Media Receivers for TV Display of Photos and Videos

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Scott Meyers wrote:
> I'm looking for an easy and inexpensive way to display on my TV the photos
> (primarily) and video (occasionally) I have stored on my computers. There
> seem to be a lot of digital medial receiver products available, but most
> reviews focus on audio issues (e.g., support for various audio formats,
> support for playlists, etc.), and I don't care about that. My primary
> interest is in being able to display jpeg images I took with my digital
> camera so that I can produce the digital equivalent of slide shows.
> Because the resolution of my camera is so much higher than the resolution
> of my non-HD TV, an important feature for me is the ability to easily zoom
> into an image and then pan around using the remote, something I've not seen
> any reviews mention. I have confirmation from the manufacturer that one
> low-priced product, the Hauppauge MediaMVP, does not support zooming.
>
> I also want to be able to display video from my camera. It's in MPEG
> format, but I don't know one MPEG format from another. I sometimes get
> short videos in AVI format, so I'd like AVI support (presumably including
> the ability to add codecs) as well as the various MPEG formats. DIVX would
> be nice, too.
>
> I've been looking at dedicated boxes for this, but I'd also be willing to
> consider a DVD player that supports the display of media off my network.
> However, the DVD player would have to support region-free playback and both
> NTSC and PAL DVDs, as I already own DVDs from multiple regions in both
> formats; my TV is NTSC only.
>
> Among the many products I've read about are the D-Link MediaLounge, the
> Roku PhotoBridge, and Pinnacle ShowCenter, but there seem to be a lot of
> products in this space. Unfortunately, as I said, most reviews focus on
> support for audio and mention photo display only in passing. I very much
> welcome comments and suggestions for which products are most likely to suit
> me.
>
> The computer I'd likely use as a media server is running Windows XP
> Professional, SP2. (I have another computer running Windows 2000 SP4, and
> I'm planning to get a Mac Mini.) I have both a wired and a wireless
> (802.11g) network, and I don't have a strong preference for which I use to
> communicate with the media receiver.
>
> Thanks for any help you can offer. If this is not the best newsgroup for
> this query, I apologize -- please point me in a better direction.
>
> Scott

Hi Scott,

You may just need to buy a program and download one... or download some
depending on which OS you are running.

If you have a dvd burner, and a dvd player, and a tv...

Windows:

You can get either Roxio Media Edition, or Nerio (I like Roxio a little
bit better, but Nerio has the same options... Roxio is a little more
intuitive to use for me.)

Then get DVD decrypter.

You can create a Slide show and burn it to a dvd, and then use dvd
decrypter to create a region free ISO. Use the CD burning program of
your choice to burn a region free DVD.

Linux (I haven't set this up yet, so I don't know if it works or not

I noticed on the packman website last night that there is now a dvd
slidewhow program listed. I started to intall it and it had a bunch of
not installed items I need to install to get it to run. However, it
was a GPL program.

roland

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

In article <MPG.1d58050ce7af4da79897e4@news.hevanet.com>, Scott Meyers
<Usenet@aristeia.com> writes
>I'm looking for an easy and inexpensive way to display on my TV the photos
>(primarily) and video (occasionally) I have stored on my computers. There
>seem to be a lot of digital medial receiver products available, but most
>reviews focus on audio issues (e.g., support for various audio formats,
>support for playlists, etc.), and I don't care about that. My primary
>interest is in being able to display jpeg images I took with my digital
>camera so that I can produce the digital equivalent of slide shows.
>Because the resolution of my camera is so much higher than the resolution
>of my non-HD TV, an important feature for me is the ability to easily zoom
>into an image and then pan around using the remote, something I've not seen
>any reviews mention. I have confirmation from the manufacturer that one
>low-priced product, the Hauppauge MediaMVP, does not support zooming.
>
>I also want to be able to display video from my camera. It's in MPEG
>format, but I don't know one MPEG format from another. I sometimes get
>short videos in AVI format, so I'd like AVI support (presumably including
>the ability to add codecs) as well as the various MPEG formats. DIVX would
>be nice, too.
>
>I've been looking at dedicated boxes for this, but I'd also be willing to
>consider a DVD player that supports the display of media off my network.
>However, the DVD player would have to support region-free playback and both
>NTSC and PAL DVDs, as I already own DVDs from multiple regions in both
>formats; my TV is NTSC only.
>
>Among the many products I've read about are the D-Link MediaLounge, the
>Roku PhotoBridge, and Pinnacle ShowCenter, but there seem to be a lot of
>products in this space. Unfortunately, as I said, most reviews focus on
>support for audio and mention photo display only in passing. I very much
>welcome comments and suggestions for which products are most likely to suit
>me.
>
>The computer I'd likely use as a media server is running Windows XP
>Professional, SP2. (I have another computer running Windows 2000 SP4, and
>I'm planning to get a Mac Mini.) I have both a wired and a wireless
>(802.11g) network, and I don't have a strong preference for which I use to
>communicate with the media receiver.
>
>Thanks for any help you can offer. If this is not the best newsgroup for
>this query, I apologize -- please point me in a better direction.
>
>Scott

Scott,

Most digital cameras - at least the ones I have tried - have the ability
to display photos directly on to a TV monitor, using S-Video or some
such connector. Those with a zoom viewing facility will also allow you
to do this on the TV (daughter and I have 4, all do this).

