Internet Streaming to TV

[WormDoes]

So, aparentely I was living in the dark ages. I asked on Twitter the other day what people use to convert torrent into DVDs and got laughed off

As the title states I'm looking for the best option to stream torrents from my W7x64 laptop (and eventually an external HDD) to my TV. I've seen Boxee and Roku, but I'm not really familiar enough on this subject to make an informed decision on which product is better myself. This is where my fellow Android Forums friends come in

I'm assuming a lot of you already do this, anything I need to know (other than which product to buy)?

Thanks in advance

Cheers!

 

[Vehtemas]

I download the videos then use TVersity to stream them from my External HDD (2.5TB) to my XBOX then to my TV...

The 2.5 TB cost me $98.50.

I prefer downloading because then I don't have to worry about restreaming them, not to mention the fact that I have some rare collections these days, one of which being the entire Gargoyles series and soon to be every Stargate including SG-1 =)

I am quite proud of my collection.

P.S. I am paranoid so I use True Crypt to encrypt my external and Operating system Hard Drives.

I haven't actually got a true network hard drive due to this issue, True Crypt doesn't play well with network drives.

And since I only have one Laptop it isn't that big of a deal, besides I would just make a Windows 7 Homegroup if I really wanted to share data between PCs/External HDDs.

Each password is easily 30-40 characters, and unless the NSA or CIA want into my drives I am not worried about other people

 

[JRich8389]

Personally, I believe the best bet is to get a device that is a certified DLNA device like certain NAS (Network Attached Storage) and hook it into your router and hook your router into the TV.

DLNA devices are fairly simple and usually have step by step instructions on how to stream media.

As for streaming it from your laptop, you have a few options. You could use a VGA to RCA adapter to turn your TV into another "output" device just like if you hooked into a monitor. That's the cheapest route but also relies on your TV and laptop supporting each other in resolution/compatibility....etc

There are a few other components you can use as well such as AVerMedia-Converter. Both of these options are a cheap way to go.

If you have a newer TV with an RJ45/Ethernet connection or wireless than you can use a network media player such as VLC and stream videos over that connection.

I hope this helps clarify a few things, please feel free to ask anymore questions.

 

[WormDoes]

Wow, I certainly am in the dark ages as far as this stuff is concerned.

JRich-I have no idea what you just said haha

Let me ask you guys this, i'm going to be buying a new TV fairly soon so that's why I'm trying to get more "tech savvy". Is it possible if a TV has a USB connection to play movies/music from a HDD? I only have a 400GB HDD on my laptop and I'm starting to realize that's no where near enough. With the TV I'll probably be getting a 2.5 TB HDD. It would make my life so much easier if I could just plug it into the TV and be done with it

 

[JRich8389]

WormDoes,

Ha, sorry about that. I'll make it a little simpler You could play movies off your HDD if you have a BluRay player that supports downloaded files. There are a lot out there that do. I know for a fact Sony BlueRay has an app that lets you play a lot of downloaded movies.

The newer Sony TVs also have USB ports on them and allow HDDs. There are a few issues with compatibility but if you have a Western Digital or Seagate external HDD you should be fine.

Those are a few options as well I hope its a little less "techy"

 

[WormDoes]

It is, thanks. I'd assume a PS3 would work as well, too?

 

[JRich8389]

It is, thanks. I'd assume a PS3 would work as well, too?

This is where it would get a little tricky...PS3 only recognizes HDDs formated with Fat32, most HDDs are formated with NTFS since Fat32 only supports up to 32 GBs of storage....I apologize but if I explain anymore its going to get complicated, with partitioning the HDD and formatting the partition with Fat32 and NTFS....

Unless the PS3 has had an update that allows NTFS, then I am not aware of it, that is your only option if you want to use the PS3.

Same rule applies for Xbox 360....sadly...

The Wii does support NTFS if you hack it but that voids the warrenty....

I'm not the most console game savvy person so maybe one of the other members of the forums can shed more light on that. The info above is just personal experience. You can use a flash drive on your ps3 if you feel like loading your movies onto one of those.

 

[9to5cynic]

...and unless the NSA or CIA want into my drives I am not worried about other people

I was reading (I think the truecrypt wikipedia page actually lol) about truecrypt, and it said that a banker from Brazil I think, got his disk taken and searched. The officials there spent more than four months on it, then sent it to the FBI who spent over a year trying dictionary attacks and the like, couldn't crack it lol.

I use truecrypt, not as much as you though. I just have a 6GB file that I mount and use when I need to store sensitive docs.


EDIT: @worm:

You could buy one of those new tvs and a laptop that have the WiDi (wireless display). Sounds pretty spiffy to me.

LOL, you think you're in the dark ages? I'm over hear on dial-up!!!

 

[JRich8389]

LOL, you think you're in the dark ages? I'm over hear on dial-up!!!

No way o.o I thought my grandparents were the only ones refusing to switch xD

To each their own I suppose

 

[WormDoes]

So, couldn't I just get a RoKu and hook my HDD up to that to watch my movies? That's what it's made for if I've read about it correctly?

I suppose I could do the flash drive/ps3, but for watching a TV series or something that would be a PITA.

Everyone on Twitter made it seem like it was so was so easy to do this. Maybe I'll ask some of them what their setup is.

