New TV is dumb how to make it smart?

[DaQue]

Things sure have changed with TVs. Im moving next Friday and the TV for it doesn't have WiFi etc.

I am going to have 30Mbps internet so I am thinking of a set top box for it to stream video. Any suggestions? If it matters most of the stuff I stream will be either from a internet source like Vudu or an Apple Timecapsule share.

[BenChase7]

Things sure have changed with TVs. Im moving next Friday and the TV for it doesn't have WiFi etc.

I am going to have 30Mbps internet so I am thinking of a set top box for it to stream video. Any suggestions? If it matters most of the stuff I stream will be either from a internet source like Vudu or an Apple Timecapsule share.

 

I don't know about the apple stuff but, you can do a lot (besides video games) with a PlayStation 3 connected to your TV, including Vudu.

[jcrowder3]

Also Most BluRay Players will stream for you. They are quite resonable. You can use Game Consoles also for several types of streaming also. The Apple might be problematic as I have never seen that on non apple branded equipment.

[kckid]

You can get a roku device from woot for around $59 sometimes, then connect it hdmi to your tv.

[WiWavelength]

Wait, you are moving, but you are not taking your TV, and there is a different TV where you are moving?

 

Weird...

 

AJ

[digiblur]

I love my older Boxee Box, not the new one coming out. Plays all my blurays I have on my NAS and puts movie posters for each. Very cool stuff.

 

Sent from my SPH-L900

 

 

[pyroscott]

I have the Sony google tv box that has a bluray player. It works great.

[nobius]

If you have a lot of movies and music on your Mac, get an Apple TV. I use mine for Netflix and for watching my movies. It can also do Hulu and a few sports services.

 

If you won't be streaming from your computer, I hear great things about the Roku.

[iansltx]

I hear good things about the Roku as well, though the smarten-my-TV box that will be hooked up to the parents' new TV will be a cheap LG BLu-Ray player (cheap to the point that the only ports are HDMI, Coax and USB). You know, the $38 one that Wal-Mart sold tonight.

 

In the past, I've hooked up a Windows nettop and a PS3 to what was my TV. But that's probably overkill if you don't need a full computer/gaming system.

[DaQue]

Thanks for all the suggestions. After all the misc money spent getting ready to move I may have to wait a while. A friend also suggested I take my old 2008 Macbook Pro and use XMBC on it. Then again the Moxi box the cable company wants to sell me would give me a DVR function, but its $20 a month.

[pyroscott]

Thanks for all the suggestions. After all the misc money spent getting ready to move I may have to wait a while. A friend also suggested I take my old 2008 Macbook Pro and use XMBC on it. Then again the Moxi box the cable company wants to sell me would give me a DVR function' date=' but its 20 a month.[/quote']

 

I hope they improved the MOXI boxes since I had one. It was a giant POS. Always overheating, random formatting of the hard drive, etc. The cable company replaced it a few times and then offered a less feature rich DVR that worked perfectly. It was a good idea, one even had a dvd player in it so there was one less gadget on the entertainment center, but it was buggy...

 

That was years ago though, and I would sure hope they have improved their dvr boxes by now.

[bigsnake49]

Depending on whether you want to stream from a NAS or a computer with itunes on it, I would have different recommendations for you. AppleTV works great for me. I use it to stream rented movies, play internet radio, it's an Airplay target for music stored on my iPhone, etc. If you're not Apple centric, Roku would be my recommendation. My wife would kill me if I tried to introduce anything bulky like an X-box. I'm also partial to low energy consumption devices, so the Apple TV fits that bill rather well.

[EXLINE]

I have a Vizio non smart LED and got the Smart Blue Ray WiFi and it has the exact apps