Best options for a screen to watch downloaded videos
December 2, 2018 4:45 PM Subscribe
What should I use to watch downloaded and streaming videos from my computer to a bigger screen: a TV or a computer monitor?
I'm working on some sort of chillout space in my house and since my budget is non-existent I'm mainly relying on second hand stuff. I've got friends with computer monitors and TVs to spare but i want to know which option to pick so that I'm not drowning in monitors I can't use.
I currently have a 2014 MacBook Pro and a possibly-the-same-age inherited Dell laptop with Windows 10, but I anticipate the MacBook Pro to be the main media source since that's where all my games and downloaded videos are atm (I believe they're mp4s mostly). I also have a Pixel 3 and a Google Home.
I watch a LOT of YouTube. I don't really maintain a Netflix or other streaming subscription, but there is a free Netflix offer I might take up. I don't watch regular or cable TV so I'm not worried about needing to attach it to an antenna or something. I would love to be able to play JackBox games on a TV with friends over but I don't have a console otherwise and don't plan to get one.
My current options are:
- A flatscreen TV that takes HDMI. I'll need a converter for the cable because I don't think my MBP has such a port on it. I could get an inexpensive Chromecast and I'm aware of apps that let you stream downloaded video via Chromecast but I don't know how good they are.
- A computer monitor, but I don't know what sort of input/output system it has. But I could just plug it into my MacBook Pro and not worry about everything else. However, I'll need to have the laptop on every time I want to watch something and I can't control things from my phone.
Which of the two is better? The flatscreen will ultimately cost money in either the converter cable or the Chromecast, and the computer monitor will help with downloaded material, but I sacrifice some future functionality with the computer monitor (esp if I get a console at some point, unless they work on computer monitors too?). Also a TV has speakers and a computer Montour doesn't necessarily. I can't afford a whole new smart TV so don't suggest that. Is there something else I should check for with those offers to see if I'm missing anything crucial?
I'm working on some sort of chillout space in my house and since my budget is non-existent I'm mainly relying on second hand stuff. I've got friends with computer monitors and TVs to spare but i want to know which option to pick so that I'm not drowning in monitors I can't use.
I currently have a 2014 MacBook Pro and a possibly-the-same-age inherited Dell laptop with Windows 10, but I anticipate the MacBook Pro to be the main media source since that's where all my games and downloaded videos are atm (I believe they're mp4s mostly). I also have a Pixel 3 and a Google Home.
I watch a LOT of YouTube. I don't really maintain a Netflix or other streaming subscription, but there is a free Netflix offer I might take up. I don't watch regular or cable TV so I'm not worried about needing to attach it to an antenna or something. I would love to be able to play JackBox games on a TV with friends over but I don't have a console otherwise and don't plan to get one.
My current options are:
- A flatscreen TV that takes HDMI. I'll need a converter for the cable because I don't think my MBP has such a port on it. I could get an inexpensive Chromecast and I'm aware of apps that let you stream downloaded video via Chromecast but I don't know how good they are.
- A computer monitor, but I don't know what sort of input/output system it has. But I could just plug it into my MacBook Pro and not worry about everything else. However, I'll need to have the laptop on every time I want to watch something and I can't control things from my phone.
Which of the two is better? The flatscreen will ultimately cost money in either the converter cable or the Chromecast, and the computer monitor will help with downloaded material, but I sacrifice some future functionality with the computer monitor (esp if I get a console at some point, unless they work on computer monitors too?). Also a TV has speakers and a computer Montour doesn't necessarily. I can't afford a whole new smart TV so don't suggest that. Is there something else I should check for with those offers to see if I'm missing anything crucial?
I believe the 2014 MacBook Pro has an HDMI port. If not, you can get a DisplayPort to HDMI cable to plug that computer right in to the TV. My TV has a YouTube app that I can cast to. So when I have YouTube open in Chrome, I can just send it to the TV without any wires. It does this from my iPhone as well. If the TV you can get doesn't do this, a ChromeCast should.
posted by advicepig at 6:28 PM on December 2, 2018
posted by advicepig at 6:28 PM on December 2, 2018
Is there something else I should check for with those offers to see if I'm missing anything crucial?
Depending on how old the TV is - and this hasn't been an issue for many years - is that all TVs by default overscan the incoming input, which is to say, they drop the outer 5% to 10% of the image. You will likely see this the first time you plug your PC into the TV, plus the image will be all blurry as the TV tries valiantly to map 1026 pixels against 1080 pixels. Very early model digital TVs did not have a mode without overscan and in that case PC users were just screwed. Typically you need to dig through the settings and find something called 1:1 mode, dot by dot, or PC mode to fix this.
posted by xdvesper at 6:47 PM on December 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
Depending on how old the TV is - and this hasn't been an issue for many years - is that all TVs by default overscan the incoming input, which is to say, they drop the outer 5% to 10% of the image. You will likely see this the first time you plug your PC into the TV, plus the image will be all blurry as the TV tries valiantly to map 1026 pixels against 1080 pixels. Very early model digital TVs did not have a mode without overscan and in that case PC users were just screwed. Typically you need to dig through the settings and find something called 1:1 mode, dot by dot, or PC mode to fix this.
posted by xdvesper at 6:47 PM on December 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
I would take the flatscreen, wipe the Dell and replace Windows with Linux (Ubuntu or Mint are really user friendly if you don't have any experience), install VLC media player, spend an afternoon transferring all the media to that, and leave it perma-connected via HDMI. You can also use your phone to pair it as a remote. I had this exact set-up for the past 5 or so years and it worked perfectly.
posted by mannequito at 11:22 PM on December 2, 2018
posted by mannequito at 11:22 PM on December 2, 2018
Response by poster: mannequito: I use the Dell as my main work computer (the keyboard on the MBP broke so I use an external one but that makes it less portable as a result) so that's not going to happen!! And Linux won't let me have my JackBox games or possibly the Chromecasting.
posted by divabat at 1:15 AM on December 3, 2018
posted by divabat at 1:15 AM on December 3, 2018
I have a Chromecast and use Plex which works great. I do need my computer on, but I can use it for other things if I want to. Videostream was a disaster. I used to just use a USB key but I got lazy.
posted by jeather at 4:35 AM on December 3, 2018
posted by jeather at 4:35 AM on December 3, 2018
oh my bad, I assumed the dell was gathering dust on a shelf or something
yeah stream to a chromecast or a roku!
posted by mannequito at 11:54 PM on December 4, 2018
yeah stream to a chromecast or a roku!
posted by mannequito at 11:54 PM on December 4, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
Rokus and other devices like that also support chromecast like streaming but I haven't tried that.
posted by pyro979 at 4:53 PM on December 2, 2018