I have a dream......... I want to be able to watch all my downloaded videos etc through my Panasonic Plasma but also have the option to surf the net and play games. I don't want to risk streaming through a wireles connection because of the instability this could cause and I've been told that the media streamers can't all play .avi files. Ideally I would like to use a PC and connect it directly via the HDMI socket so that I can watch HD downloads. A large HDD would be needed and also the posibility of capturing broadcasts (I use Virgin Media) I've been told about Net Tops but is this the way to go? I'd really appreciate any help as I am learning all the time. Thanks
My Windows 7 system can be connected directly to my HDTV with an HDMI cable from the DVI socket. I bought a fairly long one (5m?) for ease of equipment positioning and it works fine. Needs a bit of messing around to get the correct resolution but BBC iPlayer HD is quite impressive. (you need a separate audio cable)
I have a separate media HD that as you say will not play AVI - Mpeg 4 to the TV out, I have a small prog AVIconvertor that will change the file on the fly to mpeg2 the only trouble is its a lot bigger file
Pierre - do you find that the quality goes once you have converted. I have been converting my filers and then burning to DVD which apart from taking a long time the quality is diminished. That's why I want to play the files direct. Would you recommend a net top ? Where does the additional audio connection go?
Why not just get a DVI to HDMI cable and connect your PC directly to the TV. If you want sound through the TV aswell, then you will have to open your PC and attatch a loop cable between the sound card and the video card.
