Streaming TV Over WiFi to a Laptop?

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Streaming TV Over WiFi to a Laptop?

Posted by Cliff on Wednesday September 1, 2004 @03:30PM from the TV-by-the-pool dept.

PigAlien asks: "I use my wireless network to sit outside in the backyard and surf the internet. I'd like to be able to watch TV outside on my laptop. I see that the new Qosmio laptops come with a WiFi TV router. Is this the only one available (in Japan only)? I couldn't find any others with a google search. Alternatively, I have an extra computer in the office. Is there streaming software I can install on that computer that can handle a live cable TV signal and software to change channels remotely?"

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Cliff is on a roll :-) by oKtosiTe · 2004-09-01 15:34 · Score: 0, Offtopic

Quite a lot of ask slashdots today, I like it.

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It will happen.
1. Re:Cliff is on a roll :-) by pauldy · 2004-09-01 17:17 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  I'm just glad its not another dumb google could have answered it in less than 20 seconds type question. Or, better yet, some marketing question guised to gauge public interest. Or someone elses homework they want slashdot readers to do.
If the laptop has an ATI card by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-01 15:36 · Score: 0

And the main computer has an All In Wonder, you can stream/change channels/etc with the Multimedia Center.
1. Re:If the laptop has an ATI card by spectral · 2004-09-01 15:53 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  I never got it to work, but the feature is supposedly there! (In the windows version, obviously)
  
  You can also probably rig VLC (http://www.videolan.org) to do this pretty easily as well, though I've never tried. I don't know about changing channels remotely, but use a remote desktop (windows XP) or VNC (everything else) and there shouldn't be any problems. I bet one of the many remote admin plugins for VLC supports this as well, and VLC is cross platform, which is always a plus.
MythTV by dchamp · 2004-09-01 15:41 · Score: 4, Informative

http://www.mythtv.org
1. Re:MythTV by Trelane · 2004-09-01 15:49 · Score: 1, Redundant
  
  Indeed. That was the first thing that came to my mind as well!
  
  Seriously, MythTV is what you are looking for, chief.
  
  --
  
  --
  Given enough personal experience, all stereotypes are shallow.
2. Re:MythTV by Student_Tech · 2004-09-01 16:19 · Score: 1
  
  I wanna confirm this, I can have the capture card in one box, and change the channels and everything on another box correct? (If this is the way, then I see no use of my VCR, just use the capture card in my computer and my Xbox to watch the live TV).
3. Re:MythTV by ZenJabba1 · 2004-09-01 16:34 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  I'm looking at writing the hooks into XBMC to do this with a MythTV box. So basically xbox hooked straight to your tv and the MythTV box somewhere else and both live streaming and pre-recorded streaming via the xbox over ethernet.
  
  After that I'm sure people will write "TiVo" style intellegence into the XBMC to allow it to do smart things.
  
  --
  
  --
  `find / -name "*your_base*" -exec chown us:us {} \;`
4. Re:MythTV by dago · 2004-09-01 18:09 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Maybe it would be a good idea to explain that MythTV is not just a program but has a client-server architecture.
  
  The "backend" is the PC recording the shows. For that matter, it can be a powerfull computer 3 tuners, 4 HDD hidden somewhere.
  
  The "frontend" can be really light and just need to show the streamed TV, either live or recorded.
  
  In fact, if you save your shows into a samba drive, you can even play them using any media player.
  
  --
  #include "coucou.h"
5. Re:MythTV by Danious · 2004-09-01 20:57 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  I second that.
  
  I had my TV card in an old Celeron 400, running the MythTV server in LiveTV mode, watching from my laptop over a 802.11b connection. This setup was only capable of a low resolution, and it stuttered fairly regularly, so make sure you have enough power. A 1GHz server will allow recording and streaming at MPEG2 resolution, but you may need 802.11g to stream wirelessly at that resolution. As always, the more power and bandwidth the better.
  
  It has a built in program guide, PVR functionality, and many more features besides. And best of all it's free :-)
  
  John.
6. Re:MythTV by Trelane · 2004-09-02 01:23 · Score: 1
  
  Yes. I've not personally done it, but there is documentation on it on the mythtv site.
  
  You can have multiple backends and multiple frontends, on different machines. There should be guides for getting this going.
  
  Honestly, I don't know wny schools don't do this, what with a nice PC in every classroom, and projectors being fairly common (at least in the US).
  
