Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with TV and video

Recommend a graphics card for my new TV

muckster — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:59:50 -0800

Do I need a new video card to hook my PC up to my new HDTV? I have a Dell PC with a ATI Radeon HD 2400 graphics card. It has two connections, one DVI and one S-Video.

I used to convert the DVI to RGB and connect that to my Dell monitor at the max resolution of 1680 x 1050. The S-Video was connected to my tube TV, which worked just fine.

The new TV is a Toshiba 40" 1080p, so of course I'd like to feed it something better than S-Video. I tried connecting the RGB, which gives me a max resolution of 1360x768 -- but it leaves me with S-Video for the monitor, which is pretty freakin' ugly.

Here's the question: is there a way I can use a splitter or similar to feed the DVI (or RGB) into both the monitor and the TV at a resolution both will be happy with? Or do I have to get a new HDMI-ready graphics card? If I do, can you recommend one that might last me little while without breaking the bank? Under $100 would be great. I play the occasional game of TF2 but media is going to be the main use. Blu-Ray might be nice one day. I don't need to expand to a second monitor and would be just as happy cloning the same image on both screens. Thanks much.

Live sports on PC

paulyballs — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:50:10 -0800

What's the best way to watch live tv (sports mainly) on a PC? My gf's parents have a vacation cabin with only internet access and they want to be able to watch live sports while they are there. What's the best option. Her mother asked me about "Digital TV for PC" but I think it's a scam. They do have full cable at their main home so I was thinking of advising Slingbox. Anything else out there that won't require me installing hardware at their main home? Thanks!

Wirelessly broadcast PC screen to multiple TVs?

neksys — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:25:46 -0800

The easiest way to do this is to tell you what I need: I want someone to be able to work on a laptop and be able to broadcast the video information on the screen wirelessly to more than 1 TV. My question is - how? Basically what I'm hoping to set up is a laptop/tablet PC with images that a person could manipulate. I want those manipulations to show up on a number of televisions. I do not need audio.

Its easy enough to do wired - there is an S-Video or HDMI out on plenty of laptops these days, so its no problem to split and run cables across a room to each television.

I need, though, a wireless solution. I have googled and found a number of these kinds of solutions but the quality appears questionable on some. The big thing is expandability - I want to broadcast the video signal to a handful of displays. Ideally the solution would be one broadcasting unit and the ability to purchase individual receivers.

Anyone have any experience with this that could give me any guidance? I should mention I'm in Canada - some devices that are available in the US or overseas are not approved for use here.

Help me not overscan!

Citrus — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:46:03 -0800

I have an older SD/HD tube TV: Toshiba 32HF73. When watching SD shows in 4:3, it looks perfect. When watching 16:9 HD shows, it overscans in all directions. It doesn't matter what the source is (TiVo, Xbox360, etc.). The TV's on-screen menus don't seem to have a setting that deals with the issue. Any ideas on what I can do? (I am connecting the HD using component video. I can use an HDMI/DVI cable, but I suspect that isn't going to make a difference.)

Help me hook up a new HDTV to an old(ish) stereo receiver?

Dr. Wu — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:03:39 -0800

Can you help me connect my optical-out DVD players to my new HDMI-in HDTV? This is the kind of thing that drives me bananas.

Just got a nice, brand-new Sony HDTV, with several HDMI-in ports. I would like to get the highest resolution I possibly can out of my video components -- generally DVD. In the past, when I had an older, analog TV, I just used the stereo receiver as an A/V switcher, for which purpose it works very well. But now this functionality has been compromised by the new array of input/output jacks.

Here's the setup:
- The two DVD players I have (one "regular" and one multistandard) both have optical-out ports. I have an old laserdisc and an even older VHS player hooked up to the system, too, but I'm not terribly concerned about them right now.

- I have all audio and video components running through a good, but eight-year-old, Sony A/V receiver. LP/tape/VHS/LD are connected via regular old component RCA plugs, which are just fine. The CD player and the two DVD players can connect to the receiver with optical cables -- which I prefer to use whenever I can. They work well and provide good sound.

- The problem is that the new HDTV does not have any optical-in ports. (If it did, I'd just run the sound from the DVD players through the receiver, and the picture, via optical cable, right to the TV. But I can't do this.) It does have composite-in and component-in, but no optical-in. And the receiver has only composite-out.

The receiver I have is a Sony STR-DA 333 ES. The manual, in PDF form, is available on this page; click "primary user manual" and go to Page 5.

