[jeff k]

Where is the technology currently as far as watching computer files downloaded from the internet ( ie, .mov, wave files), etc on consumer TV?

Is this still a few years off?

I know that Apple TV offeres this, (I think), but I assume you have to buy movies from the Apple store.

What I'm asking about it watching any dang clip I find on internet on a TV in the living room -- preferably with a remote control? thanks.

[Cold Warrior]

XBMC

From what I hear xmbc is quite good, particularly the latest release.

[EndlessMac]

Well if you are asking about just watching stuff from your computer on your TV then you can do it now. It's a lot more convenient if you have a MacBook Pro because all you need are the right wires and you can hook up a laptop to the TV and just play your videos on the TV like it's a second monitor. You can also buy the Apple remote control for your laptop but I haven't used one so I don't know how well that works but it is available.

I've played movies and streaming videos on my TV off my laptop several times. The benefit of playing videos directly from your computer is that you can play any video format that your computer can play or any streaming stuff from the internet. No conversion of file format is necessary. I'm sure there is a way to hook up your iMac to your TV but I don't have an iMac so I don't know how it's done.

The longer way around this is to get a DVD player that can play digital files like Mpeg, divX, etc. You would then have to convert your videos into these file formats if they are not alreayd and then copy them to a DVD disc so that you can play them on your TV. Conversion can take a very long time depending on how fast your computer is which is why I prefer the first method. If you don't have to convert then it's just a quick copy to disc and play. There are probably other ways too but those are the ideas off the top of my head right now. Watching video from the computer onto a person's TV is a very common request so there are ways to do it.

[jeff k]

Endless, my TV is CRT, are all new TV equipted with USB inputs?

No interest now in doing the file to DVD to TV, looking for the file to hard drive to TV with a remote to forward/rewind.

[shifuimam]

Windows Media Center, combined with the K-Lite codec pack, is capable of playing pretty much any media format you can think of. Also, since WMC is part of Windows, you can always just open up a browser and play any video file you want. That's what I do with the HTPC connected to my TV.

I also have an Mvix 760HD, which can play absolutely everything and has the ability to take an internal IDE hard drive. The newer model, the 780HD, uses SATA and has an HDMI output instead of DVI (although DVI is HDMI compatible). It also has built in wifi and ethernet and two USB host ports so that you can stick an external hard drive or thumb drive (or any other USB plug and play storage device) on it and read files from that. It's one hell of a box (it's also like $300 USD and doesn't come with a hard drive).

D-link has a device that can stream from both YouTube and Hulu, although so far its performance is unimpressive.

[EndlessMac]

Originally Posted by jeff k 

Endless, my TV is CRT, are all new TV equipted with USB inputs?

No interest now in doing the file to DVD to TV, looking for the file to hard drive to TV with a remote to forward/rewind.

I don't believe there are any TVs as of yet that has USB ports. Even if there are I don't believe you can directly view your computer through your TV with USB. My TV is also an old CRT and it has an S-Video port which is what I use to connect to my laptop.

I believe your iMac has a mini displayport so you need to get a mini displayport adapter to connect to whatever connection your TV has. You will probably need two wires if you can't find one that has the connection you are looking for. This would be the cheaper option if you don't want to spend the money on another computer like a Mini or a Media Center to be always connected to your TV.

As for the remote I don't know if the Apple remote works with your iMac so you will have to ask someone with an iMac. You might want to ask in the iMac section.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by jeff k 

Endless, my TV is CRT.

Uh, I don't get it.

You have a TV with 20 year old technology, and you ask if certain things are technologically still years off ?

If you get any LCD or Plasma TV today, you get inputs that can be hooked up directly to your Mac (the TV basically acting as a monitor). Then you can watch any- and everything that you can watch on your Mac.

W/o a Mac, you need some extra hardware (like Apple TV). There are 3rd part solutions out there:

Apple TV alternatives

-t

[jeff k]

shulifman:
Did not understand:
windows media center
k lite codec pack
whmc
htpc, dlink.
---------all flew over my head

Endless, thanks.

turtle -- the point is I'm ready to buy a new TV, but want to know if I should wait for technology to advance.
that said, it sounds like you are saying things are getting closer.