  --
  
  --
  Given enough personal experience, all stereotypes are shallow.
7. Re:MythTV by Andy+Dodd · 2004-09-02 04:49 · Score: 1
  
  Just an FYI, if you want to record at high resolutions/bitrates (I almost always record MPEG2 at 6 Mbits/sec minimum, 8 peak), you'll need an 802.11a or g setup - 802.11b isn't fast enough to handle such bitrates, but plenty of people stream Myth recordings over 802.11g connections.
  
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BeyondTV by mcowger · 2004-09-01 15:45 · Score: 1

Beyond TV does this, and has done it from the start - its really seamless software.

www.snapstream.com
1. Re:BeyondTV by wolf- · 2004-09-01 16:26 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  I'm a registered Beyond TV user.
  The next version of Beyond TV seems to be leaning to the "pay per streamed client" model. So before you buy, check it out.
  
  All in all, its been a decent application. Check the forums if you decide to consider it, and definately download the trial version.
  
  --
  ----- LoboSoft specializes in Digital Language Lab
2. Re:BeyondTV by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-02 00:14 · Score: 0
  
  BeyondTV has no support for DVB-T, i.e. digital video over free-to-air, like the common cheap NOVA-T Hauppauge digital tv cards.
  
  Unfortunately this makes it dubiously useful for the UK and Australia.
Windows Media by samrolken · 2004-09-01 16:03 · Score: 3, Informative

Windows Media Encoder can encode from a TV tuner, and a little script can change the channel over the web. I've done this to watch TV from work, and you can encode in ISO-MPEG4.

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samrolken
1. Re:Windows Media by The+Islamic+Fundamen · 2004-09-01 16:30 · Score: 0
  
  What kind of procseeing power to the server machine need for this? What kind of resolution can you get?
  
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2. Re:Windows Media by samrolken · 2004-09-01 19:36 · Score: 1
  
  I encoded at 320x240 on a 1.4Ghz AMD Athlon Tbird with about 45% cpu load. Resolution is limited only by bandwidth and processing power, I reckon.
  
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  samrolken
3. Re:Windows Media by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-05 22:30 · Score: 0
  
  What script do you use to change the channel?
  
  Do you have a URL?
4. Re:Windows Media by samrolken · 2004-09-06 16:25 · Score: 1
  
  Unfortunately, I no longer have the script I used to accomplish that. After trying for a little while to fool around with DirectShow, I settled for a relatively crude hack that used the SendKeys mechanism to emulate the keystrokes necessary to tell Windows Media Encoder what to do. With the release of DirectX 9, however, it seems that there might be a better way to get this done:
  
  check this out
  
  --
  samrolken
video lan by LordMyren · 2004-09-01 17:07 · Score: 2, Informative

i got bored this summer and did it with VideoLan software.

its a GREAT generic solution for all network AV systems. Very advanced.

I'd like to do some MythTV integration, but i'm rediculously busy with other projects right now.
1. Re:video lan by jkrah · 2004-09-02 22:44 · Score: 1
  
  Videolan is definitly a very cool project!
  I just found the gui abit buggy and recommed using the cli if possible.. seems pretty solid then.
ATi? by Down8 · 2004-09-01 17:09 · Score: 1

In theory, and assuming Windows usage, ATi's TV Wonder series should be able ot do this, with acompanying software.

ATi's TV program will encode to WMV (or AVI, or MPEG), and Windows Media Server will let you stream them.

The actual encoding isn't a necessity, as far as I can tell (as in it doesn't need to be encoded, then watched). In Windows Media Server, it will allow you to pick your input device, and you just choose the ATi TV Wonder. I used the PCI version for some years, and had a USB version that didn't work in WinXP (at all) or Win2K (not correctly anyway).

I'm sure there are better solutions, which are elss propretary, but this is one available option. I never tried it though. :^)

-bZj

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.sig
1. Re:ATi? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-05 14:35 · Score: 0
  
  ATi does have a product for this; or rather software. http://forums.tweaktown.com/archive/index.php/t-14 119.html has a description of ATI Easyshare. It should let you install the MMC software on both machines (the tv tuner as a server). This will allow you to switch channels remotely and automatically does Timeshifting.
Snapstream by NanoGator · 2004-09-01 17:12 · Score: 1

"Is there streaming software I can install on that computer that can handle a live cable TV signal and software to change channels remotely?" "

I can't say for sure about changing channels remotely (though VNC would be the worst case scenario...) but snapstream (www.snapstream.com) is a software based PVR that does streaming over a port. It's not free (last I checked it was $50ish) but I have personally used it and can recommend it. For the sake of being up-front and honest, that was two years ago. I doubt they went to shit since then, though.

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"Derp de derp."
1. Re:Snapstream by cmpalmer · 2004-09-02 03:46 · Score: 1
  
  I'm using Snapstream and it does work fine. I use it as a PVR and TV viewer. It will stream live TV to a laptop (I'm using 802.11g) and it will allow you to change channels.
  