@9to5 that's funny! I don't feel as bad now haha. I guess I'm not as deep into the dark ages as some I used to work with this girl a couple years ago who didn't have Cable OR internet

 

[9to5cynic]

No way o.o I thought my grandparents were the only ones refusing to switch xD

To each their own I suppose

Trust me, it's not by choice

So, couldn't I just get a RoKu and hook my HDD up to that to watch my movies? That's what it's made for if I've read about it correctly?

I suppose I could do the flash drive/ps3, but for watching a TV series or something that would be a PITA.

Everyone on Twitter made it seem like it was so was so easy to do this. Maybe I'll ask some of them what their setup is.

@9to5 that's funny! I don't feel as bad now haha. I guess I'm not as deep into the dark ages as some I used to work with this girl a couple years ago who didn't have Cable OR internet

Well, I at least have satellite... but my internet resources are lacking.

Lol, the twitter folks just have 160 characters, all they can say is "Pssh, it's easy!"

 

[WormDoes]

Lol, the twitter folks just have 160 characters, all they can say is "Pssh, it's easy!"

Haha, very true. Reading online it does seems "easy" so I'm not sure what to think

 

[Morat]

I've got a Samsung Smart TV - it has two USB slots and can browse HDs for movie files.
It also supports DLNA so if you have a windows 7 PC/laptop you can send your movies direct to the TV (there are restrictions on codecs which you can google).

Finally, modern android phones also support DLNA (SGS2, Desire-S, Sensation) out of the box, or you can get an app called sifta which adds DLNA to other android mobiles.

So, yeah. There are lots of options

 

[WormDoes]

So, basically I should probably wait until I know for sure which TV I'm going to buy. If it has this "smart" technology then there would be no need for Boxee/RoKu.

I know about the DLNA on Android phones and I'm fairly certain my Thunderbolt has it stock, but I'm running AOSP so that's not an option for me

 

[JRich8389]

So, basically I should probably wait until I know for sure which TV I'm going to buy. If it has this "smart" technology then there would be no need for Boxee/RoKu.

If you're already in the market for a new tv then this is your best and simplest choice.

Its hard to get a nice newer model tv these days that doesn't have those functions.

 

[WormDoes]

I prefer downloading because then I don't have to worry about restreaming them, not to mention the fact that I have some rare collections these days, one of which being the entire Gargoyles series and soon to be every Stargate including SG-1 =)

Where do you download your movies from, all over, or is their a specific site you prefer? I found this last night and it's wonderful, but the selection is rather small

kickassddl

I'm D/Ling 720P Empire Strikes Back right now

 

[WormDoes]

If you're already in the market for a new tv then this is your best and simplest choice.

Its hard to get a nice newer model tv these days that doesn't have those functions.

That's what I figured. If for some reason the TV doesn't support it, which I doubt, then I can always go with some of the other methods mentioned in here

 

[Vehtemas]

Where do you download your movies from, all over, or is their a specific site you prefer? I found this last night and it's wonderful, but the selection is rather small

kickassddl

I'm D/Ling 720P Empire Strikes Back right now

btjunkie - the largest bittorrent search engine and Demonoid.

BTJ operations on a voting and comment structure, my rule is simple, do NOT download anything without atleast 10 upvotes, comments preferred.

Granted, since my 360 is opening the video files its not like I can get a virus.

With this method I have never had an infection.

 

[WormDoes]

btjunkie - the largest bittorrent search engine and Demonoid.

BTJ operations on a voting and comment structure, my rule is simple, do NOT download anything without atleast 10 upvotes, comments preferred.

Granted, since my 360 is opening the video files its not like I can get a virus.

With this method I have never had an infection.

I just got an invite code to demonoid yesterday and have been using that for the majority of my d/l's. I'll have to check out BTJ

 

[JRich8389]

I second Vehtemas, I enjoy demonoid but every now and then on that site you download something and it ends up just being this weird ass emo kid who takes pictures of himself, uploads them and calls them something related to a new movie/software that everyone wants....its creepy...

 

[WormDoes]

Haha, that's funny about the EMO kid. It sucks I just started using demonoid, got all addicted to downloading what I want when I want and it's been down for a few days now.

Side note, anyone know where I can d/l a legit copy of powerpoint? I need it for a work presentation on Monday and just noticed earlier my laptop doesn't even have a trial version on it

 

[9to5cynic]

I think you can get a thirty day trail from MS.... maybe not. But you could try Libre Office, it has full support for Microsoft formats (.doc, .docx etc....) I think the powerpoint application is called "Present" or "Slideshow" or something generic like that.

 

[JRich8389]

Haha, that's funny about the EMO kid. It sucks I just started using demonoid, got all addicted to downloading what I want when I want and it's been down for a few days now.

Side note, anyone know where I can d/l a legit copy of powerpoint? I need it for a work presentation on Monday and just noticed earlier my laptop doesn't even have a trial version on it

I've got an unlimited business key for Office '07, I can help you out in about a week or so when I get back to the states if you remind me.

 

[WormDoes]

I've got an unlimited business key for Office '07, I can help you out in about a week or so when I get back to the states if you remind me.

This would be awesome! Thanks in advance