hey guys I need some suggestions:

i have a samsung 4065 and at the moment I connect to the pc using s video which gives out ****** video and i cant do anything better than 1024 x768 from my card or else it starts doign weird stuff pro because its doing multi display to the tv as well as my normal lcd display.

what i want is to be able to watch tv streamed from a hdd or comp whatever and use the comp at the same time.

now, easiest option would be gettting one of those tvix like stuff... but question then would be my current laptop only having one ethernet port and USB 1.0 how do i effectively transfer stuff to my new tvix or whatever I have?

2nd option would be to get a shuttle pc with a HDMI port.. now problem with this is.. i still wouldnt be able to achieve true multi tasking with this would i? i cant play movies full screen on my comp, minimise it and continue have it play and move on to my work on the normal pc screen....how do i achieve this? 2 vid cards?


thanks guys

no one?

Your post is a bit hard to follow.

Currently, I think you only have a laptop. Is this correct? Do you have any sort of network running at all?

Media extenders connect to a network, either wired or wireless, and stream media stored on a server. If you plan on streaming video, I would highly suggest using a wired network (ethernet). The server can be a PC or it can be a NAS.

If you use your computer to play media, I wouldn't bother with trying to multitask. However, if you're just serving files to a media extender, the computer should work just fine doing other things while serving media (transcoding is another story...).

Your post is a bit hard to follow.

Currently, I think you only have a laptop. Is this correct? Do you have any sort of network running at all?

Media extenders connect to a network, either wired or wireless, and stream media stored on a server. If you plan on streaming video, I would highly suggest using a wired network (ethernet). The server can be a PC or it can be a NAS.

If you use your computer to play media, I wouldn't bother with trying to multitask. However, if you're just serving files to a media extender, the computer should work just fine doing other things while serving media (transcoding is another story...).

hey thanks for the reply.

yes i have a laptop at the moment and it connects to my DSl connection via a wired router so in a manner of speaking I do have a network.

these media extenders many people do use with a network but do they not also work with an internal HDD? and connects directly to the tv. My only issue is not to stream from a source via the "extender" tvix to the tv, but to load or upload stuff to the tvix's internal HDD......

well i wouldnt say wouldnt bother multi tasking, its just not partical to have 2 different computers in my opinion. I would prefer to have one... and if someone is watching something on the tv, I was hoping to be able to do something on the comp if i needed to.

Yep, some media extenders work with an HDD. I don't have experience with them. IMHO, the best solution for you is either to connect a NAS with uPnP to your router and use a uPnP media extender, or as you suggest, use a box with an internal HDD (or USB-connected disk). Either way, you'll be limited to the formats the box plays natively.

its just not partical to have 2 different computers in my opinion
LOL, we have six of them, not including Palms.

Yep, some media extenders work with an HDD. I don't have experience with them. IMHO, the best solution for you is either to connect a NAS with uPnP to your router and use a uPnP media extender, or as you suggest, use a box with an internal HDD (or USB-connected disk). Either way, you'll be limited to the formats the box plays natively.


LOL, we have six of them, not including Palms.


yeah I prefer less :) i live in a condo and i do not have space for lots of equipment.

wats NAS? uPnP I am guessing is a protocol?

Network Attached Storage. Basically, like a USB external drive, only with an ethernet port. They often run some variant of Linux, and often have a UPnP server embedded. UPnP is Universal Plug and Play. It's a protocol for various devices to comminucate over ethernet. Many media extenders use UPnP.