What Equipment Do I Need?

Hello.
I am at odd's with my cable provider and I do not think they can solve my problem but I believe that I can. Long story short: I no longer am willing to pay a premium if the networks force commercials on me and as many as 6 in a row.

I find that there are TV channels on line. So I need to know what type of equipment do I need to transmit the online signal from my computer to my TV and stereo receiver. The equipment must be wireless. So I guess I need a wireless transmitter and wireless receiver which then would need to be wired up to TV and my stereo receiver I think.

I also will be saving some money by cancelling cable TV and just keeping internet service and phone.
Will this Idea work?

One might ask; why bother? You will still get commercials. That's correct but at least I am not paying for them.

Using a Lenovo laptop, my wife regularly transmits whatever is displayed on her laptop screen to our Vizio TVs using an HDMI device attached to the TVs. This works quite well.

The device attached to each Vizio TV is a "ScreenBeam Pro": ScreenBeam Pro | www.ScreenBeam.global

I would not be surprised if they have newer models or if other companies have similar devices for sale.

Her laptop has built-in "widi" transmit capability. I don't know if that particular term ("widi", not "wifi") is simply Intel's name for Miracast, however I DO know that my cheap ($50?) Android tablet and my daughter's LG3 smartphone both can transmit their displays to the TVs as well and I believe THEY call it miracast.

The Screenbeam Pro attaches to an HDMI port on the TVs - haven't tried nor know how it would interface to BOTH a stereo and a TV at the same time.

Anyway, we use these on almost a daily basis and "cut the cable" months ago so have no TV service at all anymore - it's all internet.

Note - since our TV watching is "all internet" that means everything we watch on TV uses up our data quota - if you watch HD movies a LOT (like more than one or two per day), you can easily hit your data cap.

Note, part II - cutting the cable saved us $90-ish per month. If we upgrade our internet service to the next tier just so we can watch a couple HD movies per day it will only cost us another $10/month. As such, cutting the cable REALLY saved us money.

Note, part III - we also have an Amazon Firestick attached to an HDMI port of our larger Vizio. This allows us to watch whatever videos Amazon has to offer on the Vizio. We use that regularly as well (indeed, for whatever reason, my wife is currently watching, like, three episodes of MacGyver per day...).

Thanks. A relative of mine who is a Comcast employee got me signed up and I get 230 channels that cost me 101.00 per month. And getting all these commercials cross the line. Today, I timed their interruption of the programming. After watching 7 minutes of a show, I then got 5 minutes of commercials. I'll make a copy of your reply to show to an employee of "Best Buy"(a computer and tv store) to see what they can come up with. I am not proceeding with this because of the savings but to rid myself of knowing that I am paying for something I do not want.
Besides, out of these 230 channels, I watch about 10 of them on a regular basis. So I am wasting my money.

I just checked out the "Screen Beam" and it appears to be what I need. But I see no mention that it can used with a desktop computer. But I suppose if it can work with a laptop, then why not. I'll investigate it further. In the mean time, I need to contact my cable provider to find out if I am under a yearly contract. I do not recall signing anything unless I sent in an electronic signature when I signed up.

OTA (over the air) TV is great these days. HD in many cases and I get 17 channels even though I live in the boonies, many suburbs will get a lot more. All the major broadcast channels like ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox5, CW........etc.

What I can't get OTA I find online.

But I see no mention that it can used with a desktop computer

Click to expand...

It can be used with any device that can transmit a Widi or Miracast signal. Since these are variations of Wifi it wouldn't surprise me if your desktop can transmit it - however that is totally an unknown to me, admittedly. I did mention above that a cheap Android tablet and an expensive Android smartphone both can transmit Miracast signals and are compatible with the Screenbeam Pro - it is unlikely these two devices have secondary transmitters to generate these signals suggesting that ANY Wifi-capable computer can, with the proper software, send the Miracast signal.

But again, I've never tried it with my desktop(s).

[discussing all the Wifi devices that can do Miracast reminded me that I have a Raspberry Pi sitting around that can do Wifi - so I googled for "raspberry pi miracast" and got some interesting hits., e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROcpPZqUneg

There is a early termination fee that Comcast charges. My service indicates that I am under a 12 month agreement. So it looks like I will need to wait until June 2016 to cancel part of my service.

I use a SiliconDust box to transmit OTA TV to my computers and Android devices over WiFI. Also use Easy HDTV DVR to record them.

You will still have commercials on legal streaming websites like sling.com.

Those that state that they offer online tv are fake websites

True, But I won't be paying to watch them; that's the difference. Next June, I'll be watching vhf & uhf television with any online shows I can find.

Even with streaming programs online with say CBS, Crackle, Hulu Plus. You will still get commercials that you cannot skip.

As for OTA. Very few channels are VHF. I use the Antennas Direct DB8 with no Pre-amp and can pick up locals 50 miles away. I use a VHF 7-13 that is aimed another direction for one local repeater that carries CBS and MyTV.

I actually placed mine in my attic, since I have enough headroom and have not had any issues.

Check tvfool.com for locals.