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JudyKayTee · Jul 20, 2009, 08:41 AM

I have no idea if this is a modem question - or, for that matter, WHERE this belongs.

I watch very little TV, maybe 2 hours a week. A friend of mine has suggested that I (somehow) hook my computer to my big screen and watch TV shows which are "broadcast" on the computer on the big screen, free.

That way I could cancel cable.

I have no idea if this can be done, how it would be done or if I am phrasing it properly.

Can anyone help with this? Does it even make sense?

ebaines · Jul 20, 2009, 09:24 AM

Yes, it can be done, but be aware of the following:

1. You'll need to figure out how you're going to connect the PC to your TV. Most TVs made in the past few years have an option for VGA input, in which case it's pretty easy to hook the video output from your PC to the VGA input on your TV. I do this quite frequently to watch baseball games on MLB.com. Ths only requires a VGA-VGA cord, plus a mini-audio cord to connect the sound to the TV (you can skip that if you're happy with sound from your PC's speakers). Many newer PCs and TVs have HDMI connections, so all you need is an HDMI cable to connect the two. If either your TV and PC don't have VGA or HDMI connections, then you're going to need to add a card to your PC that will put out an NTSC TV signal on coax, which you would then patch into the antenna input on your TV. This will start to get a bit pricey - instead you may want to invest in a new laptop and/or TV to avoid this.

2. Not all TV shows are available on line, and many that are available are offered only after the original broadcast. So spend some time searching to see if the shows you ar liable to want to watch are all available. Personally I like to catch up on episodes of "Lost" and "24" that I may have missed - these are usually available a day after the original episode airs.

3. Finally, be aware that for streaming video over your DSL or cable modem the quality of the picture will be much lower than what you are used to on standard cable. It looks fine on a laptop, but when you blow it up to a big screen TV the picture quality may not be adequate for you. So I would suggest trying it before you make a final decision to actually cancel your cable.

KISS · Jul 20, 2009, 09:24 AM

Well, I don't think you an replace cable, but Fox has what the call Fox On Demand which allows you to catch up on programs you missed. e.g. FOX on Demand

Current episodes don't usually appear until the next day after the original episode is broadcast.

Yes, there are ways of connecting your computer to a TV and there are all sorts of standards. The latest probably being HDMI.

HDMI - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

JudyKayTee · Jul 20, 2009, 09:56 AM

What are my chances of blowing up my TV, computer and/or house? Maybe I should leave well enough alone.

ebaines · Jul 20, 2009, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

What are my chances of blowing up my TV, computer and/or house? Maybe I should leave well enough alone.

LOL!

No, you won't blow anything up, and you won't hurt either the PC or your TV - as long as you don't do anything totally silly. Don't try to shove your video cord plug into the power socket on the wall, for example! But again: if both your TV and PC have VGA connections, or if both have HDMI connectoins, this is really a piece of cake.

justcurious55 · Jul 20, 2009, 10:24 AM

My boyfriend and his brothers are always hooking up their computers to the tv's. They haven't blown anything up yet. Lol
I don't have cable either. And while it can't completely be replaced, most popular shows can easily be found online. There's fox.com that someone already mentioned. Abc.com has a free video player. Hulu.com also posts a lot of shows and movies for free. And if you're into movies, I love netflix! You can have dvd's mailed to you or, for no extra charge, you can watch movies (they also have full seasons of a lot of shows) straight from your computer, or your TV when you hook your computer up to it. Gosh, I sound like the commercial... but it really is great. I like it better than having cable.

ITstudent2006 · Jul 20, 2009, 03:35 PM

The one thing you have to keep in mind is ghosting and burning into the screen.

What kind of t.v is it? LCD or PLasma?

When you have your PC plugged in your toolbar is always there and never changing, if you have a plasma t.v. after a few hours the image of your toolbar will ghos into your screen, and after like a day or two it will burn in. Ghosting can be fixed, burning cannot.

You will not blow up anything but be careful of leaving your t.v. and laptop on. Wouldn't want to ruin your screen.

Reply if you have anymore questions!

Rick

justcurious55 · Jul 21, 2009, 11:00 AM

That's something good to know ITstudent. I always thought my boyfriend hid the taskbar just because he didn't like to see it. Maybe there's more to it though. Would simply hiding the taskbar while the TV was on fix that problem?

ITstudent2006 · Jul 22, 2009, 12:39 AM

Well the taskbar when not hidden doesn't move, therefore continuesly projecting onto th screen. Hiding this will stop the taskbar from ghosting onto your screen and burning in overtime but there are many things on a computer screen that doesn't move.

For example: I have a 42" Plasma and I fell asleep one night while watching ESPN and in the morning I changed the channel and the ESPN logo was ghosted onto the screen. My t.v. has a button I can hit that fixes any ghosting but if I left ESPN on for an entire day (24-36hrs) it would be burned in.

What you want to keep in mind is turn it off when you're not using it. Hiding the taskbar is a good step in terms of prevantative measures go but if you're watching t.v. online there are things like the url bar or the icons on the web browser that stay stationary so over time they will ghost as well unless you're continuesly changing the screen or something...

Rick