Help a Technophobe???

[OldAgePensioner]

I have a Masters in Astrodynamics and have taken so many technical courses I cringe at how I managed.

But for the life of me I cannot program a VCR or understand Home Entertainment.

Question : Do TV projectors like this one have a TV turner. Will it play TV straight from the cable.

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=63056539

I have looked and looked for the answer. ANyone.


As an aside, in SF I'm on the 41st floor facing 90 of the other tall SF buildings. I have so many Wireless links that the RCN guys were stunned. About 15 or so are un-secured. And several a very strong signals. The RCN guys put ADSL in for me instead of wireless and basically winked, "you got wireless, also".

 

[MasterBlaster]

Based on a few website searches it looks like the answer to your question is - No it does not have a TV tuner.

To get TV signals you'll need to run a cable from another TV set with a tuner output or a stand-alone tuner.

There are several inputs for video signal input

Here's the site that I looked at...

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/epson-movie-mate-review/

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

This one has a built in dvd player that will play movies. Other than that, you need to present it with an s-video, composite or other high def signal from an existing tuner, like a cable box, satellite box, or even an el cheapo radio shack tv tuner box hooked up to an antenna.

At 1200 lumens (in short, how bright a picture the projector throws), you'll need to darken the room considerably. Any bright lights on or windows undraped and you'll see very little. Other than that, looks like a decent projector, although you can get one without the dvd player and with similar stats for half the price on sale.

 

[OldAgePensioner]

Thanks to both of you guys, I suspected that would be the answer cause some of the units feel like they are empty.

So, a ratty TV signal run thru this is gonna produce a large ratty TV show. HUmmm.

Got me some thinking to do.

On the other subject Wirlesss. I have nothing shared on my laptop, but can this other person who I'm connecting thru see me as a device or something.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Some projectors include a video preprocessor that makes some not-so-good pictures look a lot better.

We still have our old Infocus X1, which was great in its day and is still pretty good, and we put a regular analog comcast cable signal through it, blew it up to 110" and it looked pretty dang good. I dont remember any whining about picture quality. It looked a lot better with the directv signal, but the cable was decent. The X1 has a "faroudja chip" in it that preprocesses the video, cleans it up and makes it look better.

If you're running a mediocre picture through it and just want something small that blows up a big picture, nearly ANY projector will do that. Lumens will give you some idea as to brightness, although manufacturers lie about lumens like 1960's car makers lied about horsepower. In general though, under 1500 lumens is going to need a darkened room and over 2000 you could probably leave some lights on or have a window open that doesnt have the sun blasting right through it.

Contrast, another much lied about number, is also somewhat important. Generally below 1000:1 contrast and you're not going to get a good picture. In dark scenes you'll have trouble discerning what the hell is going on.

As far as wireless goes, the short answer is yes, the other person on a local wireless network might be able to see your machine, do something with it, and perhaps see whats on your machine. That depends on what operating system you're running, whether file or printer sharing is enabled, whether you have a firewall, whether you have any security enabled on your sharable resources and/or how good a hacker the other guy is.

 

[Leonidas]

As far as wireless goes, the short answer is yes, the other person on a local wireless network might be able to see your machine, do something with it, and perhaps see whats on your machine. That depends on what operating system you're running, whether file or printer sharing is enabled, whether you have a firewall, whether you have any security enabled on your sharable resources and/or how good a hacker the other guy is.

I'd be careful and take those kind of precautions (which you should already be taking anyway if you're wireless). The kinds of things that the guy whose wireless signal you're piggybacking off of obviously doesn't. Then again, if he's not smart enough to enable a password, WEP security, control the MAC accessing his signal. etc. - he probably doesn't have a clue how to even look for you.

 

[OldAgePensioner]

Alright a little seed of a plan is germinating on this Projector TV. I want to stay lean and mean.

I get a Laptop with a good TV Tuner card, run the cable to that tuner and run the PC output to my InFocus projector. Couple of good speakers and voila. Big screen TV.

I've actually now run across a couple of external TV Tuners that use a USB-2 port.

 

[donheff]

I'd be careful and take those kind of precautions (which you should already be taking anyway if you're wireless). The kinds of things that the guy whose wireless signal you're piggybacking off of obviously doesn't. Then again, if he's not smart enough to enable a password, WEP security, control the MAC accessing his signal. etc. - he probably doesn't have a clue how to even look for you.

I agree that it would be unlikely that anyone with unsecured WIFI would be capable of finding you, let alone compromising you. It would have to be *evil, tricky hacker* setting up a WIFI honey pot to lure you in. I frequently piggy back open WIFI systems when I am on vacation. I have found them in friend's condos, hotels in NY, etc.

