And so it begins..

My MythTV Journey, Part 1

It all started a while back when I decided that it would be nice if I could view some of the videos I had on my computer on my TV screen. My first attempt at this involved hooking up some wireless A/V sender/recievers I had lying around. This worked, but had a few problems. For one, my 2.4GHz phone interfered with the 2.4GHz A/V sender (even on different channels.) Another problem was that I would have to run back to the other room to start the video, which, of course, was a pain.

My next attempt was a little more successful. I placed my laptop next to the TV and hooked them together. Using Media Portal and my ATI Remote Control, I was able to watch computer videos on my TV. This worked, but it had quite a few problems:
  • It was a hassle to hookup all the wires (power cable, video cable, audio cable, usb adatper for remote, etc.) everytime I wanted to do it.
  • If I wanted to use my laptop, I had to unhook it.
  • Media Portal would sometimes slow down or lockup.
  • Couldn't play all the formats I wanted to.
  • Needed access to videos on desktop computer (w/ large hard drive). I could have fixed this by setting up a wireless network, but I never made it that far.
  • Took up space in entertainment center. (Space had to stay empty so I could ad and remove laptop.)
  • Pain to run Media Portal and them change settings on laptop to output to TV only.

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