Silhouette - connect laptop to TV

[RogerT]

Hi there everyone.

I've been cruising the forums looking for a way to connect a laptop to the in cabin TV.

Did anyone find a hack for this yet?

[macruisefan]

A hack? So you're already of the understanding that the televisions are specifically set up for this NOT to be done. But you want to find a way to bypass it, and possibly muck the television up for the next guest....

 

All this so you can sit in your cabin and watch you computer projected on the television...

 

You sound fun to travel with:rolleyes:

[CruiseImage]

above made me smile - funny !

 

anyway the tv's onboard, as rightly stated above, are specially designed to run on the ships media network which I understand is all Apple based. The screens themselves , if I remember rightly are Samsung, and if you look at the back of the unit you'll see that most of the connectors are missing and have been replaced with a one off connections that carries the ships media signal etc

 

There is however, and is a little bonus, a USB port on the back of the tv which, when the tv is ON, is actually powered. I used this to charge my iPhone and iPad during the small times I'm in my cabin. Saves on plug space if you need to use other electrical devices.

 

As for "hacking" into the unit - forget it. There's always the cinema room to go and visit. :D

[travelpeon]

Here you go: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=33268779&postcount=5

[isdoo]

No problems connecting via HDMI

[Buranogal]

Yes we did cruise with him and he was a blast. A very helpful computer techie...just saying :)

[RogerT]

Here you go: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=33268779&postcount=5

 

Thank you so much, you have made my day (and our cruise) ;)

 

If I understand correctly, removing the Celeb input re-enables the hdmi inputs?! Sounds simple and clean.

[RogerT]

No problems connecting via HDMI

 

Really?

Every other post I read before this thread indicated there are multiple problems. Was it simply plug and play? Was that on the Silhouette?

[RogerT]

Yes we did cruise with him and he was a blast. A very helpful computer techie...just saying :)

 

:D

Thanks for that

[RogerT]

above made me smile - funny !

 

anyway the tv's onboard, as rightly stated above, are specially designed to run on the ships media network which I understand is all Apple based. The screens themselves , if I remember rightly are Samsung, and if you look at the back of the unit you'll see that most of the connectors are missing and have been replaced with a one off connections that carries the ships media signal etc

 

There is however, and is a little bonus, a USB port on the back of the tv which, when the tv is ON, is actually powered. I used this to charge my iPhone and iPad during the small times I'm in my cabin. Saves on plug space if you need to use other electrical devices.

 

As for "hacking" into the unit - forget it. There's always the cinema room to go and visit. :D

 

Thanks for the info. They are Samsung and they are 'locked' to the celebrity media server, however, it looks like there is a way to do it from the post following yours (there's always a way!)

 

Presumably the USB cannot be used as a media port though?

 

Frankly, IMO the movie theater sucks and the play on demand movies in the room on our last cruise were all a bit dated - we'd already seen them.

[RogerT]

A hack? So you're already of the understanding that the televisions are specifically set up for this NOT to be done. But you want to find a way to bypass it, and possibly muck the television up for the next guest....

 

All this so you can sit in your cabin and watch you computer projected on the television...

 

You sound fun to travel with:rolleyes:

 

I saved yours till last to respond.

 

At first I felt you didn't deserve one, but even grumpy old farts need a bit of love ;)

 

Did you ever consider our cabin may be the only accessible area on the ship for one or more of our party? You know, whilst you're down in the lobby dancing with the stripes, perhaps someone without legs might enjoy viewing the media of their choice rather than watching Celebrity promote their shore excursions and ship activities.

 

And I promise to reset the system to exactly how I found it before we leave - ok?

[fredflint]

HDMI works wonders I have used my cell phone to stream netflix to many a hotel TV

 

Bring a cable and give it a shot you can buy inexpensive longer cable if you want/need to have the laptop closer to you 25.00 for 25'

 

http://www.monoprice.com/products/cart.asp

 

go to your local library and check out the movies they have available and enjoy

[WpgCruise]

I saved yours till last to respond.

 

At first I felt you didn't deserve one, but even grumpy old farts need a bit of love ;)

 

Did you ever consider our cabin may be the only accessible area on the ship for one or more of our party? You know, whilst you're down in the lobby dancing with the stripes, perhaps someone without legs might enjoy viewing the media of their choice rather than watching Celebrity promote their shore excursions and ship activities.

 

And I promise to reset the system to exactly how I found it before we leave - ok?

 

Good for you RogerT. Far too often on this Forum people ask a question, or make a comment and right away someone decides they are the "authority" and states their position as though it were some sort of Commandment. I hope you enjoy your cruise, and the movies watched on the in cabin T.V. bring enjoyment to all who watch them.

[patty1955]

Since they removed the movie theater from the Millennium, we were happy to find that using the hdmi allowed us to watch DVDs on the TV

[RogerT]

Thanks again for all the replies on this thread.

[Dirk09]

Here is an outlook of the configuration on Silhouette:

 

 

[Gracie115]

Thanks for the info. They are Samsung and they are 'locked' to the celebrity media server, however, it looks like there is a way to do it from the post following yours (there's always a way!)