 

[OldAgePensioner]

donheff,
I'm rockin right now on somebody's linksys with "Excellent" power and I'm givin some real consideration to cancelling my $89 RCN package. Now if I could just steal someones cable TV (Premium would be nice).

 

[Brat]

Those cable vendors care about their signal, when they catch a hitch-hiker they beat 'em up.

In SFO wireless hitch-hiking won't be a big deal (community culture) unless you cut seriously into the band width of the person sending the signal. Google is planning to free wi-fi the city so expect few problems going forward. Were I you I would log off the wi-fi when you aren't using it as a matter of courtesy, or change signal providers now and again. $89/mo? And I thought Qwest was a rip-off!

 

[OldAgePensioner]

Brat,
Yeah, I'm using my own ADSL but the Wireless signal seems better. I always log-in use/log-out. SF is definitely a different place. Don't hurt each other, hurt the corporate hogs.

Startin to like that, unless I get to be a corpoerate hog.

 

[SteveR]

With the "shared" WiFi, you can create all kind of grief for your "friend" by sucking up his bandwidth with all your on-line porn movies. I can see this guy now..."why is my internet so darn slow today?" He He He

My neighborhood has 5 WiFi networks my computer will detect. Only 2 of them are secure....one is mine. I can't believe people are that trusting.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Probably less about trust and more about having absolutely no idea that someone else could lock onto their network, or if they do, absolutely no idea how to enable and manage the security.

 

[SteveR]

Probably less about trust and more about having absolutely no idea that someone else could lock onto their network, or if they do, absolutely no idea how to enable and manage the security.

That was my second thought too. I am not a computer wizard but do keep up enough to get by. I know folks on both sides of the security issue. My WiFi hub is in my basement so the signal is automatically diminished to my neighbors by some extent. I still have a decent amount of range for home use but my signal drops off pretty fast a few yards from the house. OTOH, one of my neighbors lives up on a hill behind me and he is broadcasting quite a signal...unsecured. I wonder how many of my other neighbors have already piggy backed on this signal.

My son is a computer nerd and works in IT so he is on the other extreme for security. He just shakes his head when we sees the "radio stations" in my area that are "naked."

I guess these folks may learn the hard way. Until then, ignorance is bliss I guess.

 

[OldAgePensioner]

Interesting!

I just connected to the wireless link and was looking at speed and signal strength values and suddenly it dropped out. I wonder if I got caught.

Similarly last night I was viewing an undressing woman at

http://www.argenthotel.com/index.cfm

when suddenly the curtains got closed by her husband.

Life rough on us old perverts

 

[MJ]

Similarly last night I was viewing an undressing woman at
when suddenly the curtains got closed by her husband.
Life rough on us old perverts

What a paranoid guy, does he actually think that there are peeping OAPs out there? 8)

 

[HFWR]

OAP... Old Age Peeper... 8)

 

[SteveR]

Seeing that you are in SF...it is more likely he was trying to hide the fact he had a woman instead of a man in his apartment.

 

[OldAgePensioner]

SteveR

I actually haven't seen many overtly gay men. But some talk very, very, well, uh, let's see how to say it; gay.

 

[OldAgePensioner]

You guys know what it's like when just as she bends over and grabs the elastic ............... and it's beginning ................and then bam nothing to see for all that anticipation .


the ......... are there to allow your own dirty mind to fill in.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Interesting!

I just connected to the wireless link and was looking at speed and signal strength values and suddenly it dropped out. I wonder if I got caught.

Similarly last night I was viewing an undressing woman at

http://www.argenthotel.com/index.cfm

when suddenly the curtains got closed by her husband.

Life rough on us old perverts

Might have been her internet connection you were using.

 

[OldAgePensioner]

You know the original question. How do you get cable TV to show on a Front Projector TV like an Optoma 739. It seems beyond 99% of the planets knowledgebase.

I have been in Comp USA , Best Buy and a couple of Circuit City's and nobody has a clue as to how you can take cable directly from the wall and show it over a small front projector. Several salespeople did not even know what they were.

Anyone have a clue how to get a signal from RCN cable to show on an Optoma 739 projector. I've bought all kinds of supposed solutions and can't get a picture.

Seems I need a 57 inch LCD TV that I then port thru this little box. Great piece of technology.

 

[HFWR]

One relatively easy solution would be to purchase an inexpensive VCR. Cable into VCR, composite video or s-video out of VCR, into projector.

Or, try something like this:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1822571&CatId=1430

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I think OAP is using a laptop computer...no video in on most laptops to display on the lappies internal monitor.

I did use something similar (a viewsonic vb50) to sort-of line double and clean up a cable tv RF input to a 42" plasma screen with a VGA in....gosh about 4 years ago. Worked pretty well.

 

[HFWR]

Could've sworn he said...

You know the original question. How do you get cable TV to show on a Front Projector TV like an Optoma 739.