Rhapsody, Kindle and now Computer to TV

[OscarTheWilde]

Hey you hipsters, I enjoyed the discussion about Rhapsody and Kindle.  Rhapsody is proof for serious music fans that the universe is watching out for you and wants you to be as happy as a pig in you know what by giving you all the music you want.
 
 Rhapsody's deal for $12.99 a month for virtually unlimited music delivered not only to your computer but to your home fricken stereo (with appropriate gadgetry) is the best technical innovation of the last two centuries, if you ask me. I'm discovering lots of music I've been curious about (for almost as long!).
 
 Kindle is next for me.  I just set aside a boatload of books to sell on Amazon or Half and get the Kindle version instead.  It's like manna from heaven knowing I won't have to pack and transport as many books and CDs next time I move.
 
 Now for the next unchartered territory:  There's a lot of information out there about watching standard TV on one's computer, but I want to do the reverse---I want to access TV shows and movies on my laptop computer (e.g., from Hulu, Veoh, Fanpop, etc., even Youtube) and watch them on my big ass TV.
 
 And I'd like to do it wirelessly. And without my laptop being near the TV (it'll probably be about 30 feet away most of the time, if range is an issue).
 
 So...is there a device that makes this possible? What do I need to buy and where do I get it?  And then what do I do with it?  I'm pretty good with the technical aspects of setting up a home stereo system, but my lack of computer (and even TV) literacy borders on the supernatural, so please dumb it down for me.  
 
 Thanks for any, um, input!  You correspondents are the best!

[sonickteam2]

perhaps this thing
 
   i was looking at buying something like this too and have this bookmarked when i get around to it.

[vansmack]

Do you have an HDTV or, more importantly is any of the source material going to be in HD?

[vansmack]

Originally posted by very sonick:
  perhaps this thing  

That does regular TV great, but isn't HD capable (by neither the output nor the wireless capacity).
 
 For HD, I'd spend $50 more and get this.  IT has HD outputs and is wireless N, which is really required for wireless HD.

[OscarTheWilde]

Hmmm.  Very Sonick's thing says it allows you to play anything coming from your computer on your TV, including music.  I wonder if that precludes the need for Sonos or Squeezebox to hear music on your home stereo, then, if your TV is also hooked up to your home stereo.  
 
 Ah, so many possibilities.
 
 Van, HD is not in the equation at all.  Don't have much interest in it.  My TV is not HD.  But if I can transform it magically by some device that plays computer TV on my home TV, so much the better.

[vansmack]

You'll have to find somebody who's got one because, generally, those Media Extenders are designed to play files stored on your computer.
 
 What you're asking for is to play streaming media from the internet, and that's a big difference.  
 
 Some media players have built in software that allow for certain websites to be viewed, but they are not desinged to put a screen shot of your laptop on your TV.

[vansmack]

Originally posted by OscarTheWilde:
  Hmmm.  Very Sonick's thing says it allows you to play anything coming from your computer on your TV, including music.  I wonder if that precludes the need for Sonos or Squeezebox to hear music on your home stereo, then, if your TV is also hooked up to your home stereo.

Be careful with this, because if your TV is like mine, and you have this device hooked up your TV (it only has one set of RCA outs), and then to your stereo, you'll have to have the TV on in order to listen to your stereo.
 
 And that's not very green.

[sonickteam2]

<img src="http://www.vmanswers.com/images/preview_treehugger.jpg" alt=" - " />

[HoyaSaxa03]

i know you're looking for a wireless hookup and you don't have an HDTV, so this probably doesn't apply to you
 
 BUT if you don't mind running a cord from your PC to your TV and your TV has HDMI or VGA inputs (most HDTVs do), it's incredibly cheap and easy to duplicate your computer screen on your TV either with a DVI-->HDMI cord or an analog VGA cord, depending on the outputs on your computer's video card

[vansmack]

And if you're sold on wireless, you can do what Hoya talks about but it's pricey (like $200 pricey).  
 
 And if you do that I'll punch you.

[OscarTheWilde]

It sounds like a couple of people are talking about putting run-of-the-mill websites on your TV.  I'm not.  Who would want to see eBay on their TV screen?  
 
 I'm talking about taking movies and TV shows that you can access from your computer (and not your TV), from websites such as Hulu, Fanspot, etc., and watching them on your TV.  At least now I know it can be done, so I'll finally be able to watch the Girl From U.N.C.L.E. on my big ass TV and maybe even cancel my Netflix subscription.
 
 And that's a good thing.  (Can you tell I don't trust the clerks at the big electronics stores to give me the right information, or any information?  One should always consult the omniscient 9:30 forum first!)

[chaz]

Dude, just read up on this forum.  In fact not just the forum in the link, but the other ones on this site.  You'll learn everything you ever want to know on home audio/video.  I waste so much time up in this place it's silly.  (not the streaming forum, but mostly the audio section)
 
 http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=39

[vansmack]

Originally posted by OscarTheWilde:
  It sounds like a couple of people are talking about putting run-of-the-mill websites on your TV.  I'm not.  Who would want to see eBay on their TV screen?  

I think you're missing the point, here.
 
 Hulu, for example, has streaming content and is flash based.  Most of these wireless media devices don't support flash video or video on demand, although some have made deals to support certain web sites (create their own indices, etc.).  Adobe is working to change this but it's going slowly.  Instead, they are designed to find files types that they support on your hard drive and deliver them to you via your big screen.  
 
 Most folks who watch Hulu om their big screens do so by hooking their computers up to their bigscreen via HDMI/DVI/RGB-VGA and watch them that way (as was described by Hoya).
 
 And yes, I too am an AVS junkie.

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by OscarTheWilde:
  It sounds like a couple of people are talking about putting run-of-the-mill websites on your TV.  I'm not.  Who would want to see eBay on their TV screen?

the point is that anything on your monitor can go to your TV ... yes, that includes websites like ebay, and word processors, and photos, but i use it mainly for movies/tv shows
 
 for example, i have all 5 seasons of the wire on my hard drive ... when i feel like watching it i just start the video file on my computer, full-screen it, turn on my TV and switch the video input to PC, and switch my receiver's input to PC ... streaming netflix is great this way too

[chaz]

I JUST bought  one of these to assist with my music hoarding/streaming.  Now i won't need my PC running 24/7 to play the Squeezebox.....or a few other things...
 
 More toys.  Yay!