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Questions about Zwift hardware
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Here's what I have:

Bike on traditional trainer or rollers
Quarq power meter (Ant+)
Ant+ dongle thing on an extension cord
Brand new 55" smart TV
Android phones
Cheap old referbished Windows 10 PC

Here's what happened when I tried to Zwift today. I was told by Zwift that my computer is too crappy to run Zwift.

Now what?

I cant bring myself to drop $700 on a new gaming computer for me to ride my bike in the basement with.

Will Apple TV work with my Android phone companion app?

Chromecast and mirroring to the TV?
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [Ktri] [ In reply to ]
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Get the Apple TV. The android app will work for the companion app. You don’t need a gaming pc for Zwift. I use an iPad.

Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/
Last edited by: BryanD: Nov 22, 18 7:27
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [Ktri] [ In reply to ]
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Here's what I did and it has worked great. (I'm not going to get into tech stuff- just generalize) On eBay there hundreds of these small off lease refurb Dell office computers for anywhere from $85 to $250 - mine was $100. Find one that has the specs you need (you can usually specify in the ad to get the price) and add a $50-75 gaming card (be sure it is "LP" - Low Profile - I got a MSI AMD Radeon R72402364P 2GB DDR3 VGA/DVI/HDMI Low Profile PCI-Express Video Card for $49-$10 rebate from Amazon). This setup will allow you to connect to your TV with an HDMI cable and gives a beautiful HD 1080 Zwift picture.
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [Ktri] [ In reply to ]
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I run Zwift on a 6 or 7 year old PC without any problems at all. Albeit I "only" use 1920x1080. So old Is not a problem per se. If you have a desktop PC (room for a pci card) a new graphics card might be the cheapest option.
Last edited by: jom: Nov 22, 18 12:43
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [trimule] [ In reply to ]
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I do hate things computer related. I just ordered that card you recommend. I've been inside of a pc before so I'm not scared of that. I'll let you know how it works out on Sunday.
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [jom] [ In reply to ]
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jom wrote:
I run Zwift on a 6 or 7 year old PC without any problems at all. Albeit I "only" use 1920x1080. So old Is not a problem per se. If you have a desktop PC (room for a pci card) a new graphics card might be the cheapest option.

Until last spring, I was running on a PC I built in late 2007. Something hardware related started to take a dump and I would get blue screens. Besides the hardware issue, I had no issues from a performance standpoint. Broke down and bought a new video card, motherboard, CPU, and memory for about $150 total on ebay, loaded Windows 7 and away I went.
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [shoff14] [ In reply to ]
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Hmmm...I'm running Z on a 4 y/o Win 8.1 laptop. Box stock integrated graphics, i7-4510, 8 Gb RAM. Maybe I'm right at the edge of the specs, but never a problem.
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [BryanD] [ In reply to ]
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I found that an iPad would not fill the entire TV screen, the resolution was fine but the dimensions used were off. A plain old iPhone 6 or higher will give you 1080p output at the same dimensions as your TV. You need an adaptor from the iPhone that you can plug an HDMI cable in to, maybe $30. BUT I found that Zwift drained the power faster than the charger, and the break point was about an hour.

So I just went the simple route and bought the Apple TV 4k and it works great. No computer to spec out, no screwing with Windows updates in the middle of your ride, or anti-virus scans. It just works. Of course I also have a Schoshe HR band that does BT.

I'm closer to the feathered end of the spear than the point.
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [David_Tris] [ In reply to ]
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I run Zwift on my iPad and watch Netflix on my laptop

Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [Ktri] [ In reply to ]
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I've found that even a decent pc struggles with zwift and 1080p video at the same time. But zwift by itself seems to run fine on a crappy 17in laptop with integrated graphics. So this is my current setup


Last edited by: v0coder: Nov 23, 18 7:15
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [Ktri] [ In reply to ]
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Ktri wrote:
I do hate things computer related. I just ordered that card you recommend. I've been inside of a pc before so I'm not scared of that. I'll let you know how it works out on Sunday.

Hopefully your power supply is adequate for the new card.

Use this link to save $5 off your USAT membership renewal:
https://membership.usatriathlon.org/...A2-BAD7-6137B629D9B7
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [AlyraD] [ In reply to ]
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The computer I put that card in doesn't have anything special for power. It doesn't need a seperate power connection like the heavy duty game cards. It has 2 GB which seems to be enough for Zwift and Rouvy.
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [Ktri] [ In reply to ]
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Had same laptop issue (graphics card not powerful enough) so I run the app on my iPhone and connect with a 3-way adapter - adapter plugs to the phone, 2 "outlets" on other side of adapter take an HDMI cable that goes to the TV and other socker takes a regular iPhone charger cable.
I have a Wahoo Kickr but if your goal is to bypass the laptop then that might work - then I guess your phone/Zwift needs to pick up either HR or watts some how.
Here’s the two things I have:
-yellow cable HDMI / HDMI both male
-white adapter iPhone male/HDMI female + iPhone female
Last edited by: ksb: Nov 23, 18 11:46
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [trimule] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for the info. I received the graphics card you recommend today. I struggled a bit getting things going, but in the end I was successful! I rode my first zwift ride today. I can see why so many people love it. Thanks again.
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [Ktri] [ In reply to ]
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Well done! You have fought a battle in the neverending Cyber War and come out victorious. Enjoy your well earned Zwifting!
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [Ktri] [ In reply to ]
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Zwift on Apple TV: Everything you need to know [4k] by DC Rainmaker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaPsZVFAzH0
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [Ktri] [ In reply to ]
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There's a native version of Zwift for TVOS on the Apple TV 4K. That's our "go to" recommendation for people who want something dedicated (roughly) because it's useful for other stuff as well. There's no mirroring involved in this case; it's running on TVOS. You can use any phone with Zwift Companion; just has to be on the same network.

"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [Rappstar] [ In reply to ]
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If I use the Zwift companion app to aggregate the power / HR / cadence data from a rider (assume its all Bluetooth / BLE), can 2 riders have their data show up on the same Apple TV/ display?
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [chrisesposito] [ In reply to ]
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I have an android question. Could you run swift on your smart phone. Galaxy s8 and chromecast it to a chromecast TV?
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [chrisesposito] [ In reply to ]
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chrisesposito wrote:
If I use the Zwift companion app to aggregate the power / HR / cadence data from a rider (assume its all Bluetooth / BLE), can 2 riders have their data show up on the same Apple TV/ display?

No. Zwift Companion never actually "collects" any data; it simply re-broadcasts what Zwift (Game) shows. So there's no way to have dual rider data on a single device.

"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [pedal-boy] [ In reply to ]
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pedal-boy wrote:
I have an android question. Could you run swift on your smart phone. Galaxy s8 and chromecast it to a chromecast TV?

Yes. Mirroring can be a bit laggy, but it generally works acceptably well.

"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp
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Re: Questions about Zwift hardware [Rappstar] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks; I've been looking for a way to replicate the old Computrainer multirider on a big display setup, but I'll have to keep looking.
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