  Of course, it is a single tuner, so if you are recording a show or someone is watching TV on the computer, the remote channel change is disabled.
  
  One feature I like about it is the ability to schedule shows to record from their website, so if I think about taping something, I can set it from work.
  
  One feature I don't like is that, without converting the show to Windows Media (which it can record in or do batch conversions), it can't stream a recorded show -- you must download it instead. I use Hauppage's MediaMVP to watch recorded shows on my TV downstairs (also over 802.11g) and it *doesn't* support Windows Media, so without conversion, I can't watch a show via TV or laptop, I have to choose one or the other (and TV usually wins).
  
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  -- stream of did I lock the front door consciousness
2. Re:Snapstream by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-02 22:52 · Score: 0
  
  Depends how you get your cable..
  Im lucky enough that our Cable STB is tcp/ip based and the stream(s) comes in as a multicast..
  Each channel is accessable on a different (multicast) ip address.. (its so cool!!)
  
  I can then use videolan client to watch/re-stream/record (thoeroetically of course)
  any channel (almost) direct from the ip stream..
Tivo + tivowebplus + TyShow by pauldy · 2004-09-01 17:22 · Score: 2, Informative

I currently do this using a tivo with tivoweb plus and tyshow. Simple modifications allow you to view the live stream and control the tivo with a web browser. Of course a simple 79 dollar portable tv would be less techie but would probably be easier to maintain and be more portable than a laptop.
1. Re:Tivo + tivowebplus + TyShow by PigAlien · 2004-09-02 03:39 · Score: 1
  
  Hi Pauldy, when I read your message I first thought, "now there's an obvious idea." However, really, I use my laptop outside anyway and its easy to dash in and out with. I also have a 15.4" monitor on the laptop. A similarly sized tv would be quite heavy. The biggest obstacle, however, would be getting all my 100+ cable channels. I want to be able to wirelessly stream the cable channels so I don't have to fuss with cables or cords. Really, I don't watch much TV anyway, so this would just be a fun exercise. Thanks for the suggestion, however!
  
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2. Re:Tivo + tivowebplus + TyShow by PigAlien · 2004-09-02 03:42 · Score: 1
  
  Above, I was referring to your portable TV suggestion, not your Tivo suggestion, which obviously sounds like a good solution if I want to pay the money.
  
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3. Re:Tivo + tivowebplus + TyShow by pauldy · 2004-09-02 09:57 · Score: 1
  
  I personally have used my laptop to watch Stargate SG1 off my Tivo while sitting on the toilet just because I could. The whole streaming tivo was born out of a dual monitor setup I have in my office. I no longer have a TV tuner in there so I figured I could extract the shows in the background and watch them off the HD. Imagine my supprise when i cam across mplayer vstream and tivowebplus. For me it was just because I already had a hacked tivo and it fit the bill YMMV.
mplayer-tivo by Vlad_Drak · 2004-09-01 17:25 · Score: 3, Informative

I use mplayer-tivo every day, works like a champ over 802.11g. You can pull up pre-Tivo'd shows or stream it Live. Use the TivoWeb remote, and it's just like you're there. You need to hack your Tivo for all this to work, but it's well worth the trouble.
TSReader + VLC by jquirke · 2004-09-01 17:28 · Score: 3, Informative

I use my VisionPlus DVB-T card for Digital SDTV and HDTV combined with the TSReader software and the free software VLC.

Streaming is done (by default) over RTP/UDP over IPv4 or IPv6 unicast or multicast.

The problem is, with 802.11g, it does not seem to be able to reliably deliver an SDTV signal (~7mbps here in Australia) let alone a HDTV signal (~14mbps). SDTV works sometimes, however can start to break up after a while, and I have to return to 100/1000 Ethernet.
1. Re:TSReader + VLC by BenGL · 2004-09-04 17:30 · Score: 1
  
  This probably has nothing to do with your problem, but I've observed some very poor performance with VLC over a 802.11g network (Linksys WRT54G and D-Link DWL-G650). I noticed that the router was very inefficient when multicasting over wireless and could not transfer data at more than 1 Mbps. I switched VLC to unicast instead and I was able to reliably get ~3 Mbps streams going.
Or do it the old fashioned way by human+bean · 2004-09-01 17:53 · Score: 4, Interesting

Get a cheap part fifteen TV modulator, hook it to a wire antenna, tune it to a channel unused in your area, and then stick a commonly available tv tuner card into laptop.

Not as cool as doing it over wireless networking, but think of all that bandwidth you will save...

