair Rats, it only took me 10 minutes to get the old screen
>> out and 5 of those minutes were trying to find a tiny screw I dropped
>> on a black carpet:)

Yeah taking things to bits is always a doddle. I love the instruction "Assembly is the reverse of disassembly"

6 easy little words, 6 desperately misleading little words.
 Laptop screen - WillDeBeest
Yeah taking things to bits is always a doddle. I love the instruction "Assembly is the reverse of disassembly".

I've always reckoned that if I needed a 'trade' I could learn to be a decent butcher. I'd never make a surgeon, though.

Does anyone remember the BBC documentary-cum-BA promo video about a 747 getting its periodic strip-down in South Wales? I wondered at the time how big a container they needed for the bits left over from that.
 Laptop screen - spamcan61
>>
>> Yeah taking things to bits is always a doddle. I love the instruction "Assembly is
>> the reverse of disassembly"
>>
>> 6 easy little words, 6 desperately misleading little words.
>>
I've tried to use that phrase at least once in every servicing manual I've contributed to :-)
 Laptop screen - VxFan
>> I just fail to see how he is making any money at all

Believe it or not, there are still some people in the world who will provide a service that doesn't cost the earth. They're happy enough to make a small amount of pin money, enough to keep the wolf from the door, etc. Not everyone is in it for the money. Long live the small business men, and the men in sheds.
 Laptop screen - RattleandSmoke
Like most people in the IT support business then! You certainly can't get rich doing this but if I wanted to be rich I would have done something else a long time ago.
 Laptop screen - neiltoo
Talking of which, what happened to the teaching career?

8o)
 Laptop screen - rtj70
Training as a teacher for computing seems to pay okay. I believe you can get about £25k.

getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/explore-my-options/teach-computing

Is there a catch, apart from then working as a teacher in a stressful environment?
 Laptop screen - WillDeBeest
...and from having to live on £25k, you mean? I suppose you'd get to write off your student loan eventually.
 Laptop screen - Mapmaker
>> ...and from having to live on £25k, you mean?

25k for your TRAINING year! Proper salary afterwards.
 Laptop screen - Bromptonaut
>> 25k for your TRAINING year! Proper salary afterwards.

Not sure how much more the 'proper' salary would be in an ordinary local school out of London. As a well qualified Science Teacher with 30yrs experience and on upper pay spine Mrs B's full time salary would be around £36k.

Very very few classroom practitioners get to be on anywhere near the £65k quoted:

www.theguardian.com/media/2016/mar/09/government-ad-teachers-department-for-educations-asa-pay

Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Thu 10 Mar 16 at 11:13
 Laptop screen - Bromptonaut
>> 25k for your TRAINING year! Proper salary afterwards.

Another take on teaching......

www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-views/i-am-part-teaching-crisis-these-are-reasons-why-i-feel-i-have-no
 Laptop screen - Stuartli
>> I would also be interested to know how long they kept the laptop if they are doing it for just £45! >>

The laptop is still going strong.

What's more it was because of others' recommendations to use this outlet that it got the work and their advice proved sound. What's more those who had recommended the service paid similar prices, which varied slightly according to the make and model of laptop.

Reasons, no doubt, why it's such a popular choice with so many for trusting with computer and laptop related repairs and services.

By the way, if it is costing you what you claim is a fixed price cost overheads wise per repair, then what happens if you have a very slack week? :-)
 Laptop screen - Pat
New screen fitted in 15 minutes and it's all working perfectly.

Now we wait for it to update from July 2015!

Pat
 Laptop screen - Zero
Well done Duchess, Humm, I guess we call you Lady Geek from now on?
 Laptop screen - Stuartli
Excellent outcome...:-) Very well done.
 Laptop screen - Pat
Now the problems begin! The idea of risking a new screen for the laptop was to be able to use it to connect to the TV and be able to watch MotoGP live from their website via Videopass which we pay for.

We've been doing this with an Asus Transformer tablet on Windows 8.1 but it has a habit of stuttering when the race gets a bit hairy:)

My thinking was that the laptop would probably handle it better but it's still on Windows 7 and we can't seem to get it to do screen mirroring.

