What is the best media player to use when you are streaming MP4 movies from your laptop to your TV

Cafe Society
1

I have a wireless HDMI system that works well and I’ve set up an old laptop as a media server, but I’m not sure what media player is best.

The subtitles VTT file need to be manually opened, so a player that has an easy access button to get the subtitles is nice. However many times the subtitles are not timed properly, so the ability to add or delay a few seconds to the subtitles so they match the movie would be nice.

Any ideas? I’ve tried VLC, it is having issues with cutting off the edges of the video for whatever reason.

2

I had VLC, but changed to SM Player. I’ve used it ever since, though only on my computer - never tried it with a TV.

3

I tried VLC once. {Danny Vermin voice} Once! {DVv} That really was a bad experience. So now I’ve been using two. I find QQ Player to be a pretty good backup to my preferred video program, GOM Player.

4

I have used VLC for decades, mostly without issue and I wouldn’t give up on it yet. It remains my fallback for most viewing but I guess I’m also trying to find something newer.

I used to enjoy some of the features in Kodi for Desktop on a previous TV setup but especially the full screen.

5

I’ve had a computer functioning as my TV for years and used to use VLC. When I wanted to watch my shows in my bedroom I’d watch on a laptop using VLC, choosing files from a shared network folder.

Then I discovered Plex and it has been a real game changer. Now I can watch everything on my TV, on my laptop, and even from the basement TV with a Roku. And on my phone, and at my mom’s house through her Roku.

Even if I didn’t want/need to watch from all of those other places, just having a tidy library with a nice display on my TV computer would be compelling enough for me to use Plex. Much better media management than just loading up files.

Plex has a subtitle delay setting. You can also grab subtitles for the media while watching, if you don’t have them.

You don’t need a big beefy server to run Plex. You could definitely run it from your laptop. You don’t need a Roku with the Plex app either. Just run the Plex media server and Plex app off your laptop and keep your setup the same.

6

I’ve always heard Plex recommended for this, but it seems a bit overkill if you don’t need its streaming or media library features.

Re: VLC, there’s an addon that will let you easily find subtitles by the video’s hash (its unique fingerprint): VLSub - pling.com – that helps prevent mismatches between a particular version/rip of a video and a particular subtitle field, hopefully preventing the need to manually sync them. There’s also a syncing helper addon if you absolutely need it. VLC isn’t the easiest to use, nor does it have the cleanest UI, but it has a huge community that will help you solve (eventually) any issue you might have.

As for cutting off edges of the video, it’s probably a TV overscan thing? Can you set the TV to “gaming mode” if it has one or actually adjust the overscan? But that should cut off your entire desktop, including Windows itself and any video player you use, not just VLC…

7

Apparently the issue is that when I stream my laptop to my TV via HDMI, the TV cuts off the tops, bottom and edges of the laptop screen. I’m not sure how to fix this. I’ve tried changing the settings but I can’t adjust it to fix this issue.

Basically the laptop screen is about 5-10% too large when streamed to the TV.

I did install Plex, this is pretty nice. It even lets you download subtitles and it adds all the metadata to your films and shows. Plus it has the ability to change the timing of subtitles.

8

I’m guessing that the resolution of your TV is 1920x1080 but your laptop might be 1920x1200. So perhaps before casting, match the resolutions by changing the laptop screen temporarily to 1920x1080.

9

Sadly thats not it. The laptop is 1920x1080 and the TV is 3840x2160

However playing around with the TV, I found an option to change the picture size from 16:9 vs. custom vs. 4:3

I changed the TV picture size from 16:9 to custom, now the entire screen fits. So yay, problem solved.

10

Put me in the Plex column. I currently run a dedicated desktop server with Plex and RAID-1 8 TB HDDs, connected to the Roku Plex app at my TVs. It’s a hardwired connection, but a good wireless connection will work as well. Does everything I want it to using a single remote control at the TV. (I remote desktop into the server for maintenance from my day-to-day laptop.)

I have TV shows, personal videos, and photos on the server. Plus, Plex handles my music library pretty well.