If you are looking to buy a projector and are considering whether you can watch TV on it, this guide is for you. Here you will find all that you need to know about how to watch TV on a projector. You may be thinking, do you have to purchase a new TV when a projector can take care of business? Is it simple to set up a projector? What steps do I have to take to watch cable TV on a projector? Stay on this page to find out.
How to Make It Possible?
If you have an HDMI projector, watching ordinary TV is conceivable and firmly suggested because a projector can cover a larger area. As a rule, a projector can play the equivalent media your TV can through an HDMI cable box. We found that connecting a projector to your cable box arrangement is shockingly simple, especially if you have done all the wiring yourself up until this point.
Step by Step Guide
This section is dedicated to guiding you on how to watch TV through a projector. You may need to get the following things done:
Getting the Cable Working
The main point is that projectors do not have internal TV tuners. That means you will not have the option to look for or see any free TV straightforwardly from the projector.
Since you probably utilize a cable top box, you need to run an HDMI cable between the two devices. The projector needs to recognize the HDMI sign and show the media onto the screen. The steps are easy and mainly equivalent to connecting the box to a TV.
If you do not have a cable box, you could get one from your cable organization. Getting a visual from your TV box to your projector is pretty much as basic as stopping an HDMI cable, yet getting sound requires some extra work.
Watching TV on the Projector without a Cable Box
If you do not have a cable box, you can search for something like a USB TV tuner connected to a laptop or PC. It may likewise work when associated directly with a projector’s USB port.
You likewise have the alternative to directly connect with media players so your projector can fill in as a TV or screen substitute. It can serve as a better option if you do not need your TV and projector to run together. Here are, on the whole, the usual electronic devices that effectively connect with present-day projectors:
- DVD/BD player
- Gaming consoles
- Wireless receiver box
- Streaming box (Android or Apple)
How to Set Up Projector Audio?
There are a couple of approaches to sound chipping away at a projector, some of which we will go through. Do recall that your projector is not made especially for sound, and most projectors do not yield sound.
Keep in mind:
You will not module any cables other than HDMI into the projector rather than the media source (cable box, laptop, and so forth) to your audio device. As such, your media source is connected with the projector through HDMI, and afterward, it is additionally connected with the sound source through a different cable.
Here are your alternatives:
Projector’s Internal Speakers
The main alternative is to utilize your projector’s internal speakers. Most projectors have their speakers, yet, the sound quality is more pitiful than the speakers on your TV. By and large, we do not suggest utilizing built-in speakers because the quality is bad, and a superior choice is to get a soundbar or another audio gadget.
Using a Soundbar
If your media source is a cable box for TV, the thought of connecting a soundbar to the media hotspot for sound will be great. Most cable boxes will have a wide range of audio connectors, like RCA, optical, and 3.5mm. In like manner, most soundbars have like selection. It is better to look for an HDMI ARC port on both of your gadgets.
If your cable box has at least two HDMI ports, and one of them is named ARC, that would be ideal. You can run an HDMI cable from the HDMI port to the projector and afterwards another connector from HDMI ARC to the ARC port on your soundbar.
External Speakers
External Speakers convey better sound than your projector’s internal speakers. Find the ports on your media source and check whether the speakers have any coordination with the ports. Most of the time, sound system speakers will have a 3.5mm jack, so an aux cable can get the job done.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Would it be a good idea for me to purchase a projector or TV?
TV projectors are substantially more efficient concerning the price and the screen size, as compared to a normal TV. You can get a nice HD projector and a 100-inch screen for under $1,000, while an 80-inch TV will cost you around $1,500 or even more.
- Does a projector utilize a great deal of power?
Commonly, the measure of power the projector will utilize will be somewhere close to 150 to 800 watts every 60 minutes, with 300 being about usual. That works out to be around $0.03 each hour. Typically, the more you use the projector, the more power you will utilize.
- How long would you be able to leave a projector on?
Most projectors have a bulb life between 1,500 to 2,000 hours, while the latest models can reach 5,000. In any case, projectors are firm machines, and you need to utilize a bit of your mind to run them, i.e., do not leave them turned on for an exceptionally long period.
Conclusion
To sum up, you can watch typical TV on a projector, yet, you will have to get a cable box and an HDMI. You will additionally have to deal with a sound system because the in-built projector speakers are not great. However, you are now in a position to tell how to watch TV through a projector. We hope this guide will be of much help to you.
Thomas is a leading contributor and loves anything to do with tech! After attending college for Computer Programming, he continued his interest in the digital world and then went on to start a now 10-year-old retail tech/gadget shop. When he isn’t working in his technology shop he is reviewing and learning more in-depth through his youtube channel.