Watching streamed tv shows/movies

[AmyRI]

What devices do you use to stream and watch tv shows and movies?

I think the most common setups are an HDTV and gaming console of some sort, an HDTV and Blu-Ray player with apps, or an HDTV with a direct internet connection. Is this true? Do you connect via a wired LAN or use wifi?


We currently live in the stone age. We have 1 TV in the house, and it is not an HDTV (no HDMI input). Antennae reception is awful, so we get the super basic package from the cable company to get ~20 channels, but have no cable box or DVR. We are not gamers and have no desire to become gamers, so buying a console is not appealing. To stream videos, we have to play the video on the laptop and use a separate wireless receiver to connect the computer to the TV. That receiver box is glitchy. It cannot stream copyrighted material, so we also need a DVD player. There is only 1 set of composite inputs to our TV, so we use a converter box that actually accepts both the coax cable and the composite connection from the computer and puts both through a coax cable to the TV (with the computer shown on channel 3). In total, to stream a TV show, we use the modem, computer, wifi receiver, converter box, and TV.

I wanted to get a wifi blu-ray player, but the new ones require an HDMI connection to the TV, and by the time you pay for the player + converter to get it back to composite to work with our existing TV, it's just too much money to make it worth it. A coworker is selling an older one that has composite out for $40 (including a dual USB remote, which is supposed to be a selling point based on the use of caps lock in the classified ad, but I have no idea what this is). This would enable us to plug the coax and blu-ray players directly into the TV, eliminating the converter box and wifi receiver. The only catch is that it is not wifi enabled, so I'd need to move the modem/router/backup harddrive setup we have from the office into the living room. Is it worth $40 and an hour of time to make watching Parenthood easy? I'm leaning towards yes.

[lya]

In the bedroom we have a Smart DVD player that connects through wifi. In the living room, we connect through a playstation. This one is a LAN connection. With both of these we can access huluplus, netflix, amazon, etc.

[AmyRI]

Feb 26, 2014 9:18:59 GMT -5 lya said:

In the bedroom we have a Smart DVD player that connects through wifi. In the living room, we connect through a playstation. This one is a LAN connection. With both of these we can access huluplus, netflix, amazon, etc.

Do you know what kind of connection the Smart DVD player has to your TV? The only wifi enabled ones I can find are also blu ray and they all require HDMI connections.

[lya]

Feb 26, 2014 9:22:36 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

Feb 26, 2014 9:18:59 GMT -5 lya said:

In the bedroom we have a Smart DVD player that connects through wifi. In the living room, we connect through a playstation. This one is a LAN connection. With both of these we can access huluplus, netflix, amazon, etc.

Do you know what kind of connection the Smart DVD player has to your TV? The only wifi enabled ones I can find are also blu ray and they all require HDMI connections.

I tried to look.  Its a Sony and can do dvd, blu-ray, 3D blu-ray.  I can't find a model number or anything though.  We have it connected by an HDMI cable.  However, I am not an expert on tech connections.  Looking at the back it seems like there might be the old school 3-prong cable connections (the ones that had a single cording splitting into three, each a different color). 

[LoveTrains]

Yeah sorry I am no help, I use a roku box to stream and that needs hdmi in to your tv. My roku is hard wired (plugged into) my router but that is because it is faster that way. It can do wireless, too.

Personally, in your situation, I would probably just buy a new tv with hdmi in. You can get a mid sized one - something like 32 inches - for like $250.

[gt7301b]

Feb 26, 2014 9:45:51 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

Yeah sorry I am no help, I use a roku box to stream and that needs hdmi in to your tv. My roku is hard wired (plugged into) my router but that is because it is faster that way. It can do wireless, too.

Personally, in your situation, I would probably just buy a new tv with hdmi in. You can get a mid sized one - something like 32 inches - for like $250.

This is what I would do.  It is much easier than trying to figure out how to get your old TV to work with the new technology.

[Susie]

We have both TVs set up to stream Netflix; one is an HDTV with LAN connection to the BluRay player with apps, the other is an HDTV with a wifi enabled Blu-Ray player.

Whether I'd go the route you're describing depends on budget.  If I was living on a tight budget, and it made my world better, and I couldn't afford a more elegant solution, I might.

But personally?  I wouldn't spend a dime at this point on more equipment or technology to accommodate my old CRT TV (or whatever you've got).  It's a band aid fix for mediocre picture quality, and it'll eventually break and you probably won't be able to find something to cob your system back together at that point.  We made the jump in 2009 or so from a big ole CRT TV to an HDTV and have not looked back.  

Being able to stream Breaking Bad to entertain me while I work out on my bike in the winter has been totally worth it.

[magdala]

Another one with Roku and Ipads.

[Deleted]

AppleTV, my computer, our iPads, and our Smart TV. And we have a Roku on our bedroom TV but never use it.

