Setting up a home media network

[sc4s2cg]

Hello everyone,

I'm trying to connect our HDTV to the Home Server that we have set up in our home. Problem is, I see no ethernet connection on the TV and while there is one on the Sony BlueRay player, I see no way that we could stream movies and pictures to it so that the BD player can send it on tot he HDTV.

So my questions are these:

Is there anyway to hack into the player and make it send the information to the HDTV via an HDMI cable? The BD player is a Sony BDP-S350 (http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665368427), and the TV is a Viore V42RMFJ (http://www.viore.com/V42RMFJ.htm#1).

If that is not possible, what is the easiest and cheapest (preferably free) way to allow the server to stream media to the TV?

Is there anyway we can stream media to other TVs? We have a couple non-HDTV TVs in our home (one in the kitchen, basement and dining room), and I'd like it if we could somehow stream media from the server to all those TVs in a way that will still let us watch normal TV.

Thank you in advance,
sc

[trunolimit]

what your asking for is a lot. You want an apple TV type of devices that streams media from a computer on a network. slingbox is also a good alternative I hear. I think that network plug for some of the TV's are just to receive firmware updates and weather info and such not as a full blown network connection to do with as you please. And I highly doubt there are any soft or hard hacks for either the tv or bluray player. Those things are not items people go and hack all willy nilly.

ultimately you can do what I do and find old PCs and find cheap hd video cards to put in them and bam you got yourself a media pc. you can stream to your tv via that thing.

[sc4s2cg]

I was looking around the net and found that we can also buy media adapters. What I'm unclear on though, is whether these adapters are higher quality than the hd video cards...

What whould be a good hd video card to buy, and how can I stream with it?

[tokenuser]

You will need something to stream TO.
Neither the BluRay player or the TV you have listed have that option.

You will need to add a computer (or game console capable of streaming) to the list of devices attached to the TV.

I recently bought a PS3. The main reason for the purchase was twofold - BluRay movies, and media streaming. Being able to play games (Little Big Planet FTW :) ) was a bonus. Unlike the standalone BluRay players from Sony, the PS3 is capable of running user programs, streaming, etc.

Their BluRay player is forward thinking in as much as it provides a firmware upgrade option (via ethernet, USB, or burnt disc), but its computational capacity is limited to those functions. Beyond setting the player region free, there are no other hacks thats open up the player.

You will need to put a media player of some sort into the mix somehow. AppleTV, a small computer (running MythTV or Windows Media Center for example), even a Tivo.

[sc4s2cg]

Thanks for the reply!

I have a computer that has Media Center on it (two of them actually, a laptop with Vista Media Center and a PC with XP Media Center), so there is a way I could connect that to the TV and let it accept streams, and then display it on the TV?What kind of cables are needed for such a job? (the laptop is an HP dv6000z and the PC an HP a1245c, links below)

Are there any other cheap devices we can connect to the tv, if the Media Center PC does not work.

Thanks again,
sc
a1245c: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&product=1152517&
dv6000z: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&product=3224052

[tokenuser]

Use the PC unless the laptop is not really used.

Get a video card with HDMI output.
Get an amplifier with a HDMI switch.
Plug the BluRay player and the PC/Media Server into the amplifier.
Plug the amplifier into the PC.

[fishtoprecords]

Use the PC unless the laptop is not really used.
Get a video card with HDMI output.

And finding laptops with HDMI output that don't cost a zillion bucks is a challenge.

[tehboris]

I have a personal hatred for HDMI on computers, the software that makes it work is often pretty horrific.

For my set up I got a set of surround speakers with optical and coax digital inputs. Plugged the optical in to the TV's output (any sound that goes to the TV goes to the surround), then used the coax input on the surround speakers for the computer with the DVI to HDMI cable.

[revision3fan]

The cheapest solution is to connect the computers to the TV via a VGA cable and an audio cable with mini-jacks - probably a 1/8" connector.

Interested to know how that works out.

[tehboris]

For the most part that would be good sound quality but you would be limited to stereo sound quality, and the picture would be good too. It just seems a waste if you are using the non best connection between the TV and the computer.

[revision3fan]

Both computers have S-Video connectors. This may or may not be better than VGA.


For streaming, try either the the SlingLink Turbo (using AC wiring) with the SlingCatcher.


Audio on XP Media Center has outputs that are reconfigurable for multi-channel sound if needed.