How to Stream 4K to TV from PC: The 3 Easiest Ways

As an owner of a 4K TV and a PC-obsessed tech enthusiast, I was incredibly excited to learn that I could stream 4K content to my TV. However, when I started researching how to do it, I quickly became frustrated by how confusing the process was. After hours of research, I finally figured it out and even discovered a few more options. In this blog post, I will be sharing my experience, as well as the best three ways to stream 4K content to your TV from your PC.

In fact, there are many ways to stream 4k from PC to TV. The most common is using an HDMI cable. However, you can also wirelessly make that connection using the Plex app or even the PC display settings.

Method	Description	Steps
HDMI Cable	Traditional and effective way to stream 4K content from PC to TV. Requires a High-Speed HDMI cable for best results.	1. Plug one end of the HDMI cable into the TV port and the other end into the PC port. 2. Press the “input” button on the TV remote control. 3. Select HDMI1 or HDMI2 according to the port you’ve used. 4. The PC and TV screens will display the same content.
Plex App	A user-friendly app that turns your PC into a media server, allowing you to stream 4K content to your TV. Compatible with various streaming devices.	1. Create a Plex account. 2. Download Plex Media Server on your PC and Plex Client on your TV. 3. Add 4K content to the Plex app on your PC. 4. Sign in to the Plex app on your TV and play the media. Note: Your PC must be running during the streaming process.
Screen Sharing (Cast)	Wirelessly display your PC screen on your TV using your PC’s screen share option.	1. Ensure your TV and PC are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. 2. Go to display settings on your PC. 3. Click on “connect to a wireless display.” 4. A window will open showing the available TVs to connect. Click on your TV name. 5. A window will pop up on your TV screen asking for permission to connect. Click “Ok” on the remote control. <br>6. Start playing your media.

Table of Contents

How to Prepare for Streaming 4K Content?

Regardless of the method you’ll use to stream your 4K content on the TV, these are a couple of must-haves to be able to stream:

A minimum internet speed of 25 MB
Your TV needs to be an Ultra-HD one, and the display settings should be set to 4K

The 3 Easiest Ways to Stream 4K to a TV from a PC

Although there are many methods you can use to run 4k from PC to TV, the following three are the easiest and most effective:

Use HDMI Cable

Although HDMI is the most traditional way of streaming from a PC to a TV, it’s so effective even with 4K content. Still, to ensure streaming with no lags, use a High-Speed HDMI instead of the Standard one.

To use an HDMI cable, follow these steps:

Plug one side of the cable into the port of the TV and the other side into the port of the PC
On your TV remote control, press “input” button or the like
Select HDMI1 or HDMI2 according to the port you’ve used

Now the devices are connected and both PC and TV screens display the same content

Stream via Plex App

Plex app is one of the easiest ways to stream 4K from PC to TV. It provides a seamless streaming experience.

Plex app, simply, is an application that allows you to turn your PC into a media server. In other words, it gives your other devices, including TVs, access to the media library on your PC. So, you can stream your PC content from any device.

The best thing is you don’t need to upload these media files. You only select and add it to the app on your PC.

You can install the Plex app directly on some TV models, while others require a streaming device to run Plex.

The supported streaming devices are:

Roku TV
Amazon Fire TV

Chromecast
Android TV or Google TV
NVIDIA SHIELD

Apple TV

How to Use the Plex App to Stream 4K to a TV from a PC?

Create a Plex Account

Sign-up steps are straightforward. You’ll only enter your personal details and sign up.

Download Plex App for Both the PC and the TV

For PC, the app is called: Plex Media Server. You can download it directly from the official website of Plex.

On TV, the app is called Plex Client, and you can install it from the official app store of the TV or the streaming device.

Add the 4K Content

Once the app is on your desktop and you’ve signed in, you can start selecting the media you want to stream. So, follow these simple steps:

Inside the app on the PC, on the left sidebar, click the (+) button to add your first library

A window will appear, asking you to determine the type of media you’ll add
Select the type, in our case, it’s movies or TV shows, and name the library
Click next, and a new window will ask you to choose the folder of the media

Choose the folder that contains the content you want to stream, and Click add
All the videos in the selected folder will appear after a couple of minutes

Once you sign in on the TV Plex app, you’ll find all the media you added to the server. So, you can play them.

It’s worth mentioning that to stream the media on your TV, your PC must be running during the watching time.

Cast by Screen Sharing From the PC

PCs have a screen share option that allows you to wirelessly display what’s on the PC screen on the TV. So, you can use this feature to stream from your PC to the TV.

To do so, follow these steps:

Ensure that both the TV and PC are connected to the same WI-FI network

On your desktop, go to display settings
Click on “connect to a wireless display “
A window will open showing the available TVs to connect

Click on your TV name, and it’ll start to connect
On your TV screen, a window will pop up asking for your permission to connect
Click “Ok” on the remote control

Now, the devices are paired, and you can start playing your media

Note that the steps might differ slightly from Windows 10 to Windows 11 to macOS.

Other Ways to Stream 4K

Despite being less popular than the previous methods, some other software programs can still be used to cast 4K media to your TV. Here is a short list of these alternatives:

CnX Player
Kodi software
Emby software

Smart View app (For Samsung TVs only)

Wrap Up

How to stream 4k to TV from PC? The methods are many. The most basic one is the well-known HDMI cables. Another old-school way is wireless PC screen sharing.

In addition, using software like Plex can provide an incredible 4K streaming experience.