XBMC.... if my 8 year old can get it working with a bit of help from an 11 year old I'm sure any Foxpro geek can do it.... But then for $35 it's the ideal techy geek gadget
-----Original Message----- From: ProFox [mailto:profox-boun...@leafe.com] On Behalf Of Lew Schwartz Sent: 10 January 2013 21:33 To: profox@leafe.com Subject: Re: Cheapo media player. Still need a piece to play mp3's, 4's etc ... stuff on HD. On Thu, Jan 10, 2013 at 4:28 PM, Adam Buckland <adam.buckl...@eurohill.com> wrote: > And back to the Raspberry Pi.. or should that be .... Mornington > Crescent* > > > > * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mornington_Crescent_(game) > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: ProFox [mailto:profox-boun...@leafe.com] On Behalf Of lelandj > Sent: 10 January 2013 20:29 > To: ProFox Email List > Subject: Re: Cheapo media player. > > Why not buy a cheap PC with hdmi video built into the motherboard, and use > your HDTV as its monitor? You could connect the PC to your router for > internet access. You could then change between your hdtv being a pc monitor > or a tv by using your hdtv remote to navigate the menu to select/change input > sources. > > I'm running an SyncMaster P2770HD as a monitor to my desktop computer > and have selected HDMI -- PC DVI from the menu as the input source > and it works just like any regular monitor would. Other input sources I > could select from the SyncMaster P2770HD menu are PC -- DVI, TV, > DVI, AV, and Component. > > If the video on the PC is low resolution, you will probably want to buy a > graphics card that support 1080P resolution to get the most from your HDTV. > I'm running a GeForce 9800 GT video card in my desktop computer which give me > up to 1920 x 1080 (16 : 9) resolution and two hdmi output > ports. Since the SyncMaster P2770HD didn't have an pc hdmi -- hdmi > option, I used a simple dvi to hdmi adaptor to connect the dvi end of the > cable to the video card, and I'm running sound off the pc using regular > speakers and subwaffer. lol this worked best for me; because, the built in > speakers/sound on the SyncMaster P2770HD isn't that good. > > http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-11246_7-6481048-1.html > > http://www.gamefront.com/how-to-hook-your-pc-to-your-lcd-for-big-scree > n-action/ > > Regards, > > LelandJ > > On 01/10/2013 12:42 PM, Ken Dibble wrote: >> Thanks Ted. I appreciate that you're trying to help. I'm sorry if I'm >> being unclear. >> >>> > Maybe the next option is to use the TV as a dumb audio/visual >>> terminal to >>> > run input from my computer. If that's an option, then here's my >>> situation: >>> > >>> >>> I don't understand how you get to that conclusion. >>> >>> If that's what you want, get an HDMI cable to hook your computer up >>> to your TV. Use your TV remote to select the alternate input. Use >>> the computer interface to choose what video you watch. >> >> My TV would even take a VGA cable. I don't have HDMI output on my >> computer nor do I have a dual-output video card. In any case, I don't >> want to run a cable; it would have to be run through the floor and >> under the basement ceiling in order to avoid crossing a doorway. >> >>> Warning: if you're running a Microsoft OS, it will likely want to >>> restrict how you use your video output with something like HDCP ( >>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-bandwidth_Digital_Content_Protecti >>> o >>> n) >>> so, >>> as always, I'd advise against running Microsoft products. >>> >>> It just sounds like a lot of new ways to annoy yourself. (Which, >>> truth to tell, all of these solutions are. #1 son used to install >>> high-end solutions for all of this; they meet all of your criteria >>> except very notably the 'cheapo' part.) >>> >>> Back to your conclusion: I would suggest what you need is a small >>> low-power computer/settopbox hooked up to your TV via HDMI, >>> connecting to the internet via WiFi (I don't understand how you can >>> say you don't have a home network, but you do have WiFi. Perhaps you >>> don't have a WIRED home >>> network?) and controlled via a dedicated remote control and/or an >>> interface you can access from your computer or smartphone. >> >> I use a router to share the internet connection among multiple >> computers; some are wired, some are wireless. But all I'm doing is >> sharing internet; I don't have a "network" that allows the computers >> to talk to each other. >> >> In any case, the TV is not "networkable" in that sense: it can access >> a wireless internet connection but doesn't have any capability to >> talk to another computer. I realize--too late--that SONY makes TVs >> that have that sort of capability but this is not one of them. >> >>> As for the related cross-talk question of how you get audio to your >>> entertainment center, there's a strong possibility that your TV has >>> an Audio Out connection (analog or digital) that you run to your >>> amp/entertainment center. You use the TV as the UI and the >>> aforementioned remote to route sound to the speakers. >> >> Yeah, I wasn't even concerned about that. It's got a 1/8 inch jack >> for that. >> >>> My solution above does all of this, reading all the music (FLAC, >>> WAV, >>> MP3 >>> and OGG) from a Samba share on the home Linux box. >> >> The specific thing I really want to do is this: >> >> View and fully control a Flash-enabled web browser on the TV screen. >> Then I can go to any number of free (as in beer) on-demand TV sites >> (Hulu is the most well-known but not the only one) and watch a wider >> array of programs than are available on Netflix or Hulu+. >> >> (With the kind of computer connection I'm thinking of, I could also >> use VLC to play various avi/mpg/divx files that are not subject to >> DRM; Usenet still exists and is a very valuable reasource. ;-) But >> I'm not likely to use that option as much, so that's why I'm focused >> on the web browser thing.) >> >> Yes, my TV will provide access to free YouTube via an app--if I want >> to deal with using left/right/up/down keys on a TV remote to choose >> the letters of the search term, one at a time. Yes, I have apps for >> Netflix or Hulu+ and lots of other paid services on the TV. Yes, the >> TV has a built-in web browser that does NOT have Flash and cannot be >> controlled via any kind of wireless device other than the clumsy TV >> remote, which isn't adequate. >> >> Apple devices do not support Flash. >> >> Mobile android devices apparently do not support Flash. >> >> That leaves Windows or Linux. My home computer is Windows XP but I >> don't think DRM issues enter into viewing a web browser on a TV screen. >> >> I am concerned about screen resolution; I have a feeling that >> outputting my customary 22" monitor's resolution to a 46" TV is going >> to result in grainy images, so there needs to be some compensatory >> factor for that. >> >> Hence I need a wireless connection that will put what I am seeing on >> my computer screen and hearing on my computer speakers on my TV, at a >> suitable resolution for a very large screen. >> >> If you or your son have a solution that will do that, I'm interested. >> If I can do that, then I don't need a media server per se. >> >> Thanks. >> >> Ken Dibble >> www.stic-cil.org >> >> >> [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: ProFox@leafe.com Subscription Maintenance: http://mail.leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://mail.leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/442E79C1A7355C4EA228D320AA59D69CD46F90@SBS2011.eurohill.local ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. 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