[AmyRI]

Feb 26, 2014 9:56:43 GMT -5 Susie said:

We have both TVs set up to stream Netflix; one is an HDTV with LAN connection to the BluRay player with apps, the other is an HDTV with a wifi enabled Blu-Ray player.

Whether I'd go the route you're describing depends on budget.  If I was living on a tight budget, and it made my world better, and I couldn't afford a more elegant solution, I might.

But personally?  I wouldn't spend a dime at this point on more equipment or technology to accommodate my old CRT TV (or whatever you've got).  It's a band aid fix for mediocre picture quality, and it'll eventually break and you probably won't be able to find something to cob your system back together at that point.  We made the jump in 2009 or so from a big ole CRT TV to an HDTV and have not looked back.  

Being able to stream Breaking Bad to entertain me while I work out on my bike in the winter has been totally worth it.

The budget is not tight, but neither of us want to drop even $250 on a new TV. The picture quality we have now is just fine for us - the issue is purely content. I want to be able to crash on the couch at night and watch a back episode of Parenthood without having to get up to get it going on the office computer, and then run into the office to pause or rewind when necessary. The TV we have is not an old CRT, it's a newer and nice flat screen, it's just not HD. The other part is that we would still need to buy a new blu ray player to make this work with a new HDTV, which is another $80-100 to get one with wifi.

Part of the appeal of the used blu ray player is that it is the current technology - it can do HDMI output if our TV breaks and we get a new HD one. The only functionality that is missing is wifi, and I just don't see technology giving up on LAN connections since they are so much faster than wifi. Sure, I'd prefer the wifi option, but it's not worth the additional $40+ it would cost me to buy (even ignoring the cost of a new TV).

[pinkplasticdoll]

We have a roku, media box, laptops and a smart blu ray player.We mainly use the media box and roku for streaming but all the others have been used on occasion.

[emilyinchile]

I would buy a new TV if I cared enough and just watch on my laptop instead of on the TV if I didn't, but it sounds like $40 and moving your modems is a good solution for you.

[Susie]

Feb 26, 2014 10:46:48 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

Feb 26, 2014 9:56:43 GMT -5 Susie said:

We have both TVs set up to stream Netflix; one is an HDTV with LAN connection to the BluRay player with apps, the other is an HDTV with a wifi enabled Blu-Ray player.

Whether I'd go the route you're describing depends on budget.  If I was living on a tight budget, and it made my world better, and I couldn't afford a more elegant solution, I might.

But personally?  I wouldn't spend a dime at this point on more equipment or technology to accommodate my old CRT TV (or whatever you've got).  It's a band aid fix for mediocre picture quality, and it'll eventually break and you probably won't be able to find something to cob your system back together at that point.  We made the jump in 2009 or so from a big ole CRT TV to an HDTV and have not looked back.  

Being able to stream Breaking Bad to entertain me while I work out on my bike in the winter has been totally worth it.

The budget is not tight, but neither of us want to drop even $250 on a new TV. The picture quality we have now is just fine for us - the issue is purely content. I want to be able to crash on the couch at night and watch a back episode of Parenthood without having to get up to get it going on the office computer, and then run into the office to pause or rewind when necessary. The TV we have is not an old CRT, it's a newer and nice flat screen, it's just not HD. The other part is that we would still need to buy a new blu ray player to make this work with a new HDTV, which is another $80-100 to get one with wifi.

Part of the appeal of the used blu ray player is that it is the current technology - it can do HDMI output if our TV breaks and we get a new HD one. The only functionality that is missing is wifi, and I just don't see technology giving up on LAN connections since they are so much faster than wifi. Sure, I'd prefer the wifi option, but it's not worth the additional $40+ it would cost me to buy (even ignoring the cost of a new TV).

Then it doesn't really sound like you want feedback so much as validation that you should do the thing you want to do.  Shrug.  It's still not what I'd do, but who cares?

[emilyinchile]

I would also just like to +1 both of Susie's posts in this thread. And say that I didn't think it was a selling point that our new TV has internet with direct access to Netflix because we already had a PS3 to stream Netflix, and now having to turn on the PS3 and navigate to Netflix sounds soooo haaaaaard vs. just pushing the button on the TV remote, so I am clearly not the target audience for this post.

[AmyRI]

Feb 26, 2014 11:05:21 GMT -5 Susie said:

Feb 26, 2014 10:46:48 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

The budget is not tight, but neither of us want to drop even $250 on a new TV. The picture quality we have now is just fine for us - the issue is purely content. I want to be able to crash on the couch at night and watch a back episode of Parenthood without having to get up to get it going on the office computer, and then run into the office to pause or rewind when necessary. The TV we have is not an old CRT, it's a newer and nice flat screen, it's just not HD. The other part is that we would still need to buy a new blu ray player to make this work with a new HDTV, which is another $80-100 to get one with wifi.

