TW3 - Streaming Video!

 
In the muddle over computer issues I have not said much about my Vizio HDTV.  Maybe that is because the moment I took my saved up money to purchase it the computer failed and I began to regret the money spent. I do not use credit cards so I save for what I want. I had wanted the flat screen TV for more than a year as I put away cash for the eventual purchase. Everything had gotten in the way - like car repairs.

With at last money in hand, product research completed, and friend along to keep me from going bonkers over the unconsidered options I got the flat screen of my dreams. Okay, due to prices I went 5" bigger (glad I did) and when my friend mentioned the HTML cable I also jumped in an got a new Samsung Blu Ray/DVD player capable of streaming Netflix video. That was a couple hundred I had not planned to spend. But it seemed to make sense until the computer failed.

The failure of the computer had far reaching ramifications - beyond budget. The whole fight with HP over the first faulty computer they shipped me consumed all my left brain so set up of the HDTV and player never went beyond being able to play DVD's. The budget crunch of robbing Peter to pay Paul and get a new computer made me regret the TV and also hedge on upgrading my Netflix account to Blu Ray. It definitely made me hate manuals, tech support centers, and fear that all electronics when touched would fail. Bottom line was I wanted my new entertainment center to hook itself up to the ethernet. I was tharned.

Saturday I finally got to a level of frustration with myself that I was going to do it or die trying. I had already proven to myself that the directions made no sense. They were originally written in Chinese no doubt and translated to English by a non-English techno nerd. I used to translate computer techno nerd speak to engineer and accountant language in my real world life. But they all spoke English. Well, there was some question about the engineers. I tossed the manual aside after connecting the ethernet cable. Schematics seldom need translation. Then I decided to work upstream as opposed to downstream (electrical troubleshooting technique). TV first, then player, at lastly computer.

Success! I will not go into the details but you definitely have to begin with the TV AND the TV remote even if the TV can be controlled by the player remote! I was at last able to watch Netflix streaming video on my new HDTV! This has far reaching ramifications (favorite word of the week). I can exercise while watching as opposed to being stuck in a computer chair. I don't panic when I have forgotten to mail back the last Netflix DVDs in a timely manner to get replacements before the weekend (I only get mail delivery 3 days a week in my rural area). And I am not regretting my 3 year ago decision to disconnect satellite TV.

Saturday evening I sat in my easy chair and watched streaming video on my HDTV and just kept saying spontaneously to the fur kids, "I love this TV."

Comments

  1. thebutlerJanuary 10, 2011 at 4:50 AM

    Wow, didn't take you any time at all to become a SVA addict; knew you would, once you could get the set-up to work! lol

    ReplyDelete
  2. JBinford-BellJanuary 10, 2011 at 4:53 AM

    I have an addictive personality to begin with. I just try to aim my addictions toward the more healthy alternatives. Ergo the exercise in front of the SVA, chocolate in moderation, coffee to excess because the neurologist prescribed it, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ien in the KootenaysJanuary 10, 2011 at 7:31 PM

    Congratulations! You are so clever!
    Enjoy the slow snow season this way.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I write for me but I care what my readers think. Please be polite and no scamming.

Popular posts from this blog

Swimming

Image
For much of my college career my fitness workout was swimming on the B squad of the swim team. I remember it as the days before heated pools and women coaches. I also remember being so exhausted and cold I could only lean against the shower wall and throw up. Not exactly warm fuzzy images but I was in awesome shape. Needless to say it did not leave me with a overpowering desire to swim laps. Point of fact for years my swimming became really informal: Swimming to shore after the canoe tipped over, challenging my sister once a summer to across the lake and back, seeing how long I could back float without moving a muscle, and a scuba course. I also played around with other ways of staying fit: aerobics, bicycling, jogging, skiing and dance classes. All of which seem to be bad for the knees, back or feet. After my ski accident my physical therapist steered me back to the pool. Damn if I was going to swim laps! However, aqua fit was just getting rather seriously taken so I took it. It r
Read more

The Pruning the Crown of Thorns

Image
Crown of Thorns Before I am a lover of Euphorbias . They are from the deserts of Southern Africa and Madagascar. They have evolved physical characteristics and forms similar to cacti of North and South America and are often incorrectly referred to as cacti. My big Crown of Thorns was one of my first of a growing collection of these succulents from the spurge family of Euphorbiaceae. I picked it up as a 6 inch plant in a New Iberia nursery when my sister and I were touring the northern gulf coast. I believe that was 15 years ago. I made an attempt at limiting its height a few years back to allow it to devote more energy to the new branches and make it a denser plant. That failed. And the height of the plant continued to challenge the window space and soon the long branches were leaning over and leaning against the window. I googled and found the proper way to prune this treasured plant. Still it was very difficult to cut off the four longer branches. Even with a plan. The f
Read more

Eagle Nest Dam

Image
Tour of Eagle Nest Dam Eagle Nest Dam is the largest privately built dam in the United States. It was begun by the Springer family in 1917 and completed in 1920. It and the reservoir beyond it one was privately owned by the CS Ranch which recently sold it to the state of New Mexico. Eagle Nest Lake is now a state park, but the dam and the waters in the lake are another matter all together. Water is well regulated in New Mexico especially during a drought. The lake is now at 25% of its normal capacity, and the water in the lake are water right lease holds of Raton, Cimarron, and historic ranches in the area like the UU Bar and the CS Ranch. Game and Fish department also get involved because the Cimarron River is an active fishery of the state. Our guide was a state engineer and the Gateway Museum secured permission of the land owners below the dam for us to gain access to the area. Some 100 locals and tourists attended this rare event. I have lived here almost twenty years and th
Read more