watching TV on-line

Carol Reed

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This was getting buried in an unrelated thread. So I've pulled in out to get further clarification.

I do not currently subscribe to cable TV. Too expensive for what is offered. Antennas are totally useless here in the mountains.

I am envisioning a flat screen mounted on the wall in front of my lounger, fed by a computer that is on-line. Here on the questions:

1. What are the minimum necessary specifications for the flat-screen? Inputs and outputs? Cabling?

2. What is the minimum download speed to watch without pauses? And how to you check your download speed? I have cable now but the service is really lousy. DSL has become available and I am willing to change if that would be better.

3. What specific computer specifications are needed?

4. What about sound? Currently, I have no sound system at all. I would subscribe to Pandora if I had any kind of a sound system besides the computer speakers. I would like to 'pipe' the sound downstairs and outside to wherever I am working.

5. Where does one get 'content' to watch? I am mostly interested in serial shows and movies. Occasionally, news. Local news is not important, because it is not local to me anyway. :rolleyes:

6. What are the costs with regard to content?

You can readily see that I am in over my head here. I do not and cannot spend big bucks here, I am not an audiophile so I am happy with whatever works. So much the better if I can scrounge thrift stores for elements of this build.

I appreciate your help. I am going to open a file and log your answers and suggestions by question number so I can ferret out a plan of action.
 
Carol,

Please see responses below... ;)

1. What are the minimum necessary specifications for the flat-screen? Inputs and outputs? Cabling?

HDMI inputs come standard on most flat screen monitors these days. You'll likely get a cable with your TV. You'll need a video card with HDMI output on your computer. This one is twice the price of the one I'm running: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0334350


2. What is the minimum download speed to watch without pauses? And how to you check your download speed? I have cable now but the service is really lousy. DSL has become available and I am willing to change if that would be better.

Either cable or DSL will work. Here's one way to test your speed: http://www.speedtest.net/

DSL speeds vary anywhere from 800 K to several megabytes, depending on your provider. A quick inquiry will let you know where your provider will fall in that range.


3. What specific computer specifications are needed?

A fairly recent computer. The real bottlenecks are in memory and the video card. Two gig of memory should be fine, and that's pretty standard these days.

4. What about sound? Currently, I have no sound system at all. I would subscribe to Pandora if I had any kind of a sound system besides the computer speakers. I would like to 'pipe' the sound downstairs and outside to wherever I am working.

Sound cards are dirt cheap. You can get one that runs 5:1 for about 20 bucks. Get one that's compatible with your motherboard (PCI, PCI-e, etc.). Speakers cost more, or you can use the on board speakers on the TV / Monitor.


5. Where does one get 'content' to watch? I am mostly interested in serial shows and movies. Occasionally, news. Local news is not important, because it is not local to me anyway. :rolleyes:

Hulu.com is your best friend. So is a streaming subscription to netflix. With those two things, you'll have more content to watch than you'll have time... ;)


6. What are the costs with regard to content?

Hulu is free. Netflix is pretty cheap. You're not looking at a major investment.

So much the better if I can scrounge thrift stores for elements of this build.

Forget thrift shops. Microcenter.com or new egg or one of those places. They're cheaper than thrift shops.

I appreciate your help. I am going to open a file and log your answers and suggestions by question number so I can ferret out a plan of action.


Other people will have better answers for you. I'm actually not a hardware guy, but we have several on the site. I bow to their expertize.

Thanks,

Bill
 
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Bill hit the nail.

Not really sure of what bandwidth you'll need, but if you jump over to Hulu and see if your current internet will support it. A lot of the major networks have shows on it. There will be a 2 minute or so commercial about every 5 to 10 minutes (shows are about 20 minutes average). If it's way choppy I'd run the speed test that Bill posted to see how fast your download speed is.

We're using hulu in our kitchen since we didn't want to pay for another cable box. I'm running an older pc and using the vga input, not hdmi. It's a little grainy and slow loading, but it also needs some more memory in the computer.
 
Carol, How do you connect to the internet?

Them city fellers have it easy with their DSL and Cable and FiOS connections.

I've had Satellite and now have terrestrial wireless.

Satellite would not be a good choice. You would hit their bandwidth limits very quickly.

Terrestrial wireless 'might' work, but you might find that you'd have some significant 'lag' at times.

3g? 4g? Not sure how those work, but I've heard they do have some bandwidth limits.

