computoman

Actually what I am talking about is the Google Chromecast. Chromecast allows you to throw the video or other media from the Nexus 7 to an hdmi enabled device such as a newer tv or monitor. So now you can attach a larger monitor to your nexus 7 via wifi and the Chromecast. Setup is fairly easy and you should be able to do it all via the Nexus 7 using the Chrome browser with internet access. You will also need the Chromecast app from the Playstore to be installed.  I now carry the Chromecast and a specially setup router with me. Make sure that is the router is only set up to take the mac addresses or special identification of the devices to connect to the router. Also use wpa2 or better wifi encryption. Not completely secure but not half bad. Personally wish I had had it when I was teaching. For home media, I would probably prefer to use the Raspxbmc or the like.

There are several media servers on the market that work well with TVs and PlayStation 3’s. I prefer MediaTomb , a uPnP -compliant server, because it is simple to install and configure. MediaTomb works flawlessly with my WD TV Live, and allows me to stream video (mostly AVI files), audio (mostly AAC files with .m4a extensions), and photos from my server to my TV. Install MediaTomb MediaTomb is simple to install on Ubuntu Server because a Debian package for it is in the repositories. To install MediaTomb, simply install the mediatomb package. $ sudo apt-get install mediatomb The MediaTomb daemon will start automatically after installation. Configure Port Number By default, MediaTomb will pick the first available port starting with 49152. When restarting the server, it may pick a different port, such as 49153. I prefer to lock MediaTomb down to a certain point, so my bookmarks for the web interface are always correct, and so I can set firewall and networking rules consisten...

There are several media servers on the market that work well with TVs and PlayStation 3’s. I prefer MediaTomb , a uPnP -compliant server, because it is simple to install and configure. MediaTomb works flawlessly with my WD TV Live, and allows me to stream video (mostly AVI files), audio (mostly AAC files with .m4a extensions), and photos from my server to my TV. Install MediaTomb MediaTomb is simple to install on Ubuntu Server because a Debian package for it is in the repositories. To install MediaTomb, simply install the mediatomb package. $ sudo apt-get install mediatomb The MediaTomb daemon will start automatically after installation. Configure Port Number By default, MediaTomb will pick the first available port starting with 49152. When restarting the server, it may pick a different port, such as 49153. I prefer to lock MediaTomb down to a certain point, so my bookmarks for the web interface are always correct, and so I can set firewall and networking r...

In an earlier post I talked about what I wanted to use as a media streamer. The Raspberry Pi came to the forefront. As the title states the RPi (Raspberry Pi for short) with a change of memory card can be all kinds of computing devices. XMBC was originally developed for the original Microsoft Xbox. Later it was developed for other platforms Including Linux. As the RPi came along as an SBC (Single Board Computer), it was ripe for being added as an XMBC derivative. Installation is quick and easy. Not only does the RPi have HDMI (the new Video interface), it also has composite out for being compatible with legacy systems. In our case we are able to interface the RPi to a DVD player. Since the Rpi a little bit larger than credit card size, that makes it perfectly able to become a portable system with the DVD player.   Just for being a media player makes it worth its thirty five dollars (plus shipping). The RPI has other uses. The first as a desktop computer.  You ca...

Traditionally if you wanted to use multimedia content, you would download the media and then play it with a local program. That is all fine and well, but what if you have several systems such as the ps3, xbox360, Roku, and a host of other devices. Instead of copying the files all over the place, we can use a server and keep the media all in one place. One way to serve the media is to use what is known as upnp. This protocol now comes pretty standard on most servers. Think that Roku uses something called Plex, Plex can also be installed on traditional servers last I looked. What usually happens you point your device to the upnp server and the server will list the media files for access. Pretty nifty! Don't usually have much video to store, but lately I have been downloading quite a few files. Wanted a way to take advantage of upnp. We use XBMC to view or listen to media. Xmbc will even go to the internet to allow you to view video. We also make our own videos that we wo...

If you were lucky enough to get the free coupons for the free dtv converters, you could still use your analog TV for watching television. In fact, we use the dtv converter with a dvd player in the man-cave. ( http://www.instructables.com/id/Extra-TV-setup/ ) We get about sixty stations, but only use about twenty of them. You will get the traditional major TV networks for free. Ironically, more and more cable is coming back to over the air TV in one form or another. See your favorite Food TV chefs on "The Chew". Also cut the cord, but we went in a different direction. We use OTA (Over-the-air) HDTV. (Works best in large metropolitan areas). Actually, most television stations still transmit the old fashion way. You can not use the old fashion tv tuner, but again you can use the dtv converter with an old fashion TV antenna. You do not need to use a special HDTV antenna. Marketing hype for an existing TV antenna. You can also make your own for almost free. You can find s...