Everything about Computer to TV

[AJ]

So I don't have cable (outside the basic basic) anymore (for the summer at least), but I do know that I can rock so much from the web it's stupid silly.

Last night I was feeling down about not being able to watch the NFL draft till I realized I could watch the whole thing with little commercials right from NFL.com. ZING!

So what I want to do is have a thread about all the tricks about watching TV from the puter to the TV. Post up your combinations or the questions you have.

I used to rock Media Center via Windows XP from my laptop, but wasn't happy with having to convert everything to avi files.

On that same note, I fucking hate trying to make decent DVD from avi files or mkv blue ray files (or whatever the fuck they are called).

So who has what, and who wants to try and set something up?

I personally would love to find out if buying a tiny laptop for the web only could be used to rock Hulu via HDMI to a new TV with a simple plug and play?

I'm also curious on those who have TV tuners in there computers. What did you do specifically and how well does it work? I ask since Jana's desktop is a whore about slowing down and nearly locking up and she's getting sick of it. If she went to a new setup I could use the desktop as a TV tuner system and set it up to the TV upstairs if I was also able to use it with the AV Receiver.

 

[dmention7]

I have a desktop that was originally slated to be used as a media center PC, but since the 360 can do netflix, internet radio, and streaming from any windows PC, I haven't really fired it up yet for much.

Unless you want the laptop for other uses, it would likely be more cost-effective to buy or build a desktop for that purpose. Feature for feature, you pay a pretty decent premium on a laptop, and even a dirtbag desltop system would be able to perform the functions you're talking about.

If you do decide to build one, and you're feeling adventurous, there are a few linux distros that are geared heavily towards use as a media center/DVR. Make sure you research hardware though, because TV tuners are not always linux friendly. Though, there are a few mfgs like Pinnacle that seems to have pretty good compatability.

 

[micahlarson]

the 3 xbox's that I've had for whatever reason canot connect to my computer.. I've formated the computer twice so far in the computers life time.

I have given up on it.. and my PS3 half the time doesn't work either.. Pretty sure I just need to bite the bullet and get a router that can acually do media server ... boooo for spending money