N/A Smart TV N/A

[Terry]

Hi everyone,

I used to have SkyAngel Satellite and I watched it on my T.V. through a small seperate dish and a box.

Then the SkyAngel Satellite went down and I switched to IPTV and was able to watch SkyAngel through my high speed DSL modem.

Finally, IPTV has stopped due to Christian channel companies not renewing their contracts with SkyAngel because they can broadcast direct or sign on with Dish or Direct TV and reach a bigger audience.

I have cable through Golden Belt telephone and 3meg speed for movie watching. Golden Belt is my ISP and they are fine but and not expensive.

Here is my dilemma. I only get 2 Christian channels where I used to get over 60 channels.

I don't like secular T.V. and was wondering if I could buy a Smart T.V. and watch most of my Christian Shows.

Will my Smart TV let me go to the website and watch their program? Do I need a Play Station or Xbox (box) to hook up to the T.V. ?

I have a "Cat9" hook up, what I call Ethernet cable, to the T.V. but I don't have the HDMI cable the T.V. requires. Is this the purpose of the Play Station Box?

Do they make a Ethernet to HDMI adapter?

Also, how do I navigate the T.V. to the web site?

I live in a rural area and I tried calling Best Buy but was put on hold and left hanging. after 20 minutes, I hung up.

I am seriously considering buying a Smart T.V. if it will let me watch my Christian programs. Can someone answer these questions?

Thanks,
Terry

 

[denverpilot]

Most smart TVs have specific applications in them to watch specific "online networks" like Netflix, Hulu, etc. I don't think they'll do what you want.

For the technical stuff...

Ethernet/Cat 5 is just the cable from your Internet connection that carries data to your devices.

HDMI, just think of that as a combined video and audio cable.

A few smart TVs might have a web browser built in. They usually come with a keyboard and pointing device like a trackball or arrow keys to move the "mouse" pointer around the screen or have it available as an optional item you can order.

The web browser in the TV might not have things like Adobe Flash or other online video streaming protocols built into a regular PC web browser. Some websites probably won't work.

I suspect, the best way to do what you want is going to be setting up a regular PC with a wireless keyboard and touchpad and simply using the TV as a really big monitor, if the TV networks you like are mostly available online. HDMI outputs (remember it's just video and audio) are common on all sorts of PC hardware today so it's pretty simple to set up.

Plug PC into Internet, or use a WiFi to avoid wires to where the TV is, plug TV into PC's HDMI output port, plug USB receiver for wireless keyboard into PC, put batteries in wireless keyboard and "pair" it to the computer following manufacturer's instructions, sit down on the couch and enjoy your enormous new monitor for your PC. Browse to whatever websites and content you like. Use the mouse/trackpad/trackball to click the "full screen" button on their video player.

There are low powered devices that can do some websites but the popularity of Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight, and other heavy applications to stream video by many websites, probably makes them a non-starter. They'd just frustrate a non-techie. Some sites would work, others wouldn't. A regular PC web browser would always be able to run them all.

Can't be more specific without specific websites to see what they're using. I'd recommend just seeing how well they play on your current PC before hooking it to the TV or spending any money on the project. If they look bad on the small screen, they'll look worse on a bigger TV via HDMI.

 

[SkyHog]

So I know nothing about Christian television, but I have seen XBMC plug in that will allow one to watch nothing but god stuff all day long.

Maybe move to an HTPC running XBMC? It is, afterall, God's preferred solution for free television. He works in mysterious ways.

 

[Terry]

Thanks for the advice. I will watch on PC 1st and then decide.


Terry

 

[Terry]

So I know nothing about Christian television, but I have seen XBMC plug in that will allow one to watch nothing but god stuff all day long.

Maybe move to an HTPC running XBMC? It is, afterall, God's preferred solution for free television. He works in mysterious ways.

I really don't want a home entertainment system as we watch very little TV and movies.

Thanks,
Terry

 

[DaleB]

I really don't want a home entertainment system as we watch very little TV and movies.

Thanks,
Terry

It doesn't need to be fancy. I've started sticking Raspberry Pis running OpenELEC (which is a small Linux with XBMC) on the TVs in the house. Total cost per instance is under $60; that's with a wifi adapter. Even cheaper if you can plug in Ethernet cable. HDMI out to your TV, and it gets power from a micro USB phone charger. I can stream live HDTV anywhere in the house. Now, whether you can get XBMC to stream the channels you want... I dunno. Like you, I don't watch hardly any of the channels delivered by my cable company - but your channels and mine are very nearly orthogonal.

 

[flhrci]

So I know nothing about Christian television, but I have seen XBMC plug in that will allow one to watch nothing but god stuff all day long.

Maybe move to an HTPC running XBMC? It is, afterall, God's preferred solution for free television. He works in mysterious ways.

My HTPC runs Windows Media Center because, if I remember correctly, XBMC doesn't do cable channels. I have an Infinitv 4 from Ceton and it has a cable card in it for cable channels. So, XBMC is no the one-stop shop.

It is possible I am mistaken but I tried XBMC many moons ago and saw no use for it.

David

 

[DaleB]

My HTPC runs Windows Media Center because, if I remember correctly, XBMC doesn't do cable channels. I have an Infinitv 4 from Ceton and it has a cable card in it for cable channels. So, XBMC is no the one-stop shop.

It is possible I am mistaken but I tried XBMC many moons ago and saw no use for it.

David

XBMC will do cable channels... kinda-sorta, sometimes. If your cable channels are unencrypted and can be received with (for example) a Silicon Dust HDHomeRun, you can play them through XBMC. In general, though, you will need a backend such as Windows media Center.

Where I found XBMC useful was with the Pi. Now instead of putting a relatively expensive PC on each TV, I've got a tiny, cheap box on each. I use WMC for recording shows, and the Pi to play them -- along with music, movies, etc. ServerWMC runs on the Windows box and streams the encrypted stuff to the Pis.

The REAL cool thing about the Pi is that it has CEC built in, and XBMC will listen to it -- so it's a one-remote solution. The Pi connects tot he TV via HDMI, and the TV remote controls the Pi -- arrow keys, play/stop/pause, etc. Super slick.

Not that all of this affect Terry; he'll need to find the solution that lets him stream his channels of interest. And Terry, you might want to check out the Roku. If the channels you want are available as Roku channels, you're all set. They can be had fairly cheaply, and work well.