- Joined
- Jul 24, 2013
- Posts
- 5,437
This is going to seem completely ridiculous, but bear with me...
Many of us like to carry along stuff to watch on TV during periods without Internet connectivity. Setting aside the folks who collect DVDs or who take their home DVR along with them, the most common approach is to use the "download" feature that most streaming apps offer these days. This works very well except for one thing: Most of these services have decided to restrict download viewing to device screens, and have used DRM techniques to block the ability to cast most content to larger screens. So, for example, you cannot use Airplay and an AppleTV to watch downloaded Netflix content on your rig's big screen. This is annoying, so I have searched high and low for a legal way around the issue. I have finally found a foolproof way to do this. It works very well. It is a little wacky, though.
Here is my solution:

All you need is a camera with an HDMI output, your phone, a small cardboard box, and some extruded foam. Cut the foam into a shape that securely points the camera at the phone. Put the camera into manual mode and focus it. Plug the camera into your TV. Feed audio from the phone into your sound system, and start streaming. The video quality of modern screens and cameras is so high that the results are nearly indistinguishable from a direct connection.
Bizarre, yes. But it works great, and the DRM people are going to have a hard time disabling it.
Problem solved. :thumbup:
Many of us like to carry along stuff to watch on TV during periods without Internet connectivity. Setting aside the folks who collect DVDs or who take their home DVR along with them, the most common approach is to use the "download" feature that most streaming apps offer these days. This works very well except for one thing: Most of these services have decided to restrict download viewing to device screens, and have used DRM techniques to block the ability to cast most content to larger screens. So, for example, you cannot use Airplay and an AppleTV to watch downloaded Netflix content on your rig's big screen. This is annoying, so I have searched high and low for a legal way around the issue. I have finally found a foolproof way to do this. It works very well. It is a little wacky, though.
Here is my solution:

All you need is a camera with an HDMI output, your phone, a small cardboard box, and some extruded foam. Cut the foam into a shape that securely points the camera at the phone. Put the camera into manual mode and focus it. Plug the camera into your TV. Feed audio from the phone into your sound system, and start streaming. The video quality of modern screens and cameras is so high that the results are nearly indistinguishable from a direct connection.
Bizarre, yes. But it works great, and the DRM people are going to have a hard time disabling it.
Problem solved. :thumbup:
Last edited: