Posted September 23, 2022 I recently completed a project to run cables from my PC upstairs, down to my TV in our lounge. For reference I am running USB + HDMI and making use of wall sockets/faceplates etc. All works great. Except for Windows being a bit of a pain in the ass. Ideally I would only use an Xbox controller downstairs and that be it, but that's been a bit of a struggle even after installing Controller Companion. I've unticked the box in display settings that says something like "remember which monitor is used for which application". I hoped that would mean that whichever monitor I opened something from, it would display there. But it doesn't, which means I have to go upstairs and WIN+Arrow Key whatever software to the TV. The other slight challenge here is that my main monitor is 1440p and my TV is 4K, which can cause some frustrations too. Anyone got any tips for this sorta setup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 23, 2022 Turn off your PC monitor when not in use. Get a USB Bluetooth adapter and a bluetooth keyboard/mouse combo for the TV area. I have a Rii i4 that works well. Get a separate system for the TV. BabyBlu (Primary): CPU: Intel Core i9 9900K @ up to 5.3GHz, 5.0GHz all-core, delidded Motherboard: Asus Maximus XI Hero RAM: G.Skill Trident Z RGB 4x8GB DDR4-3200 @ 4000MHz 16-18-18-34 GPU: MSI RTX 2080 Sea Hawk EK X, 2070MHz core, 8000MHz mem Case: Phanteks Evolv X Storage: XPG SX8200 Pro 2TB, 3x ADATASU800 1TB (RAID 0), Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB PSU: Corsair HX1000i Display: MSI MPG341CQR 34" 3440x1440 144Hz Freesync, Dell S2417DG 24" 2560x1440 165Hz Gsync Cooling: Custom water loop (CPU & GPU), Radiators: 1x140mm(Back), 1x280mm(Top), 1x420mm(Front) Keyboard: Corsair Strafe RGB (Cherry MX Brown) Mouse: MasterMouse MM710 Headset: Corsair Void Pro RGB OS: Windows 10 Pro Roxanne (Wife Build): CPU: Intel Core i7 4790K @ up to 5.0GHz, 4.8Ghz all-core, relidded w/ LM Motherboard: Asus Z97A RAM: G.Skill Sniper 4x8GB DDR3-2400 @ 10-12-12-24 GPU: EVGA GTX 1080 FTW2 w/ LM Case: Corsair Vengeance C70, w/ Custom Side-Panel Window Storage: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB, Samsung 860 EVO 1TB, Silicon Power A80 2TB NVME PSU: Corsair AX760 Display: Samsung C27JG56 27" 2560x1440 144Hz Freesync Cooling: Corsair H115i RGB Keyboard: GMMK TKL(Kailh Box White) Mouse: Glorious Model O- Headset: SteelSeries Arctis 7 OS: Windows 10 Pro BigBox (HTPC): CPU: Ryzen 5800X3D Motherboard: Gigabyte B550i Aorus Pro AX RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x8GB DDR4-3600 @ 3600MHz 14-14-14-28 GPU: MSI RTX 3080 Ventus 3X Plus OC, de-shrouded, LM TIM, replaced mem therm pads Case: Fractal Design Node 202 Storage: SP A80 1TB, WD Black SN770 2TB PSU: Corsair SF600 Gold w/ NF-A9x14 Display: Samsung QN90A 65" (QLED, 4K, 120Hz, HDR, VRR) Cooling: Thermalright AXP-100 Copper w/ NF-A12x15 Keyboard/Mouse: Rii i4 Controllers: 4X Xbox One & 2X N64 (with USB) Sound: Denon AVR S760H with 5.1.2 Atmos setup. OS: Windows 10 Pro Harmonic (NAS/Game/Plex/Other Server): CPU: Intel Core i7 6700 Motherboard: ASRock FATAL1TY H270M RAM: 64GB DDR4-2133 GPU: Intel HD Graphics 530 Case: Fractal Design Define 7 HDD: 3X Seagate Exos X16 14TB in RAID 5 SSD: Inland Premium 512GB NVME, Sabrent 1TB NVME Optical: BDXL WH14NS40 flashed to WH16NS60 PSU: Corsair CX450 Display: None Cooling: Noctua NH-U14S Keyboard/Mouse: None OS: Windows 10 Pro NAS: Synology DS216J 2x8TB WD Red NAS HDDs in RAID 1. 8TB usable space Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 23, 2022 Author 1 minute ago, Hairless Monkey Boy said: Turn off your PC monitor when not in use. Get a USB Bluetooth adapter and a bluetooth keyboard/mouse combo for the TV area. I have a Rii i4 that works well. Get a separate system for the TV. Huh.... Turning of PC monitor might well be the most simple and effective answer. I can't believe I didn't consider that. Thank you for the suggestion of the Rii i4, this isn't something I was aware of and will likely be a good backup option. Although I can't say my girlfriend will be too keen on me adding yet another "controller" type device to our TV area . PS4, 2xSwtich, Xbox and now this is rather a lot. Ah well. Separate system is definitely not going to happen as frankly I can't justify or afford it. