Warpia: Watching Your Computer on Your TV

I’m really envious of people who have a server and can pick things from their computers and watch them on TV. Google TV, Apple TV – these are all really confusing to me. Hardware and connections are just not my bag.

When we missed an episode of Survivor last year and wanted to watch it from the CBS website (it is on CBS, isn’t it?) we plugged this really heavy, short HDMI cable from the side of the TV into the side of the laptop. The view was kind of small even when we tried to change the viewing settings and if we had to “click to return to the show” after commercial one of us had to get up from the couch just to click a button.

Add to this I had to clean off the TV table to put the laptop on there and then leave the laptop open under the TV so it wouldn’t go into sleep mode – it made for a less-than-ideal watching experience.

A very, very nice lady from my favorite PR agency sent over a Warpia Wireless USB A/V Adapter – SW100A for me to try out and see if it was really good enough to let me ditch my cable bill forever.

Here is the stock info:

Wirelessly stream media from your laptop/PC to your flat screen TV for the ultimate Internet TV experience

• Watch downloaded movies, presentations, photo slideshows or any internet content (from Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, ESPN3, etc) on your TV or projector
• Achieves 32-bit True Color depth for high quality images, 720P HD resolution, and 16-bit stereo sound
• Range includes same room coverage of up to 30 feet
• Compatible with Windows Vista/XP/7.0 OS and connected via HDMI or VGA (cable not included)

Available: Amazon.com, NCIX.com, Warpia.com, Walmart.com, Buy.com, BestBuy.com

Price:  From $139.99

Website: www.warpia.com

Here’s how setup worked in real life with me and my laptop and my TV.

1. Plug in base unit with this little USB plugy thing into the TV HDMI port and a power source.
2. Plug in other USB plug thingy into the USB port on my laptop.
3. Turn it on.
4. Watch as some stuff happens on the TV and the computer screen.
5. Turn the TV on HDMI Video 3 (your setting may vary)
6. Go to CBS and play a show and watch it pop up and FILL my TV screen.
7. Squeal like a little girl because now I can totally ditch AT&T Uverse and use Warpia and Netflix for a monthly cost of Netflix and have a full-on TV experience for adults and kids alike.

So the unit might cost over a hundred bucks, but that’s one month of cable for us. With this I can watch shows as they come out on Hulu and the networks. As for shows on movie channels, well, let’s just assume you’ll buy those series on iTunes and then play those on your big TV. I can pop a BluRay disc into my laptop and watch it on TV.

Overall this gives your kids less commercials no matter WHAT you watch with them so they’re not asking you for every As Seen on TV toy under the sun. It gives you less commercials during your shows so you’re not wasting your time.

And it allows you to slash your cable bill by not having one. You’re going to be paying for Internet and maybe Netflix or Hulu Plus if that’s how you want to do things, but you could just watch network television and the news or stream radio stations and listen to music on your TV. I don’t know about you but my TV speakers are way better than my laptop speakers.

I will be totally surprised if you don’t fall in love with the Warpia like I have. It’s amazing, and a great financial choice for a family that is looking to add another hundred or so bucks a month to their IRA or kids’ college funds.

It’s a good choice and I’m just thrilled I don’t have to have a server or drill an Apple TV box into my wall. This is just an easier, faster, simpler alternative for my family. It might be cheaper, but I don’t know, because I haven’t done research into Google TV and Apple TV because I didn’t feel smart enough to figure it out so I never got to the pricing portion of the program.

Bottom line: I love this technology! Make your own TV experience? Yes, please!

Installation Tip: Make sure you don’t plug the power into the wrong hole or you’ll think the unit is broken. Yes, my husband did this. It’s okay, I fixed it. *sigh*

Disclaimer: I was provided with a Warpia unit for free from the PR agency in exchange for writing an honest review about the product and how it worked for me. I loved it and really and truly would have bought one with my own monies because I’ve been looking for a way to get rid of the monthly cable bill for months. But yeah, you know I totes Blog with Integrity and wouldn’t steer you wrong.