Laptop as a monitor

budhead151

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
Jan 4, 2007
94
3
Can I use a laptop with win7 as a monitor to view the tv2 output on a 722K.
I was thinking a usb tuner or something. I'm on a slow satellite isp with data caps.
 
Only way you can do that is if 1) your laptop has RCA and or coaxial inputs, and if you can tune it to the appropriate channel. So likely not given your low data cap, you wouldn't want to run dishanywhere with a sling adapter.
 
Only way you can do that is if 1) your laptop has RCA and or coaxial inputs, and if you can tune it to the appropriate channel. So likely not given your low data cap, you wouldn't want to run dishanywhere with a sling adapter.
I was under the impression that the sling adapter/sling technology uses your home network if wired in or with range?
 
yea totally....I use my computer and use my hdmi output and throw it on my tv or moniter
 
Yes, an NTSC tuner will work, though it's somewhat awkward. Edited to add: so's the Sling tech! With Sling you can (if your PC is beefy enough) view HD off TV2. An NTSC tuner can't do HD, but at least you can view the signal in near real time. With Sling, there's a terrible lag.
 
I was under the impression that the sling adapter/sling technology uses your home network if wired in or with range?
It does. Authentication and minimal housekeeping still go to the net, but the actual video stream stays on the LAN and will not impact broadband data caps.
 
Yes, an NTSC tuner will work, though it's somewhat awkward. Edited to add: so's the Sling tech! With Sling you can (if your PC is beefy enough) view HD off TV2. An NTSC tuner can't do HD, but at least you can view the signal in near real time. With Sling, there's a terrible lag.
I use sling all the time with in range of my wifi and over my 4g connection and I dont experience any lag ever, but then again I have an newer 802.11 router and my home network is even hidden behind a subscription based vpn.
 
I have always been under the impression sling will still use your data, although I have heard people say it uses significantly less. Not just the authentication but the actual streaming will still use data.
 
I have always been under the impression sling will still use your data, although I have heard people say it uses significantly less. Not just the authentication but the actual streaming will still use data.
I am going to test this out going to try it on my s4 after logging in I am going to disconnect my modem from router and disable mobile data and see what happens.
 
Please do. Id love a final answer on it. I'm not saying you're wrong. Just how I understood it. This should clarify for both of us.
 
Please do. Id love a final answer on it. I'm not saying you're wrong. Just how I understood it. This should clarify for both of us.
got odd results if I connected with modem unplugged sling app said we dont detect an internet connection but it loaded up the channel.
if logged in and disconnect my internet line from modem to router it dropped connection and stopped streaming after a minute or two.

going to do it again
 
The connection dropping if disconnected from the net would be expected. An internet connection is still required. You need to look at the bandwidth passing through the router. Traffic passing through the router should be minimal for a local stream - authentication, heartbeats, and command/control traffic.

For many, the obvious no tools required proof the net connection is not being used for the stream is the simple fact on the lan you may get a 6+ mpbs stream rate when the broadband upload rate is much less than that.
 
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I do this with my Hoppers with Sling. I am on dial-up (yeah I know, to cheap to go satellite, and no DSL/Cable available where I live). The initial connection to authenticate via Firefox takes a few minutes but after that it streams fine on my PC with HDMI out to my television. Decent quality as well, so it is using my home network to transfer after the authentication. It does stream better using the Dish Anywhere app on my S4, which has no data plan so I know it cannot be using cellular data, but I use the same network (connected to the internet via dial-up) versus using Firefox and the WebSlingPlayer add-on.
 
Thanks for the replies, so if I'm understanding this my best bet would be a sling adapter. Receiver hooked up to router (Netgear WNDR 3700) via cat5 and as long as the laptop is within reach of router data usage will be small.
 
Got the Sling, data usage is minimal. Just for the heck of it, I disconnected the modem it continued to stream but I lost the guide and when I tried to change channels Firefox crashed.
Since my original post Time Warner has been busy running cable right in front of my house so hopefully I won't have to worry about the low data caps of satellite internet much longer. I will stay with Dish for my TV though, been with them since 97.
Thanks guys for your help.
 
Thanks for clarifying some things for us. Always love learning new things. Glad you got it up and running and hope you do get that cable internet. Makes a world of a difference.