espensorvik / Flickr

Internet TV at home is a DIY reality!

I’m hearing a lot about services that, for a fee, let you play computer videos, like Hulu and YouTube, on your TV. Is this a necessary expense? How hard is it to do yourself? I talked to Shawn DuBravac, a head honcho at the Consumer Electronic Association, and learned that, for many TVs, you can buy a cable for about $45 that will eliminate the need for a pricey service. This interview has been edited and condensed.

How hard is it to stream videos from your computer to your TV?  If you want to play YouTube videos on a television, you have to have some type of computer object connected to that television: a browser in essence.

What is an Internet TV? About 20% of televisions are Internet-enabled. If you have one of those televisions you really don’t need to do anything.

What about a non-Internet TV that has an HDMI input? If you have an HDMI port, then all you have to do is

get a computer with a video card and an HDMI port and then you run a single HDMI cable between the two.

How common are the HDMI inputs? A large screen television over $1,000 probably has Internet capabilities. Most televisions circa 2005 started to integrate HDMI.

And all HD TVs have HDMI inputs? Yes.

How hard would you rate this project doing it yourself? With an Internet television, it’s zero. You just have to flip to the YouTube channel. If you’ve got an older television, it’s a 10. I’ve done it. I’ve hooked a computer up to a television that didn’t have HDMI, it was a circa 1999. It’s not impossible, but for the average person they’re not going to be able to deal with it. You have to get the right video card, and do all this other stuff. If your television is made out of wood, do not try this at home. If it has any wood or if it has the appearance of wood on it, you are not going to be happy.

What is the advantage of a service that does it for you, like Apple TV? Apple TV lets you access iTunes and you can buy movies and you used to be able to buy TV shows. You can push things from iPads and iPods and things like that. If you have a computer hooked up to your television, it’s just a regular old computer and anything you can do on that computer, you can do on the television. You’ve turned the monitor into a bigger television.

Is Internet connectivity a feature that TVs will soon all come with – like cameras on cell phones? Possibly. Larger TVs and screen sizes? Yes. Smaller televisions? Debatable. I just flipped to Best Buy’s website. Smart TVs is what they call them. Total televisions for sale, 180. Under the Smart TV category, they have 92. 51% of the TVs they are offering are some degree of smart. Last year, through the first half 2010, 7% of the televisions being sold were smart. In the first half of 2011 , it was 20%. Internet connectivity is a very large trend. Everything is increasingly being connected to the Internet.

Is there a website you recommend to walk people through connecting their TV to the Internet? We have a site called DigitalTips.org that will walk you through a couple different devices.

ahans / Flickr

This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.

I have never been one of those persons who wakes up at the crack of dawn to hit the malls on Black Friday. Every year, my aversion to large crowds trumps my need to save money. I can’t bear standing in line for hours just to save a few bucks. So what’s a frugal hermit like me do to – score on Cyber Monday.

No elbow-jabbing, or push-and-shove drama like on Black Friday. On Cyber Monday, I shop in my jammies from the comfort of my home. Here are my best four tips to help you score big and have a pleasant experience.

1. Holiday shoppers beware – Before you start buying, make sure your computer is up to date with an anti-virus and anti-spyware. You don’t want to fall victim to identity theft and have this turn in to a headache later on. When shopping and entering credit card information, make sure your online purchase is secure. There should be a little lock icon on the site when you enter personal information. After the transaction, be wary of any e-mail asking for more personal information. Sites usually won’t ask for personal information through e-mail. Read Bargain Babe’s Cyber Monday guide to safe online shopping guide for more.

2. Browse the web more efficiently – Instead of going to retailers’ websites, use sites that aggregate and compare prices. Make sure to use sites you trust only. Fatwallet.com and CyberMonday.com are some of those sites that make finding Cyber Deals easier. The sites are easy to use. Just type in the product name you are after and the details are at your fingertips.

3. Score free shipping – I hate paying for shipping. Who doesn’t? But there are ways around it. If the retailer allows it, chose to pick up the item at your local store to get free shipping. Many sites are offering free shipping this year to compete with other retailers. Check FreeShipping.org for free shipping coupon codes.

4. Relax – Don’t be in such a rush to buy if you don’t find exactly what you want. Panicky retailers may cut prices even further as Christmas approaches or you can also wait for the after Christmas sales. To stay up to date on sales, make sure to use your social media to hunt for bargains.

If you don’t have anti-virus software, or aren’t happy with yours, check out the AVG Free anti-virus program.  They also have an AVG LinkScanner for Mac. The free software has free 24/7 technical support, the capability to make sure your downloads are safe and it can detect rootkits hidden deep inside your operating system.

The Pro version of the AVG software is $35 or free when you buy a product through one of their partner sponsors. The idea is you buy something you want, like a Netflix subscription or a pair of Gap jeans, then get the software for free.

Want to know more? Virus expert Steve Armstrong, who is not affiliated with AVG, talks about how the mean people who write virus’ are getting more clever and better at spreading bugs. Armstrong says going forward there are going to be more virus’ aimed at collecting sensitive data (like your credit card number) through social media sites.

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