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Any client options for an old CRT TV?


Marc_G

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Hi folks,

 

Hopefully the title of the thread hasn't caused catastrophic fits of laughter.

 

I've been using MB in one form or another since 2009 on my plasma TV that the wife and I use in our media room, but my kids mostly use a TV in the family room that is just an old 36" Toshiba cathode ray tube TV circa 2001. It has the usual RCA plug AV inputs (composite), S-Video, and even (make "ooohhh" sound) a component video in. Of course, it only accepts SD resolutions.

 

For the longest time my kids have survived on using DVDs I burn, played in a DVD player attached to the TV. For anything more complicated we go down to my media room.

 

Eventually I'll be upgrading that CRT TV, but for now, is there a MB client on any box that I can hook up to an ancient analog TV? I'd like to set up a MB profile for "kid friendly" content and let them watch that way, and dump the DVD discs. Seriously, that's getting old. And the DVD player skips a lot. Drives us all crazy.

 

My kids are 7 and 10, so they can figure out remotes. No problem.

 

What are my options, short of buying a new TV? Ideally, it would be able to run MB and Netflix...

 

Marc

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mjb2000

Take a look at using a Raspberry Pi - You'll need a Model B which has 512MB ram, composite video and analogue audio out. (not Model B+ which is lacking composite video out).

 

You can install OpenElec on to an SD card which gives you an XBMC (now called Kodi) media player on to which you can install the XBMB3C plugin (the Media Browser 3 plugin for XBMC).

 

In terms of remote control you can either hook up an old keyboard to one of the USB connectors or use a smart phone/tablet app to control the Pi via the network. Talkng of networking, you'll need wired ethernet for reliable performance. If using USB WiFi then then dongle should ideally be plugged in to a separate powered USB hub (many people talk of the Pi struggling to prvide enough power and becoming unstable).

 

Another option would be using a Roku device, I think the Roku LT has composite out (via a special cable adapter) or use a HDMI > Composite converter to allow any HDMI device to be displayed on the TV

 

Hope this helps

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Thanks for the fast response. The raspberry pi things sounds a bit kludgy... since this will be used by my kids when I'm not around, I need to make it bulletproof.

 

The Roku idea sounds excellent. I did a quick lookup and it seems the Roku 2 may fit the bill. It apparently comes with A/V outs.  Oddly it seems to be only wireless. While this can work in my house (I've got a recent model N+ router with gigabit wired ports), I'd rather hook the box up with a cable if possible, to avoid the possibility of connectivity issues. I might need to set up a repeater over near the family room, which is doable since there's a hardwired port there.

 

That's probably my best bet. I'll investigate the Roku thing...

 

Any other thoughts?

 

Marc

Edited by Marc_G
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Redshirt

Media Browser Classic should still work on old 4:3 aspect ratio hardware. I can't speak for the various themes but Chocolate is 4:3 friendly. My Android client should also handle the 4:3 aspect ratio, but isn't in the public's hands. If your looking for a solution today, I'd say MBC or Roku.

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MBC will have some issues with 4:3 because I have stopped worrying about it when making modifications.  I would suggest a Roku.  It would be a simple interface for the kids and give them access to other things easily as well (like Netflix or YT).

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mjb2000

Personally, I'd avoid wireless 'repeaters', I've not had too much luck with them in terms of reliability of signal. What works well is an additional WiFi access point connected to a wired ethernet backbone (essentially connected via ethernet to your home router). You should set the wireless SSID (name) and security settings to be identical but use a different channel to avoid interference. The best channels to use are 1, 6 and 11 (as these don't overlap), so take a close look at your router's config and select a different channel for your new access point (This will probably mean you need to disable any automatic channel assignment).

 

Note - When it comes to wireless security settings these need to be EXACTLY the same (not just the password), so again, take a close look at yourrouter config to duplicate you WEP/WPA1/WPA2 config as well as your encryption type (TKIP or AES). Unless you have a reason not to (an old, unsupported device), you should use WPA2 with AES encryption.

 

Hope this helps. Have a great Christmas

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thefirstofthe300

Personally, I'd avoid wireless 'repeaters', I've not had too much luck with them in terms of reliability of signal. What works well is an additional WiFi access point connected to a wired ethernet backbone (essentially connected via ethernet to your home router). You should set the wireless SSID (name) and security settings to be identical but use a different channel to avoid interference. The best channels to use are 1, 6 and 11 (as these don't overlap), so take a close look at your router's config and select a different channel for your new access point (This will probably mean you need to disable any automatic channel assignment).

 

Note - When it comes to wireless security settings these need to be EXACTLY the same (not just the password), so again, take a close look at yourrouter config to duplicate you WEP/WPA1/WPA2 config as well as your encryption type (TKIP or AES). Unless you have a reason not to (an old, unsupported device), you should use WPA2 with AES encryption.

 

Hope this helps. Have a great Christmas

 

I have had the exact same experience.  Repeaters are not really reliable.

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Hi folks,

 

Roku 2 is looking good. I will eventually be buying a replacement TV... just hate to say goodbye to the old beast, and not sure how I'll get rid of it.

 

Maybe I should look into getting a TV with built in software compatible with some form of MB client... what's the best bet for that, these days? DLNA? I admit, I need to do some homework. MB has been part of my life since 2009 (MB 2.0 I think!), and I've never looked much beyond the windows client...

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Deihmos

Hi folks,

 

Roku 2 is looking good. I will eventually be buying a replacement TV... just hate to say goodbye to the old beast, and not sure how I'll get rid of it.

 

Maybe I should look into getting a TV with built in software compatible with some form of MB client... what's the best bet for that, these days? DLNA? I admit, I need to do some homework. MB has been part of my life since 2009 (MB 2.0 I think!), and I've never looked much beyond the windows client...

Samsung has the best smart TV platform. There is an alpha Samsung app but I don't know anything about it.

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techywarrior

Personally I'd rather forgo the "smart TV" and buy a Roku or something like that for my TV (even a new TV with apps). Since each manufacturer has their own ecosystem for smart TV's, and even then it can change drastically from one generation to the next. You may have better longevity and support from a Roku that has a huge userbase.

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mjb2000

I agree. Don't seek out 'smart' features - put any money saved in to a TV with better picture quality or towards a soundbar / external speakers.

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Deihmos

The majority of TVs now come with smart features and the price difference between one without is small. For smart features Samsung is the way to go because the app selection is vast and I stopped using my roku on the Samsung because everything is built in.

Edited by Deihmos
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jamvids

In the old days of MB2, I just used an old pc with a TV out on it, or an old console with DLNA, preferably a PS3.

 

PS, thanks for kludgy, it's going into my vocabulary

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