The deal is, my new imac (I have new 27" imac) is in the office -- and TV would be in another room.

The goal:
To watch clips on the TV, be able to forward, rewind and pause the clips, and ideally browse through various clips.

What would this entail?

A cord going from one room to the other?
How could the remote thing work?
How could one browse clips?
------
Ideally, and this is probably not workable now, correct me if I'm wrong -- but ideally one could download a collection of clips, tranfer that to a mobile hard drive, and that hard drive would be connected to the back of the TV and everything would work like clockword from there, and the imac would not even be in the mix from there.
But then I'm incredulous because those are computer files.
------
In meantime, maybe the best deal is to just take my macbook into the the room with the TV and watch those computer clips from the macbook. Not as cumfy as a big TV, but I'm thinking in 3-5 this will all be seamless.
Just spot checking it that 3-5 years is now.

[turtle777]

The Macbook route is probably the cheapest for now

Alternatively, get an Apple TV, and a 804.11n wifi.

Convert all your clips that you want to watch to ATV format using Handbrake.
You can also rip DVDs using ATV.

Alternatively, you could patchstick your ATV to make it play other formats (beside the standard Apple formats which I just called ATV formats). However, this will decrease stability and you need to have some deeper understanding about the whole thing. I don't recommend that path unless you are really tech-savvy.

You are probably right, in 3-5 years, this will be even less of an issue that it is today.

-t

[AKcrab]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

I don't recommend that path unless you are really tech-savvy.

And not to be mean, but we know the answer to this..

[EndlessMac]

Originally Posted by jeff k 

Ideally, and this is probably not workable now, correct me if I'm wrong -- but ideally one could download a collection of clips, tranfer that to a mobile hard drive, and that hard drive would be connected to the back of the TV and everything would work like clockword from there, and the imac would not even be in the mix from there.
But then I'm incredulous because those are computer files.
------
In meantime, maybe the best deal is to just take my macbook into the the room with the TV and watch those computer clips from the macbook. Not as cumfy as a big TV, but I'm thinking in 3-5 this will all be seamless.
Just spot checking it that 3-5 years is now.

It would have been quicker if you mentioned that you had a MacBook. What year is your MacBook? Find out what video connection it has and find out what video connection your TV has and then find a cable that can attach the two together. Done.

The concept is basically like your idea of bringing a hard drive to your TV since your MacBook has a hard drive but what you are doing is using your TV like a second monitor connected to your MacBook. If you get a long enough cable for the TV you can have the laptop on your couch so there is no need for a remote.

[jeff k]

What does Apple TV do that the Macbook wont do?

what is 803wifi? ATV?
anyway, it sounds like I should collect clips and as you acknowledge it may be 3-5 years.

When I walk into people homes in future and this is all commonplace, I'll know it's arrived.

[reader50]

ATV = Apple TV. Despite the name, it isn't a TV. It's a simplified computer designed to drive files to a real TV. It gets files via Ethernet or wireless from the iTunes store, or from another computer on your home network. It is the most convenient way to do what you want to do, but it is also one of the more expensive solutions. A dedicated Mac Mini attached to your TV would be even better, but costs more too.

803wifi = no such thing.
804.11n wifi = no such thing. (sorry turtle)
802.11 WiFi = the wireless networking standard today. Apple calls their 802.11 hardware "AirPort" - most other manufacturers just call it 802.11
802.11a = an older protocol version
802.11b = the first Airports used this version
802.11g = faster version, backwards compatible with 802.11b
802.11n = still faster version, backwards compatible with 802.11b/g

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by reader50 

804.11n wifi = no such thing. (sorry turtle)

LOL, meant 802.11n.

n is important, ATV will not work well with slower Wifi networks (b or g)

-t

[Rumor]

Originally Posted by EndlessMac 

I don't believe there are any TVs as of yet that has USB ports. Even if there are I don't believe you can directly view your computer through your TV with USB. My TV is also an old CRT and it has an S-Video port which is what I use to connect to my laptop.

I believe your iMac has a mini displayport so you need to get a mini displayport adapter to connect to whatever connection your TV has. You will probably need two wires if you can't find one that has the connection you are looking for. This would be the cheaper option if you don't want to spend the money on another computer like a Mini or a Media Center to be always connected to your TV.

