I have been exploring streaming sites and doing a lot of downloading. I convert the files to MP4 or H.264 TS and play them on the big screen. I use our satellite receiver or UHF box as HD media players. Both have HDMI outputs. All this works but I would like to streamline things a little.
I have been researching different ways to stream on-line to the TV room (can’t really call it a Home Theatre in the usual sense). I tried Chromecast but have rejected it for different reasons. I also don’t see a point to any media centre configurations. We already have that with the media player boxes, which are connected to large USB drives and everything is controlled by a universal remote.
The TV is a ‘smart’ Sony but from everything I have read it is not worth hooking up to the wi-fi. In any case, I prefer the unlimited flexibility of a regular browser as in my desktop. After mulling everything over, I have come up with the following:
- a cheap tablet with USB and HDMI out. It doesn’t have to be a tablet but I chose this so I can also use it for other things. I am on a tight budget.
- a wireless keyboard/mouse combo to control the tablet from the couch. With the TV as a monitor I can go anywhere and do anything. At least that is my thinking.
Is there anything wrong with this idea? Am I missing something? With my desktop running Windows I can play anything I want on the sites that interest me. The ones that do interest me are mainly arts and documentaries, so not the popular TV sites or sports. I have global mode and also some dns proxies to reach the content I want. Can I also do all this on a tablet running Android? What do the knowledgeable amongst you think of this set-up?
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