It connects to the TV via WiFi and they can see each other but that's as far as it goes, so do I upgrade it to Windows 10 and will it solve the problem?

The first race is next weekend from Qatar so we haven't got much time to solve this one;)

Pat
 Laptop screen - rtj70
Does the laptop have an HDMI port? If yes, plug it into the TV.

What model TV and laptop do you have by the way?
 Laptop screen - WillDeBeest
Or if, as many business laptops do, it uses DisplayPort - similar size but with only one bevelled corner - instead, get an HDMI (female) to DisplayPort (male) adaptor and use that. (I do this when I travel, so I can use a hotel room TV - or if you're MM, an hotel room TV - as a laptop monitor.) You'll then get video and sound through the TV.
 Laptop screen - Pat
It's an Acer Aspire and a Sony TV.

I upgraded it to Windows 10 yesterday but haven't tried to connect it yet.

It doesn't have a display port so I'm not sure what lead we could use?

Pat
 Laptop screen - VxFan
>> It's an Acer Aspire and a Sony TV.

Could you be a bit more specific? i.e. which model.

>> It doesn't have a display port

Does it have a HDMI and/or 9 pin serial port?
 Laptop screen - rtj70
>> 9 pin serial port?

You mean 9-pin VGA port. Unless this is a small form laptop, it is likely to have one or more of VGA, HDMI and Displayport. If it's Displayport it might be a mini Displayport socket.

It's lucky it's not the newer Apple Macbook 12" which only has one USB-C that you'd need an adapter/break out box for.
 Laptop screen - spamcan61
>> >> 9 pin serial port?
>>
>> You mean 9-pin VGA port.

Nah, he means 15 pin VGA port.
 Laptop screen - rtj70
Well I was wrong in saying it only had nine pin... but surely he's not asking about a serial port on a laptop. When did one last have a serial port? Even in-built modems have been rare for ages.

Maybe the upgrade to Windows 10 has brought the sharing of desktop required that isn't in Windows 7 by default. If there's Displayport or HDMI, then it could be linked up as an external monitor and make it even easier.
 Laptop screen - spamcan61
>> Well I was wrong in saying it only had nine pin... but surely he's not
>> asking about a serial port on a laptop. When did one last have a serial
>> port? Even in-built modems have been rare for ages.
>>
Agreed, which is a pain because a serial port is required for all sorts of industrial/commercial stuff and USB to serial converters are a bit hit and miss.
 Laptop screen - rtj70
You can get Ethernet connected serial device servers. You connect your serial device to the device server and install a virtual serial port on your actual server. You can then connect to serial devices over the network e.g.

www.perle.com/products/iolan-sts-d-terminal-server.shtml

Useful if you need a modem on a server that is virtualised. Yes you could allow the virtual server connect to a physical port on the host server but if your VM can move to another host server, the device is inaccessible.
 Laptop screen - WillDeBeest
...he means 15-pin VGA.

He does. But even that won't take sound to the TV. Better picture with HDMI too as the video signal is digital rather than analogue and you won't get the problem of ghosting from crosstalk between conductors, as tends to afflict long VGA cables.

It almost certainly does have an HDMI socket - most modern consumer laptops do. You'll just need to look more carefully, as it's likely to be among the USB ports, which it closely resembles.
Last edited by: WillDeBeest on Tue 15 Mar 16 at 12:42
 Laptop screen - rtj70
but you'd run a 3.5mm cable from the sound output port to the TV for that.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Tue 15 Mar 16 at 12:46
 Laptop screen - WillDeBeest
I thought we'd established that no kind of serial port has no kind of anything to with any kind of nothing in this context.
};---)
 Laptop screen - rtj70
I edited my post to reflect I agreed.... and then you posted this.
 Laptop screen - WillDeBeest
That'll fox the cultural historians in 2366.
 Laptop screen - VxFan
>> He does.

