I bought my mother a Samsung 40" Smart TV recently. Here's what I want to be able to do in descending order of importance:
* Play videos for her that I've saved on my hard drive (mostly .mp4, some .avi & .mpg).
* Show her photos, either in a slideshow or individually.
* Play music (mp3) for her through her TV speakers rather than the chintzy laptop speakers.
* Show her streaming video from YouTube and other sites.
* Show her web pages, with the TV mirroring my inputs and mouse movements.
[The TV has a built-in browser that includes YouTube, but it's a pain in the ass to navigate using the remote, and I haven't yet decided if it's worthwhile to buy a wireless keyboard.]
Here's what I'm working with:
* Lenovo x120e notebook, 64-bit
* Windows 7 Professional, SP1
* Bluetooth capable, but not yet enabled
* WiFi through Comcast (if it's relevant, internet speeds on Cape Cod are much slower than their service in populated areas, since the demographic here is generally older, and there's no Verizon Fios here for them to compete with.)
* The TV is already wirelessly connected to her router as a recognized device.
I've looked around online at various devices (dongles?) that you apparently plug into the USB port on the TV, but many of the descriptions and reviews are well above my pay grade in terms of the latest technical jargon and confusing acronyms, and they seem to have exceptions and disclaimers (won't work with X, can't do Y, etc.).
So rather than continue to search aimlessly, I was hoping someone here could help me cut to the chase -- or tell me I simply can't perform these functions that way with that specific TV and/or my current computer.
Thanks in advance!
* Play videos for her that I've saved on my hard drive (mostly .mp4, some .avi & .mpg).
* Show her photos, either in a slideshow or individually.
* Play music (mp3) for her through her TV speakers rather than the chintzy laptop speakers.
* Show her streaming video from YouTube and other sites.
* Show her web pages, with the TV mirroring my inputs and mouse movements.
[The TV has a built-in browser that includes YouTube, but it's a pain in the ass to navigate using the remote, and I haven't yet decided if it's worthwhile to buy a wireless keyboard.]
Here's what I'm working with:
* Lenovo x120e notebook, 64-bit
* Windows 7 Professional, SP1
* Bluetooth capable, but not yet enabled
* WiFi through Comcast (if it's relevant, internet speeds on Cape Cod are much slower than their service in populated areas, since the demographic here is generally older, and there's no Verizon Fios here for them to compete with.)
* The TV is already wirelessly connected to her router as a recognized device.
I've looked around online at various devices (dongles?) that you apparently plug into the USB port on the TV, but many of the descriptions and reviews are well above my pay grade in terms of the latest technical jargon and confusing acronyms, and they seem to have exceptions and disclaimers (won't work with X, can't do Y, etc.).
So rather than continue to search aimlessly, I was hoping someone here could help me cut to the chase -- or tell me I simply can't perform these functions that way with that specific TV and/or my current computer.
Thanks in advance!