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 23, 2022 Getting a keyboard to use at the TV and using Win+P to keep only the TV/Monitor in use by windows is the easiest way to achieve what you want in my opinion. I had a similar setup that I did that, it also avoid annoyances with the cursor disappearing to the other display. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 23, 2022 If you do not want to shut off the monitor/TV you can always use Win+arrow keys to move windows from one screen to another. This is something I have to do all of the time for my work computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 23, 2022 Author 11 minutes ago, KaitouX said: Getting a keyboard to use at the TV and using Win+P to keep only the TV/Monitor in use by windows is the easiest way to achieve what you want in my opinion. I had a similar setup that I did that, it also avoid annoyances with the cursor disappearing to the other display. I think the Win+P might cause frustrations with resolutions right? Because it'll "project" 1440p to 4K and upscale it, plus games will not run native 4k? I could be wrong, I'll have to test it though thank you. 3 minutes ago, BabaGanuche said: If you do not want to shut off the monitor/TV you can always use Win+arrow keys to move windows from one screen to another. This is something I have to do all of the time for my work computer. Well the whole idea is to not have a keyboard or mouse downstairs. Just the controller, which functions as a mouse via Controller Companion software. I think turning off the monitor upstairs when intending to use the TV is the simplest solution. Certainly it's worth me trying it before adding anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 23, 2022 13 minutes ago, Bearded_Ed said: I think the Win+P might cause frustrations with resolutions right? Because it'll "project" 1440p to 4K and upscale it, plus games will not run native 4k? I could be wrong, I'll have to test it though thank you. The options "PC Screen Only" and "Second Screen only" do the same thing as going in to the Windows/GPU options and turning the monitor/TV off. The selected display will act like it's the only display connected to the PC. If you select the TV, the monitor will automatically turn off due to signal loss, if you select the monitor, the TV will show the Signal loss/No Input screen and probably eventually turn off. The option "Extend" is probably what you're currently using. The option "Duplicate" is going to make one of the screens look bad, due to scaling/resolution mismatch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 23, 2022 Author 18 minutes ago, KaitouX said: The options "PC Screen Only" and "Second Screen only" do the same thing as going in to the Windows/GPU options and turning the monitor/TV off. The selected display will act like it's the only display connected to the PC. If you select the TV, the monitor will automatically turn off due to signal loss, if you select the monitor, the TV will show the Signal loss/No Input screen and probably eventually turn off. The option "Extend" is probably what you're currently using. The option "Duplicate" is going to make one of the screens look bad, due to scaling/resolution mismatch. Ah that's brilliant thank you, that definitely sounds like a good idea to me. I'll have to try it. Yes I'm currently using "Extend" for now as that seemed like the best option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 23, 2022 3 hours ago, Bearded_Ed said: Ah that's brilliant thank you, that definitely sounds like a good idea to me. I'll have to try it. Yes I'm currently using "Extend" for now as that seemed like the best option. Dublicating is probably best if you don't have two screens side to side. Note on shutting down though. Unless you manually select from Windows to deactivate other screen, you will still have issues. Windows isn't that smart to know whether monitor is turned on or not. For different monitor profiles, you will need 3rd party software. I have only used DisplayFusion, but there are alternatives to it. ^^^^ That's my post ^^^^ <-- This is me --- That's your scrollbar --> vvvv Who's there? vvvv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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