budget laptop or...

[blitzilla87]

i looking for a budjet laptop under300$ that will basicly only stream / watch movies/series hookedup on the tv ?

im not up todate on technologie , i dont have a smart tv .. is a new laptop the way to go ?

 

[blitzilla87]

http/www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA93K4Z27654&ignorebbr=1
what is the use of this ?

 

[CorsairSSC]

I would recommend Chromecast, Apple TV, or any other compact streaming device instead of a budget laptop.

I recommend you consider the following:
1) Chromecast
2) Chromebooks
3) HP Stream
4) Intel PC in a stick
5) Intel NUCs
6) Buiding your own HTPC

 

[blitzilla87]

my wife download tv series on laptop, then watches them on tv thrue hdmi cable hooked on laptop
byt the laptop beeing old it lags....

 

[delaro]

For what you describe a Android box running Kodi and Exodus with a large Flash drive or portable Hard drive would work. Avoid Android boxes with 1G of ram as they tend to get slow as hell. A older laptop but may struggle with some file formats. Chrome books are just portable Android boxes that cost you more in this respect and have around the same hardware and a little more storage than what you get with a Box..

This is a example of what can work if your not needing something Portable.

Sunvell T95Z Plus TV Box Amlogic S912 Octa Core 2G RAM $59.99
http/www.gearbest.com/tv-box-mini-pc/pp_443590.html

Western Digital MyPassport Ultra Slim 500GB $38
http/www.ebay.com/itm/like/112227592047?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true

Kodi + Exodus = Free

 

[blitzilla87]

delaro using ur setup how do I get from downloading series via torrent to actually watching in on my tv? ( sorry im a tech noob) does my laptop still do the bridge? if so isnt it going to still lag?

 

[CorsairSSC]

Try the Jide Remix OS Mini. It's Android Marshmallow in an STX form factor.

 

[delaro]

Well if your using Kodi regardless if it's on Windows, iOS, Android,Linux or even the Kodi OS itself your going to have addon support for uTorrent and your going to have addon options for Exodus and many other live stream versions like it.... You have Thousands of addons and infinite ways to customize what you want and see and how to use it.

With Exodus and the handful of other Addons like it, the downloadable torrent content you want you will also have the same live stream content available.

Laptop/Tablet/Android Box/ Rasberry Pi/Smart Phone/.. any of these hooked up to a HDMI cable to your TV is going to give you want you want, all you need is HDMI Out or Screen mirroring via a dongle and wifi and Kodi.

 

[RandomGuy42]

If you really are on a budget, and just want to stream movies or video, I would recommend a raspberry pi. This is a microcomputer, which comes at a price of 25 to 40 US dollars. With a micro SD card, you can put on your own operating system such as Ubuntu or NOOBS. Although it is not the most powerful machine, if you connect it to a keyboard/mouse (preferably wireless) and a display you can have a reliable and cheap streaming device.

You can buy the device at many locations. Here are a few:

https/www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Pi-RASP-PI-3-Model-Motherboard/dp/B01CD5VC92/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1483332619&sr=1-2&keywords=rasberry+pi

https/www.adafruit.com/products/3055

http/www.frys.com/product/8862032?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

To get started, just follow these directions:

https/www.raspberrypi.org/learning/hardware-guide/




*Side Note- the raspberry pi can be plugged into any tv or display with an HDMI or RCA cable.*

 

[delaro]

Pi is a great little device I will give it that but the hardware is aged.

1 issue with Pi is price when you want all the basic components for a HTPC.
Pi3 + Case + Power Supply + Blue Tooth Keyboard $80's
http/www.mcmelectronics.com/product/83-16565RK?scode=GS401&utm_medium=cse&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=google&scid=scplp7007922&sc_intid=83-16565RK&gclid=CK_X7tWDpNECFQO5wAodyqcCPQ

The other issue is 1G of RAM "Pooky loading" and no native support for H.265 Playback without extensive Tweaking and Overclocking. Cheap Android boxes are quickly adopting full support for H.265 with the S905 and beyond. HEVC is becoming more common because of the extremely small file size and quality you can get on 720P and 1080P files, this is something you should be concerned about when downloading/streaming content from free sources.

Here is a example of a Android box that has 2G of RAM and hardware that supports H.265, 2 USB and 1 HDMI 2.0 + Miracast.

2017 Model ABOX A1 Plus Android 6.0 TV 49.99
https/www.amazon.com/dp/B01LXZBD3W/ref=psdc_13447451_t2_B01GCF98W2

Until Pi4 comes out and you have updated hardware your getting more for your money as a HTPC looking at Android boxes over Pi because of the hardware difference. There are much better Android boxes than this as well if your willing to spend around the $100 mark.