What's new

Miracast?

Arizona Willie

Active Member
We recently got a new SonyXBR 850B TV and it is a so-called " smart tv " with wireless wi-fi built in and a lot of apps.

Under the Input section there is something called Mirroring. Reading the instructions it appears it would need something called Miracast to put something from this Surface Pro ( original ) on screen of the TV.

Is that software or hardware?
Has anyone used it with the Surface Pro 1?
Has anyone mirrored a Surface to one of these 4K TV's?
 
OP
Arizona Willie

Arizona Willie

Active Member
Thanks for the response and link.

When I tried the Chromcast there was a HUGE delay. However, I have also installed a new modem and router since then which are DocSys 3.0 and my old one's were not.

But, since the TV can connect to my desktop and laptop and PS3 via the wireless network, why not to the Surface as well? It seems that the dongle enables the TV to access the wireless network but this TV can already do that.

hmmmmm....

Got one it works great almost no lag its a wireless dongle for you HDMI TV you can connect to it over wifi or point to point. I use mine for meetings, video games movies and usually just a larger monitor. 20usd usually. Ebay link

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...2.TRC2.A0.H0.XMiracast&_nkw=Miracast&_sacat=0

Gio
SP3 i7
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
I seen other users having Miracast issues with the Sony TV's with the Surface Line, currently it is up to Sony to update their Firmware to support other devices beside those using Broadcom Adapters....
 

Samurai7388

New Member
EUREKA (well, almost)!

I am reposting this as I had posted it in another, but it directly relates to Miracast.

As my wife's frustration and annoyance was getting to both of us, I decided to kick her off her Surface Pro 2 computer and spend the day pursuing this. Miracast now works between her SP2 computer and our TV. Here is an explanation of what I found. Note, I had already run dxdiag and it reported that her Surface is Miracast compatible.

· Typical private/home wireless networks have a router which contains a DHCP server that assigns an IP address to all devices on the network that have not specifically been configured with a static IP address. The typical IP addresses are in the 192.168.xxx.xxx range. The bottom line is that all devices on the network must have 'compatible' IP addresses and the router effectively steers the appropriate network data between devices based on their respective IP addresses and to from the internet.

· If understand correctly (feel free to correct me), Miracast is essentially a specific-purpose form of direct or peer-to-peer networking and does not involve the home network router.

· For a Miracast computer to TV connection, as the router is not involved, the computer does not receive an IP address provided by the router. As a result Surface computers typically 'auto-configure' there own IP address for the direct wireless adapter, which is typically something like 169.254.56.231 with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. This not the same and not to be confused with the IP address for the home/private network used to communicate with other network devices and the internet.

· As the TV's IP address is not typically in the 169.254.xxx.xxx range, but rather in the 192.168.xxx.xxx range, the Surface computer and TV would not connect.​

Here is what I changed to resolve the problem.

1. First I opened Settings...Network & Internet...Network and Sharing Center...Change adapter settings.

2. I then right-clicked on the Wi-Fi network adapter.

3. Under the Networking tab, I scrolled down the list to find Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4).

4. I right-clicked it and selected Properties and then switched to the Alternate Configuration tab.

5. Under the Alternate Configuration tab I selected Use the following IP address instead of Obtain an IP address automatically, and I entered the following IP address 192.168.137.1 and Subnet mask 255.255.255.0 (selected because those values were similar to ones that occurred automatically on my HP laptop that does connect to the TV via Miracast).

6. After making that change I rebooted my wife's SP2.​

Then I tried to connect the SP2 to the TV via Miracast once again (for about the 50th time). This time it worked!

Caveat (new/updated info): As mentioned, after making the above change, it worked. However, when she tried again the next day, it did NOT work. I checked my settings and even though they had not changed, for some reason her computer was not accepting my changes and was auto-configuring its own IP address in the 169.254.xxx.xxx range once again.

