Doug wants to know if he can use an HDMI splitter to divide his Slingbox with his Roku Box and control both. Leo says no because he won't be able to control them. Older Slingboxes have up to five HDMI ports in the back (the Slingbox 500 only has one), so if he has an older Slingbox, he could daisy chain them and control them. But Doug should remember that only one person can control it.
Cheryl bought a $60 Winbook and was wondering if she could add a monitor to it. Leo says it does run a Micro HDMI cable, so she could add a monitor. But most have either VGA or DVI. Can she convert it? Or get a USB monitor? Leo says that she could use a USB driven monitor, and they're cheap. But they are mostly used as a second monitor. A DVI converter is a better idea.
Nick has a camcorder with HDMI out and he wants to know if he can run Wirecast with a tablet. Leo says probably not. He'll need a computer because tablets don't have HDMI in, only HDMI Out. He'd also need HDMI live as a feature in the camcorder. If it will only be live in playback, then it won't help. Do any notebooks have HDMI? Leo uses Canon Vixia's with a Blackmagic converter to run into the computer. Imogen also makes an HDMI Input card.
Ed would like to connect his Windows laptop to a 40" TV. Leo says that if the monitor has an HDMI connector, and his laptop has HDMI, he's golden. He may need to go into his display settings to mirror the image out through HDMI to the monitor. That way it's sending it out.
If he's on a later version of Windows, the key stroke is + P. If he's changed the settings and the TV doesn't adjust, he should try unplugging the port to the TV and plug it back in. That will reset it so the TV will read it. He may also need to change his resolution to a lower setting.
Ron's son has an account on The Cube, a high school sports streaming site. Ron would like to use his DSLR to stream live to it, but it won't work via USB. Leo says that USB isn't designed for a live video feed. Live video could be used via HDMI. So if that works, then he'll need an HDMI converter or video capture device to then be able to convert it for the stream. If his computer has HDMI in, then he's golden.
Michael has one HDMI port going to his receiver that acts as a kind of switcher. But his antenna goes into coax. Leo says that Michael needs to get a digital box now because nobody really broadcasts in analog anymore. Leo says a TV with digital out could be routed to the tuner, but there will be audio sync issues.
Scott continues his CES retrospective, but now he's got the 'CES Crud,' which you usually get when you travel to Las Vegas with 100,000 of your closest friends. Scott found it interesting that curved panels are all the rage, especially in Korea and China. Meanwhile, Japan still hangs on to flat screens.
Bob wants to use his Canon Rebel T3i as a webcam. Leo says he would need HDMI passthru. He'll need a miniHDMI to HDMI cable, then he can connect it to his TV. But if his computer doesn't have HDMI, then he'll also need a video adapter. But for all of the effort required, he should probably just get a good HD Webcam. Leo likes the Logitech C920. It'll connect via USB and will work great.
Oscar wants to get the Roku 3 and run it through his home theater, but he doesn't have any available HDMI ports. Leo says that's a problem. That means he'll need an HDMI switcher, and frankly, they don't work as well. The Giz Wiz says that the Monoprice HDMI switcher works great.
Scott has questions today:
