Streaming

[ERD50]

I am not sure if this answers your question, but our kids bought a wireless keyboard and mouse. They sit in the couch and use the TV as a monitor without any cables running from the TV to the couch.

Yes, that would be a bit better. I'd still kind of like it wireless to the TV, so I could move the computer from one TV to another, w/o plugging and unplugging cables.

If Chromecast would allow mirroring of the computer display, that would be it. But from what I'm reading, Chromecast (despite appearances) doesn't really display anything from the computer at all. The computer is just directing it to the streaming info in the internet, and the Chromecast device reads that stream.

-ERD50

 

[Live And Learn]

Wow - I need to retire so I can do some homework and figure out what y'all are talking about !

 

[aja8888]

I just installed a Roku box in our house so DW can watch movies at home. She was not thrilled...

I asked why....(since she goes to the movies with her brother and his wife frequently

Her answer was: "I like to GO to the movies..."

Oh, I said..

Anyway, the little jewel of a Roku is facinating (to me) so far.

 

[calmloki]

I just installed a Roku box in our house so DW can watch movies at home. She was not thrilled...

I asked why....(since she goes to the movies with her brother and his wife frequently

Her answer was: "I like to GO to the movies..."

Oh, I said..

Anyway, the little jewel of a Roku is facinating (to me) so far.

Well shoot. Here - this will give her the sniffles (and I bet you too). She won't go to the movies and see this. Assuming you got a Roku 3 got to the channel store and load the Youtube channel. Then stream this: Red Dog 2011 720p BrRip x264 - YouTube

BTW, also available on Netflix and was suggested by someone on the netflix movies thread here. My thanks to them (too lazy to go see who it was in the middle of typing).

 

[aja8888]

Wow! Thanks!

 

[audreyh1]

Thanks to you tech guys... Yeah am forever confused about "bytes"...
I did get the Docsis 3.0 from Comcast. and it DID make a big difference... Before, normal was about 5Mbps... now:

Woah! You should be able to simultaneously stream 4+ 1020i hi-def movies there pardner - no problem!!!! You gots the bandwidth!!!!

 

[audreyh1]

I just installed a Roku box in our house so DW can watch movies at home. She was not thrilled...

I asked why....(since she goes to the movies with her brother and his wife frequently

Her answer was: "I like to GO to the movies..."

Oh, I said..

Anyway, the little jewel of a Roku is facinating (to me) so far.

Cute.

Well she can still GO. But now she can also watch at home, AND she could even have her brother and his wife over to watch movies.

 

[aja8888]

Cute.

Well she can still GO. But now she can also watch at home, AND she could even have her brother and his wife over to watch movies.

That's the next milestone...

 

[imoldernu]

The whole concept of streaming is still in the infant stage. One of the things that needs some explaining, is whether you can stream 0ther TV input (OTHER = other than cable TV, Satellite TV, or OTA (over the air) TV to your current TV.

The basic question is whether you need a media player like Roku, or XBox to receive information from the internet, and convert it to a signal that can be recieved by the TV...
OR
Whether your TV can accept wired or wireless signals without a device or wired connection to a player. This is called a "Smart TV".

This website may help in understanding what can and cannot be done, depending on what manufacturer or media player you use.
(and then again, it may serve to confuse the issue, even more)
What is Smart TV?
The website also has considerable information about the differences in TV's, Plasma, LCD, viewing angles, brightness, power usage, remote controls and a myriad of other factors that could help in a buying decision.
(I noticed a 2012 date on one of the articles, so there could be some recent changes)

 

[ERD50]

The whole concept of streaming is still in the infant stage. ...

Not really. The original broadcasts were 'streaming'. Radio and a crystal set, B&W and then color TV. All OTA (though we never used that term before, because that was all there was) was/is 'streaming'. You view the content as it is broadcast.

It was only when digital came along (and relatively large digital storage at the user end), that we started downloading an entire file, a music or voice recording (typically mp3 format), or maybe video. Back then, you downloaded the entire thing - you could not play it until the download was complete, as the player needed to access the finished file. So that was not streaming - you had to wait for the whole thing.

Sometime later, they started to be able to offer the option to start playing the file before it was finished downloading, but you still ended up with the entire file when you were done.

Later, only a small portion of the file was buffered up in memory as you 'streamed' ( a few seconds to a few minutes) - nothing was kept as a file at all. This helped to keep copyrighted material secure. I think this is what we generally think of as 'streaming' today.

So before radio, what was a telegraph? Well, to the receiving telegrapher, it was streaming, letter by letter. But then he would write down the entire message (stored in a memory system), and it would be delivered to the end user as a complete 'file'. So at that end it wasn't streaming.

History may not repeat, but it rhymes?

-ERD50

 

[imoldernu]

Not really. The original broadcasts were 'streaming'. Radio and a crystal set, B&W and then color TV. All OTA (though we never used that term before, because that was all there was) was/is 'streaming'. You view the content as it is broadcast.

Right! Good point... what goes around, comes around...
I remember downloading hundreds of midi files... before MP3.
Still have my collection.

So... streaming TV in 2013...
Another thing to explore... Google TV...( the EXTENSION in Google Chrome).