I did. Sorry for the confusion. My old Vista laptop has both a VGA and HDMI socket. Can't tell any difference when connecting up to the TV, apart from the sound which comes from the laptop when using the VGA socket. But then again when using HDMI, the sound doesn't always work on the TV. A bit hit & miss.
 Laptop screen - rtj70
>> But then again when using HDMI, the sound doesn't always work on the TV

You probably need to tell the laptop to use internal speakers or HDMI for sound output. Sometimes it gets it right automatically and sometimes it doesn't.
 Laptop screen - rtj70
Of course, if Pat could plug the laptop into the TV with VGA/HDMI/Displayport/whatever, she didn't need to fix the screen on the laptop.
 Laptop screen - WillDeBeest
We have a winner!
 Laptop screen - VxFan
I think we've gone full circle. Looking back through this thread Pat tried previously plugging it into a monitor via a VGA lead. So that confirms it's got a VGA socket.
 Laptop screen - rtj70
And all she probably had to do was tell the laptop to use the external display. Either via control panel or a Function key combination... which we will have told her about.

Perhaps she should get an Android based HDMI stick and run the app for the MotoGP on that. Compared to six months of MotoGP, the cost of the HDMI stick isn't that much and could be used for other things too.
 Laptop screen - WillDeBeest
The day this forum starts worrying about going round in circles we should ask Stephen nicely to put the cat out, leave a note for the milkman and turn off the lights.
 Laptop screen - Pat
Now, I don't know what any of these look like apart from the USB slots but here is what it's got.

3 x USB 2.0
VGA
LAN
Headphone output
Microphone input

There's a square think much like the one on the router.

It's an Aspire 5733 but we need sound to come from the TV not the lappy.


Pat
 Laptop screen - VxFan
>> It's an Aspire 5733

A quick google suggests it doesn't have a HDMI socket. So you'll either need to persevere with your wireless connector, or use a VGA lead and phono connectors between the TV and laptop.
 Laptop screen - WillDeBeest
Or you could stream the sound to a Bluetooth speaker placed near the telly - if the laptop had Bluetooth. It does rather look as if you're asking it to do a job it wasn't designed for, so a lash-up of long VGA cable and similarly long 3.5mm audio cable from the headphone jack to whatever line-in socket the TV has is your only option.

This would do for me as a one-off but the sound will be poor, so if it was going to be every weekend I'd scrap the idea and see whether a Chromecast or a Firestick would get the programme instead.
 Laptop screen - Zero
>> Or you could stream the sound to a Bluetooth speaker placed near the telly -
>> if the laptop had Bluetooth.

Aldi have a combined bluetooth speaker/lamp for caravaners

www.aldi.co.uk/bluetooth-speaker-lamp/p/069216011981500
 Laptop screen - WillDeBeest
Brilliant! It even looks like a slop-out bucket from a chemical lav.

I googled for pictures to see what one of those might look like and discovered
(a) that there's a band named Chemical Toilet, and
(b) that one retailer that sells them is called Go Outdoors.
 Laptop screen - Pat
It works ok with the Asus Transformer tablet but it can be a bit of a weak connection and I thought this laptop might pull in a stronger signal.....maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree altogether?

Pat
 Laptop screen - WillDeBeest
Your problem isn't pulling in, Pat, it's pushing out. Your laptop hasn't got hardware intended for sending picture and sound to a TV. Plenty (most, even) of new and inexpensive laptops have, so if you were thinking of changing this might be your 'compelling event'.
 Laptop screen - Zero
>> It works ok with the Asus Transformer tablet but it can be a bit of
>> a weak connection and I thought this laptop might pull in a stronger signal.....maybe I'm
>> barking up the wrong tree altogether?

The "connection" may well be the weak spot for both of them, only way to tell is to connect the laptop directly to the tele and see if its a link issue or a horsepower issue
 Laptop screen - rtj70
>> The "connection" may well be the weak spot for both of them, only way to tell is to connect the
>> laptop directly to the tele and see if its a link issue or a horsepower issue

If the WiFi signal in Pat's home is not great where the TV and laptop need to reside, then streaming to the TV a video you're getting from the Internet may overload the available bandwidth.

