Making the IPTV Move - #3

So here is my current IPTV Experiment setup works. I like it so far! Don't look at the two black cables coming out from behind the tv... I was trying out a few things when I made this video.




NATER

Making the IPTV Move - #2

So I have had a few people ask me so far what/how I am set up to watch tv without cable. So in this installment I will illustrate my current setup. Below is an illustration of how I have the computer, PS3, and TV all working together:

I leave my computer on at all times and I am currently running the PlayOn Media Server and the Windows Media Server. The computer is wired by CAT5 (thank you pre-ran home network wiring!) to my Playstation 3 which is connected by HDMI to my TV. To make browsing tv easier on my PS3, I bought the Logitech Harmony PS3 Adaptor off eBay for $40 shipped. This allows me to use my Logitech Harmony One universal remote instead of the PS3 game controller.

So that is how the whole thing is set-up currently. Now onto the important thing, what can we watch!

Streaming from my computer to the PS3 via PlayOn (listed is not channels, but videos from listed websites):

1. HULU (tons of tv shows at your finger tips!)
2. Amazon Video-On-Demand
3. Comedy Central
4. CBS
5. ESPN (not ESPN360, or now called ESPN3...)
6. CNN
7. YouTube
8. MTV
9. TLC
10. Discovery
11. Syfy
12. DIY
13. HGTV
14. PGA Tour
15. NBC
16. MLB.tv (have to buy subscription)
17. NHL (have to buy subscription)
18. Pandora

Streaming to my computer via Windows Media Server:

1. My pictures
2. My own videos
3. My music
4. All ripped tv shows and movies

Streaming from the Internet to my PS3:

1. NetFlix Watch Instantly Movies
2. NetFlix Watch Instantly TV-Series

So far I like it a lot. It takes a little getting used to since you can't really channel surf... You have to pick a show you want to watch. But I think with better utilization of the Hulu and Netflix Queue, we should be able to get a routine down.

On a side note, I did try to use a digital antenna and get the local channels. This would work great since all tv station broadcast in digital, so you can get local channels in HD over the air. But since we live in a valley, and too far from SD and LA, we don't get a clear reception. This would make the tv channel surfing much easier, and our whole experience much better. Oh well...

In the next update, I will show a video of how well this actually works!

Nater

Making the IPTV Move - #1

So I am making the move from Cable TV to using only the internet. I feel that with normal cable tv, we just watched what we wanted to, but paid a ton of money for stuff we didn't want. I thought that there was an a' la cart law passed that required cable companies to only charged for what you wanted, but I just don't see that coming any time soon... Thus last night I drove 30 miles round trip to drop off my cable box at COX in Oceanside.

Here is the plan that I am looking to roll out and will document, since I know some people are also interested in this. I am going to be turning my current computer into a media server, which I will rip all of our DVD's to and stream media from. I will be using my PS3 as the portal to the internet on my TV. I will be trying out a few different pieces of software, mainly using PlayOn to stream Hulu, and hopefully GoogleTV in the Fall...

In my next post I will outline my current set-up and how its all working together currently.

Nater