Changing the Electron Paths
Today is the day my TV changes how it receives electrons. During the last several months I have been updating and upgrading my computer. The wire cable and connector industries have benefited from my many purchases of cables and connectors needed to connect my computer to the TV and A/V receiver. I found a DVD player (Samsung 1590) that has the internet connection and software for Netflix, Youtube and Pandora.
During the last 30 years my TV’s have received their electrons from the cable companies; except for those occasions when the cable was cut or the system was down. When the cable was not operating I dug out the rabbit ears and foil and hooked them up to try and get a signal from the TV towers. During those times I realized a signal from the TV towers was better than what I saw from the cable.
Many people I know do not watch television and they do quite well catching the news a day or two later from other sources, such as from the Internet. However, there are a few people I do not know personally, but I’ve read about, who like their television but have no cable television connection. I do like television for many reasons.
A few months ago after reading the experiences of a brave person who has changed from cable television to over the air television I decided I’d need to explore that path too. During my research became apparent that hardware wise my computer system was set to go, I had always upgraded or replaced hardware with technically advanced parts (OBTW, I build my own computers). My a/v receiver was ready to go and my TV was set too. I had recently bought a new DVD player because it had Netflix, You Tube and Pandora software built-in. I bought a very good outdoor antenna, which is essential if you plan on going over the air too.
What I needed to do was upgrade my OS. I was running XP on a system that had hardware 10 years advanced from that. So it was Windows 7 that I installed. Oh Boy what a treat that upgrade was. I discovered a major problem with MS software that should sometime be fixed. For now, if you are going to do the Windows 7 upgrade be forewarned that only drive C will be backed up, and the backup and restore might not work the way you want. Now that Windows 7 is in and running I am able to use the full horsepower of my computer.
The hardest part of going “over the air” is finding how to get the shows and whatever so you can watch them on your TV. Digging around to find podcasts is important. About the only reason I have cable television is to watch Maddow and Olbermann along with Myth Busters and Dirty Jobs. The antenna brings in the local channels, a lot more channels than I expected too! The podcasts bring in critical TV (see above). I am keeping my internet so I have access to Netflix, Hulu, Fantastic, ESPN360 and a lot of other internet TV productions.
The main part to be using the computer as the media center is it requires a very good video card; one that outputs HD. There are a couple of connectors that you will learn about to get the signal from the back of the card to the back of the TV or a/v receiver, but it is the HD output that is critical. Audio is important too, so having a modern S/PDIF output is necessary. The hardest part of hooking up all the cables is going to Micro Center several times each day to buy more.
Once everything was up and connected the next step that drives me up walls is making the share or switch from the computer monitor and speakers to the TV and a/v receiver. I still have to figure out which symbols to click and change and which input to the TV and a/v receiver to do. But, it is worth it. Once the whole system is up and running it is fun to watch TV again.
If you are thinking about changing the path your TV gets electrons from you will need to do a little internet research. Try searching with words like “computer media center”.
The only thing left is disconnecting the cable modems and driving over to Comcast and saying
“I am returning these, please cancel my cable television”. It is a big step, and I think I am more nervous doing this than running for office!