What would be the cheapest device that I could get that would stream content from my computer to my TV via HDMI?

I know of one product from Ziova that may be what you are looking for. It seems like they are going for about $250 from a couple different places. Of course for $50 more you can have all that and add a region free DVD player.

Does your computer have a DVI-D connector on the video card? If so, a simple adapter is all that is required. If not a video card that has one can be acquired fairly cheaply.

EDIT: Doh! that wouldn't be streaming. Maybe try a hacked AppleTV?

You could do what I plan to do eventually, and get a somewhat inexpensive video card. It's not as cheap as a DVI to HDMI adapter, but it's a nice solution.

Has anyone been able to connect a pc to their TV via DVI ? I have tried and never been able to get it work.

A friend of mine has with a Mac Mini. Your TV will only support a few specific resolutions and is very picky about timing. Someone makes a software tool for the Mac to configure the video output for this express purpose, which I forget the name of right now.

The main reason why i started this thread is I was debating on whether or not i should build a media center pc.....or if i should just stream content to my tv directly. I already have a motherboard and processor, but i am not sure if it is worth it since i probably won't do the tv tuner part of the media center pc.....

I would say if you have most of the bits already go for it!

I have TV Tuner in my HTPC, although I have never got to the stage of taking it downstairs and using it as a HTPC, so the card is totally pointless

I think the trouble is I got a Squeezebox at about the same time, and I prefer that, but XP MCE is pretty cool for photos and videos.

If you are thinking of mythtv there are few people on here who are better placed to offer advice.......andym......

Cheers

Cris

PS - you never said what tv you have, what input are you trying to use?

I have a sony that is a few year old and still has a tube (xbr40800) It only has component and dvi.

I have my PC connected via a DVI to HDMI cable connected to my tv.

I've used my Powerbook with both a Olevia 32" LCD and a large RCA rear projector, and DVI has worked perfectly. The powerbook isn't beefy enough to upscale video to 1080i though.

I spent quite a bit of time working getting linux to work on the Olevia's VGA port, and found that the tv simply reported the wrong settings back to the computer. This tended it cause it to default back to 640x480, or something similar. If by chance you're using a 720p(ish) LCD, let me know and I'll try and find you the right modeline to try. (I think the modeline can be converted to the windows and mac custom monitor programs)

One thing of note is the 720p panels aren't really 720p, and if you want to drive them over VGA at least you need to feed them a resolution slightly wider than their actual dimensions. Overscan on a LCD. I guess old habits die hard.

Matthew

My TV is a 40" 4:3 tube that supports 1080i.