Advice on Specs to connect to 1080p TV to watch CBS, Hulu, etc

[ekoostik]

What is the minimum GPU/iGPU/APU/etc needed to stream internet content over HDMI to a TV at 1080p?

I have a relative who is looking for a something they can connect to their TV and watch TV shows on. They do not have paid accounts with any service, the goal is to be able to watch shows streamed from CBS, NBC, Hulu (free - not plus), etc, etc. Their TV is either 27" or 32", it's 1080p and they would like to connect at that resolution.

I'm looking for advice on what the minimum spec is they should get that meets that requirement. They have a highspeed internet connection. Cost is one of the most important factors. They also give some value to mobility, so I've been leaning towards laptops. And I've ruled out something like a nettop. They expressed an interest in tablets - but as far as I'm aware, with a tablet they would have to pay for a service such as, for example, Hulu Plus. Am I wrong? Is there a tablet that they could connect to their TV that would let them stream TV shows from the internet?

As far as laptops go, if I'm looking at Intel should I be looking at an i3 with HD3000 as the minimum they could get? Could I go lower? Does it matter if its Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge?

If I'm looking at AMD, will an A6 meet their requirements? Could I go lower? Or am I completely cracked and should I be looking for something with a discrete card?

Is there another type of device I should be considering? (Cable/satelite & DVR are already ruled out.)

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

 

[blastingcap]

If they only need it for bare-bones HTPC, they can probably get by with a Raspberry Pi. http://www.raspberrypi.org/

 

[ViRGE]

If they only need it for bare-bones HTPC, they can probably get by with a Raspberry Pi. http://www.raspberrypi.org/

The Pi is going to come up a bit short. It's nifty, but it's not that fast; 1080p would just about murder it.

Anyhow, as far as PCs go, anything you can buy today will work just fine. H.264 decoders are now standard, which removes most of the load. Although it goes without saying that PCs are a wee bit expensive for just watching TV.

Have you looked into Roku boxes at all? They can do 1080p, though I don't know if they can do a very good job of playing content off of websites.

 

[Wall Street]

A Sandy Bridge Pentium like the G620 will do fine for this. It only costs $64 at newegg. Core i3 definitely not required. The Intel integrated graphics have a hardware video decoder, so it doesn't put much load on the CPU. You could probably get away with a Celeron, but they don't support many of the power saving features of the better chips.

On the AMD side, an A4 would do fine, as would an Athlon II x2 paired with a an HD 5450.

As long as the system has an HDMI output, HDTV decoding is really easy for modern systems.

 

[ekoostik]

I have looked into boxes like the Roku. They seem to be similar to tablets in that you have to have an account with someone (hulu, netflix, amazon, etc) to get to shows. Also, the relative is willing to spend a bit more to have something they can travel with - thus the leaning toward laptops (or tablets if only they didn't face the streaming restrictions).

Thank you all for the advice. I'll keep steering them towards them cheaper end of the modern laptops. Unless I can find something older in an equivalent price range with a discrete video card.

 

[Durvelle27]

A4 apu

 

[Hmoobphajej]

You can look at this.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/07/mk802-android-4-0-mini-pc-hands-on-impressions/

I want to try one but I neither have the tv for it or the money. But from all the reviews I read it can run netflix, web browse, and play some android market game that isn't touch screen. Some problems might be that you will need a USB Hub for your mouse and keyboard, a adapter for HDMI, and USB power source. But you can put HD content in a MicroSD card and play it from the dongle.

Might be something to consider. There is apparently a lot of development still going on for this thing and also theirs a more powerful refresh coming up.

Also here is a thread about it in more detail:
Link