As for the remote I don't know if the Apple remote works with your iMac so you will have to ask someone with an iMac. You might want to ask in the iMac section.

My 32" Sharp Aquos has a USB port, never used it though.

[EndlessMac]

Originally Posted by Rumor 

My 32" Sharp Aquos has a USB port, never used it though.

I'm not too surprised. With more and more people watching their media on the internet the TV and computer are just going to integrate better in the future.

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by jeff k 

shulifman:
Did not understand:
windows media center
k lite codec pack
whmc
htpc, dlink.
---------all flew over my head

Windows Media Center is a feature of Windows Vista/7 Home Premium and Ultimate that allows you to have a TV-friendly, remote-controlled interface to access media from the comfort of your couch. I suggest you Google it, because trying to describe all that it can do would take awhile. Suffice it to say, WMC is capable of doing exactly what you're trying to do. From what I understand, the Front Row application in OS X can also do something similar, although WMC has far more features.

The K-lite codec pack is simply a collection of media codecs so that you can play different file formats (like divx, xvid, ogg, etc.).

HTPC is an acronym for "home theater personal computer", which indicates a computer that's part of your home entertainment system, versus part of your home office.

D-Link is a company. They primarily make networking products, but they also make a device that streams media to your television from your home network:

D-Link Wireless HD Media Player

The above device will allow you to stream content over your network from your iMac to your television. It's similar to the Apple TV.

What you're trying to do is not "three to five years into the future". There have been ways to stream media to your TV for nearly a decade now. You don't need a television with a USB port. Any TV will be fine. You could easily connect a Mac Mini to your home entertainment system (or, if all you have is a TV, just connect it directly to that) and use it from your couch with a wireless keyboard and mouse (or a wireless keyboard with a trackball built in, which is what I use). You can use Front Row to watch content in an easy to use, remote controlled interface, and you can also just load up Safari and watch YouTube videos or whatever else.

If you don't want an entire computer in your living room, you can use something like this product from Western Digital:

Amazon.com: Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player: Electronics

It's only $100 and has USB ports to hook up hard drives or thumb drives to watch content on your television.

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by Rumor 

My 32" Sharp Aquos has a USB port, never used it though.

My TV has a USB port, too. If you look in your TV's manual, it's very likely that the USB port is not usable. It's there so that the TV's firmware can be updated, either by a tech or by Sharp sending you a special USB drive that you plug in to update the TV. It's not designed to connect a hard drive (or anything else) for media streaming.

[Wiskedjak]

Originally Posted by jeff k 

What does Apple TV do that the Macbook wont do?

If your sole purpose is getting video from a hard drive on to your TV, what the AppleTV does that the MacBook doesn't is cost a lot less. But, you'll need a TV with HD inputs (component or HDMI). If you want to keep your almost-an-antique-TV, then a MacBook with a composite video adapter will be better.

[angelmb]

Originally Posted by shifuimam 

If you don't want an entire computer in your living room, you can use something like this product from Western Digital:

Amazon.com: Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player: Electronics

It's only $100 and has USB ports to hook up hard drives or thumb drives to watch content on your television.

And here there is a short video tutorial the original poster may like to watch.

[jeff k]

Excellent info guys, the WD things looks very plausable and very inexpensive. Great amazon ratings. thanks for tutorial link.

You think it's even better than macbook ( I have a macbook) or ATV or Mac MIni?

[shifuimam]

I think it's cheaper, more portable, easier to set up, and doesn't require any special adapters since it has a plain old RCA-style composite video output on it.

[shifuimam]

Also, it's worth noting that angelmb's link has to do with the WD TV Live player, which has networing. The WD TV HD does not have networking capability and can only play from connected USB drives.

The WD TV Live can be found on Amazon here:

Amazon.com: Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN: Electronics

Looks like it has an ethernet port to connect it to your network - no wireless, but that helps keep the cost the device so low.

[cgc]

I put the videos I download onto a thumbdrive and plug it into the side of my TV where they usually play fine. BTW, I have a 52A750 DLNA Samsung TV.

[jeff k]

Shifulman,
the WD Live-- could it access files off my external Hard drives? or even the internal hard drive of my imac. I would be incredulous it could do that but would be pleasantly surprsed. total wifi?

