On occasion we watch movies on our desktop which is fine, but not the optimal experience. We have a HDMI TV w/ USB ports and I figure there’s probably a way to stream Hulu, Youtube, etc directly to the TV w/o a bunch of wires.
So… my questions are:
It looks like that Google TV thing might be the answer but I don’t want to shell out for it only to find that it’s not.
Thanks in advance for your replies!
Some TVs are capable of receiving WiDi (Wireless images) and newer Intel video chips are capable of broadcasting WiDi. Not sure if that helps you with regards to sound though, never played with it.
If you have a newer A/V receiver, it should be capable of DLNA, which a technology that leverages Windows Media player, and probably more but I have only played with it via Win Media Player.
My preferred method is to plug my laptop into my A/V receiver via HDMI. My TV is too old to return sound to my receiver so that is how I get Surround sound and TV off my computer.
I do this using a Roku and Plex Media Server software. Plex organizes your media collection very nicely (automatically downloads metadata, poster art, etc.). The only problem I’ve had is getting Plex to display subtitles on Roku, but other than that it works amazingly well.
Second the Roku recommendation. You don’t need Plex unless you want to play media files from your computer; the Roku has Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Youtube, and others built-in.
If you have a wireless network, you can buy a Google Chromecast for $35 and it will stream video from your computer or tablet to your TV. It’s a dongle you plug into a HDMI port in your TV, and then configure it through your computer so it will talk to your computer and other devices over the network. It is integrated with Netflix, Youtube, Hulu Plus and various other streaming services. You can also configure it to “cast” from Chrome, but that is still in beta and can be buggy. It’s worked fine for us though.
We’ve had the Chromecast for a few months now and have been very happy with it. We can access Netflix directly through our TV but have started using Chromecast instead because it’s simpler and quicker. One caveat is that it does not work with all wireless routers so it would be a good idea to check your router capability first.
You are correct, sir; when I read the OP’s subject line, I assumed he was primarily interested in watching media content he’s got stored on his desktop computer. If he’s just going to watch streaming services like Netflix then he doesn’t need Plex at all.
Yes, I do have a wireless network, since it was asked. Most of the material will be streamed, though there may be some appeal to the Roku.
Keep the suggestions coming - thanks!
Since this is a hardware question, moved to IMHO (from Cafe Society).
I don’t believe roku allows regular hulu, only hulu plus. I have no idea about chromecast.
There are wireless HDMI kits, but they are far more expensive than a roku or chromecast so that wouldn’t be worth it.
Personally, I am just using a 20 ft HDMI cable. It works for me, and I run the wires near the walls. But that isn’t wireless like the OP asked for.
We use Apple TV which works really well, if you are in the Apple camp. I can stream right from my iPad, which is awesome, or from my laptop. Also can play Netflix and other stuff.
I got a Chromecast and it works great. Thanks, everybody!
Whaddaya think wires are ugly or something? You anti-marionette bigot.
I love my Roku and would definitely recommend it to someone else. Actually I have two now, one for each tv. One of my sisters and, I think, my brother have AppleTV. I believe they both really like it.
I have to be the voice of dissent for the roku option, I currently have the roku 2 xs set up wirelessly to pull in both internet stream(netflix) and intranet stream, which would be movies that are saved to a hard drive. Running plex as the server, every thing works up until that point.
First, files have to be in a container that roku can handle. No real problem there, most of the time I rip disks to an mkv format. Usually on handbrake, I would set the rip to ATV or ATV2 and on my desktop running xbmc, no problems what so ever.
The roku fails because its been optimized for internet streaming, the location of the TV from the router, means that I have to use wireless, instead of hard piping it with ethernet cords. There is no buffer on the roku, so that if the wireless has any kind of interference or loses signal momentarily, the stream will stop and tell me that it its an unrecognised file or protected or something.
i would advise anyone thats currently planning on doing this, to research their chosen option. The Roku is a case of its an almost there technology.
Declan
How can I do it with wires (and with a laptop that I can park underneath the TV)?
I’m not very tech-savvy, so please use small words (and links to the parts I need, if possible). Thanks!
If your laptop and TV are at all new, they should both have hdmi ports. Get an hdmi cable, connect the laptop to one end and the tv to the other. Select the hdmi option in Input settings and set your laptop to Mirror or Extended Desktop or whichever dual monitor setup most appeals to you. Navigate your laptop via the TV screen and play your media.
HDMI cables are cheap. I recommend getting a 6 or 8 foot just so that the laptop doesn’t have to be tethered right to the TV.
Buy an HDMI cable to connect your laptop to the TV, and a wireless keyboard/mouse combo so you can manipulate your laptop from your chair. The HDMI cable and keyboard/mouse will cost you about $25 total for everything.
Not true. I have a Roku 3 and had a first gen Roku before that. There have been numerous times that the internet went out or I had to reboot the DSL modem while playing something on Netflix and it took as much as 5 minutes for the movie to stop playing. I’ve even, as an experiment, unplugged the Ethernet from the Roku, waited a few seconds, and plugged it back in with no interruption. And when the stream does stop, the Roku reports “No connection.”
All I can really tell you is my experiences, I will concede that my wireless environment might not be the most optimized, with regard to any signal collisions with other close neighbourhood wireless signals, but the distance from my router to the roku means I go wireless or wired with an unsightly cable.
I reset the roku back to factory, but I don’t see anything in the settings, that would allow me to optimize or screw with the buffer. Since you have said you have unplugged the Ethernet cable, for internet content, have you also done the same for intranet content ? I assume that you should get the same result.
Declan