A friend suggested that I expand my changes within the Alternative configuration to include a default gateway and preferred and alternate DNS servers, also to be 192.168.137.1. I tried it and the Surface was once again able to connect to the TV via Miracast. It worked very well for about an hour before I shut it down.

Then, when I went to show my wife that it was working again, it didn't work! It went back to auto-configuring its own IP address in the 169.254.xxx.xxx range - and I do not understand why.​

Although my solution has proven to work only sometimes, I hope this will help others to find a solution to the problem of getting Surface computers to connect to their Miracast-compatible TVs. Perhaps someone will provide a clue as to why the Surface Pro 2 may be ignoring my settings and using its own.
 

Orlbuckeye

Active Member
Well Microsoft makes a device the MS Display adapter that uses Miracast protocol for a wireless connection to a TV or other device. They are around $50. They differ from Chromecast and don't have a an app ecosystem. It basically just mirrors you computer screen to another device. The display adapter connects at one end to an HDMI port and one USB port on the TV. I have used my on multiple tv with no problem connecting. The one issue i had is trying to connect the TV to non MS PC had problems and and on PC that works for me in my SB and SB2. No for my alienware or HP laptops.
 

Samurai7388

New Member
Thanks for the reply Orlbuckeye but
,
although the Surface Can't Connect to TV via Miracast problem is showing up in numerous places on the web because so many folks are experiencing these problems, there are, no doubt, a number of different causes depending upon each user's situation. I believe the need for the adapter you describe would be for folks whose TVs are not suitably Miracast-compatible.

I apologize. What I posted above was simply copied from another forum where I had previously posted it with a 'preface' that would have clarified the situation I have been trying to address, namely:
  • Running dxdiag, the report indicates that the Surface Pro 2 is Miracast-compatible (both graphics adapter/driver and Wireless adapter/driver)
  • The TV in question is also Miracast-
    compatible​
    as well and does connect with my HP laptop flawlessly every single time.
That second bullet indicates that there should be no need to purchase and add to the TV any form of Miracast-compatible adapter, as the TV is already Miracast-compatible.

I always attempt to be as detailed as possible to narrow the focus of the actual problem or problems. In my case, there appears to be more than one problem, namely:
  1. Unusable IP address range on the Surface computer (Miracast is a peer-to-peer connection so the is no DHCP server involved and, if the Surface does not receive an IP address from a DHCP server, it has an Alternate configuration 'fallback'. That alternate configuration will generate an Automatic Private IP address (APIPA) in the 169.xxx range unless it has been configured to use a specific fallback IP address. The TV would not be looking for an IP address within the APIPA range; so, I configured it to use a specific IP address (the same address that my HP computer uses when it is connected via Miracast), and it worked for a while but subsequent attempts failed. Why did it stop working?
  2. I then discovered, that on the subsequent attempts, the Surface was not using the address I had configured, but had gone back to using the APIPA address. Why did it revert back to the APIPA address?
  3. I kept reconfiguring the fallback IP address, and I eventually got it working again - but then when subsequent attempts were made it failed to connect. I checked the IP address and this time it actually was using my designated IP address. Now why is it failing to connect if the IP address is suitable?
And that is where it stands.

Because other computers can and do connect to our TV using Miracast, it has to be something with the Surface that is the issue - but 'what'?
 

Orlbuckeye

Active Member
The advantage of Miracast is it doesn't use your wireless network. It connects the 2 devices directly. My MS Display adapter uses Miracast technology. The device plugs into the TV with one end a HDMI and USB on the other. On the TV or TV remote I have to select the proper input to which HDMI port the adapter is connected. On my Surface I click the quick actions option in the right side of the task bar or just swipe the right side of the screen and then select connect.

https://windows.gadgethacks.com/how-to/use-quick-actions-toggle-settings-easily-windows-10-0162953/

Then I click connect. Once I click is see the Microsoft Display adapter and I click on it. The message attempting to connect appears below the device and I see the message on the TV that it is attempting to connect to the Microsoft Display adapter. I rarely works the first time. There will be a message couldn't connect but I click it again and it connects. I see my computer screen on the TV. I click on my video player to watch a movie. The sound comes out of my home theater.
 