--
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1. Re:Or do it the old fashioned way by NoMoreNicksLeft · 2004-09-02 05:42 · Score: 0, Flamebait
  
  Wasn't aware that laptops had PCI slots...
2. Re:Or do it the old fashioned way by NoMoreNicksLeft · 2004-09-04 12:19 · Score: 1
  
  Minimum of sarcasm, serious question that calls the parent post's assertion into doubt.
  
  I have plenty of PCMCIA cards, including some weird ones. But I've never even heard of a TV tuner cardbus card... and the parent didn't hint that that was what he had meant.
  
  So shove your flamebait mod up your ass, crackmoderator.
3. Re:Or do it the old fashioned way by enosys · 2004-09-05 02:51 · Score: 1
  
  I tried this once and it didn't work. I used an unamplified "rabbit ears" as the transmitter antenna and an amplified indoor antenna about 15 metres away. I couldn't see any trace of the signal.
  I guess the RF modulator didn't produce enough power. Think about the relative efficiency of what I did compared to a direct coax connection. If a direct coax connection produces good signal levels what are you going to get this way?
a bit too simple? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-01 17:58 · Score: 1, Insightful

TV broadcasters are already sending you TV signals wirelessly. You just need a receiver.
MSI by mduell · 2004-09-01 18:44 · Score: 1

MSI has a product called TV@nywhere, lets you stream TV over the network.

Then use RDC to login remotely to change channels.
VDR by realkiwi · 2004-09-01 19:05 · Score: 1

VDR has a streaming client/server

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realkiwi
Anything that can do the serving without a PC? by Kris_J · 2004-09-01 20:18 · Score: 1

I have an external aerial connection coming into my bedroom, but the reception of a TV further up the house sucks. I'd love to be able to stream a TV signal over WiFi to save the installation of another outdoor aerial, but I wouldn't want anything with fans running while I'm trying to sleep. Is there some sort of appliance solution to streaming a TV signal? Ideally, they'd be a similarly quiet and easy to use receiver option.
Oh, and it needs to suit Australian broadcasts. Digital or analogue, either's fine.
1. Re:Anything that can do the serving without a PC? by Elias+Serge · 2004-09-02 03:17 · Score: 1
  
  Fanless mini-itx computer
2. Re:Anything that can do the serving without a PC? by Kris_J · 2004-09-02 10:33 · Score: 1
  
  still a clumsy interface
MythTV by fozzmeister · 2004-09-01 22:35 · Score: 1

does all of this, I'm currently using an XBox client with a server (right next to it) that will soon be in the loft. The documentation says that it should be usable over WIFI
VideoLAN by kosmosik · 2004-09-02 00:34 · Score: 1

http://www.videolan.org/

It is free, it is open, it works. That is for streaming from device. As for changing channels you can do anything from remote shell, VNC, X11, HTTP whatever - changing channels in tuner is minor problem here...
Also tivo-mplayer by LazyBoy · 2004-09-02 04:01 · Score: 1

http://tivo-mplayer.sourceforge.net/

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Snapstream and SageTV by Insightfill · 2004-09-03 05:27 · Score: 1

Two windows (pay) solutions that allow you to set it up on the base PC and record/stream/timeshift/etc.
http://www.snapstream.com/ (Beyond TV3)
http://www.sage.tv/
I've run into hardware issues where Snapstream wouldn't handle legacy video capture cards that didn't have current DirectX drivers (I think version 8). Don't know as much about Sage.
My brother also has run Windows Media Encoder 7 (Free download) and streamed stuff over the web to me before - I didn't have an interface to change channels, though. The advantage of the media encoder is that if bandwidth dropped, it could adapt and pick a thinner stream. You didn't mention whether you were running an a, b or g wireless connection, though, but I've had anything over 1500kbps stutter on my home 802.11b connection, so choose bitrate well.
Sony Computers with Gigapocket by way2trivial · 2004-09-03 10:06 · Score: 1

(gigapocket is sony's tv tuner board)

include a nifty little app called 'picoplayer'
that can be used/installed on any other windows machine you have and control gigapocket over the lan.

You can watch tv or pre recorded material, the actual decoding is done by the base PC.. it dind't work for me over wifi, too many stutters and too low of bandwidth, I switched my lan to mostly powerline, and got 12 of 14mbps which made the stream hardly ever fall

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ReplayTV + free software... by douglips · 2004-09-04 06:27 · Score: 1

A ReplayTV comes out of the box with network streaming capability. You can stream any recorded show to a laptop using free software from http://www.dvarchive.org/.

http://www.replaytv.com/.

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