Re: How to set up PC and TV
- From: "Richard Wagstaff" <rwagstaff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx BIT.co.uk>
- Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2006 20:27:39 -0000
I'm using the Infrared only for the remote and Bluetooth only for the
keyboard & mouse. The reason for this is that my Media Center PC came with
the MCE remote and I already had a Bluetooth keyboard. If you were setting
up Media Center on a stand alone PC you would plug the infra red receiver
into a USB port. I just extended the USB wire so it reached the TV in the
living room. This way all remotes (TV, Video, DVD & PC) are all pointed in
the same direction!
My video card (NVIDIA GeForce 6800) has a s-video output, so I connected
that into a scart adaptor in the back of the TV.
The menus on my CRT TV aren't that good. Useable but not nearly as good as
they appear on my PC monitor. The TV feed on the otherhand, is fine.
As for recording TV. Think of the PC as a VCR. It has it's own tuners (in
my case two) to record, or watch, the programs - just the same as a VCR.
The recorded, or live, content is sent to the TV via the s-video and audio
cables. You are right to say that nothing goes from TV to PC (at least, not
with my set up) it all goes from PC to TV.
I'm no expert at this Media Center thingy - I've only been playing for three
weeks, or so. But I understand that an LCD or Plasma TV will have a much
better screen resolution as my CRT TV this would allow me to "clone" the
graphics output from the video card to both TV and PC screen at the same
resolution. Presently I have a monitor resolution of 1680 x 1050 on my PC
monitor and 1024 x 768 on the TV. Because they are different I need to use
"dualview" mode. This way I can watch TV from the Media Centre whilst
someone is using the PC for "computing". I've set my Dualview screen above
the PC screen so the mouse doesn't interfere too much.
I understand that the Xbox 360 works as a wireless streaming device from PC
to TV and by using this method makes everything so much simpler. However,
the few bits of wires I'm using to hook up the TV only costs a few quid.
The Xbox on the otherhand.........
I did ask a question in this newsgroup a few days ago to see if two Video
cards would work - one for the PC, one for the TV but, so far, no answer.
As you may gather,my setup is a bit of a bodge but it works for what we
want - I don't really want to spend a fortune on a new telly or a Xbox - we
can use the PC as a PVR, watch the recorded shows on our TV and by hooking
in the hi-fi we can listen to music pretty much all over the house just for
the price of a few wires. However, living in a bungalow does help as the
wires are hidden away in the loft.
Richard
"Il Principe" <IlPrincipe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:3AB6B439-47AC-4A0A-BF83-6CF2DB4FD5B7@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Thanks Richard,
>
> If I understand correctly then, the keyboard and mouse interact with the
> bluetooth 'point' extended from the PC via USB cable. I am not sure I
> understood how the remote control (which is Infra red, I guess) talks to
> the
> PC: is it via the same bluetooth points that keyboard and mouse access?
>
> For the connection to the TV, I suppose you could have run a VGA/RGB cable
> into the back of your TV if it has a 9pin input, and a separate audio
> cable;
> alternatively a HDMI or DVI would have worked. This is to see the PC in
> the
> TV as a monitor.
>
> What about the Media Center menu (my videos, my pictures etc..) How do
> they
> get shown on the TV? is it via the same cable (s-video in your case), or
> else? I was told that can be done also via Wi-Fi. But then you need to
> change
> TV channel depending on whether you use the TV as a Media Center or as a
> PC
> monitor proper.
>
> For recording, I understand the PC only records according to what tuner
> there are inside, regardless of what the TV has or shows. So I suppose you
> also run a video signal back from your living room into your PC (assuming
> you
> also watch tv on your TV). So that in reality there is no tranmission of
> anything in the direction TV-PC, apart from the play/record/view command
> sent
> from the remote control into the bluetooth (or other mean...see my first
> paragraph).
>
> On the screen problem. Do you have to use dual display only because the
> size
> of TV and Monitor are different or for other reason? why does the LCD TV
> solve the problem? I also suppose that if you are in the TV room watching
> My
> Videos while your wife is at the PC, you have to size the windows of MC
> and
> her appliction in order not to run into each other. Maybe if you used a
> second PC-TV connection (such as WiFi), you could solve this problem;
> still
> your wife may lose the mouse into the TV, but you won't see it. Would it
> be
> different if you had a different video card (or two separate video
> outputs?).
>
> Sorry again for the long message, but I believe I getting closer to
> understanding a bit more.
>
> THANKS
>
>
>
>
> "Richard Wagstaff" wrote:
>
>> I've done something similar.
>>
>> I have the media center PC in one room and the TV in another. Living in
>> a
>> bungalow I've used a mixture of wires & Bluetooth.
>>
>> I have connected the TV via 20 metre S-video and audio connections. I've
>> also ran a usb cable into the loft with a powered USB on the end of it.
>> Plugged into the USB hub is the MC remote (which then feeds down into
>> the
>> living room) and a Bluetooth dongle which sits in the loft. I can now
>> use
>> the keyboard, mouse and MC remote in the living room.
>>
>> To record TV on the Media Center you will need the TV Card in the PC - I
>> have two in my box. Can't answer about satellite I don't have one.
>>
>> The only problem I have is the mix & match screens. My PC monitor is a
>> 20"
>> wide screen and the TV is a 28" CRT so I've configured the dual display
>> mode
>> on my graphics card. A bit clunky (the wife can never find the mouse
>> pointer when she uses the PC) but it woks good enough until we can bring
>> ourselves to splash out on a decent plasma/LCD TV.
>>
>> Richard
>>
>>
>> "Il Principe" <IlPrincipe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:53B33BA0-17E7-47B5-A5ED-821EBF46B886@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> > Hi everyone,
>> >
>> > I am trying to buy a Media Center PC to connect to both a monitor and a
>> > LCD
>> > TV placed in a separate room (beyond 10mt), either through wireless or
>> > wired
>> > connection. I would need to use the TV both as a media center and as a
>> > normal
>> > PC monitor to work from the confort of the living room. I guees this is
>> > one
>> > of the key feature of Media Center.
>> >
>> > However, I have not been able to find any UK computer sales person who
>> > can
>> > understand and answer what I am trying to do (and maybe I don't explain
>> > it
>> > well).
>> >
>> > Can anyone, please tell me if they have a similar configuration and how
>> > you
>> > did it?
>> >
>> > The most basic questions are:
>> >
>> > Does anyone know somebody in any London computer shop who knows the
>> > topic
>> > very well.
>> >
>> > Since the TV is in a separete room from the PC, does the MC remote
>> > work?
>> > Someone said that if I connect TV via Wi-Fi, then the remote would talk
>> > to
>> > the Wi-Fi receiver in the TV room and send the commands back to the PC
>> >
>> > When I use the TV as a PC monitor, keyboard and mouse are too far from
>> > the
>> > PC. Can I get Class1 bluetooth keyboard and mouse or extend the
>> > bluetooth
>> > point via a long USB cable into the TV room?
>> >
>> > If I want to record TV on the PC, do I need tuner on both TV and PC?
>> > Same
>> > if
>> > I want to record Satellite TV (free or not free)?
>> >
>> > Thank you and apologies for the long question
>> >
>> > Il Principe
>>
>>
>>
.
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