Samurai7388

New Member
The advantage of Miracast is it doesn't use your wireless network. It connects the 2 devices directly. My MS Display adapter uses Miracast technology. The device plugs into the TV with one end a HDMI and USB on the other. On the TV or TV remote I have to select the proper input to which HDMI port the adapter is connected. On my Surface I click the quick actions option in the right side of the task bar or just swipe the right side of the screen and then select connect.

How to Use Quick Actions to Toggle Settings Easily in Windows 10 « Windows Tips :: Gadget Hacks

Then I click connect. Once I click is see the Microsoft Display adapter and I click on it. The message attempting to connect appears below the device and I see the message on the TV that it is attempting to connect to the Microsoft Display adapter. I rarely works the first time. There will be a message couldn't connect but I click it again and it connects. I see my computer screen on the TV. I click on my video player to watch a movie. The sound comes out of my home theater.


Orlbuckeye,

As we have a certified Miracast-compatible TV, there should be no reason for us to use an MS Wireless Display Adapter, and it would be both a wasted expense and another item sticking out of the TV.

I am very familiar with the advantage of Miracast and that is why I have been trying for several weeks to get the Surface to successfully connect. I am also familiar with how to attempt the connection and have
successfully
done so numerous times from my HP laptop and my Galaxy S6 phone. The problem is that something in the Miracast-compatible Surface Pro 2 is preventing the connection negotiations from succeeding.

After numerous failed attempts to connect the Surface, as stated above I then tried to manually help the Surface succeed in negotiating a connection by 'forcing' a more appropriate IP address onto the virtual adapter for the Local Area Connection* that only shows up when a connection attempt is made - and it worked, with excellent results - but it only worked immediately after I made the change and I was unable to repeat the success after that. I have since removed that change to the Surface and every attempted connection negotiation fails with the related virtual adapter for the LAC* ending up with an Autoconfiguration IPv4 address in the 169.xxx.xxx.xxx range.

I know of 3 different models of MS Surface Pro (Pro, Pro 2 and Pro 3) that are all experiencing the exact same problem, and all exceeded immediately after forcing a more appropriate IP address onto the virtual adapter, and all failed to repeat the success afterwards. All 3 of us, and possibly thousands of others based on all the online comments, are frustrated and spending far too much time on what should be a simple task.
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
One thing to be aware of is that many of the Miracast enabled TVs (especially Sony and Sharp) used Miracast Firmware that Whitelisted devices that it was tested with to connect - mostly Android devices were on the list.
 

Orlbuckeye

Active Member
Im not saying you have to get the Microsoft Display adapter. I'm saying it uses the same Miracast technology as your device. I have connected to Samsung and Vizio TV's.
 

Samurai7388

New Member
Orlbuckeye,

I understand that the technology is theoretically the same, but connecting a Microsoft Surface computer to a TV using a Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter lays open a possibility of Microsoft 'tweaking' things a little in order for their own two products to work together better than their computer would with various TVs. I am not saying they do this - just that it is possible.

FYI, this morning I attempted to connect to a neighbour's Samsung TV. The Surface failed the same as it does with our LG TV, and my Galaxy S6 phone succeeded in connecting, just as it does with our home TV.

Your Surface is newer and likely has a different chipset than our SP2. The problem may relate only to the SP2 and earlier computers. Instead of posting that there is a problem connecting via Miracast, perhaps it is time to start a new discussion specifically asking in the heading if anyone has succeeded in getting an SP or SP2 to connect to a TV via Miracast and, if so, what had to be done to get it to work.

It is difficult to ignore the fact that I did get it to work for perhaps 15 minutes (as did a friend with an SP) - but just immediately after I forced an IP address onto the computer (same with my friend). However, after the initial success, there were no successful repeats - just failure after failure (same with my friend).

I do not know which TVs may have whitelists, but any that do are doing their customers a huge disservice.
 
Top