-----
I think what I was thiking of in 3-5 years is total integration: you buy TV, and you turn it on with your remote, and there is a browser and you are online and you can download/archive to the TV's hardrive.

[turtle777]

I wouldn't be surprised if Apple came out with a full-blown TV that has all the networking capability that people want and need, basically including a light version of OS X.

-t

[jeff k]

that's what I'm talking, new TVs with everything in it ready to roll.

[turtle777]

Yes. I think Apple is already working on it.

Basically, it's a 27" iMac w/o all the processing power and ports.

-t

[Wiskedjak]

Ah, you're looking for something like this:
Samsung's 82-inch SyncMaster 820DXn sports a built-in computer -- Engadget

I don't know if this is something I'd want. Computers obsolete so much faster than TVs do, and I don't really want to replace my TV every 2-3 years.

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by jeff k 

Shifulman,
the WD Live-- could it access files off my external Hard drives? or even the internal hard drive of my imac. I would be incredulous it could do that but would be pleasantly surprsed. total wifi?

-----
I think what I was thiking of in 3-5 years is total integration: you buy TV, and you turn it on with your remote, and there is a browser and you are online and you can download/archive to the TV's hardrive.

Jeff, I think that it would really, really benefit you to do a little research on this yourself. Take the thirty seconds to look on either Western Digital's own website, or the Amazon page for the WD TV Live. All the information you could possibly want about this device including tutorial videos, documentation, and FAQs are freely available. Since I don't own one of these devices, I can't definitively answer for you.

However, in the minute and a half or so I spent looking on WD's website, here's what I can tell you:

The WD TV Live has an ethernet port. It does NOT have wireless. It only has ethernet, which is wired. It has two USB ports that you can use to attach a USB mass storage device - this would be a thumb drive, a USB external hard drive, or other similar devices.

I'm not particularly convinced that you're up to the challenge of hooking up any media-streaming device to your television. It seems like you're unable to even get basic concepts figured out on your own.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Wiskedjak 

Ah, you're looking for something like this:
Samsung's 82-inch SyncMaster 820DXn sports a built-in computer -- Engadget

I don't know if this is something I'd want. Computers obsolete so much faster than TVs do, and I don't really want to replace my TV every 2-3 years.

But you wouldn't use it as a computer.

All you want is the networking capability, and the ability to display various movie formats. That's it.

-t

[cgc]

Originally Posted by jeff k 

that's what I'm talking, new TVs with everything in it ready to roll.

There are a lot of TVs with built-in video playing functionality. My Samsung can connect to the Internet via ethernet or WiFi to retrieve RSS feeds, weather, stocks, etc (simple things) and can play music, videos, and photos from a media center PC or directly from a USB thumb drive. I'm sure they are even more capable now but they've been able to do this for at least 2 years.

[Wiskedjak]

Originally Posted by cgc 

There are a lot of TVs with built-in video playing functionality. My Samsung can connect to the Internet via ethernet or WiFi to retrieve RSS feeds, weather, stocks, etc (simple things) and can play music, videos, and photos from a media center PC or directly from a USB thumb drive. I'm sure they are even more capable now but they've been able to do this for at least 2 years.

Which Samsung do you have?

[cgc]

52A750 but I think Samsung's selling the 52B750 as it's new replacement. Look around, Sony has TVs that are similar in capabilities...

They are a little picky about the video format but 99% of all .avis play (plus I know ow to transcode those that don't into an .avi or .mp4). Works like a champ.

[BoulderDash]

Originally Posted by shifuimam 

If you don't want an entire computer in your living room, you can use something like this product from Western Digital:

Amazon.com: Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player: Electronics

It's only $100 and has USB ports to hook up hard drives or thumb drives to watch content on your television.

Wow... this sounds perfect. I've got many movies in the M4V file format sitting on a 2TB Western Digital USB 2.0 Hard Drive (which my iMac's iTunes streams to my Apple TV). Whenever I travel I always wish that I could just unplug said hard drive and take my movies with me. Now, if I also take the Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player, it looks like I can.

Since the Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player states that it plays "MPEG1/2/4" I'm assuming that it will play M4V files.

Is that correct?

Thanks!
BD