Playing video files on TV in living room (part 2)

[Steve A.]

Moving away from the Linux discussions for a moment I thought I would mention a different strategy for playing AVI and other video files on my TV in the living room that does not involve a network or media center computer. It is very easy to copy the video files to an SDHC card and then insert that into a Android tablet, which typically has a mini or micro HDMI output jack which you can connect to your TV. However controlling the video with the tablet can be a bit awkward as you would need to keep getting up to pause it or rewind it a few seconds because you missed what was just said and it sounded important.
Enter the Motorola Bluetooth Controller...

Amazon.com: Motorola Bluetooth Smart Controller for Android

I just ordered one from Amazon for $60 (minus a $10 credit) along with a mini HDMI to regular HDMI cable to see if this will work for me. You do need a tablet that supports bluetooth (many of the older ones don't.) I have been watching movies and TV shows on my Android tablets- if you are close enough it is almost like a 50" TV. I plug it into my Sony shelf stereo since the built-in speakers leave much to be desired. BTW MX Player is a really good app for playing videos!

Steve Ahola

P.S. If that doesn't work I could always just use a 25 foot HDMI cable- and try not to trip over it!

Amazon.com: Cable Matters 25 feet Mini HDMI to HDMI Cable: Electronics

Or get a 50 foot HDMI cable and run it through the attic!

Will a 50 foot HDMI cable suffer any signal loss? - HDTV - Home Theatre

[jbltwin1]

Or just burn them to DVD and play it in your DVD player.

[eschertron]

Or just burn them to DVD and play it in your DVD player.

That sounds too much like work!!

[Steve A.]

Or just burn them to DVD and play it in your DVD player.

The old "sneakernet"? I have done that from time to time but I haven't found a quick'n'dirty way to turn AVI files into DVD files. Besides burning a DVD to watch something just once isn't very good for the environment or my pocketbook.

Besides, by hooking my tablet up to my TV I can also play videos from the web- many of the classic TV shows are available in their entirety on YouTube. There used to be a 10 minute limit but I've seen videos over 2 hours long on YouTube in modern times. Or Hulu Plus.

Right now I'm in the middle of Season 4 of The Avengers from 1966, with Mrs. Emma Peel replacing Honor Blackman's character when she left to star in "Goldfinger." I'm also in the middle of the Dr. Who series which started in 2005, as well as the 1st season of "Mission Impossible." Not to mention the season finale of "The Walking Dead"...

Steve Ahola