[cofe]

caveat: i'm a numpty.

so, i want to be able to play stuff on my computer upstairs (e.g. climbing vids) and watch it on the telly downstairs. how do i do this? (have tried googling but not really got anywhere.) i have PC upstairs, HDTV downstairs and a wireless router thing.

Help.

[Tris]

Are you talking about streaming the stuff from your pc upstairs, or connecting it directly to the TV?

[cofe]

just playing stuff off the computer and watching on telly. not necessarily streaming off internet. e.g. keith's new film - watching HD downstairs without filling the house with wires.

[Tris]

Sorry - I re-read your question. To stream the stuff, you need another device at the other end (i.e. connected to your TV)

Check out:

http://stuff.tv/News/Digital-video-streaming-5-of-the-best/12174/

They list a budget device at £100... I use one of these which is similar to a Popcorn hour (Networked Media Tank) but never stream as the WIFI network can stutter with 1080p films which you may find. I just have all my films on a USB drive instead..

A lot will depend on your budget I guess?

[dave]

get on freecycle and nab an easy chair for the computer room. preferably one like frasier's dad's.

[SA Chris]

Mohammed -> Mountain

[Falling Down]

The Linksys DMA thing in the link that Tris posted will do the trick. 

Longer term, maybe think about a Mac mini connected to the tele?  They are pricy but we have got one at home and it's really good with a wireless keyboard and mouse on the coffee table.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

I can do a version of this on my Wii using something called Orb MyCast.
http://orb.com/
I think you can do similar things with Xbox360/PS3.

Not as smooth as the specific boxes but works for occasional use, good if your in the market for a console.

[underground]

I was looking at one of these recently, as a low cost option. My plan is to wire it to the network using a pair of netplugs I got with a BT Vision box.

I guess this is only an option for people with BT Broadband - but it was well worth the 15 quid one off charge to get BT Vision, if only to get the netplugs-the service itself was a waste of time so the box went in the loft after a week and I got Sky+ instead.

Also useful if I want to use a laptop downstairs to do something that wireless is too slow for...

[Tris]

I was looking at one of these recently, as a low cost option. My plan is to wire it to the network using a pair of netplugs I got with a BT Vision box.

I guess this is only an option for people with BT Broadband - but it was well worth the 15 quid one off charge to get BT Vision, if only to get the netplugs-the service itself was a waste of time so the box went in the loft after a week and I got Sky+ instead.

Also useful if I want to use a laptop downstairs to do something that wireless is too slow for...

It doesn't look like it will play HD, is there a HDMI port or is it just scart?

How are the home plugs, I've read mixed reviews about them - I guess it depends on the wiring of your house in the end?

[Falling Down]

I have homeplugs and they work perfectly, really good.

[Tris]

I have homeplugs and they work perfectly, really good.

You don't happen to know what kind of transmission speeds you are getting do you?

[slackline]

I think you can do similar things with Xbox360/PS3.

Not as smooth as the specific boxes but works for occasional use, good if your in the market for a console.

You can certainly do it with a PS3, and get this, you don't even have to install Linux on it (not that you can with the new Slim's anyway as they've removed this functionality).

You would need to install a uPnP server on your computer, there are various options such as Mediatomb (only really viable if you have a Mac upstairs as now M$ version), Xbox Media Center (XBMC) and others.

The catch is that for anything decent quality, particularly HD you would actually want to have a wired connection as even over 802.11n the rate of data transfer isn't going to be high enough.

This is one of the reasons I got a PS3 (aside from being able to install Linux on it  ), I can also play games, surf t'net from the PS3 OS, and most importantly its pretty much the best Bluray player out there.  Newest OS update also includes iPlayer app.

[Jim]

Without spendng some proper money (ie more than fuck all) your only option is a long cable.
If you've got some money to throw at it then build a budget HTPC, probably looking something around £100 to play HD content

[slackline]

This would make a good base for an HTPC system.  Graphics card has HDMI output.  Small and unobtrusive too.

[Tris]

This would make a good base for an HTPC system.  Graphics card has HDMI output.  Small and unobtrusive too.

Brilliant - I was looking at exactly the same item on the same page yesterday but didn't mention it as cofe said he already had a pc and I assumed he wouldn't want another.

It's a great bit of kit for the price, personally - I am waiting for the Asrock 330 models to come down in price as a TOSlink connection (which a lot of nettops seem not to have) is important to me so I can connect it up to my surround sound.

[slackline]

Oh yeah, one of the reasons to that system being so cheap is it comes with Acer's (crippled) Linux distro Linpus.  But you can easily get a copy of whatever you want and install it (be that M$ Win7, OSX or a different Linux distro).

Either way, it would be worth getting MythTV installed, but that may require the addition of a digital-TV tuner and could be going waaaay over board.

  I've gone off on one again 

[Tris]

I would just put a real lightweight linux os on it or a copy of nlite XP and bung xbmc over the top...that's what I plan to do anyway

[Tris]

Question is - which linux os to choose? Which is the most lightweight but will play all the media you throw at it?

[dobbin]

Wired is good. Powerline ethernet seems pretty good, although to be honest, havent really stressed it...

The catch is that for anything decent quality, particularly HD you would actually want to have a wired connection as even over 802.11n the rate of data transfer isn't going to be high enough.

And the reason is that although 802.11g quotes 54Mbps, thats if you are on top of the AP, and as I'm sure you know - 802.11 is contended access - CSMA CA which means the theoretical 54mbps is shared between all stations! the futher you move away from the AP, the lower your data rate will drop. And, thats presuming no further interuptions/interference on the way. In short Cofe - go with the wire.

[pedant]I followed Undergrounds link (as I have BT vision as well) and had to comment :

I was looking at one of these recently

which leads to this :

Setup is easy! Simply install the software, connect the MediaMVP to your PC or router's RJ-45 port and have instant access to digital music, videos and pictures!

Tsk! For a start its an ethernet port for which the connector happens to be called an RJ45 jack, and secondly a router would require a crossover cable to directly connect a host. They mean your router switch, and in which case a straight through cable is appropriate. [/pedant]

[slackline]

Question is - which linux os to choose? Which is the most lightweight but will play all the media you throw at it?

One that is source based and you choose exactly what software/libraries/etc. you want to install, the dependencies each would have.  The best of these is Gentoo (IMO, others include ArchLinux, and Linux From Scratch (LFS)).

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Slightly different but this is a low cost option
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167205?ref=dotd&hp_deal=10

[Tris]

Slightly different but this is a low cost option
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167205?ref=dotd&hp_deal=10

Wow - that's cheap 

Shame it doesn't play HD though, but for that price.... can't believe how cheap electronics are nowadays - mental!

[Tris]

The cheapest full hd (1080p) player looks like the £68 Western Digital:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-1080P-Media-Player/dp/B001ILFDCK

Or this one with wireless (802.11n) connectivity for 99 euros:

http://shop.xtreamer.net/products/Xtreamer-with-Free-Antenna.html

[Jim]

shame the first one doesn't support LAN