Can I watch TV on my TV set from Ethernet ?

[guista]

Hi all,

I am not sure that the subject is very clear so I explain.

I am willing to purchase a connected TV (i.e. a TV with a wifi and/or a rj45 port).

I have a DSL box which also receives TV streams. Using a software like VLC , I can play the streams on my computer but that's not what I want to do.

I have another room which is far from my box so I would like to know is there is way to have my TV playing the TV streams from the Ethernet port. Of course I would have a server software like VLC running on my home network but I am not sure the connected TVs can talk to a networked VLC.

Does anyone is experienced with this ?
Is there some other simple/cheap way to do this ?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Asmodian]

I bet there is an Android app that would allow you to play the streams like VLC does, there is even a beta VLC for Android but I have not used it.

You could try an Android TV stick?

[guista]

Originally Posted by Asmodian

You could try an Android TV stick?

Good idea, I also think an Android stick can work.
I use VLC on my PC and it can play the TV streams so I suppose the Android version of VLC can also do it.
I will first try to configure VLC on my Nexus tablet so it can read my TV streams from my home Wifi network then buy the stick if it works.

[SamKook]

Personaly, I'd simply use a raspberryPi with a wireless usb dongle and install Raspbmc on it which which would allow you to play pretty much any files directly without having to stream them, as long as they're available on a shared drive on your network.
You wouldn't need a tv with wifi or ethernet, just a hdmi port, but you'd need to have some kind of controller like a wireless(or wired if you're close enough to it) keyboard to control the interface.

[Asmodian]

That also looks like a good and very similar option. Do you know if XBMC can play TV streams from the modem like VLC can?

I went with Android as I am already familiar with it, it sounds like guista is too.

@guista
Please let us know if you can get Android streaming from your home Wifi, curious. ^^

[SamKook]

Originally Posted by Asmodian

Do you know if XBMC can play TV streams from the modem like VLC can?

No idea, I don't use VLC so I'm not sure how it does it. I also don't stream my videos since I prefer to keep their original quality.

[Asmodian]

Originally Posted by guista

I have a DSL box which also receives TV streams.

I assume these TV streams are "original quality" as far as digital TV ever is these days.

edit: not to say old TV was better quality, just too many macroblocks on cable TV here.

[guista]

Originally Posted by SamKook

No idea, I don't use VLC so I'm not sure how it does it. I also don't stream my videos since I prefer to keep their original quality.

VLC connects to my DSL box wich streams the TV channels on my local network and therefore can be played on any of my home computer (or connected TV :-)).
I was talking about HD TV.
I am not interested in streaming my movies because all the latest TV have a USB which allows you to play the movies directly from an USB stick.

[guista]

Hi all,

When I was searching for an Android TV stick, I finally found this TV box designed by Western Digital.

This is based on XBMC which is an open-source media player dedicated to video streaming which is exactly what I want to do.
Moreover, it has a RJ45 Ethernet port (I do not like Wifi waves).
This is about $70 so I am going to have a look to it.

[guista]

Originally Posted by Asmodian

That also looks like a good and very similar option. Do you know if XBMC can play TV streams from the modem like VLC can?

I went with Android as I am already familiar with it, it sounds like guista is too.

@guista
Please let us know if you can get Android streaming from your home Wifi, curious. ^^

I did not find any Android stick having an Ethernet port but Wifi only. This is why I think I will prefer the XBMC boxes which generally have one rj45 port and have quite good reviews on the web. According to what I read, XBMC boxes can perfectly read TV streams from DSL boxes.

PS: if I have the choice, I want to avoid generating Wifi waves at home.

[Asmodian]

Very nice! Yes those do look cool. Did you look at the Raspberry Pi that SamKook sugested? Is it too DIY? They look pretty sweet and have similar specs to the WD TV Live except no optical audio (only single 3.5mm and HDMI of course).

If you can keep anything off of wifi it is a good idea, if only to keep wifi clear for mobile devices.

edit: I did find an Android TV Stick with ethernet.

[SamKook]

Originally Posted by guista

VLC connects to my DSL box wich streams the TV channels on my local network and therefore can be played on any of my home computer (or connected TV :-)).
I was talking about HD TV.

What I was saying is that I don't know how it streams it. For a real stream it most likely needs to reencode it on the fly to make it compatible.

Xbmc or Raspbmc can't do this(as far as I know). It simply transfer the file and the player on the other end decode and play it.

If you want to avoid wifi, then the RaspberryPi is ideal since it has an ethernet port.

I bought one of those WDTV for my parents and the interface is not great(it can be confusing at times) and sometimes it's quite buggy.
They use it over wireless and sometimes it doesn't want to connect at all and after a reboot, it works perfectly.
Raspbmc is the actual xbmc interface so it's a lot more stable(You have to install it on an sd card for the RaspberryPi but it's very well explained on their website and quite easy to do).

