Stump the PC Club is a free tech-advice column written by members of the North Orange County Computer Club, which has been in existence since 1976. Visit the club’s site at noccc.org.
QUESTION: We have a lot of pictures, videos and music tracks on our PC. Is there a way to share them over our TV? Any help would be appreciated.
PC CLUB: This is a rapidly expanding segment of the electronics marketplace and is changing almost daily. There are several methods to have various types of media on your PC show up on your TV. Some of the methods utilize an Internet connection, either wired or wireless and several other methods do not.
This is referred to media sharing or media streaming. Streaming media is sending media, including music, pictures or videos, over the Internet or a network allowing viewers to see or hear them in real time.
There are two basic options for sharing media with your TV, either by connecting your computer directly to your TV (see http://bit.ly/directconnection for making a direct connection), or by using a set-top box that acts as an intermediary. This box retrieves media from your PC over your home network and delivers it to your HDTV through direct HDMI or component connections. Most of these boxes stream video, music and photos, and some even handle podcasts, Internet radio, YouTube, Netflix and downloaded rental movies, and other streaming sources.
Some of the devices that allow you to stream media to your TV include the following:
· Apple TV
· Western Digital Live TV Plus
· PlayStation III
· Xbox 360
· Netgear Push2TV
· D-link DSM-750
· Blu-ray Players
· Google TV combined with the Logitech Revue player
· Seagate FreeAgent Theatre + HD Media Player
· Viewsonic VMP75 Streaming Media Player
To learn more about the above devices, use your favorite search engine to read the reviews. For example, the Apple TV is known for being somewhat limited in the types of media that is supported and Blu-ray players that can share media require an Internet connection. Some of these players include wireless capability and others are wireless ready which means you have to purchase a separate adaptor.
The Samsung Smart TV uses another approach; it has many features built in that allow streaming. You can read about it at http://bit.ly/bdU3D6. Note – other manufactures such as Toshiba and Sony have joined the party.
I’ve recently evaluated the Western Digital Live TV Plus (WDTVLIVE) and it took me less than 10 minutes from the time I opened the box until I was watching a Netflix movie.
After hooking the WDTVLIVE up to the TV I was able to share media from any PC on the network to my TV. I then plugged a USB hard drive into the device after loading it with media and was able to share that media also. The advantage of the USB hard drive is that my PC doesn’t have to be on to access the media.
The WDTVLIVE is available in several stores including Staples for $129. I found the Netflix experience as good as using a BluRay or Roku player. The WDTVLIVE on-screen menu lets you select Media Shares (Windows 7) or Network shares (Windows XP). Here are several ways to share media:
1. Plug a USB drive directly into the WDTVLIVE
2. Plug a USB drive into a router that has a USB port
3. Plug a drive such as the Western Digital My Book Live into a router port
4. Open the Windows Media Player in Windows and select any music in your library and right-click any of the selected songs and select Play To, WDTVLIVE.
5. Place media in Public folders in Windows 7. Open My Computer, select Library and look for Public folders for Music, Video and Pictures.
Be sure to go the the Western Digital web site at www.wdc.com and look for Support Article 3792 or try the link at http://bit.ly/wdc379 for how to share with Windows 7. One of the pleasant surprises is that the WDTVLIVE will wake up your PC if it is sleeping when you try to access its media, even if you use a password. For an overview on media sharing see the PC World Magazine article at http://bit.ly/streamedia.
I also evaluate a Samsung BD-C5500C Blu-Ray player. The player has an input for an network cable which provides you with Internet TV capability. You can not only play Blu-Ray and regular DVD movies but you can also watch Netflix or Blockbuster movies, Weather, Pandora Music , USA Today and other services. In addition, you can also access media from your PC by installing Samsung’s PC Share Manager which is available for free. Despite what you may read in the reviews this feature works flawlessly with Windows 7.
If I had to choose between the WDTVLIVE and the Samsung player I’d choose the latter – in fact I already have. If you don’t have the ability to connect an Ethernet cable directly to the player you will have to purchase the WIS09ABGN wireless adapter – see http://amzn.to/samsungadapter.
Terminology
· DLNA – see http://www.dlna.org/products
· Wireless Ready – you need to purchase an additional Wireless adaptor (or Dongle)
· HDMI – High Definition Multimedia Interface. These cables are not always included and can be pricey. Staples sell them for $40 but they are available at Biglots for $12.
Ed Schwartz is a member of the North Orange County Computer Club. To send in a question, go to edwardns.com and click the Contact Me menu. Archives of previous columns are also on the website.