T41 as a media center/home theatre PC

[tom101]

Hi,

I posted here a couple of weeks ago about the broken screen on my T41, since then I've decided to semi-retire it rather than fix the screen and buy a new laptop. I am wondering about turning it into a media center/home theater PC. My TV has plenty of scart inputs so I could get an s-video to scart converter, it also has a SVGA input so I could use that. The TV is 720p though, does anyone know what resolution I should use, or if the T41 is up to the job? Also, I intend to slot it permanently under my DVD player, the only thing is I can't figure out how to power it on and off in this case, since I won't be able to open the lid any more. Can anyone think of a way round this? I was wondering if it would be possible to use a windows media center remote to bring it in and out of standby?

Thanks

Tom

[91011]

Tom-
I've been using a T41 (2374-7FU) hooked to a Sony 720p LCD (1360x768) for about a year now; a videophile might not be impressed but it fits my needs perfectly. The T41 is connected using the VGA output & headphone jack. I use a Logitech diNovo Mini Keyboard (Bluetooth) to power down & access video on the home network and from websites. Haven't opened the lid in months after finally figuring out how to setup Wake On Lan and use WOL to turn on the T41 from another machine in the room - or from any machine on the network. The Logitech has a USB Bluetooth dongle so it may be possible to keep power to the USB ports in Standby and wake up the T41 using the Bluetooth keyboard but don't have details.

Never used MCE so can't help there.

Have fun, what started out as just curiosity and a probable waste of time, turned out to be one of the most useful projects I've ever tried. We use it daily.

John

[virge]

I have a T40 hooked up to my TV. The TV can display 1080p, but I don't own any HD media, so I haven't tested whether the T40 can handle that (probably not). Its currently hooked up through DVI with a docking station. My TV has a separate audio input for the DVI input. As for the on/off switch, I use the one mounted on the dock so I don't ever open up the lid. I had been using a diNovo edge keyboard/mouse, but its currently waiting for warranty repair.

Even though the TV supports 1080p, I have the laptop set to display standard XGA resolution. DVDs and streaming video work fine since the TV is acting like a regular monitor.

[sjthinkpader]

I am using an A31p driving the TV's HDMI input via the DVI output on the Port Replicator. My 720p HDTV has a native 1366x768 resolution but I don't have the correct monitor profile/driver for my Phillips TV. Supposedly WindowsXP MCE has the facility to adjust to HDTV resolution. Well I am too cheap to buy the WinXP MCE so I am using 1280x720 resolution from a monitor profile for Viewsonic TVs.

Thus an edge is cut off of the Window pane but it is usable. I can do photo slideshow or play DVD on the TV.

I don't have ethernet available near the TV so this A31p was converted to use a Ralink 802.11n miniPCI 3R2T card with the third antenna added in the LCD cover. Transfer rate is sufficient to do a slideshow from the NAS over WiFi.

T41 running WindowsXP Pro should be similar.