[Asmodian]

Originally Posted by SamKook

For a real stream it most likely needs to reencode it on the fly to make it compatible.

Xbmc or Raspbmc can't do this(as far as I know). It simply transfer the file and the player on the other end decode and play it.

You are thinking of a different situation for streaming. This is not taking files that are on the DSL modem and using VLC to decode them and re-encode them to a stream and serving that to a client. VLC isn't on the modem and is only used for playback. This is exposing streaming video from the provider to the network so any device that knows how to connect to the stream (and can play that format of course) can play it. Think IP TV.

Nothing can re-encode the video unless it is running on the server, none of these options are server side.

[SamKook]

I see. I read the original post again and I'm much less confused now. The terminology he used threw me off a bit, but I guess the DSL box is a DSL modem and the TV streams are standard internet streams provided by his internet provider.

You can't simply expose the stream to the network, you need a software on the receiving end to decode and render the stream(or whatever it gets transformed into). It's not done magically(but some smart TV might have an integrated video player which could maybe support them).

Without having more info on what format the streams actually use, it's hard to say what could support them, but you might want to take a look at this: http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title..._audio_streams
If XBMC support them, then Raspbmc will too.

[guista]

Originally Posted by SamKook

the DSL box is a DSL modem and the TV streams are standard internet streams provided by his internet provider.

I understand that my initial post got you confused. In France, all the DSL boxes broadcast TV streams to home networks. My box looks like this: http://www.free.fr/adsl/freebox-revolution.html
We call them quadruple play boxes because they handle VOIP, wireless phones, video and internet.

Originally Posted by SamKook

you might want to take a look at this: http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title..._audio_streams

Like it is explained in your Wiki link, I found this tutorial explaining that my box's TV streams are supported by XBMC http://www.numa001.fr/la-tv-de-free-...xbmc-t176.html so everything is fine :-)

[guista]

Originally Posted by Asmodian

Did you look at the Raspberry Pi that SamKook sugested?

I just had a look. The thing is I am very lazy. I do not know RaspberryPi very well but I want to do as few as possible and I read the that the Raspberry has to be programmed by the user.

Originally Posted by Asmodian

I did find an Android TV Stick with ethernet.

Thanks for the link but it seems that it has to be ordered from China and I had very bad experiences when ordering from there.

I am going to compare XBMC with Raspberry then decide.
Thanks for your help and links.

[guista]

Originally Posted by SamKook

I bought one of those WDTV for my parents and the interface is not great(it can be confusing at times) and sometimes it's quite buggy.
They use it over wireless and sometimes it doesn't want to connect at all and after a reboot, it works perfectly.

SamKook, thanks for your personal feedback about WDTV.

[SamKook]

Originally Posted by guista

I understand that my initial post got you confused. In France, all the DSL boxes broadcast TV streams to home networks. My box looks like this: http://www.free.fr/adsl/freebox-revolution.html
We call them quadruple play boxes because they handle VOIP, wireless phones, video and internet.

I see, we don't have anything like that around here.


If you want to have an idea of how to prepare the RaspberryPi, check their quick start guide, it's really simple and well explained(the install procedure start and ends on page 3): http://www.raspberrypi.org/quick-start-guide

BTW, the raspberryPi runs XBMC(its own version named Raspbmc if that's what you choose to install) so not sure what you want to compare. XBMC needs to be installed on something connected to your tv to work.

[guista]

Originally Posted by SamKook

BTW, the raspberryPi runs XBMC(its own version named Raspbmc if that's what you choose to install) so not sure what you want to compare.

Yes, I did not realized this at first. In facts, the WDTV is a kind a RaspberryPi loaded with Raspbmc. Finally both solutions are the same except RaspberryPi is probably more opened than WDTV.
On Amazon France, the WDTV is about 75 euros whereas RaspberryPi is between 35 euros and 45 euros.

Now I am going to compare the hardware and performances of each products.

[SamKook]

The WDTV has a completely different interface, is much less customizable and, as you said, is closed source instead of open source. The codec side of things might be the same as XBMC, but the rest is completely different.

On the software side of things, you're much better off with the Pi, but for the hardware, I'm not sure which is best. One things is sure, you need the model B if you end up choosing the Pi since the model A doesn't have an ethernet port and only has 256MB of RAM instead of 512.
Don't forget you might also need an SD card, a case and a usb cord(like those to charge a cellphone) to provide the power for the Pi if it's not included in the bundles you're looking at(but I hope they are since it's 35$ for the model B board here and it's a UK company that makes them).