Is there something like a Chromecast that works off Ethernet cable?

I use a Chromecast to access movies on my PC and send them to my projector TV. My other TV is too far away from my router to use a Chromecast. I use a TP-Link TL-PA9020P KIT to send my WiFi signal from my router to my TV through my home's electrical wiring. I plug my TV into my TL-PA9020P, using an Ethernet cable, to access my WiFi signal. Are you aware of something similar to Chromecast that would accept a WiFi signal through Ethernet cable rather than over the air, allowing me to view movies directly from my PC rather than having to put them on a flashdrive and then plug that into my TV?

 

Ummm, no you don't. Wifi means "wireless". The TL-PA9020P Kit simply uses your house wiring instead of Ethernet. One end of your TP-Link plugs into an Ethernet port on your router, right? And as you noted you plug your TV into the other TL-PA9020P using an Ethernet cable. That's wired all the way, not wifi.

No such thing. Again wifi by definition is wireless. Ethernet is wired. In a typical home network, there are usually two sides to the "local" (everything on your side of the modem) network. Side one is the wired (Ethernet) side and the other side is the wireless (wifi) side. The only place they meet is inside the "wireless router" or "residential gateway device".

Backing up a minute;

What is a wireless router? It is an "integrated" device that contains a router, usually a 4-port Ethernet switch and the WAP (wireless access point). These are 3 discrete network devices that just happen to share a circuit board, case and power supply. In home networks that use a wireless router, all your devices connect to the wireless router via Ethernet, or via wifi connections. The wireless router then connects to a separate cable/DSL modem by an Ethernet cable. The modem then connects to your ISP.

What is a residential gateway device? Very similar to a wireless router, except a residential gateway also has an integrated modem inside the box. So 4 discrete (totally separate) network devices that share a circuit board, case, and power supply.

There is even another version of this gateway device that integrates internet phone (VoIP) support. But still these are all "discrete" devices and that fact is important to remember.

So with that in mind, you do not send the wifi signal through an Ethernet cable. Wifi is radio waves that travel through the air.

So what you are doing is using PLC (power-line communications), also called "HomePlug" to used your home's wiring for another "wired" network. So that other TV that is too far away is sending your "network" signals (not wifi) through the house wiring to an Ethernet port on your wireless router (or residential gateway).

Clear as mud, huh?

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So this TV that is too far away - are you saying it is too far away to access your wireless router via wifi? Have you considered a new wireless router?

 

Yes... clear as mud. That didn't answer my question. Is there a way to connect the signal coming from my powerline kit to my TV and view movies stored on my PC, which is also wired into this same system through Ethernet cable? I'm looking for something simple and inexpensive, not a significant upgrade to my Linksys EA7300... something similar to my Chromecast.

 

I am not aware of any such device. Hopefully someone else will come by who knows.

 

Beautiful!!! Thank you Tony. So simple. My only challenge is figuring out how to control the media on my TV using my phone, so I don't have to preset the movie at my computer. Do I need to run a particular app for that? I use Videostream to control the Chromecast to my projector, but that doesn't seem to give me access to my Smart TV. What can I do?