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Linking Your TV-PC Is Next Big Thing

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By RICHARD MULLINS

rmullins@tampatrib.com

Published: February 8, 2009

Part of my newspaper gig involves monitoring just how far some innovative/annoying new gizmo has progressed along the evolutionary path from Geekville to Mainstream.

At one point, some gadget is something only CEOs have or only people from the IT department can make work.

Then, poof. That same gadget is on the shelf at Target. I cite recent gadgets that made this evolutionary step: Portable "jump" drives, GPS navigators, Bluetooth, TiVo, BlackBerries and the Roomba. At one point, all were exotic.

So we hereby report on the progress of one particular gadgetry trend: People plugging their computers directly into their TVs to watch - you know - TV.

Now I am not talking about sitting at your computer and watching videos. What we're talking about here is using some tactic to connect your TV to your computer to watch Internet videos, TV shows and movies.

I'd say this trend is somewhere between geek stage and ubiquitous - some guy in your office probably made this work, and lots of other people can, too.

Why do this?

For one, you can ditch your cable TV box or avoid renting another box for the spare bedroom or study. Also, with a notebook or desktop hookup, you can seek out pretty much any video online and watch it on a big, big screen.

If you forgot to record that hysterical episode of "The Office" (with Dwight's fire safety training) you can watch it on your big screen instead of padding over to your PC to watch it on the small screen. This is YouTube on your big screen.

First off, there are some drawbacks. The image quality just won't be as good as normal cable TV - unless you want to geek out and download high-definition video files and feed them through a software video player.

And you can't easily zip from channel to channel as with your TV remote control. Don't expect an apples-to-apples transfer of all your favorite TV channels.

That said, you have two routes to watch TV, on your TV, through your computer.

•Take a notebook computer and plug its video output into a relatively new TV. Most new TVs have an "HDMI" plug just for this. Thus, your TV becomes a giant display for your computer. Major TV networks want you watching their Web sites. This is why NBC heavily promoted its site Hulu.com during the Super Bowl. They can sell more advertising and don't have to deal with pesky cable TV companies as intermediaries.

ABC, NBC and FOX have their own Web sites, though premium channels like HBO or Showtime rarely put their best shows online. Other specialty sites abound, from YouTube to Joost.com (TV shows and movies) to Break.com (with lots of guy-centric video.)

•Employ gadgetry. Apple still sells its Apple TV box that streams video from your computer to your TV, though it's had limited market success. You can soon buy a new LG television that pulls in video through an embedded Netflix service. If you really want to geek out, you can buy a small digital projector. Hook that puppy up to your notebook computer, go online, point the projector at your bedroom wall and you've got an instant big screen. (Works best in a darkened room.)

Yes, this trend is coming your way.

More than one-third of U.S. homes have a flat-panel TV, said digital media guru Phil Leigh of Tampa. By 2011, that figure could be nearly 90 percent. Nearly all the new units provide HDMI sockets to connect with computers. Put all these market forces together, and Leigh says you'll soon consider Internet video on your TV as normal as a DVD player - or a Roomba.

Reporter Richard Mullins can be reached at (813) 259-7919.

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