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Internet browsing/movies onto the TV, hardware options?
The_One
Posts: 2,402 Forum Member
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Ive got my PC connected to my TV. Ive done the same in my sisters house. Really loving the benefits of it. Now my cousin would like the same setup.
Lately ive seen all these media centre hubs in places like curry's etc stating you can use the internet on them and things to use on your TV. How does that work exactly in terms of can you play any video file format ie mpeg4, avi, flv, from an internet browser? Do they integrate with home NAS storage devices which normally require third party software to access via windows computers. Does home file sharing work with windows 7 networking?
What other hardware options are there? Such as can you get a good mini computer equivelant thats cheaper than a regular computer?
All i know is if you want to browse the internet and play any video file format on your TV you have 3 options (which im not sure about):
1) get a certain type of new TV with inbuilt... internet stuff.
2) connect a media hub to the TV
3) connect a PC/laptop to the TV
Lately ive seen all these media centre hubs in places like curry's etc stating you can use the internet on them and things to use on your TV. How does that work exactly in terms of can you play any video file format ie mpeg4, avi, flv, from an internet browser? Do they integrate with home NAS storage devices which normally require third party software to access via windows computers. Does home file sharing work with windows 7 networking?
What other hardware options are there? Such as can you get a good mini computer equivelant thats cheaper than a regular computer?
All i know is if you want to browse the internet and play any video file format on your TV you have 3 options (which im not sure about):
1) get a certain type of new TV with inbuilt... internet stuff.
2) connect a media hub to the TV
3) connect a PC/laptop to the TV
0
Comments
Another alternative is a small form factor multimedia PC with a graphics card output to connect to a TV via HDMI or similar. This gives you the ability to play just about anything on the screen (presumably as you do now) as you can get software players for all types of media. Again prices vary a lot and generally you get what you pay for. You need to ensure the graphic card output is compatible with the screen you will be connecting to.
Yet another alternative is to have a large screen PC with built in TV tuners which will allow you to record to the PC too and archive all the recordings.
Much of your choices will be defined by screen size, if you don't want a screen size of more than 27 " you could look at an Apple iMac as an all in one solution. If you want a large screen and especially if you want HD quality then you will need to check the output options of the device, normally they output to a minimum of 720p but be sure to check as some of the cheaper ones are less.
I'm afraid you will have to do some homework and decide what it is exactly you want to do and with what. There really is no one best product for what you are looking to do especially if you want silent operation.
But to be honest if you can live with the maintainance aspect, you can't beat a PC for flexiblility andfunctionality. There are some cheap ex-company small form factor PC like Dell 745 SFF now being sold on ebay for around £75. Add a 30 ATI 4350 HD low profile/silent video card and you have a great media PC (though sound might be a problem). Other option would be something like the revo which are netbook based, tiny PC with power to play back HD media and of course the power of a PC for internet access, iPod docking, etc
Stuff like the wdtv is limited in usefulness as well, these cheap things are better in theory than in practice.
The only thing i've used that has universal file support is the htpc. But it costs more, and is more of a pain to setup.
I use an Asus EB1501 in the bedroom, it's basically a netbook without a screen. It mounts on the back of the TV using the VESA mounting holes (assuming you haven't used them to fix the TV to the wall) cost is about £360
Performance is the same as any netbook and it's running windows 7 so streaming from the other boxes in the house is easy enough
Only place it struggles is streaming HD iplayer, though that's down to the fact that it's only connected wirelessly, and the actual speed of my BB, I suspect more that the box itself.
I've got a Vaio VGX-TP3 (discontinued now) attached to my main TV. That's got considerably more grunt to it that the Asus which makes a difference if your doing more than just surfing whilst watching video, but then again I think it was about twice the price.
If you're looking at pure media servers, the reg has a review of the years offerings here:
http://www.reghardware.com/2010/12/17/2010_best_media_boxes/
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/225755