Device for reception area TV

[MotzTech]

We just expanded our office and have a dedicated reception area now. There is a big hole in the wall that would be perfect for a TV. I'm looking for a device that can show a slideshow during the day as clients come and go but also be able to pull up videos when I want to make presentations. The way the reception area is setup, I could put out a bunch of chairs and probably fit a good 15 or 20 people in the room at once. So it would possibly even work for small classes and such. Anyways, does anyone know of a device that can power the video for something like that? I'd rather not dedicate a entire computer, because space is sort of limited. I'd much rather have something that just plugs right into the HDMI port.

 

[cypress]

Chromecast would be my suggestion.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Chromecast would be my suggestion.

Ditto that. And for slide shows many TVs have USB ports that you can just put PIC files on a flash drive and then plug it up.

 

[300DDR]

Chromecast is a good suggestion, but I'll also throw out an Apple TV. I have both and which one you need really depends on your needs and budget.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Well Apple TV let you project your desktop to the TV? Or play a series of slides? I have a Roku but it can't do either.

 

[MotzTech]

Does Chromecast just mirror the screen or can I minimize the window after I've sent what I want to the TV?

 

[nlinecomputers]

No it mirrors the screen and you have to leave chrome running in order to mirror what is on your PC. Sounds like you really want a PC to drive it. Why not VESA mount one on the back? Many TVs or the wall mounts support that. Wireless keyboard and mouse and your set.

 

[trevm999]

If you make your slideshow into a youtube video that lasts forever (and then add it to your queue multiple times) you can cast it over and then it won't even be processing it from your computer anymore. If you use a video service without the chromecast option, you can cast the chrome tab then minimize it.

I love my chromecast, but I'm not sure it would be the cleanest solution though. Maybe something like an intel compute stick?

 

[16bwhitt]

A Roku TV would be my suggestion. All sorts of channels, and had a media player that detect USB drives so you can play media off of that.

 

[Moltuae]

For greater flexibility, I would probably go for an Intel NUC or a Gigabyte Brix attached to the back of a monitor and, for Live TV, I'd put a HDHomeRun on the network: https://www.silicondust.com/

 

[TurricanII]

Another possibility might be HDMI over CAT5 extenders between the TV and one of your existing computers and have the TV as a second monitor running videos/presentations. You could set the TV as the primary monitor and remote control the PC from a laptop if you were presenting wirelessly.

Intel NUC would be great for this but not cheap. You might be able to justify an Intel NUC because of the three year warranty and 6 watts idle power consumption which could make it pay for itself after a few of years versus leaving a 'full' PC switched on. As has been said the Compute Stick might be good but not sure how durable they are. Raspberry Pi with a decent SD card might be an option if you don't need Windows.. You might set it to boot up into Ubuntu and load auto load a website or loop a video. You can also VNC it for remote control.

 

[Markverhyden]

Well Apple TV let you project your desktop to the TV? Or play a series of slides? I have a Roku but it can't do either.

Yes and yes. Of course, being Apple, you have to have an Apple computer. But Airplay lets you do both. On top of that you can use iTunes to play media as well. But you'd have to convert the slide show into an mp4, etc.

 

[gikstar]

What about using a decent used laptop running an i5 cpu?

 

[TazUk]

What about a Raspberry Pi?

 

[MotzTech]

Looks like I have a lot of research to yet, thanks for the tips.

 

[uprighttech]

Intel Compute Stick

 

[ohio_grad_06]

I like the Chromecast option myself. I haven't really used some of the others, but we have 2 chromecasts at home. Very happy with them. Just plug into HDMI, power through a usb port on the TV. You can cast from chrome or a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, etc to it. For 35 bucks it's going to be hard to beat in my opinion. We watch netflix and hulu through ours, though you can play things from youtube etc, and I think do a slideshow from facebook etc. If you don't like it, take it home and use it. Also, if you wanted to have tv in the shop, sling tv is 20 bucks a month I think and works with it too.