Posting a pic that kind of explains the hundreds, maybe thousands of free international and US streaming stations that are available....

A caveat... when you first try the extension... stay away from the two big click-ons in the opening screen..."Download" and "Play Now"... Don't quite know how I did it, but downloaded a baddy, that is supposed to make the app work better, but added five programs to my system. If you use the extension, start off with the United States, and something like CSpan 3.

Am still learning, but so far, have had some fun, watching live news from India, Israel, Ireland and the British BBC...

 

[ERD50]

Right! Good point... what goes around, comes around...
I remember downloading hundreds of midi files... before MP3.
Still have my collection.

So... streaming TV in 2013... ...

One of the differences in 'streaming' in the old days and now was that there was a central broadcast. You had to 'tune in' to the stream (and maybe adjust the horizontal and the vertical - something my kids have no concept of) and you got whatever was broadcast at that moment on that station.

Today, I can start a stream of a movie, and you can start a stream of that exact same movie a day, hour, minute, or a second later. We each get our own personal stream.

To me, it is mind-boggling that this much data can be flowing around, and we pay $30/month to access it (my ISP cost, assuming the streaming content is from a 'free' (ad supported) source).

-ERD50

 

[Ronstar]

This streaming stuff is amazing. I haven't streamed much, but I've been streaming Christmas music and family photos for the last few days through Apple TV, occasionally interrupting the streaming slideshow with my iPad or iPhone to stream incoming videos/photos to the TV.

There's a lot of room for technology to run with this.

 

[audreyh1]

I love being able to watch what I want, WHEN I want to, without having to record it myself. Not only that, but everything I watch remembers where I stopped to resume when I finally get back to it. It's awesome!

 

[ERD50]

I love being able to watch what I want, WHEN I want to, without having to record it myself. Not only that, but everything I watch remembers where I stopped to resume when I finally get back to it. It's awesome!

What I don't like about streaming though, is for something where I want to jump around a lot - not a typical movie so much, but maybe a video/audio presentation that is in chapters, or if I want to search for a certain scene or scenes to review.

If I have the whole file, I can jump in an instant, and often get a very detailed 'scrub bar' to see right where I am. With streaming it's hunt, buffer, hunt, buffer. Can be a drag with a not-so-speedy connection.

-ERD50

 

[imoldernu]

If you have a Roku, this may be of interest to you.
A few days ago, Roku added a channel named Media Browser 3.

While it took some time to download a program to my computer, to make it work, the results are great. In effect, it allows you to use your Roku remote to interact with your PC, wirelessly, and put on to your TV anything that is on your computer.

So here's the benefit... for example... My computer is in the den, while my TV is in the livingroom. The Roku is connected only to the TV. When I open Roku and go to the channel Media Browser 3 (using the Roku Remote)... I can search for anything that is on the computer and play it on the TV... no wires involved.

Here's how it works for me:
My 3 Terrabyte hard drive on my PC contains movies, MP3"s , and all of my picture files. The Hard drive is E:/ and the folders show up on the TV screen, by name. I click on that folder, using my Roku Remote, and all of the movies, music and picture folders show up. I can select what I want to see, and throw the media (movie, MP#, or Picture slide show) to the TV screen. Works perfectly.
Expect to take about a half hour to set this up... but it's a one time deal, and well worth the time to do it.

As a side note... With this new ability to remotely access your computer, if you were considering buying a Smart TV... you might want to wait a bit, as the technology is changing, and apparently some of the smart TV's are not able to handle this kind of Browser access.

One more thing... The Roku opening screen has changed, to allow you to select and preview various current news sources, with short headline descriptions of breaking news clips. The allows you to browse slectively, for things like sports, health, news, movies, and other subjects, without having to wait for it to show up on your favorite news station. Ie... you can go directly to Health, to see breaking news clips from different news stations... like ABC, CNN, MSNBC, FOX etc...

We're getting closer to being able to go around the cable/satellite TV contracts...

A little overwhelming at first, but if this old geezer can do it, should be a snap for you youngsters...

 

[Dawg52]

If you have a Roku, this may be of interest to you.
A few days ago, Roku added a channel named Media Browser 3.

While it took some time to download a program to my computer, to make it work, the results are great. In effect, it allows you to use your Roku remote to interact with your PC, wirelessly, and put on to your TV anything that is on your computer.

So here's the benefit... for example... My computer is in the den, while my TV is in the livingroom. The Roku is connected only to the TV. When I open Roku and go to the channel Media Browser 3 (using the Roku Remote)... I can search for anything that is on the computer and play it on the TV... no wires involved.

Here's how it works for me:
My 3 Terrabyte hard drive on my PC contains movies, MP3"s , and all of my picture files. The Hard drive is E:/ and the folders show up on the TV screen, by name. I click on that folder, using my Roku Remote, and all of the movies, music and picture folders show up. I can select what I want to see, and throw the media to the TV screen. Works perfectly.
Expect to take about a half hour to set this up... but it's a one time deal, and well worth the time to do it.

