Streaming television to PC?

[MNNHFLTX]

Okay, I know this may sound simplistic to you techno-savvy people out there, but how do you set up streaming television to a laptop? My family and I are going to be renting a cottage for a week on the St. George peninsula in Maine this summer and while most rentals have wifi they don't offer cable or satellite TV. I don't watch a ton of TV, but I do like to catch some of the news shows as well as a few other choice favorites as I relax in the evening. Any advice?

[1DisneyNut]

Simple....use a Slingbox. It connects to your cable or satellite receiver and streams your tv through the internet. You can completely control your receiver through the slingbox from your laptop, tablet or smartphone just like you were sitting at home with the remote. Just google slingbox and you will find their website. Btw, dish network bought them a few years ago.

[Hammer]

Beth, Slingbox is an option, but it might be simpler for you to use internet streaming options offered by the channels of the shows you want to watch (CBS, ABC, HBO, etc.). What channels are available to you will depend on if it is available from your cable service provider, though the 4 free channels (NBC. ABC. CBS, and FOX) are available to all.

[PirateLover]

If you want to ensure you get everything from home, slingbox is probably the best bet.
However, as Christine said, many networks offer streaming content on via their websites or apps now. We have a Google Chromecast device that cost $25. It plugs into the TV and we can stream almost anything from our computer directly to the TV.

[MNNHFLTX]

Simple....use a Slingbox. It connects to your cable or satellite receiver and streams your tv through the internet. You can completely control your receiver through the slingbox from your laptop, tablet or smartphone just like you were sitting at home with the remote. Just google slingbox and you will find their website. Btw, dish network bought them a few years ago.
Sounds interesting, but what if they don't have cable or satellite receivers at the vacation rental? I'm assuming they have wifi throughout their phone line.

[MNNHFLTX]

If you want to ensure you get everything from home, slingbox is probably the best bet.
However, as Christine said, many networks offer streaming content on via their websites or apps now. We have a Google Chromecast device that cost $25. It plugs into the TV and we can stream almost anything from our computer directly to the TV.
I have a new laptop with an HDMI port--can I just buy a cord and/or adapter to stream content from that to the TV?

Thanks for all your help, so far!

[DizneyRox]

Check out USTVNOW dot com... I have a normal antenna at the house but have found it useful on more than one occasion. It's most likely not local TV, but it is network TV.

If you really wanted to go nuts, you could get an HDHomerun and then set up a VPN to your house to consume the streams, but that's probably beyond most people. The problem with using your own equipment is you're going to be limited by your upload speed at your residence which may not be capable of much.

I use HDHomerun's to feed my HTPC's live TV through Team Mediaportal's TV server. This gives me DVD capability as well. I VPN homo using tablets, phones as well, and get everything I have at home, on the road. All with no cable TV bills...


Beth, Slingbox is an option, but it might be simpler for you to use internet streaming options offered by the channels of the shows you want to watch (CBS, ABC, HBO, etc.). What channels are available to you will depend on if it is available from your cable service provider, though the 4 free channels (NBC. ABC. CBS, and FOX) are available to all.
I don't think that's accurate, many networks (the majors as well) are only streaming new content after verifying your current cable TV subscription. Hopefully your cable subscriber participates.


I have a new laptop with an HDMI port--can I just buy a cord and/or adapter to stream content from that to the TV?

Thanks for all your help, so far!
Yes, if the TV has HDMI in, you should be fine. Some hotels lock the cables on TVs for one reason or another, so it may be a problem. My buddy rental a vacation home last year and the owner locked the Internet down so all he could do was wwwtype stuff, no VPN, no nothing. My guess is previous renters were abusing the Internet.

You could check the address on TV fool dot com and find out what OTA signals may be available and bring your own antenna if you want. I door HD antennas are pretty cheap.

[Hammer]

I don't think that's accurate, many networks (the majors as well) are only streaming new content after verifying your current cable TV subscription. Hopefully your cable subscriber participates.


Yes, if the TV has HDMI in, you should be fine..

It does depend on the show with the free networks, but I did also say what she could see was based on what her cable service provider offered. Many cable providers (Comcast, Time Warner, Bright House) offer the option for a network if it is included in your cable package. As I test the authorization and authentication for streaming at Comcast, I know channels are being added every month.

[PirateLover]

I have a new laptop with an HDMI port--can I just buy a cord and/or adapter to stream content from that to the TV?

Thanks for all your help, so far!

Yes that should probably work, although as DizneyRox astutely pointed out, the TV needs an accessible port. We've gotten burned in the past by hotels that have TVs that don't allow any kind of external hookups.

[1DisneyNut]

Sounds interesting, but what if they don't have cable or satellite receivers at the vacation rental? I'm assuming they have wifi throughout their phone line.

You don't need cable or satellite at the vacation rental location. You are "slinging" it over the internet from your home cable or satellite. The slingbox is basically an interface at your home that streams your home cable/satellite to you anywhere in the world you have internet access.

[MNNHFLTX]

You don't need cable or satellite at the vacation rental location. You are "slinging" it over the internet from your home cable or satellite. The slingbox is basically an interface at your home that streams your home cable/satellite to you anywhere in the world you have internet access.I get what you're saying. I realized yesterday that I will be able to use my U-Verse account to stream content to my computer. I will bring an HDMI cord and hope there's an appropriate port.:thumbsup: