WEBCAST VIEWING HELP

[maestra]

What is the best way to connect TV to Webcasts? Is there more than one way?

When I had to replace my old tv this past winter, I was secretly happy because now I would be able to watch the livestream webcasts of key DCI shows on a large screen and from the comfort of my living room. Unfortunately, my laptop kept crashing, even using chrome; so it was back to the smaller computer screen.

Granted my laptop is older, and is a PC, but what kind of setup should I be using to ensure that I can watch the live streaming video? Are there (or will there be in the near future) apps that can be purchased for the fan network on units such as a Google TV box?

Is there a simple, yet cost effective and low profile solution for this problem?

Edited September 8, 2013 by maestra

[lp1955]

Are you getting a new laptop? If is there a HDMI on the old laptop? Than it is just a simple connection HDMI from Laptop to tv.

[AlanAndreasen]

What is the best way to connect TV to Webcasts? Is there more than one way?

When I had to replace my old tv this past winter, I was secretly happy because now I would be able to watch the livestream webcasts of key DCI shows on a large screen and from the comfort of my living room. Unfortunately, my laptop kept crashing, even using chrome; so it was back to the smaller computer screen.

Granted my laptop is older, and is a PC, but what kind of setup should I be using to ensure that I can watch the live streaming video? Are there (or will there be in the near future) apps that can be purchased for the fan network on units such as a Google TV box?

Is there a simple, yet cost effective and low profile solution for this problem?

Sounds like the biggest problem is the pc. However, I use a very cheap and simple set up. 2 Cables: 1. an rgb cable for video. 2. a double male 3.5mm jack audio cable running out of the headphone socket.

Good luck.

Edited September 8, 2013 by AlanAndreasen

[CrownBariDad]

I use similar connections as Alan--VGA video and headphone audio--because of an older laptop with no HDMI port.

Make sure you use a wired Internet connection. Wireless can sometimes not keep up with video streaming.

[danielray]

For $35 you can get a Chromecast.

It should work with an older computer.

[cmathis]

For $35 you can get a Chromecast.

It should work with an older computer.

I'd stay away from the Chromecast. To stream the webcast, you'd have to cast a tab from Chrome. Every review I've read says that casting a video from a tab causes quality degradation (lower video/audio quality, occasional skips), and with the current quality of FN webcasts, we don't need anymore of that.

I'd love to get one of these, so if anyone has any personal experience using them with the webcasts and I'm wrong, please say so.

Edited September 9, 2013 by cmathis

[caliswift]

I'd stay away from the Chromecast. To stream the webcast, you'd have to cast a tab from Chrome. Every review I've read says that casting a video from a tab causes quality degradation (lower video/audio quality, occasional skips), and with the current quality of FN webcasts, we don't need anymore of that.

I'd love to get one of these, so if anyone has any personal experience using them with the webcasts and I'm wrong, please say so.

Got one the first week. Works totally fine as long as you have an okay to good wireless connections (6+ mbps). I can cast anything on FN without hurting the quality. It comes with three months of Netflix for free (or did). Why would they include Netflix if it can't handle a high quality feed? Also, you can cast your whole desk top instead of just a single tab in Chrome. If you choose to cast a single Chrome tab, you can still use the laptop for other purposes including browsing in the other tabs without disturbing what's playing through the Chromecast.

[packetslave]

Disclaimer: I work for Google but not on Chromecast. I don't speak for the company in any official or unofficial capacity.

Casting a tab is necessarily going to be a bit lower quality than casting a YouTube or Netflix video directly. When you cast through YT or NF, the Chrome extension has access to the raw video stream and can stream it directly to the Chromecast. When you cast a tab, the extension has to capture all of the drawing changes in the entire tab as they happen and convert those into a new video stream. This is much more expensive and bandwidth/CPU intensive, and thus it can't send quite as high a quality picture. It's still absolutely usable, but you won't get the same high-quality picture quality as a direct stream. If I recall correctly, casting a tab is limited to 720p instead of 1080p with YouTube and Netflix.

That being said, Chromecast is awesome and you should definitely go out and buy one. Or two. Or a collection for the entire family. It really is a great little box, especially for $35.

[Wildabeast]

If I ever join the FN, I'll have to try watching it through the Internet channel on my Wii which picks up my WiFi.

[Pete Freedman]

Disclaimer: I work for Google but not on Chromecast. I don't speak for the company in any official or unofficial capacity.

Casting a tab is necessarily going to be a bit lower quality than casting a YouTube or Netflix video directly. When you cast through YT or NF, the Chrome extension has access to the raw video stream and can stream it directly to the Chromecast. When you cast a tab, the extension has to capture all of the drawing changes in the entire tab as they happen and convert those into a new video stream. This is much more expensive and bandwidth/CPU intensive, and thus it can't send quite as high a quality picture. It's still absolutely usable, but you won't get the same high-quality picture quality as a direct stream. If I recall correctly, casting a tab is limited to 720p instead of 1080p with YouTube and Netflix.

That being said, Chromecast is awesome and you should definitely go out and buy one. Or two. Or a collection for the entire family. It really is a great little box, especially for $35.

Is it possible for a service like FN to add direct-to-Chromecase functionality? I.e, Is the dongle equipped to detect any site trying to stream to it, or is it hardwired only for specific services?