The scenario is:

- Video from Internet goes to router
- Video from router to laptop
- Video streamed to TV from laptop via the router
- Video sent from the router to the TV

If the device getting the video from the Internet is directly connected to the TV, bandwidth on local LAN required is much reduced.

That's a lot of wasted bandwidth if you've not got much in that location. I'll shut up if you have a good signal. Easy to check with an app on a smartphone. Simply changing your WiFi channel might help.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Tue 15 Mar 16 at 17:48
 Laptop screen - Zero

>> If the WiFi signal in Pat's home is not great where the TV and laptop
>> need to reside, then streaming to the TV a video you're getting from the Internet
>> may overload the available bandwidth.

I was attempting to test if the internet feed is fast enough. Before it gets to wifi. Bandwidth at the lan at home wifi or hardwired, is not an issue, under any scenario she has.
 Laptop screen - rtj70
>> I was attempting to test if the internet feed is fast enough

Pat's got BT Openreach's fibre service (might be via Plusnet or someone else but it's still BT providing the FTTC service). So I'd think that is fast enough.

But the connection from the tablet or laptop on the other hand might not be wherever they are when used with the TV.
 Laptop screen - Zero

>> But the connection from the tablet or laptop on the other hand might not be
>> wherever they are when used with the TV.

I can have a huge drain pipe, if the tap at the reservoir is only a dribble, I am not going to get a torrent am i.

So if i want to water the garden i'd test it first, before I start fiddling with my hosepipe.
 Laptop screen - rtj70
>> I can have a huge drain pipe, if the tap at the reservoir is only a dribble, I am not going to get a torrent am i.

Don't you remember the long thread on Pat getting a replacement VDSL modem/router for her FTTC broadband? She got the wrong one from Currys and they replaced it and then she got fast and reliable broadband.

So if she still has fast and reliable broadband, why are you going on about reservoirs and dribbles?
 Laptop screen - Zero
I'll make it simple for you.

IF THE SERVER AT THE OTHER END CAN NOT SERVE HER VIDEO VERY QUICKLY SHE WONT GET IT VERY QUICKLY EVEN THO SHE HAS THE FASTEST BROADBAND IN THE WORLD>

Get it now?
 Laptop screen - rtj70
Maybe you're right to think that the company selling access to MotoGP live/on-demand events (VideoPass) for €199/6 months hasn't the necessary bandwidth to serve it.

Pat wants to test a solution before the new season starts at the weekend. So can't test it out before the next live streaming MotoGP event.

Why you shouting by the way?
 Laptop screen - rtj70
>> Pat wants to test a solution before the new season starts at the weekend. So can't test it out
>> before the next live streaming MotoGP event.

Suppose she could try the on-demand stuff to test out speed and compare to the laptop. There might be more contention for the streamed live stuff but a valid test. Then compare to say iPlayer.

As Z says, I'd be testing this before wasting time on trying to get it on the TV screen.
 Laptop screen - Pat
Now I'm totally lost......

Z, isn't there a train you want to see coming through Manea next week....I make a mean coffee:)

Pat
 Laptop screen - Zero
Trains are grounded at the moment.
 Laptop screen - rtj70
Is the problem on the Asus tablet because the WiFi signal is weak or because the thing is struggling with the load on it (I doubt that).

Before I wasted any more time on the TV connection solution, is the laptop getting a good enough network connection to stream video? Have you checked signal strength on both in the same location and compared? Have you done a speedtest for your Internet connection on both?

I know your Internet connection is a FTTC one (I remember your problems with the router), but are you getting a good enough connection in the home for streaming MotoGP? Powerline Ethernet adapters or a WiFi repeater might help.

Of course the bigger laptop might have better antennae (might even have multiple and support MIMO) and it will get a faster connection. But check that's the case.

There's plenty of options for getting the video from the laptop to the screen. e.g. the VGA cable route or your preferred desktop sharing.

>> see whether a Chromecast or a Firestick would get the programme instead.
I looked at that last night. There is an Android app so it should be possible to install the App on an Android HDMI stick. Whether it's available in the Amazon app store isn't something I checked. For the Chromecast (do you already have one Pat??), you could run Google Chrome and cast the browser window to the Chromecast.
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