What’s the Best Way to Connect My Old TV?

Wireless video isn’t always reliable, and you’ve seen that with your Google TV setup. The best quality will always come from a wired connection if that’s feasible. If you do choose to stick with wireless, your existing Chromecast could be upgraded to a newer model that doesn’t require a phone to operate, which has its own controls and apps.

Using an HDMI connection is probably your best bet due to HDCP compatibility. With Miracast, the HDCP support can be hit or miss depending on your TV, GPU, and network setup. If Miracast isn’t fully compatible, it could explain those bad image issues you’re experiencing. To check if it works, run a dxdiag and look for Miracast support. If it says ‘available with HDCP’ then you’re in good shape. Otherwise, HDMI will definitely give you a more reliable image without latency issues, plus almost all TVs support it nowadays.

If you’re looking for a wireless option, I’d suggest using your existing Chromecast with the Parsec app. It’s primarily for remote gaming but also allows full screen duplication of your PC. It’s a neat way to get around your current limitations without investing in new hardware if you want to keep it wireless. Alternatively, if you're considering a wired option, a good quality HDMI cable would work perfectly!

Honestly, if you can go wired, just use an HDMI cable. You’re only 3 meters away from your TV, so the cable length won’t be an issue. It’ll save you the frustration of poor quality images and won’t require you to mess with any settings once it's set up.