The HDTV I have is a Sony Bravia KDL-46VE5. The manual doesn't seem to be online, but you can find the details here by clicking on "Specifications." (The site will not allow me to access that page directly.)

- The upshot of all this (if you're still with me) is that my only current option is to run all video components into the receiver, and thence to the TV via a crappy composite video cable. Which would sort of defeat the purpose of the 1080p set that I just bought. (We don't have any sort of cable, satellite, or other TV, so this new HDTV is really just going to be used as a monitor for movies on the DVD players.)

What I would like to do is get the highest possible resolution (the HDTV can handle 1080p/24f) when I watch DVDs. Is there a simple, inexpensive way to convert the optical signal to HDMI?

I can imagine several options:
1. I find a magical converter device that can handle multiple optical inputs and output HDMI. This device would be a switcher, so I could run optical cables from both DVD players into it, and then a single HDMI cable from the switcher to the HDTV.

2. If it's cheaper, I certainly don't mind eschewing with the idea of the switcher box and just getting two separate optical-to-HDMI cables, one for each DVD player.

HOWEVER: the problem I foresee: What about the audio??
I want to run the audio from the DVD players through my stereo system, which has a nice 5.1 setup. HDMI handles both video and audio, right? So if I choose either option above, will I be locked into using the speakers built into the HDTV? Or would I then just add another cable, so that the setup would look something like this:

DVD optical out --> HDMI cable --> HDMI in to HDTV --> TV audio out --> receiver. (In which case the audio running from the HDTV to the receiver would be component, yes? Which would be a step downwards, yes?)

I am reasonably good with stuff like this, but the age disparity between the new HDTV and the older stereo system is giving me a headache.

What's the best, cheapest, most reliable way for me to get the highest-quality picture from the DVD players onto the TV, and still get the room-shaking audio through the stereo?

Should I just buy a new multistandard, HDMI-out DVD player? If I did, I could connect it right to the HDTV, but I'd still have the audio problem that I detail above.

*****
Related questions, for masochists and/or AV geeks:

- Let's say I solve this problem above. I'm still left with an LD and a VHS, both of which I still use occasionally, that will be unconnected. Is my best bet with these just to run A/V to the receiver, and thence to the HDTV via component cables?

- I'd like to minimize the number of A/V component switchers. Ideally, I'd still like my receiver to be the one and only device that switches between ALL a/v components. And what's nice is that I can split the audio and the video signals -- that is, I can listen to the CD player while watching the signal from the VHS, if I so desire. Is there some way I can use this functionality to refrain from buying any further switchers?

PleaseDon'tJudgeMeFilter.

halogen — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:30:29 -0800

I have a bunch of HDTV shows recorded on a HD DVR. How can I make a video compilation without knowing anything about video editing? Complication: Linux household. I suppose that step one will involve buying a HD TV tuner for my computer, won't it (our Motorola DVR has all the standard outputs and for some reason, two USB connectors – not sure what for)? Can you recommend a product that will work with my Ubuntu desktop?

Once the tuner has been purchased, what do I need to know about transferring the video from the DVR to my computer? Also, what Linux software would you recommend for video editing?

Should I expect to have to deal with DRM at any point in the process?

The show happens to be Toddlers & Tiaras (Wednesdays are girls' nights) and boyfriend, for some reason, gets a kick out of the ridiculous head-nodding/pouty lips poses that I've been showing off lately. I want to make an collection of the most ridiculous scenes along those lines.

Where do people go for B-roll?

bryanjbusch — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:56:44 -0800

I'm thinking of shooting and uploading some b-roll for sale to others who might need it, with locations and keywords and all. Is there a marketplace for this? When people are putting together news clips (or any kind of video, but mostly news), they usually shoot some extra footage that they can use to cover up jumpy edits, or for voiceovers. They call it B-roll.

Is there a marketplace for b-roll that you haven't shot yourself? Let's say you're doing even yet still another story about obesity in America and you need a shot of heavy people with no heads. If you're not sure you can go shoot some b-roll of this before the deadline, could you buy some online?

Recorded HD-TV shows to laptop?

vizsla — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:43:30 -0800

Are there (legal) ways to copy recorded TV shows from my HD-TV box to my laptop for personal use? Note: This is a technical question, not a legal one - I just don't know where to start. I have a Topfield PVR but I think most of the shows are being recorded on this Foxtel box.

