Question for technically minded folks

[selenay]

So, For Reason (TM)*, I'm considering buying a small, super-cheap desktop to hook up to my HDTV. The one I have my eye on has an HDMI output, so my question is thus:

If the desktop has an HDMI output, would there be anything keeping me from using the TV as its only monitor? Does it have to have a monitor attached to the VGA when I first boot it up, or can I hook it straight to (the HDMI port on) my TV with no issues?

* These reasons are, at least in part, the combination of TunnelBear and sites like BBC iPlayer. And also all the cable TV websites, for when I miss episodes due to my PVR being silly. Because I'm fed up with the tiny picture my iPad sends to my TV with the iPlayer (I have to run the website through Chrome rather than having the app, Because Canada) and most of the catch-up apps for iPad are locked unless you have a cable subscription, but they refuse to work with my cable provider Because Maritime Canada. Ugh. So a super-cheap desktop is starting to look like a great option.

Comments

[lavvyan]

My TV's been my desktop's only monitor for years now. You can hook it straight up, no trouble.

[selenay]

Awesome! Thank you :-)

[gaspode]

yes. just boot with HDMI plugged in

[selenay]

Awesome, thank you! Wanted to check before I spent money on a super-cheap computer :-) This will make my life a heck of a lot easier.

[paranoidangel]

This is exactly what I used to use my old netbook for, until I bought an internet TV. I also got a wireless keyboard with touchpad, so you can use the computer without having to be anywhere near it.

[selenay]

I've had this keyboard recced to me for exactly that, which would make the whole set up even more useful!

The PC I'm looking at has a DVD player. If I remember correctly, in most PC DVD players, you set the region for the player on start-up. So I could set it to region 2 and all my old DVDs suddenly become more accessible. I've got a really cheap DVD player that I hacked to be multi-region, but picture is terrible and the remote has never worked properly. It's a total chore to use it, so most of my region 2s haven't really been watched since I got here. I miss Press Gang :-(

Really, the more I look into this, the better it looks as an option. And the little super cheap desktop I'm looking at is cheaper than all the netbook/laptops I've seen that actually have an HDMI port, so I think this might work out really well.

[paranoidangel]

That's a cool keyboard. Mine's a proper full-sized keyboard, so it's bigger than my netbook :)

You can set the DVD region on a computer five times - on my old laptop I had it set to region 1, as I had a USB DVD writer, set to region 2. So if you have a region 1 DVD player anyway, having the cheap computer as region 2 would work perfectly. As long as you don't want to watch any other regions :)

My multi-region DVD player is pretty good - it came like that, rather than needing hacking. It did have a tendency to only do black and white for region 1 (my only region 1 DVDs are the Emma Peel era Avengers and half of those are black and white anyway) and region 4 had all the menus in French. So I bought a cheap DVD player, hacked it to get it multi region and it was fine with multi region, but otherwise a bit crap. So I went back to the old DVD player and now it's decided it can do colour in region 1 now. Very bizarre.

[selenay]

It does look like a keyboard that will be pretty good - and easy to stash out of the way of the cats!

I'm unlikely to want to use anything outside region 2, and I have a region 1 player already, so that's not an issue :-) It's impossible to buy a multi-region player here. Hacking one is the only solution. Mine gives a fuzzy picture and frequently cuts bits off the top and bottom of the picture. I could live with that, maybe, but it makes the audio track out of sync 9 times out of 10 and that drives me up the wall. I find it pretty close to unwatchable when it's doing that.

SO, really, this whole home theatre PC thing just keeps seeming like a better idea :-)

[cobrabay]

It's a pricier option but I really like this keyboard http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B005DKZTMG/ref=pd_aw_sbs_2?pi=SS115&simLd=1# (excuse the messy link I'm typing this on the phone). While still compact it gives a fairly decent size laptop-like keyboard feel and the touch panel is very responsive. Set-up consisted of plug in the dongle and it works, and that was on a Linux box. Down side, not cheap. I use mine on a similar set-up plugged in to the TV, similar reasons, in the opposite direction across the pond.

[selenay]

That one looks pretty great, too, although definitely not cheap! I'm not bothered about how much keyboard space I have - the most I'm going to be doing with it is searching for stuff and inputting passwords and website addresses. If I want to write emails and so forth, that's what my tablet with its lovely Bluetooth keyboard is for!

I'm starting to feel much less like a silly person for finally deciding to put together this set up. I've been managing with a half-dozen workarounds for all the things I could do with this set-up, and none of them have worked that well.

[gaspode]

or just go to www.slysoft.com and buy anydvdhd - and get a cheap bluray drive - with anydvd it will play back any regions DVD or Bluray with no region code issues at all ...

[selenay]

As the DVD player is only a bonus with all the other things I want to do with this set-up, I think I'll go the HTPC option :-D

[gaspode]

yes - but no reason not to stick something like this in it : http://www.scan.co.uk/products/pioneer-bdc-207dbk-8x-blu-ray-reader-16x-dvdr-8x-dvd-r-dl-8x-plusrw-6x-rw-oem-plus-3d-ready-no-softw