Home AV setup - advice sought..

[Sirbendy]

As some of you know, I have no TV. No license, not intending on getting one either. In it's place, I have my dualcore Athlon x2 and a 19" widescreen TFT (Hanns-G HW191D, 1xVGA and 1xDVI-D). This runs Openelec.tv off a USB drive as primary OS, for 'net TV/youtube/DVDs. Second boot drive holds Win7, for work if I need it.

Also have a little NAS box running SnakeOS, hosting mediatomb for music on my LAN.

Now, upstairs I have the old TV - a 21" CRT Toshiba, with S-Video/Scart - old, but working. Was about to dispose of it.

I also have a Wii, and now an R-Pi. The Wii doesn't work with my screen - I bought a Wii>VGA cable, and whilst I can get an image fine, everything is green..not an unknown issue, and down to how the monitor handles the sync. The R-Pi won't work through an HDMI>VGA either.

So, the old TV has won a reprieve of sorts. Except it's huge, upstairs, and won't interface with my PC, which is it's main need if it's downstairs.

SO...suggestions please. The cheaper the better (Missus is on Mat Leave now for 12 months, after that it'll be 2x nursery fees!)..I need something that ideally will work as a PC monitor, will work with the R-Pi, either over HDMI or composite, and will work with a Wii...

I did wonder about a video capture card in the PC, for linking composite upto and showing on the PC, but lag-wise I'm not sure that'd fly...

[Jamo]

As some of you know, I have no TV. No license, not intending on getting one either. In it's place, I have my dualcore Athlon x2 and a 19" widescreen TFT (Hanns-G HW191D, 1xVGA and 1xDVI-D). This runs Openelec.tv off a USB drive as primary OS, for 'net TV/youtube/DVDs. Second boot drive holds Win7, for work if I need it.

Also have a little NAS box running SnakeOS, hosting mediatomb for music on my LAN.

Now, upstairs I have the old TV - a 21" CRT Toshiba, with S-Video/Scart - old, but working. Was about to dispose of it.

I also have a Wii, and now an R-Pi. The Wii doesn't work with my screen - I bought a Wii>VGA cable, and whilst I can get an image fine, everything is green..not an unknown issue, and down to how the monitor handles the sync. The R-Pi won't work through an HDMI>VGA either.

So, the old TV has won a reprieve of sorts. Except it's huge, upstairs, and won't interface with my PC, which is it's main need if it's downstairs.

SO...suggestions please. The cheaper the better (Missus is on Mat Leave now for 12 months, after that it'll be 2x nursery fees!)..I need something that ideally will work as a PC monitor, will work with the R-Pi, either over HDMI or composite, and will work with a Wii...

I did wonder about a video capture card in the PC, for linking composite upto and showing on the PC, but lag-wise I'm not sure that'd fly...

Yeah don't go down the capture card route!! The lag is awful I did that originally for my Wii a few years back without realising there was about a 3 second delay!!

Rather frustrating!

[Oaktech]

View this document: http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/resourc..._25Aug2011.pdf

"The law states that you need to be covered by a TV Licence if you watch or record television programmes, on any device, as they're being shown on TV. This includes TVs, computers, mobile phones, games consoles, digital boxes and Blu-ray/DVD/VHS recorders.
You don't need a licence if you don't use any of these devices to watch or record television programmes as they're being shown on TV - for example, if you use your TV only to watch DVDs or play video games, or you only watch ‘catch up’ services like BBC iPlayer or 4oD."

Get a TV, remove the tuner module.

do this: https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/nln/index.aspx

[j17sparky]

A TV?.. Just don't hook up an arial.

[mikkydoos]

View this document: http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/resourc..._25Aug2011.pdf

"The law states that you need to be covered by a TV Licence if you watch or record television programmes, on any device, as they're being shown on TV. This includes TVs, computers, mobile phones, games consoles, digital boxes and Blu-ray/DVD/VHS recorders.
You don't need a licence if you don't use any of these devices to watch or record television programmes as they're being shown on TV - for example, if you use your TV only to watch DVDs or play video games, or you only watch ‘catch up’ services like BBC iPlayer or 4oD."

Get a TV, remove the tuner module.

do this: https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/nln/index.aspx

-----------------------


Yep.

I think you might be in the market for a new telly m8.

