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What's the Best Way To Get Web Content To My TV?
An anonymous reader writes "It seems like there are a lot of options for getting web content onto our TVs, but which one is the best way to go? Being able to stream videos (especially through sites like Hulu), check out social networking sites, and read news would be awesome to do from my couch. Currently, I hook up my laptop to the TV, which works, but it's annoying, especially if I want to use my laptop while I am watching some videos. Some things that are important to me are: connecting to my HDTV, allowing me view anything I could in a web browser as if I were on my computer, and being easily controlled from the couch. What setups do you guys use, or what would you like to use?"
I've been testing these things for work, and I'm very impressed.
Dual core atom w/ hyperthreading actually makes the system very responsive, so it's easier to forget that it's not a "real" CPU, unlike my single-core eeePC that does stutter occasionally.
Also has a decent nVidia 9400 GPU with dedicated RAM, so it actually will give you decent 3D desktop effects (useful for monitoring multiple pieces of content simultaneously), decoding acceleration, etc. under both Windows and Linux.
The price point is pretty good too... many are under $300 if you can provide your own storage... e.g. if you find a usb pendrive linux-based media center that streams everything.
That takes care of pretty flexible hardware... I don't actually have a TV, though, so I haven't really bothered to find media software I liked. But going with a full nettop means it should be pretty straightforward to run all XBMC, Boxee, MythTV, Miro, etc. from one device. Though I guess you'd need to go with Windows to get crappy DRM'd content like Hulu and Netflix (which I've simply just been doing without).
http://xbmc.org/ turns a linux box into a full-screen media player with good usability. Mine has an old NVidia 6200 card, works great. Add a home theater keyboard http://www.walmart.com/ip/SPEC-01027-Wireless-Mini-Trackball-Keyboard-for-HTPC-by-Ergoguys/13215118 and you're set.