Replace my ReplayTV with a PC Card

prodevel — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:17:40 -0800

I would like to buy a card/box to connect post-cable-box (like tivo) to connect to my computer and record whatever is playing on channel 3? I currently have a ReplayTV which is able to record from channel 3. I pay 13/mo for this and need to replace it with my computer's new 1 TB HD, etc. I have the means to download tv schedules myself as well as change the channel on my Comcast set-top box to coincide with my programming I want to record. What I don't have the means to do is to record from the cable box to my computer (w/out DVArchive.)

I have a Radeon 3850 card with a DVI-HDMI adapter so I can watch stuff on my 42" LCDTV.

I'm having trouble picking out which card or external box can read every channel I pay for and have my computer capture it.

I'd rather not use MCE as I'm on XP and would prefer GBPVR or some such.

I've a simple Motorola cable box sans cable-card.

Thanks in advance.

I can't see invisible things!

timpollard — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 05:44:30 -0800

Having recently reformatted my XP PC I'm having a very confusing time accessing media files from it using my ethernet-cabled Freecom MP 350 MediaPlayer as it can see some of my shared files, but for some reason not all of them and I would greatly appreciate some advice and help! The MediaPlayer is attached to my TV downstairs and is connected by ethernet to the PC upstairs. The PC can see the MediaPlayer (via NDAS) and vice-versa. I use ZoneAlarm Security Suite and that's configured to allow the MediaPlayer's IP into my 'trusted' zone.

On my PC I have two shared folders, one on drive Q: (which I've called 'Mediabox') and one on drive H: (called, startlingly, 'Mediabox II').

My MP350 can see and play the Q: drive's shared folder and files perfectly. Life is good so far.

However, although it can see the name(s) of the shared folder(s) on the H: drive it can't see any content at all, despite it being set up in exactly the same way. (Which was basically ticking the 'share this folder' box). I've checked the properties on both drives on my PC, they are exactly the same. There appears to be no option in the MediaPlayer software to account for this discrepancy either.

Renaming the shared folders on my PC doesn't make any difference, nor does creating new ones, either on the H: drive or any of any my other hard drives. The MP350 still just sees the folders, but never the content (except from the Q: drive).

Can anyone suggest where I (or my setup) is going wrong? Surely if the MP350 can see and play files from one hard drive on my PC it should be able to see and play from any or all of them?

What am I missing?

Many thanks in advance!

Please help identify this weird RF connector?

Orb2069 — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:32:57 -0800

Can anybody identify or adapt this connector on my Terratec cinergy 850e PVR box? This device is labeled [ Cinergy 850e PVR] and is apparently made by TerratecI bought this thing out of the $.99 bin at a local thrift store, so I don't have most of the cabling that shipped with it. This website review refers to it as a 'European slip-on connector', but that's not exactly lighting up Google.

It's too big to be an RCA connector, dosen't have bayonet lugs like a BNC connector - The center is too big to be an F-Connector. The outside metal ring is exactly 1cm in Diameter, if that gives any help...

Windows Vista Doesn't Work with VGA to HDMI Converter Box

ao4047 — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:46:02 -0800

We have an HP Slimline machine running video with an Nvidia Geforce 6150 SE graphics card. We are wanting to use a VGA->HDMI box to convert the video output of the desktop and connect it to our television: 1) We know the VGA->HDMI box works correctly.

We tested with an Asus EEE Laptop running Windows XP and the video successfully outputs to the TV.

We tested with a Macbook Pro laptop and the video successfully outputs to the TV.

2) We know the HP Slimline desktop works sometimes.

When we boot up the desktop the 'HP INVENT' splash screen shows on the tv.

Then, the green status bar with 'Microsoft Corporation' displays.

Then, something happens to the video and the signal stops. I'm guessing that once the boot begins and then Vista settles in something is interfering with the signal being sent to the the VGA->HDMI box.

Any ideas? Thanks!

I found this previous thread but I think we're a bit further along in our testing.

How do I get streaming web videos to stay full screen on a second monitor?

inbetweener — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:18:22 -0800

How do I keep a web window full-screen on one monitor while working on another? So basically I have just hooked up my old 32" CRT TV to my PC via S-video as a second monitor.

One thing I want to be able to do is have Youtube / Joost / whatever-streaming-webs-source videos playing full screen on the TV whilst working on my PC.

