Internet TV anyone?

Jeff Horton

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Any of you using your computer and streaming video to you TV sets? We are both so disappointed in Cable TV we have been discussing the possibility of ditching the cable and streaming stuff off the web instead. Both of watch at least a little on the computer now. If I miss I show I will often watch it online the next day. But there is TONS of stuff out there that interests me and I could watch when I want, not when it is on. I don't watch that much TV anyway.

I connected the laptop the other day to out new(er) TV no problem. I watched something off HULU and honestly it wasn't a bad image. I have been thinking about this for a while now and so I used the laptop to prove to me it was was worth pursing.

I have been scouring the net and doing some reading and while I see some drawbacks overall I like saving $60 a month and I think I can live with the drawbacks by adding an antenna for the local stations. Looks like there is only one station I don't have a good option for, Fox News but I only watch it for 30 minutes to hour a day. I can still read it online and I am sure they will be streaming live in before long.

I just put together a computer I was going to use in the shop to replace my old one, but tonight or tomorrow I am going to put in the living room and hook it up to the TV And give it whirl. I am suspecting I am going to need a good video card but this is to test that and see how well we like it. I figure a wireless mouse and keyboard will enable me to out the CPU out of sight and not have to stretch cables across the room.

Also I have been wanting to set up a file server with RAID for backup purposes. I see no reason this can't do that as well. It's one of those things that I have been thinking on and and really SEEMS like a good idea.
 
Jeff,

Lots of people are doing this. Most HDTVs have an HDMI input somewhere on the back, and if you get a good enough video card you can drive what is, in essence, a very large monitor with it. Hulu's a good option, but there are lots more, and more on the way.

You may not wish to use a laptop for a long term application with this. Even a half-decent workstation, with enhanced memory and a high end video card, will work. Mine is still wired, but lots of people are even going wireless for this, as long as it's G or N.

Two areas that may disappoint: News and Sports. But who still watches news? As for sports, if there's something you can't do without there are always web subscription services... ;)

When you put together your workstation, make sure it has a Blu-ray DVD drive. I don't have one, and its a bummer... ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
I know a lot of people are, just want to find some and learn what works and doesn't.

I put together a surplus Dell that was going to the shop but just stuck it in place to try it. Really quickly discovered (as suspected) I have to get a video card for it!! It runs from 80-100% of the processor most of the time and of course lots of jumpy video. But I am impressed otherwise.

Watching some old 70's show off HULU tonight just testing this and I see even if we keep cable I have to build a computer. I know the more I find the more I will like it.

I have been looking for video cards. My TV is new so I have lots of options for input. S video, VGA and HDMI. I expected there would be a DVI input. Looking at video cards I didn't see HDMI outputs though.
Correction, I wasn't looking close enough, they are there.

Muddling through and learning but I am impressed.
 
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Well,

I typically have a reciever/amplifier that I use to drive the surround sound system. I built a little media center pc specifically to use for doing stuff like playing music and streaming videos and stuff off the the interwebs.

We've used it a bit for playing netflix movies and such.

That works ok, but we live way out in the boonies and do not have the best of interweb connections. It has some pretty serious slow downs at times.

That being said, it works, and it works fine. I run an optical audio connector from the pc to the reciever and the sound works fine.

Not sure I'd want all my TV through the interwebs, but it works fine for the stuff we use it for...
 
I've never tried to watch them through the PC. There are some things I just like watching live. And I like the knowledge that everyone else is seeing it at exactly the same time...
 
Funny I had picked up the male to male sound cable to hook up to the computer in the kitchen just today (well yesterday rather). We decided not to get a cable box for that tv and found we only got the local stations. Since I have a computer hooked up to it I decide we could watch hulu and netflix there instead. I just use the VGA connector and use the TV as a monitor, but had to run the stereo out on the sound card to the pc sound input using the male to male.
 
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