Therefore, you could try uploading the pictures back onto the camera you
took them on, and display them from that.

There is a strong possibility that if you have changed them, the camera
will no longer recognise them. It's got to be worth a try though, as it
won't cost you anything.

Can't help you with the movies though.

David
--
David Littlewood

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Scott Meyers wrote:
> On Tue, 2 Aug 2005 01:20:37 +0100, David Littlewood wrote:
>
>>Most digital cameras - at least the ones I have tried - have the ability
>>to display photos directly on to a TV monitor, using S-Video or some
>>such connector. Those with a zoom viewing facility will also allow you
>>to do this on the TV (daughter and I have 4, all do this).
>
>
> Yes, but this is hardly convenient for showing pictures over time as the
> dog grows up or comparing this year's trip to Europe with last year's.
> Really, it's like music: just as you don't only want to listen to the most
> recent songs you purchased, you don't want to look at the most recent
> photos you took.
>
> Am I really the only person who wants to have a convenient way to display
> photos on a TV so that people can look at them?
>
> Scott

Hi Scott...

I not only want to; but do.

I'd respectfully ask you to reconsider getting ahold of
a dvd burner, they're really very inexpensive now, and so
is the blank media if shopped for wisely.

The only thing you'll not be able to do *as you
described* your wishes, if I understand them correctly,
is zoom and pan at will, unless your dvd player allows it.

You can however make still shows of individual pictures,
or better yet make slide shows with the "??? Jones" effect
of zooming and panning, lots of transition effects, and
music to go along with it. I'd recommend taking a look
at proshow gold.

Take care.

Ken

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

On Tue, 02 Aug 2005 11:18:19 -0400, Marvin wrote:
> In that case, the only way I see to do it is to get a video card for your
> PC and a box that will let you set up a WiFi network to your TV. That
> isn't free, of course. If you don't mind burning a CD, many DVD players
> will show a slide show of .jpg files from a CD. Zooming on the TV is
> another matter. I can zoom to a selected portion of the screen on my PC,
> but I've never seen a TV that will do that.

There are special network devices that do this kind of thing, e.g., the
Roku Photobridge HD1000, but the more I look into these devices, the more I
find that zooming/panning is unlikely to be supported. I have now found
out that neither the D-Link MediaLounge DSM-320 or the Hauppauge MediaMVP
supporting zooming, which I find very disappointing.

I had hoped that others had experience with these kinds of devices for
displaying photos and showing video. Apparently not many do. Sigh.

Scott

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

On Mon, 1 Aug 2005 20:09:42 -0700, Scott Meyers wrote:

> Am I really the only person who wants to have a convenient way to display
> photos on a TV so that people can look at them?

I've displayed pictures on decent TVs (Sony 20" & 27" ) and it's
not until you want to zoom in slightly that you're aware of the very
limited resolution they offer compared to even a low end computer
monitor. For only $300 to $350 (maybe less) you can get a complete
computer with 17" monitor will provide much clearer images, and
allow much greater control of what images to show than CD or DVD
players. No concerns about expensive, proprietary hard drives
either that some of the standalone units use. And don't let the
fact that it's a complete computer dissuade you. You could cover it
with a box labeled "Scott's Video Viewer" or hide it completely,
only showing an external DVD drive and mouse.

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Scott Meyers wrote:
> On Tue, 02 Aug 2005 11:18:19 -0400, Marvin wrote:
> > In that case, the only way I see to do it is to get a video card for your
> > PC and a box that will let you set up a WiFi network to your TV. That
> > isn't free, of course. If you don't mind burning a CD, many DVD players
> > will show a slide show of .jpg files from a CD. Zooming on the TV is
> > another matter. I can zoom to a selected portion of the screen on my PC,
> > but I've never seen a TV that will do that.
>
> There are special network devices that do this kind of thing, e.g., the
> Roku Photobridge HD1000, but the more I look into these devices, the more I
> find that zooming/panning is unlikely to be supported. I have now found
> out that neither the D-Link MediaLounge DSM-320 or the Hauppauge MediaMVP
> supporting zooming, which I find very disappointing.
>
> I had hoped that others had experience with these kinds of devices for
> displaying photos and showing video. Apparently not many do. Sigh.
>
> Scott

Both ATI and NVIDIA make graphics cards with DVI TV Out. I actually
have one in my PC, but I have not hook it up to my TV. My laptop does
have a S-video output that I can hook up to the TV, but I do not like
the quality of the video when hooked up to the TV.

Actually, thinking this through... I was able to play jpg's on the
DVD player.

I dumped the jpg files to a dvd using k3b in linux, and it played on
the dvd player. When I dumped them using the windows burners it would
not play.

Also, when I was in Scotland, I dumped jpg's to a CD using Roxio, and
they played on the CD player in the B&B we stayed at.

If you have a CD burner - try dumping your jpg's to a cd and seeing if
they play in your dvd player. This was with out music.

roland