Whilst this works with keeping apps (e.g. VLC / windows media player) full screen, when I play a flash video via Joost or Youtube in Firefox and expand it to fullscreen on the TV, it just collapses back down again the moment I click anything on my primary monitor.

I tried searching around and couldn't find an obvious solution for this - anyone have any bright ideas?

Thanks in advance!

How to show computer desktop and video on LCD TV

atm — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:40:53 -0800

Hi, I'm looking for a way to show my computer's desktop on my large LCD TV so my wife and I can both see it. I have a used an s-video cable (along with an audio cable) from my laptop to the TV, but there are three problems with this method. 1) requires a reboot of my laptop to make it recognize the TV and play to it 2) text is blurry on the TV due to TV's unsuitability for acting as a computer monitor 3) requires the s-video cable to be plugged into the otherwise wirelessly connected laptop So I'm looking for a solution that will eliminate these problems. Like maybe something that will just play my desktop as a video signal to the TV and not try to make the TV into another monitor of my computer. Also, I'm not looking for HDTV quality, just watchable video (internet quality would be fine.) Thanks!

I want to watch the Knicks from the UK.

i_cola — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:31:36 -0800

I want to watch the Knicks this season and beyond. The problem is that I live in the UK for most of the year so I'm looking for a way of getting to see more than just highlights. Despite the high interest in the NBA in the UK, all we get on TV is the weekly NBA 360 programme and the final series live. Meh. I can keep up with the highlights via ESPN.com & NBA.com and I'll be over to watch a four game home series at the Garden in February but I really want to be able to watch more games through the season.

The added problem is that the time difference (+5 hours from EST) means that I need to record most of the games to watch when I wake up so a Slingbox-type setup might not be ideal.

Some other possible solutions are:

Paying for an MSG TV subscription and an extra cable box on NYC-dwelling friends' account, hooking up an eye TV & Mac mini (or similar but I'd want a Mac solution) to record a game, control the thing remotely and copy the files across to my UK machine; or

Finding a NYC-based Knicks fan who can record and send games -- either a series on DVD or individual games as digital files.

I'm sure there are some potential legal issues with the above. Am I missing something really obvious or has anyone got some sage advice?

DVD player that isn't hostile to end-users?

odinsdream — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:54:31 -0800

Can you recommend an upconverting DVD player with component output that ignores region coding and allows me to perform any action at any time? Can you recommend an upconverting DVD player that doesn't treat me with active hostility? I'm specifically looking for a player that:

1. Ignores region coding, or can be easily set to ignore region coding without installing new firmware.

2. Never, ever restricts me from fast-forwarding previews/warnings/anti-piracy tirades or skipping to a particular menu.

I can work around these issues by ripping the discs and then re-burning them but this is highly inconvenient.

It would also be nice if the player had all of the usual standard cool things, like digital audio output and some nice pulldown detection, and didn't sound like a jet engine.

Video From an Old Computer to a T.V.

mahoganyslide — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 22:28:18 -0800

How do I go about channeling video from a computer with just a VGA output to a T.V. that only takes component and composite inputs? I have a ton of downloaded video content that I'd like to be able to watch on my T.V. However, the videos are on a relatively old computer that only has a VGA output. I recently had the bright idea to go out and buy a VGA to component cable and only later did I discover (thanks to askmetafilter) that the computer must have T.V.-out capability (which, of course, it does not).

After a little more combing through previous askmetafilter posts, I've now arrived at two options: a converter or a new video card. But, which would be a better option?

I've come across two converters, this and this. However, these are just slightly above my budget and an older but capable video card appears to be a more economic choice.

My only other problem? I do not know how to install hardware on a desktop. After a search for cheap cards on newegg (here), I am at a loss as to which configuration will work with my specific computer. Would it be all too difficult to install the video card if I find some handy instructions online?

So, the gist of my question is: what is the better choice? Will the more expensive converter provide reliable/better video, or will the cheaper video card be the better alternative? Or have I got my options all wrong, and if so, are there any other options I'm not thinking of? I basically would like to strike an ideal balance between cost, video quality, and ease of use.

Hivemind, please come to my rescue!

Find this TDS clip?

joshuaconner — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:23:26 -0800

Daily Show clip with John Oliver talking about his previous gaffes covering the Olympics - where can I watch it online?

Lang Lang! Lang Lang!

crookedneighbor — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 15:53:16 -0800

How can I watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics, now that I've missed it? I have a TV but no cable or antennae, and NBC online doesn't seem to have the full thing as a video. Will it be rebroadcast on the web? Will NBC host it after the Olympics are over? Will it be released on Criterion?

