Anyone using their computer as a television?

[twobrewers]

I am currently paying $150 a month to Charter Communications for cable television and wireless internet. I hate Charter. I don't have U-Verse in the area. Condo Association doesn't allow sattelite dishes.

 

Have anyone gone without cable and basically turned their computer into their television?

 

With Hulu, I can watch a lot of my favorite shows anyways. I assume I could buy a cord (or software) to get the image onto my television. I've also heard of people using their computer as a DVR. With our Wii and my Itouch, we could stream video from Netflix directly to our television. I can buy the MLB package on my Itouch to get all of the Brewers games.

 

So this creates lot of questions...

1. We have two HD television. Has anyone used a video converter box to pull signals from their air for their television? How is the video? I'd like to still receive quality broadcast from the basic Milwaukee stations.

 

2. Has anyone ever put Hulu, the MLB package or Netflix onto their television from their computer? Is the sound and video ok, good or great?

 

3. I'd be able to watch the same amount of baseball games with the MLB package. I'd still get football games over the air. (Less the ESPN games). Any idea how I could watch Bucks games? About 90% of our television watching is basic cable or FSN Wisconsin.

 

4. Has anyone used their computer as a DVR? Is it hard? Are you able to hook anything up as a remote control?

 

5. Any problems or suggestions that I might be overlooking?

 

I appreciate any insight into the matter. I'd love to cut back on our bills - and I'd love even more to stop paying Charter so much money. Obviously, my plan would still call for internet service, but we could save $100 a month dropping cable television.

[chuckiehacks]

I just got rid of cable within the last couple of weeks. I'm running a lot of programming through my computer to my tv. Hulu video quality seems to be very good. I kept my u-verse wifi, so I can get the ESPN3 programming, I watched college football last night. It was a little choppy, but overall not bad, especially considering the money I'm saving. The MLB.tv streams are great, I'm within the Brewers blackout area, so I'm still working on alternatives to that. I'm just starting to see what's out there using torrents and the like. Last night I was able to choose from far more NFL and NCAA games on-line than I would have using cable. The picture quality isn't always the best, but I'm willing to sacrifice.

[1992casey]

Some of this will depend on your computer. For starters, your video card should handle 1920x1080 (1080p/1080i).

 

If you have an HDMI connection your computer, you'll be bringing the best quality picture to your TV. If your computer has DVI, that's just as good as HDMI picture-wise, but you'll need to run sound separately. That's no big deal. Your TV probably doesn't have DVI, however. You'd need to get an adapter and run the picture over an HDMI cable.

 

Your Internet connection might be a factor, too. I can stream 720p, but 1080p drags. I find that it's better to download 1080p for later viewing.

 

Hulu looks nice on my set, but for the most part, even the 16:9 broadcasts are only 480i. I don't recall if they have high definition on some broadcasts or not. The major broadcast networks offer high definition streams.

 

You might find useful information in this topic:

 

Calling all geeks: Now Including Tech-o-Wienies!

 

I should also note that Brewerfan can't allow discussion pertaining to circumvention of "the system" to receive games. Mentioning that you're "exploring options" is probably doesn't hurt anything, but providing the actual information on how you've achieved success could cause problems for us.

[Menace II Sobriety]

I got rid of cable about 8 months ago when my bill jumped to $170 a month. Hulu is nice but sometimes I don't have the patience to wait the delay that they have. Burn Notice and other shows are delayed 8 days from original viewing. With a mix of Hulu and torrents you will never need cable again. It only sucks if you don't have it hooked up to TV and you have company looking to watch something immediately.

[kilgore37]

Dumped cable in May and have been downloading/ streaming everything. There are sports streaming sites that have every game that is televised. Some of the quality is about as good as broadcast but some of it is near HD quality.

[Baldkin]

OTA HD broadcasts are pretty good. It's how my parents watch all the Packer games, and they've never had a problem with it at all.

[GAME05]

i'm a big Hulu fan and was disappointed to hear that they're going to be charging for it now. and i've used it long enough that i don't even notice that it's on a week delay.

 

to me, cable tv seems like the biggest rip off. if i could select the channels i pay for, then sure, but otherwise i'm not going to fork out $100 a month for a bunch of Judith Light tv dramas and Everybody Loves Raymond reruns.

 

since i usually live out of state, streaming has been about the only way i can watch Packer or Badger games.

