DVDs from the rental services have copy protection and can't be ripped without crossing a legal line. You can buy ripping software in the $25-$50 price range that defeats protection, but the use of which is questionable and theoretically limited to making "backup" copies of disks you own and not those you rent. Some prior copy protection beating software providers have been shut down in prior years by legal action. Personally, I'd stay away from it. It's cheaper to buy an external DVD drive. As to your now not working sound, try playing with the Control Panel and keyboard volume controls, it sounds like sometime could have been unknowingly been turned off. Unless the plugin socket broke, the PC mostly doesn't know or care what's plugged in to it.

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Ooh. "Riding for a decade or two" with the pace of technology today is ... well, it's not going to leave you very happy, I don't think. 20 years ago, an IBM AT was a state of the art computer and the (commercial) Internet was a twinkling in someone's eyes. What you're talking about can be done in a slightly different manner than you're stating. There are combination LCD monitors/TV monitors (many of which come with built-in tuners) which can be used to show TV programs on your computer screen (sometimes as picture-in-picture). I'm not aware of too many LCD TVs which advertise the ability to hook up a monitor, but I will admit to not paying much attention to that market because ... well, OK. I don't watch that much TV and my 20" Sony CRT will be here till it dies. :-) Anyway, it is possible to do this now. One thing to think about, though, is whether your family is OK with TV use competing with computer use on the same box. If you have another computer (for the kids or whatever), it's far more do-able to combine the two. If you want to watch TV while the kids want to get info on harbor seals for a school project, well, ... Another thing: right now wireless video is not quite there. Video (especially high-definition) takes a tremendous amount of bandwidth; if you can use it at all on your wireless network, everyone else on that network will know about it. At least for now, a wire is best. As far as learning more, I would search for the term "convergence" along with TV or video or computer, etc.

I'd get a TV, as most new ones today will accept a computer output. They'll have better resolution and compatibility for TV as that sounds like what you do most. Some have a USB slot and ethernet ports so you can hook up to the network. An HDMI cable will allow you get High Def content there too. You'll need a switch of some type if you want to use one DVD player on both TV's. Usually cheaper to just get a dedicated DVD player. Best to enlist a local company or someone like Geek Squad to plot out a course of action for you based on your needs a specific equipment and access to run wires.