Help me get online content to my TV wirelessly (or with a cable)

I have a Sony Bravia KDL-46S2010 LCD TV. My Dell desktop has a network set up with a Netgear wireless router so I can use my laptop anywhere in the house. it works fine.

Somehow when I got it set up I must have gotten so much security, when my son comes, I can’t find any way to let his laptop get on the network. So, I bought a long cable and connecting that between the router and his laptop lets him get online OK.

Now that Netflix is going to more streaming movies and charging more for DVDs, I’d like to be able to connect my desktop to the TV. I did hook up a VGA cable between the TV and my laptop, but can’t get it working, although will keep trying.

My computer and TV are in two adjoining rooms, so the cable from the router will stretch to the TV, but it does not have a CAT5 input.

So,

  1. Is there any way i can get streaming output from the computer to the TV wirelessly?

  2. If not, is there a converter or other device that will hook up to the TV and has a cable input to attach from the router? I already have a composite cable going to my DVD player, but I’d like to keep that.

  3. What else am I missing?

I’m using Roku with an HDMI cable to connect the box to one TV. Once you turn it on, it walks you through a brief menu of questions, including entering your wireless key code. The whole process took less than ten minutes. (The box also has a LAN port and can also be connected to the router with a cable.)

On another TV I’m using a wireless enabled Sony Blu-Ray player to stream Netflix. If you’re going this route, watch the packages. Some players are “wireless ready” which means you can buy an adapter to stream content; others are “wireless enabled” which means the ability to stream is already built in. Whether you buy an adapter or go for the built in option, streaming adds about $70-100 to the cost of a regular Blu-Ray player.

I use a WDTV Live to get video from my HTPC to my bedroom. It can reach Youtube and all that as well. Not sure about Netflix.

-Joe