Streaming to TV

Kavalree

Kavalree

Kavalree

Soldato
Joined
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Digbeth
Ok, so MY PC is in a different room to my TV, and I'm fed up of having to stay in my 'office' to watch a film. So, I am looking at streaming my PC feed to my Tv, but I have no idea how other than put a very long VGA inbetween them. I have a remote mouse app on iPhone, so thats no issue, just unsure how to get the PC onto my TV without having to physically move it...

Ideas?
 
option 1) net work cable / wireless with tv connected to laptop or extra pc, the stream the feed over the network.
you can also get dedicated streaming media recievers

Option 2) pretty sure you can get wireless vga
some thing like :
Q-Waves Wireless USB to HDMI Extender
around £38 as an example

connect your office pc to the tv via wireless, cant garantee quality though (interference anyone??)

Option 3)
i'd say get a cheep laptop/netbook or even second hand one and plug it into the tv (laptop/network for ease of hiding, but as suggested below a dedicated PC will do the job. see if some one you know or a company your working for is doing a hardware refresh maybe? anything under four years old should be alright just be mind full of graphics.

edited for clarity of suggested options
 
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Jaffa_Far said:
Ideas?
Click to expand...
The best way is to build a cheap HTPC to use with your TV
And this doesn't cost much at all if you build one out of older secondhand PC Components.


Plus:
Surely you have some old unused PC Components laying around that you could use towards building a HTPC ;)
 
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How far are they away.

Unless it's a very short diffrence i'd say get a dlna tv, a second computer or a dedicated streamer. A long cable will be expensive and/or the picture quality will not be great.

You also have the added problem of how you control the PC when infront of the TV.
 
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As paradisiac has said, WD tv live and stream from pc. Use a pair of home plugs to share the Internet connection, would avoid wireless for streaming movies.
 
just checking but what's your TV?


I have a samsung B550 since 2010 and about a month ago found out that it can be "upgraded" to play video files from a usb drive. I had to enter the TV's service menu which isn't always a good idea but works with most files now. If your tv has a usb port it might be possible to do similar and worth checking
 
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Chicken #16 said:
just checking but what's your TV?


I have a samsung B550 since 2010 and about a month ago found out that it can be "upgraded" to play video files from a usb drive. I had to enter the TV's service menu which isn't always a good idea but works with most files now. If your tv has a usb port it might be possible to do similar and worth checking
Click to expand...

I did check this, no USB port and its about 3 years young, my dad let me have it.

Will build a cheap secondary machine to store in the cabinet.
 
I would say your best option is either a HTPC, Apple TV with XBMC or WD Live but if you can't spend £80 on a WD Live which imo would be the cheapest option then I don't know what to suggest!

I seriously doubt you could build a HTPC for less than £80 that would be up to the job and you'd be happy with.
 
pumaz said:
I would say your best option is either a HTPC, Apple TV with XBMC or WD Live but if you can't spend £80 on a WD Live which imo would be the cheapest option then I don't know what to suggest!

I seriously doubt you could build a HTPC for less than £80 that would be up to the job and you'd be happy with.
Click to expand...

Got 3 PC's worth of parts I can scavenge to see if its possible. If not, a birthday present may be required lol..
 
Jaffa_Far said:
Got 3 PC's worth of parts I can scavenge to see if its possible. If not, a birthday present may be required lol..
Click to expand...

Try to build something around XBMC if you can, Use the best CPU, Motherboard and Memory combo you have. If you have a choice go for NVidia (Integrated or Dedicated) as it's better supported by Linux/XBMC. You don't need loads of memory and 1 or 2 GB's will be enough. You don't even need a hard drive as you can boot XBMC off a USB stick if your motherboard supports it.

Also think about noise and use the quietest CPU Cooler and PSU you have, I wouldn't use any other fans as XBMC won't tax your system enough to warrant the extra noise.

You can use Apps to control XBMC once it's all up and running so no need for extra Keyboard and Mouse.

But having said all that an Apple TV2 with XBMC is by far a better solution especialy if you can snag a 2nd hand one for around £70

I myself have a high end HTPC in the Lounge which is also used for gaming and have also bought a Apple TV 3 for the bedroom which is just waiting to be jailbroken. (please hurry) but I have been through all sorts of cheaper and different options to get where I am today but there as been one constant XBMC It really is the best :)
 
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