 

Presumably the USB cannot be used as a media port though?

 

Frankly, IMO the movie theater sucks and the play on demand movies in the room on our last cruise were all a bit dated - we'd already seen them.

 

 

I hope it works for you but thought I'd add that if you haven't been on the "S" class before you might find the movie selection a bit better, they are not first run but many are not that old either, we were pretty happy with what was available on our May Equinox cruise....

[casandbliz]

Would love to connect the laptop to the TV simply to view each days photos- much more fun to see them on a larger screen....

Edited August 18, 2012 by casandbliz
addition of post

[RogerT]

I hope it works for you but thought I'd add that if you haven't been on the "S" class before you might find the movie selection a bit better, they are not first run but many are not that old either, we were pretty happy with what was available on our May Equinox cruise....

 

Hi Gracie, we sailed on the Eclipse last year.

Yes, the movies are current, but they are fairly limited and we had seen all but 3, 2 of which we didn't wish to see.

Anyhow, it's not just movies. Our laptop serves as a complete multimedia system.

I am willing to take a 24" screen and speakers with me but having a flat screen TV in the room with full hook up ability (even if it is disabled to prevent non-savvy clients from messing with settings) seems a bit OTT.

 

Some people have been responding negatively to this and other similar threads because they personally don't see a valid reason, and some also seem to think connecting a cable jack to a socket in our cabin will somehow spoil their own personal cruise experience :eek:.

 

I realise self centered is the norm for the human being, but even when asked to show compassion for someone without legs they still insist on assuming a policing role over something which they have no authority and seemingly no depth of knowlege or understanding.

 

I find that quite sad.

 

In answer to a previous post, of course I have contacted celebrity about this, it was my first port of call! So far, I've received a standard email response about how much I have to pay to access the internet :confused:, so I can see this will be an uphill battle and I am doubtful we'll get an official resolution before we sail.

 

Last year, I asked for help onboard from the ship's techie. He was willing to help but I had to provide the cables, which I didn't have. This year, I want to be more prepared.

[RogerT]

Here is an outlook of the configuration on Silhouette:

 

 

 

Cool, thanks for that.

There you have the RJ45 (the one that looks like an ethernet (cat5/cat9) cable) and one DVI.

So I've learned on another thread to simply disconnect the RJ45 and this opens up the hdmi inputs (and presumable all the others) for your laptop, ps3, cameras etc

Doing it this way should not affect any TV settings, and resetting should be as simple as plugging the RJ45 back in whenever you want to access teh celeb media system.

Edited August 19, 2012 by RogerT

[hcat]

sorry to be so terribly dumb, but what does this enable one to do with their laptop by hooking into the TV ports--do you get free internet service or just a means to get to Netflix? Just curious....

 

As mentioned...S class has a wide selection of films, music etc..much better than M class system!

[packyourpixiedust]

We had an HDMI cable, and couldnt get it to work on the Solstice earlier this year... We wanted to watch a movie one night after dinner on our iPad, but we couldnt get it to work... We weren't able to bypass the ship's programming to allow another input to work... :( I hope it works for you, and if it does, post about it...

[Gracie115]

Hi Gracie, we sailed on the Eclipse last year.

Yes, the movies are current, but they are fairly limited and we had seen all but 3, 2 of which we didn't wish to see.

Anyhow, it's not just movies. Our laptop serves as a complete multimedia system.

I am willing to take a 24" screen and speakers with me but having a flat screen TV in the room with full hook up ability (even if it is disabled to prevent non-savvy clients from messing with settings) seems a bit OTT.

 

Some people have been responding negatively to this and other similar threads because they personally don't see a valid reason, and some also seem to think connecting a cable jack to a socket in our cabin will somehow spoil their own personal cruise experience :eek:.

 

I realise self centered is the norm for the human being, but even when asked to show compassion for someone without legs they still insist on assuming a policing role over something which they have no authority and seemingly no depth of knowlege or understanding.

 

I find that quite sad.

 

In answer to a previous post, of course I have contacted celebrity about this, it was my first port of call! So far, I've received a standard email response about how much I have to pay to access the internet :confused:, so I can see this will be an uphill battle and I am doubtful we'll get an official resolution before we sail.

 

Last year, I asked for help onboard from the ship's techie. He was willing to help but I had to provide the cables, which I didn't have. This year, I want to be more prepared.

 

 

I agree it is sad...we are all too often quick to judge(and I'm guilty too) Looks like a few here have provided some good info for you, have a great cruise!:)

[RogerT]

We had an HDMI cable, and couldnt get it to work on the Solstice earlier this year... We wanted to watch a movie one night after dinner on our iPad, but we couldnt get it to work... We weren't able to bypass the ship's programming to allow another input to work... :( I hope it works for you, and if it does, post about it...

 

Did you disconnect the celebrity input before connecting your ipad?

this is what I have been told to do by a previous poster.

[RogerT]

I agree it is sad...we are all too often quick to judge(and I'm guilty too) Looks like a few here have provided some good info for you, have a great cruise!:)

 

Thanks Gracie, I'm sure our cruise will be just what the doctor ordered :)