[endaround]

1) How new are you're TVs? Most newer sets(last 3-4 years) have tuners in them. In that case all you need is a $20 antenna.

 

2&3) Keep in mind the bigger the screen the worse streraming video tends to look

 

4) It isn't hard at all, you can get a decent card for $60. PCI-E seems to be the preferred type. The biggest issue is the lack of a guide. Windows Media Center is great at reading and getting SD signals but not HD so you can't get the guise form there. Basically you;ll ahve to schedule you own recordings.

 

You may want to check with Charter to see if they have a life line service. Time Warner's was like $15 a month last I saw which gave you local channels and a few other basic ones. You should also get HD with that if you have a QAM tuner in your TV.

[NeedMoreFans]

I am cable-less, and stream Netflix and Hulu all the time. I don't want to pay for MLB TV, so I don't get Brewer games. The biggest things I miss is Badger games and Monday night Packer games.

[greeg35]

The biggest things I miss are Brewers and Bucks games. If anyone can PM and "tricks of the trade" I would appreciate that information.

[kilgore37]

google will answer your question

[greeg35]

google gives me things that I'm afraid are spam/virus ridden. I was hoping to get good/solid info about trusted sources.

[kilgore37]

There is no one magic site to that everything. google streaming live sports and see what works best for your connection. If your on some type of lite cable/dsl it's going to look horrible .

[1992casey]

Googling is the best advice that can be offered on this board. As I mentioned in reply #2, we can't allow discussion about receiving games outside of normal avenues.

[GAME05]

i haven't had any virus problems from the site that i use, but then it's an internet site like any other. but don't expect any streaming site to have your game playing perfectly the whole way through. there are several weeks where i can't find a Packers stream at all, or boxing that i end up watching in German, or patchy video playback. tv networks are also active in canceling illegal streaming, so you'll often end up searching for new links and miss a quarter of the football game or so.

[kilgore37]

So here's my set up. I have a pc with hdmi(ati 4650 i think)out going into my denon 2809 receiver. the receiver handles the audio/video out from the hdmi and displays it on the tv. I also have a xbox 360 and ps3 hooked up to it as well.

[GAME05]

my folks have a computer upstairs but want Netflix downstairs. trying to find a good way to make it work:

1. very long cable connecting the computer to the downstairs tv. need about 40', so maybe $150???

2. get a cheap laptop and a wireless router.

3. Nintendo Wii. probably the most expensive option and it doesn't play dvd's (although they have an existing dvd player). some of me wonders if i can talk them into the Wii Fit so they get some exercise.

[kilgore37]

new blu ray players have netflix built in. you'd just need a wifi connection. they run about 150-200

[GAME05]

wow, i had no idea about that. and a wifi connection is really simple to get and doesn't cost much, either. i'd given up on the thought of blu-ray, but that'd be great. especially considering they have a huge hi-def tv and my big surround sound system hooked into it, blu-ray would be a nice plus. thanks for the tip--i have a new weekend project.

edit: so i wouldn't need a cord to connect to the blu-ray player? the menu allows me to search out a wifi signal?

[endaround]

You can get a Roku box for $70 from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Rok...F8&qid=1284067140&sr=1-1

[theavrock]

wow, i had no idea about that. and a wifi connection is really simple to get and doesn't cost much, either. i'd given up on the thought of blu-ray, but that'd be great. especially considering they have a huge hi-def tv and my big surround sound system hooked into it, blu-ray would be a nice plus. thanks for the tip--i have a new weekend project.

edit: so i wouldn't need a cord to connect to the blu-ray player? the menu allows me to search out a wifi signal?

Correct, the dvd player would allow you to search for a wireless signal and steam, the Netflix. If the objective is to get Netflix and only Netflix, like End said you can get a Roku player to do the job.

[kilgore37]

Only problem with the roku box is it only outputs at 720p. If that doesnt matter then go for it

[strawbossisevil]

What about Apple TV? Doesn't that offer Netflix in 1080? I believe the new updated version is only $99. Also, if you wait a bit, I'm sure the Google TV boxes will have it when they come out.

[Invader3K]

Not of direct help, but I downloaded a program called PlayOn. It's only like $30 and lets you stream Hulu and other online TV sources from your PC to your PS3 (I think it works with other devices as well).

[kilgore37]

Apple tv will be 720p also. They'll wait till gen 2 or 3 to upgrade it to 1080p