[sonofsanta]

A TV?.. Just don't hook up an arial.

Doesn't make any difference; if the hardware is capable of receiving a signal, they'll sting you for needing a licence.

TV Licensing is the one aspect of British law where "innocent until proven guilty" doesn't apply... if you assert that you don't use a TV for watching TV, they will make half a dozen or so unannounced visits to see what you're doing. They just assume you are lying and try to catch you out on it.

[Edu-IT]

Sirbendy will probably point you to a blog post where his O/H has commented on the very thing you're discussing. I think they've been through all the hoops already, from the rants I remember reading.

[mikkydoos]

They're correct.

Even if you have a telly up in your loft with no plug on it, you need a license. Sounds fair enough to me.

For the cost of a decent TV I put this rig together about 2 years ago.

3m Motorised projector screen
Optoma HD65 Projector
Logitech Z5550 500w 5.1 surround
HDMI / Optical switch

Basically cost me around a grand and gave me a cinema. TV is 167".

Got a Virgin box, PS3, Wii, PC and touch monitor on it too for my music and to use as a little TV.

THAT was a bugger to spec !!!

[Oaktech]

the thing is here is recieving equipment... if you have nothing capable of recieving a signal then you not have to have a licence, you can have a TV detunered at which point you do not require a licence.

I did this quite successfully for my brother in law on a hannsG tele a few years ago. Yes there was some too-ing and fro-ing with tv licensing and a home visit from a technical bod, which involved him saying "you need a licence it's just a tele" being shown the hole in the back and the innability to connect an aerial, and the bit in the menu that says 'no tuner module found' and him then saying "oh right, fair enough" but in the end the license people gave my brother in law some kind of certificate and that device officially does not require a license.

[chazzy2501]

Doesn't make any difference; if the hardware is capable of receiving a signal, they'll sting you for needing a licence.

TV Licensing is the one aspect of British law where "innocent until proven guilty" doesn't apply... if you assert that you don't use a TV for watching TV, they will make half a dozen or so unannounced visits to see what you're doing. They just assume you are lying and try to catch you out on it.

Nope, you can declare you have a TV and that you are using it to watch only offline (not over the air content) I've done this. They send you a letter saying that they'll ask you again in 2 years.

https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/nln/index.aspx

[sonofsanta]

Nope, you can declare you have a TV and that you are using it to watch only offline (not over the air content) I've done this. They send you a letter saying that they'll ask you again in 2 years.

https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/nln/index.aspx

Good lord, they've gone soft in the last few years then. About time, the Gestapo schtick was wearing thin.

[Sirbendy]

Indeed - I've been there, done that, told them to sling their bully-boy, no basis in enforceable law hook, and the last chap who asked nicely came in, looked, saw, said "Fair enough, we'll stop bugging you then", and nothing since.

That included me showing him the TV, fully ready to rock without an aerial and a DVD link to a player on top, and the cut off aerial leads. Just because you own one, doesn't mean you HAVE to pay. In fact, I showed him my old B&W unit too...heh. It's amazing how much misinformation is out there over TVL, but we've plumbed the depths, had the letters, had the visits, refused entry, done the whole lot..it's good fun!

What I'm doing is non-license applicable, totally. Heh. It's just the damn interconnections that are throwing me.

[Oaktech]

Ok, so how about... a de tunered TV with VGA for PC, get an HDMI switch if you need to, to deal with Rpi and any dvd/blu ray you use, use the a composite or an RGB for the Wii or perhaps RGB for wii and composite for RPi? My 32" LG will do these things, and is now available on the second hand market for about £100!

[Sirbendy]

Possible...

I've just Primed an Amazon delivery for tomorrow of an HDMI>DVI-D lead - to see if HDMI through DVI-D will work for the R-Pi. If so, great. Also ordered a Wii2HDMI, with intent to do the same. Then I can keep my 19" TFT, PC on VGA, R-Pi/Wii on DVI-D and switch as needed.

Annoyingly, the Wii>Component>VGA would have worked, except for the Wii's insistence on using Sync on Green. Lovely picture, just green. Ah well, it was a few quid.

[mikkydoos]

Oh, just a last quick one. Best company in the world for adaptors and unusual leads - Startech. Google them and u'll find all the adaptors u'll ever need.