Stream everything from Mac to TV

First of all, my (stand-alone) DVD player has recently broken so I'm currently having to watch DVDs either on my MBP or hooking up an old Powerbook to my TV and connecting it via VGA cables (old TV that doesn't have HDMI). I will buy a new TV when budget permits but wondered if there is anything else I can buy as an alternative.

AppleTV looks OK but I only watch a few movies from iTunes. I still hire DVDs, movies for the kids mostly, and also watch TV using the Slingbox application. Neither of these will work through AppleTV.

So is there anything that I can connect to a TV and stream everything, the whole display rather than a single application like iTunes, from my Mac? I just need something that will replace long cables stretching across the living room.

About £200, less than a new TV. I've been reading up more since I posted and there are some caveats which may explain why there's no product that meets my requirements.

1. The Film industry don't want this to happen because they're worried that people woudl stream DVDs to the big bad internet
2. It takes a fair amount of horse power to convert video and stream it to anotehr device.

The closest product I found is a compliemnt to what I already have, a SlingCatcher. It does stream video from a computer to the target box but there's no software available for Macs and they don't recommend using virtual Windows machines.

A mac mini is no upgrade to what I already have, which is a 2nd computer that is hooked up directly to the TV. I just want to sit on the sofa with my MBP and project what I see on that screen onto the TV. Surprising thats it's so hard now that Wireless N technology is ubiquitous.

I suppose my options are buiying a £50 DVD player for the short term and then get a better TV next year that has HDMI ports.