Why does TV video appear so different than that which is produced with normal video camcorder?

torpark — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 22:14:32 -0800

Why does TV video appear so different than that which is produced with normal video camcorder? I am wondering why videos produced for TV appear not only smoother, but have a very "distant" or unreal sense to them, whereas videos recorded by camcorder appear very raw and real like the way they happen in reality. I am not referring to the jitter caused by holding a camera, of course, but the different "quality" and properties that tv produced videos have. This is especially visible when you see low-budget commercials for cars/furniture, then back to regular TV quality. Is it the framerate, is it "hd" resolution, is it the photosensors, is it the lighting, is it interlace, is it tweening?

can front row be bookmarked?

luriete — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:16:35 -0800

Can Front Row be run in a window, or can videos being played in front row be bookmarked? I hate to have to try to skip back to where i was in a movie or tv show after doing something else...

mid-range tv for video games

domakesaypat — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:50:01 -0800

Need help finding the right size/price for a tv I only need for videogames, and occasionally movies. Not looking to shell out, don't have a boner for graphics, don't have much space. What's the smallest size I could get by with? Any features I need to have, or shouldn't bother to pay extra for?

Need program to track progress in multiple TV series

lrodman — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:02:08 -0800

Is there a good program to monitor progress in various TV shows? I.e. what episode I'm on in shows if watching multiple shows in different seasons irregularly. Optimally this would integrate somehow with hulu/abc/WMP, but I wouldn't expect that. Anyone have a good app like this? It gets confusing with series starting and ending different times, and picking up or taking breaks from different shows.

What do I need to know to stream a TV station to between 500 and 100 people?

asnowballschance — Sat, 03 May 2008 09:29:44 -0800

How do I set up a server to stream media ? A client has contacted us about developing a website with a streaming TV station and a streaming radio station. The stations will run 24/7 with a great deal of duplicated content. Content items will run from 15 minutes to 2 hours. The client wants to set it up as a broadcast, so that if someone tunes in at 8am, he sees the same program as everyone else, just like with regular stations. Because of the need for playlists, it looks like progressive (http) downloads won't work; however, if there are alternatives to setting up a streaming server, I'd love to hear about them.

Right now, I'm getting a handle on hardware and coding requirements so that we can put a team together. We're in West Africa, so the budget is thousands of dollars, not tens of thousands of dollars. We're also looking at a maximum of about 1000 simultaneous users, but hoping to average between 100 and 500.

What kind of hardware should I be looking at for (managed dedicated) servers? And where can we find the Terabytes of bandwidth we'll need?

What do I need to know about compressing media (into Flash)? Best practices?

Anything else I should generally be aware of?

Licensing, content, and profitability are not my problems. Putting together a plan, a budget, and hiring people to do this are.

Yet More Mac Mini-DVI Hearbreak

ChasFile — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 15:13:26 -0800

MacBook DVI output connected via adapter to my TV results in nothing. I'm pretty handy with a Mac, but I guess not handy enough.

I'm trying to get a MacBook (model A1181) to play a DVD on my TV (its an exotic region code, otherwise I'd just use the DVD player). And first off, the DVD plays fine on the Mac's LCD, so that's not it.

So I went out and got a mini-DVI-to-Composite-Video adapter, which I plugged into my MacBook, and then connected to the TV, which is a fairly old standard NTSC 4:3 CRT set, a Panasonic. What I see is a slight change in the margins around the TV's "blue screen of no input" and occasional flickering. Changing the resolution on the Display Control menu in the toolbar results in a slightly different flicker in the blue screen of inputlessness. The options said menu offers me are "800x600, 60Hz" and "640x480, 60Hz." Again, neither produces anything other than than the flickering blue screen.

In my attempts to solve this myself, I've Googled around and found some people who say putting the Mac to sleep and then waking it solves this. I tried this and several full restarts and the output on the TV is always the same. I also tried using DisplayConfigX to detect the TV and set the output, and it wanted to use 100Hz, which I tried but only resulted in (predictably) higher frequency flickering. I've hit "Mirror Displays" and just about every other button I could find in the display control panel, and nothing changes much. I bought an s-video cable and used that (this adapter has both composite and s-video outputs) which again resulted in a slightly different flavor of flicker but nothing substantial.

So, um, any ideas?