Part of the appeal of the used blu ray player is that it is the current technology - it can do HDMI output if our TV breaks and we get a new HD one. The only functionality that is missing is wifi, and I just don't see technology giving up on LAN connections since they are so much faster than wifi. Sure, I'd prefer the wifi option, but it's not worth the additional $40+ it would cost me to buy (even ignoring the cost of a new TV).

Then it doesn't really sound like you want feedback so much as validation that you should do the thing you want to do.  Shrug.  It's still not what I'd do, but who cares?

Sorry if my question and responses came off that way. I was looking to know in general how other people stream, since this board does a lot of streaming via netflix, etc to avoid cable, not just for input on my specific situation. I like seeing how many people use TVs vs iPads, wired vs wifi.

I also laid out our situation for feedback on whether or not it would be worth $40 and an hour to make life easier and get rid of a couple of pieces of electronics and simplify... I understand why people would suggest just upgrading the TV, but if we're debating over a $40 upgrade, we're not going to spend a few hundred unless something actually breaks. I just thought it was worth mentioning that the $40 upgrade is moving towards current technology, even without the TV upgrade.

[dbsk8dance]

We have a Roku that we stream to wirelessly, but is connected to the TV with HDMI. We also use both our iPad and our phones.

[ssmjlm]

We have an HDMI cable connected to the tv and then plug in a laptop or tablet into that and watch.

I'm not much help though as DH is the tv/stereo guy.

[Deleted]

We stream via a blu ray player with netflix, amazon, ect.. and we have an Apple TV also our only TV is in our living room. We do have 2 laptops, a desktop & an ipad (DH is a computer guy) so we can and do stream via them.

[djc315]

We stream through our laptop or AppleTV via HDMI. We also have a Vizio SmartTV that we use.

How old is your TV? Our Zenith from 2007 has an HDMI port.

My recommendation would be to watch Slickdeals for a new SmartTV instead of trying to upgrade your current one.

[rootbeerfloat]

We have Rokus connected via HDMI to each TV. We have a Wii (and Blu-Ray that might also be capable), too, but prefer the Roku for streaming.

[Deleted]

My tv is OLD. Like 1996 old. I use a Wii to connect to Amazon Prime. A new tv is on my wish list, but honestly, I have other priorities.

[dr.girlfriend]

Roku

[sixtwelve]

We have Rokus connected to multiple tvs.

[sjh722]

We use a blu-ray and wii for streaming.

To answer your question, yes, it would be worth it to me to spend an hour and $40 to use a blu-ray player vs. hooking a laptop up to the tv and/or watching tv on the laptop to stream, if I did not want to upgrade my tv.

[mrssandro]

We use a Roku for the living room. Which is blah to me. It crashes a lot but it works.

In the bedroom I stream through a PS3 which is golden in comparison to the Roku.

[lasagnasshole]

We use the Xbox One.

It knows when I walk in the room and says hi to me.

It creeps me the fuck out.

[niq]

I use a Roku 2 in the living room. I'd rather use it than the PS3 or Xbox because it's quieter. The Roku and Roku 2 both have component out, I think (ETA just the Roku)

I am trying to find a good answer for ripping DVDs and Blu-rays and streaming them over the home network, but I haven't got a really good answer yet. Well, okay, I've got the ripping part down, but not the streaming part.

[Ashley&Scott]

We usually watch directly on our laptop. We have a Push2TV streaming box but it's touchy & loses the connection frequently. We've talked about getting a Roku or similar device but haven't yet.

[lasagnasshole]

Feb 26, 2014 16:20:30 GMT -5 niq said:

I use a Roku 2 in the living room. I'd rather use it than the PS3 or Xbox because it's quieter. The Roku and Roku 2 both have component out, I think (ETA just the Roku)

I am trying to find a good answer for ripping DVDs and Blu-rays and streaming them over the home network, but I haven't got a really good answer yet. Well, okay, I've got the ripping part down, but not the streaming part.

You should be able to use the Xbox to access your stored media on your desktop computer.

[niq]

Feb 26, 2014 16:23:56 GMT -5 lasagnasshole said:

Feb 26, 2014 16:20:30 GMT -5 niq said:

I use a Roku 2 in the living room. I'd rather use it than the PS3 or Xbox because it's quieter. The Roku and Roku 2 both have component out, I think (ETA just the Roku)

I am trying to find a good answer for ripping DVDs and Blu-rays and streaming them over the home network, but I haven't got a really good answer yet. Well, okay, I've got the ripping part down, but not the streaming part.

You should be able to use the Xbox to access your stored media on your desktop computer.

I can get the videos to play; I just can't get them to play in a format that has chapters and using a device/software that let's me skip and rewind by chapter. Also, while I'm at it, I might as well wish for a pony!