Catherine from Delaware writes “Is it difficult to hook up something like Hulu via computer to TV. I am a novice at 80 and was wondering if I could do it?”
Hi, Catherine. Thanks for the great question.
For those who don’t know, Hulu is one of many great video on demand services including Netflix, and Amazon Video.
Probably the easiest way to do this is to connect your computer to your TV. If you search our website’s archives, you’ll find lots of good articles on this, but this is the short version: if your computer has an HDMI output and you have a high-def TV, simply hook an HDMI cable from your computer to your TV and enjoy. If you have a laptop, make sure that your laptop is set so that the computer doesn’t go to sleep when you close the lid. That way you can have your laptop closed so that you don’t have your video running on two screens.
If your computer doesn’t have an HDMI output, there are some other ways.
First off… and I’m just guessing here… but I’m thinking that you probably don’t have a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360, but you can also use apps on both of these systems to stream all of these services through the gaming console onto your TV. If you don’t have one of these and want to go this route, you can expect price drops on both of these systems since the introduction of the Playstation 4 and Xbox One.
There are also stand-alone boxes that you can use to stream these services to your TV, such as Google TV and Roku.
You can expect to pay anywhere from $50 to about $150 for one of these devices, depending on how many bells and whistles you want. For example, some of the Roku boxes allow you to play one or the other versions of Angry Birds, and the Roku 3 has a headphone jack in the remote so that you can watch your TV shows without disturbing others.
I hope that this helps!
~ Randal Schaffer
I am going to buy Chromecast ($35) hook it to the TV and network all my devices so that I can watch content from the web or my computer on the TV. Cheaper then Roku or similar devices.
Another way to connect a PC or laptop to your TV, is with a simple RGB cable … providing your TV has this connection. My 47″ Vizio does, and I have been watching HULU+ for a long time with this configuration, and no problems whatsoever.
Here is my problem I am on cable via mediacom. My T. V. Has both the Hdm 1and 2 but not sure of computer even though it’s Windows 7. As far as running a cable I would require one at lese 75 feet or longer. So can I use a blue tooth type systems? I have a phonak tv link that streams the soundtrack to my hearing aids which I received from V.A. being a 80% service connected veteran. I hope you can make sense of this and oh yes forgot say the cable company has a box hooked through the HmD1 which gives us the higher number station 2
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Hi, guys. Thanks for the comments.
Keith, i just started learning about Chromecast after i submitted this article. Thanks for including it.
James, something like Chromecast or Roku might be the best bet for you if your TV is compatible. Bluetooth probably won’t work unless your TV is set up to receive it.
Randal