With Satellite, once you download your limit, you get shut back down to dial up speed.

My connection works, but it's not fast, and I wouldn't want to get 'all' of my TV through it. Satellite TV is fairly inexpspensive for the basic packages and reliable. Depends on what/how much you want to watch...
 
If the bandwidth is acceptable. A different alternative to a pc would be a Roku device. It's supports both Netflix and Hulu (both require subscription, but under $20 a month total for both) in High definition output.
 
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Thanks, guys.

@Brent. Currently I have a cable modem. The system is old and shakey. They used to give us a break on the monthly fee because they are unable to give us the same service as the rest of their customers. But some bean counter figured out they were the only game in town and rescinded that thought. The company has been sold and new management takes over in March. Who knows what that will bring?!?

@Bill. Thanks for the speed link. I'll do that.

@Darren. Re-read the Roku ad. This is a player? It is different that a Blu-Ray player? This replaces the PC? Is this a brand only distinction, or is there something else I should know?

For everyone. Any recommendations on flat screen TV's? For my small house something less than 40+ inches ought to be big enough, even for my aging vision.
 
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Darren,

Do you get the basic Hulu on that, or only Hulu plus? What about youtube, etc? Any web surfing?

I think you'd have to go with the Hulu plus (about $8 per month). Add Netflix and it would still be less than $20 per month. If Google would work out a deal to get hulu over google tv I'd probably get that device instead.

Download speed test came in at .54 mb/s.

What do I need?

That probably wont do, Hulu states that 1,500Kbps is needed (or 1.5 mb/s). Typically the player launches, it then checks your download connection, then it buffers the version (high def or low def) depending on the quality of the connection. I think at that speed you'll be buffering all the time and the show would be really choppy.

The Roku is just a player, but replaces the PC. The Sony Blue Ray would work as well along with a few other devices, check the hulu and Netflix sites to see what models they support or with the manufacture of the players. Some TV's even have those built in now, but mostly with Google TV. Google TV doesn't work with Hulu at this point though.
 
Carol, I just did this and so far I am impressed. I am adding a new video card to my computer, The one in there now just can't keep up as it is. The video is choppy but we still have been watching it.

The draw back with one like Bill showed is they often are power hungry and that means you have to add a bigger power supply to your computer. I had to do some shopping but I found one that I think will be great for TV and what I do. My new card should be here today and I found one for around $50. We will see how it works tonight.

Most of the new video games are so graphic intense that it takes a really high power video card to make them work well. From what I gather TV video is not as demanding so you don't need as much as a gamer would.

As for cables a lot depends on what your TV has. We had recently bought a new one and it has 3 at least different options to connect my computer to it. It made buying a new video card easy. But you will have to make sure that the card has an output that matches your TV input. But most do now.

As for content as everyone said HULU is the go-to site. You can watch it now on your computer. I am just amazed at all they have. They have a lot or free. Have not even looked into the paid service yet.

Most of the networks now offer their shows online the next day after it airs. I have been watching some of them on the computer for while when I missed it.

News is still lacking. But I am sure that all the big news channels will be offering their shows on line before long. I think I read CNN does now?

If this works out we are going to install an antenna for local stations, ditch the cable bill and use the computer. I just realized I am paying $600 a year to watch TV. That is crazy no more than I watch.
 
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Thanks, Jeff.

First I have to get faster downloads. I am going to call for DSL and see what they offer. My .56 m/s won't cut it.

Then I'll see if things will work on my computer satisfactorily.

Then I will look into a large flat screen and go from there.

This is doable. I haven't watched broadcast TV in over 5 years except as when I have been in a motel. Still isn't anything on it that is worth the monthly fee. But I would like to watch the odd movie now and then and there are some serial shows I liked. The re-runs of the oldies ought to be a blast.

I get my news, such as it is, on line now. It's all bad anyway! :rolleyes: :doh:

Thanks everyone!
 
I have tried Hulu since this came up here. I must say that my minimal system with on board video seems to work great. SO far I haven't had any problems using Windows XP and when I boot to the Ubuntu 10.04 side it seems most work except for CBS shows.

I am surprised there isn't more old TV shows on.

Using my computer and monitor the video quality is great on this 6 month old 300 dollar system with a $60 AMD processor and free with processor MSI motherboard. I did get 4 meg of memory and video shares this memory. In fact things seem to work so well I might try one of the dedicated boxes... The Roku looks real ice and cheap.
 
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