As a side note... With this new ability to remotely acces your computer, if you were considering buying a Smart TV... you might want to wait a bit, as the technology is changing, and apparently some of the smart TV's are not able to handle this kind of Browser access.

One more thing... The Roku opening screen has changed, to allow you to select and preview various current news sources, with short headline descriptions of breaking news clips. The allows you to browse slectively, for things like sports, health, news, movies, and other subjects, without having to wait for it to show up on your favorite news station. Ie... you can go directly to Health, to see breaking news clips from different news stations... like ABC, CNN, MSNBC, FOX etc...

We're getting closer to being able to go around the cable/satellite TV contracts...

A little overwhelming at first, but this old geezer can do it, should be a snap for you youngsters...

Also, new on Roku

Good info. Is this true for any Roku? I have a Roku 2 on the way and I understand youtube is not available on it. But if you can do this, then youtube would be available through the Media browser, right?

 

[REWahoo]

Dawg, according to the Roku website this software update is applicable to the Roku 2 XD. It was rolled out in May, so chances are the units we have on order will arrive with it already installed.

 

[imoldernu]

I don't have the website close at hand, but if you google "YouTube work around for Roku" you'll find a website that gives instructions for connecting YouTube, using the developer mode... Best to print out the instructions for connecting, as the steps are a little tricky.
I think I linked it on an earlier post on this thread.
I don't know if Roku has added it to other models... they have automatic updates all the time.
According to the Roku website, on the buy page, YouTube is only listed for the Roku3.

As far as using the MediaBrowser 3 to stream YouTube... I don't think so, but am not sure... The browser works on items that are on the PC, like movies and music, but I don't think you can actually operate the PC... like connecting to an online video... but I'm still learning.

To operate Roku from a smartphone or a tablet there are some free apps...
"Roku" and "Romoku"... which are advanced remotes that allow using a virtual keyboard for searches instead of the left/right/up/down buttons on the remote that comes with the Roku.

 

[Dawg52]

Got my roku today. Pretty easy to set up and runs well. Don't see youtube as we thoght. But will do some research as suggested by imoldernu to see what I can come up with. A big thumbs up so far.

 

[Calico]

Got my roku today. Pretty easy to set up and runs well. Don't see youtube as we thoght. But will do some research as suggested by imoldernu to see what I can come up with. A big thumbs up so far.

I cancelled my cable in May 2013 and got a roku at the same time. I love it. I no longer have any memory of what TV viewing was like pre-roku!

 

[calmloki]

Roku has new channels out - maybe just for Roku3, but check - They include the PBS channel, which has "Plagues and Pleasures of the Salton Sea" on. Narrated by John Waters, it is a favorite showing an area to which I just love being a spectator. Hard to find the full movie (free), and it shows Niland, Bombay Beach, Salvation Mountain, Salton City...


Think the PBS was in the History channel, there is also A&E and a great old monster/western/shlock movie channel good just for the cover art if not the movies - have fun!

edit: OK. PBS>featured programs>America Reframed>Plagues and Pleasures

 

[imoldernu]

Didn't wanna start a new thread on something that may just be daydreaming, but the 2015 timeline for the project said"Don't ignore this".

Free Internet for the whole world? 2015? OMG...

If for no other reason, just because it's there... on the internet, so it MUST be true.

OUTERNET
New York company says it can beam free OUTERNET Wi-fi to every person on Earth | Mail Online

 

[Walt34]

I also remember the claim that nuclear generated electricity would be "too cheap to measure". Still waiting.

 

[imoldernu]

Found the answer here, on reddit... pretty funny.
Say goodbye to the Internet and say hello to Outernet. Company plans to beam free Wi-fi to every person on Earth from space : worldnews

Quick fact check:
The satellites will (largely) broadcast, not receive. One will be able to access only the content being multicasted by these satellites.
The entirety of the internet will not be broadcast. Only specific things, like world news, Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, KhanAcademy, and crop prices will be available.
In disaster zones, the satellites will operate as both transmitters and receivers, allowing responders to communicate in areas with no cell service or radio communication. The general public will not be privy to this service, however.
This will largely be a service for underserved areas without ready access to the internet. The signal will not be strong enough to access in areas with lots of Wi-Fi interference, like most first-world cities.
So this is pretty cool, but it's not "free Wi-Fi for the whole world." The long-range Wi-Fi multicasting system hasn't been tested yet, though that is scheduled for this year. Check out www.outernet.is
........................................................................
Second comment...
........................................................................
Going to hijack the top comment to just note that this was posted a few weeks ago by one of the "team members" and looked to be a pretty obvious attempt to scam people.
The company supposedly doing this has no experience doing it, no business plan, and completely lacks a technical understanding of the issues involved.
Furthermore, as far as anyone could tell they weren't actually associated with the charity they claim is collecting money on their behalf, and when you "donate" to them the money goes directly to them instead of going through the charity.
As far as anyone can tell, this whole thing is being made up by a small handful of people none of whom, again, have any experience in anything related to this project. Other than sending out press releases/posting to reddit and creating a paypal address that you can send money to they have done absolutely no work on this whatsoever.

The Outernet website has requests for donations, as well as links to "bitcoin" and "dogecoin".