Internet TV

[Radiance]

I know I saw somw posts about this topic but I cannot find them.
I have a laptop and I have a TV. I should be able to watch free programs, right?

1) What do I need, is it just a cable to connect them both
2) can I watch full screen or ir distords quality
3) besides hulu what are sites that are free or super cheap to watch good programing? I like discovery channel and national geopraphic type of programs, I woukd like some fun educational programs for my son.
4) how do you 'browse' or change channels?

I was thinking about netflix, but that is mostly movies, right?

[Broken Arrow]

1) What do I need, is it just a cable to connect them both

Perhaps it would be easier to think about the source.

For example, you can watch TV shows and movies from Netflix/RedBox DVD rentals, Netflix/Hulu streaming over the net, and cable/satellite subscription.

With the correct hardware, you can have any of these sources channeled to either a TV or a laptop... or both.

If your source is DVD, obviously you need a DVD player or a computer with a DVD drive.

If your source is cable or satellite, you will need a coaxial connection, which is most commonly found on TVs, but can also be had on computers.

If your source is internet, you need an ethernet connection, which is most commonly found on computers, but can also be had on high end DVD and Blu-ray players, which then can be connected to TVs or computer monitors.

2) can I watch full screen or ir distords quality

You can watch everything in full screen, but if your source resolution is smaller than your screen, then there will be some potentially noticeable distortions. Nothing terrible in my opinion though.

3) besides hulu what are sites that are free or super cheap to watch good programing? I like discovery channel and national geopraphic type of programs, I woukd like some fun educational programs for my son.

I think all major TV programming channels have some kind of online video solution now. CNBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, and so forth. Just go to their websites and see what you can find.

4) how do you 'browse' or change channels?

This will depend on the source, but it won't be as difficult as it sounds. When you get there, I think you will know what to do.

In fact, the great thing about the new technology is that the viewing model itself has changed as well. When you think about it, the old model of changing channels, from say channel 2 to channel 3 is pretty arcane and unintuitive. You sort of have to look up or remember what channel 2 is.

Now, I turn on my computer, go to the Netflix website, and click on the name and thumbnail of the movie I want to see. In fact, I was watching Das Boot last night that way. Riveting movie! But anyways, no need to look up or remember anything other than netflix.com.

I was thinking about netflix, but that is mostly movies, right?

Netflix is mostly movies, but they also have a lot of TV programming as well. Certain things from the History channel, and TLC I think. They have Mystbusters available for streaming, for example.

[disneysteve]

3) besides hulu what are sites that are free or super cheap to watch good programing? I like discovery channel and national geopraphic type of programs, I woukd like some fun educational programs for my son.

As BA said, pretty much every non-premium network puts their shows online today once they have aired on TV, usually the day after they air. There are several shows that I only watch online because either I don't get the channel that they are on (Bank of Mom and Dad, Soapnet) or I'm not usually home when they air (NCIS, CSI, etc.). Watching online also gives me the freedom to watch anytime, anyplace. I often watch at my office during lunch or while doing paperwork. And I may watch an episode over 2 or 3 days. Very convenient.

[graceful]

At our new house, we don't intend to get cable at all. Will get high speed internet once we move permanently and get programing that way. Right now we only go up on the weekends.

We watch enough TV at our current home what with cable, the DVR and the internet. We can live without TV on the weekends. It's not hard to not watch TV for 2 days a week. Living without the internet for 2 days is much harder. Good thing I have a phone with internet service and DH can thether it to the laptop and I can surf that way.

[Radiance]

Thank you Broken Arrow!

Sources,

Definetively no cable, cheaper plan goes for over $40 and not worth it for the little TV we watch.
I do have the cheaper high speed internet plan I could get.
I have a laptop, a HDMI TV and a DVD player.

So DVD source is covered, we are watching Tom and Jerry and Spongebob that way today.

I would like to add internet as a source so I am off to buy a ethernet connection. I will see how the 'browsing goes'. How can I smuggle with my little one on bed while I hold a laptop?

[Broken Arrow]

Uh I don't know if this part is clear or not, but for clarity sake, this is what an ethernet cable looks like, plugged into an ethernet jack behind a desktop PC:



Now, this is NOT the only way to connect to the internet, especially with a laptop. You can also do this with a wireless router also. Here's what a typical wireless router looks like:



Now, here's a diagram of what a basic, wireless home network looks like.



I apologize if I haven't been clear or is making this more complicated than it needs to be.

Basically, if your laptop is already receiving an internet connection of some kind, your network is ready to go. Sort of.

[Radiance]

Bear with me as I am technically challenged.

I have everything you put on your diagram, I surf the internet on my laptop via a wireless router.

How do I make it show on my TV?
And I am assuming thet to get to hulu.com I have to type it in on my laptop and have it somehow show on my tV

the laptop-to-tv connection is what I am missing...I think

[Broken Arrow]

Ah! I see! That's a different story then. There are several ways to do that as well. But, I don't want to overwhelm you with technobabble....

Can you describe to me what the back of your TV looks like? Does it have the following?

1) DVI


2) RGB


These two are ideal. If not, does your TV have the following?

3) HDMI


4) Component


And while we're at it, it has to be INPUT (or IN) not output.

Finally, can you also check to see if your laptop has a DVI or RGB jack as well?

[minnie1928]

Just my 2 cents about netflix...I've found lots of streamable content for my 6 and 11 year old kids that was educational. Lots of History Channel, Discovery Channel, BBC, etc.. My daughter loves to watch things about Egypt, dinosaurs, etc. and we find plenty of stuff to watch.

[sandrark]

we use an HDMI cable to connect the laptop to our HDTV. Cost was $40 at Best Buy.

We also bought a Roku box, since we're Netflix subscribers, and we can use the Roku to instantly watch a lot of free programming, such as TV shows. The Roku was $100 or so.

Sandi

[Radiance]

Hello! And thank you BA for all this, you are awesome!

My TV has all those connectors shown on the pictures DVI, RGB and HDMI.
It also has in and out.
My PC is a little older fashioned I souposse, because I only recognize the RGB.
It is connected to the internet so it has its ethernet cable thingy

What type of cable do I buy?
RGB to HDMI?

[Broken Arrow]

My TV has all those connectors shown on the pictures DVI, RGB and HDMI.
It also has in and out.
My PC is a little older fashioned I souposse, because I only recognize the RGB.
It is connected to the internet so it has its ethernet cable thingy

What type of cable do I buy?

Good news! All you need is a straight RGB cable to display what's on your laptop onto the TV. Any Radio Shack or even Best Buy will have that, or you may even already have one.

Of course, the downside is that your computer will be tethered to the TV for as long as you want it working this way. If it helps any though, you can buy a fairly long cable, anywhere from 10 feet all the way out to 50 feet!

There are a couple more minor details to work out along the way, but... it's probably best that I don't mention it unless you run into them.

Finally, there are other, more expensive options to do pretty much the same thing without a cable or even without a computer. But like I said, they are more expensive. Do you have a budget in mind? Or will the cable be enough?

[HistoryChick]

3) In addition to the websites of the major channels, there's also fancast (similar to hulu) and sidereel (a litttle more popup-uppy).

[amberbamber]

hulu.com

I find that there are lots of shows on there

[Radiance]

All right!

I have my PC connected to my TV and I can see the internet on it.
It looks just great; no distortion on full screen.

Sometimes the streaming freezes though....
Now I am off to find my shows to start bookmarking.

I was looking at some remote wireless keyboards, some come with a trackball to use instead of a mouse. For now I have to be seated next to the PC to operate the internet viewing. Any recommendations?