Creating a link between a TV and your PC
I have not found a convenient way to output video or pictures to my TV. I've looked at many options, but nothing has excited me much. All the solutions out there are either pricey or just not very user-friendly.
For a while now I've been looking at Blu-Ray players as my poor little Hi-Def TV is hooked up to my very low-def DVD player (does not even do upscaling so my DVDs always play with a top and bottom black bar). Now that wireless DVD players are dropping in price, I figured this had to be an interesting option as I could probably stream computer content to my TV. But the reality is that I don't often rent movies and would much rather stream movies from the web (I don't mind paying) instead of going to the rental place. So the question is, do I need a Blu-Ray player? And if not, is there anything else out there? The answer is yes.
There is an incredible abundance of products coming to market right now. From integrated products (all TVs with integrated Wifi and custom software) to seperate boxes (Google TV, Apple TV and others). Which to choose right now is just a gamble. We are sort of at an VHS/BETA or Blu-Ray/Hi-Def DVD moment in wireless media. Everything is good choice but you know that one will emerge as victorious. I think the winner this time around will be dependent on product support (ongoing development/upgrade) and ease of use. I really believe that discs will end up disappearing and replaced by the web/streaming. It makes sense, the bandwidth is getting there (if we were in some parts of Europe this would not be a problem anymore) and it'll just plain be more accessible once the companies get everything sorted out as far as how media should be distributed.
This brings me to the product that I've been looking at lately. The Boxee Box is a seperate box hooked up to you TV. It has pretty much all the connections you need and connect via wi-fi to your network. It's not released as of today, but coming very soon. It allows to stream content from your PC to your TV, but as a standalone product, you can use it with its remote (deemed as one of the sexiest remotes out there right now because of the QUERTY keyboard on its backside) to surf media on the web (youtube, hulu and others).
It's price point is about the same as a good Blu-Ray player and the good thing about this product is that you can actually go out and sort of try it out. Software can be downloaded from their website for PC/MAC and more. If media can be played on your computer, it can play on your TV with the Boxee Box. It's really that simple. I sound like a salesman, but really I'm just hopeful that this product is what I'm looking for. I'm not pre-ordering because I want reviews from the real world, but if this works as advertised, it just may be my next birthday present.
For a while now I've been looking at Blu-Ray players as my poor little Hi-Def TV is hooked up to my very low-def DVD player (does not even do upscaling so my DVDs always play with a top and bottom black bar). Now that wireless DVD players are dropping in price, I figured this had to be an interesting option as I could probably stream computer content to my TV. But the reality is that I don't often rent movies and would much rather stream movies from the web (I don't mind paying) instead of going to the rental place. So the question is, do I need a Blu-Ray player? And if not, is there anything else out there? The answer is yes.
There is an incredible abundance of products coming to market right now. From integrated products (all TVs with integrated Wifi and custom software) to seperate boxes (Google TV, Apple TV and others). Which to choose right now is just a gamble. We are sort of at an VHS/BETA or Blu-Ray/Hi-Def DVD moment in wireless media. Everything is good choice but you know that one will emerge as victorious. I think the winner this time around will be dependent on product support (ongoing development/upgrade) and ease of use. I really believe that discs will end up disappearing and replaced by the web/streaming. It makes sense, the bandwidth is getting there (if we were in some parts of Europe this would not be a problem anymore) and it'll just plain be more accessible once the companies get everything sorted out as far as how media should be distributed.
This brings me to the product that I've been looking at lately. The Boxee Box is a seperate box hooked up to you TV. It has pretty much all the connections you need and connect via wi-fi to your network. It's not released as of today, but coming very soon. It allows to stream content from your PC to your TV, but as a standalone product, you can use it with its remote (deemed as one of the sexiest remotes out there right now because of the QUERTY keyboard on its backside) to surf media on the web (youtube, hulu and others).It's price point is about the same as a good Blu-Ray player and the good thing about this product is that you can actually go out and sort of try it out. Software can be downloaded from their website for PC/MAC and more. If media can be played on your computer, it can play on your TV with the Boxee Box. It's really that simple. I sound like a salesman, but really I'm just hopeful that this product is what I'm looking for. I'm not pre-ordering because I want reviews from the real world, but if this works as advertised, it just may be my next birthday present.
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