Streaming To Your TV
Large numbers of people are changing the way they watch TV, viewing their movie and TV selections when they want and greatly reducing or even terminating their cable bill. This can be done by streaming movies, TV shows, YouTube videos, Pandora Radio and sporting events such as NBA or MLB games from the internet. View your programs on a computer connected to the internet, or a TV hooked-up to a computer, or purchase a device that will stream the internet to your TV such as Roku, Apple TV, streaming Blu-ray disc players or a Boxee Box. Video game consoles such as Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 can also be used. For an analysis and cost comparison of each of these devices, go to Stream Movies and TV.
For most people looking for an internet streaming device, who don’t already have a video game console, a Roku box will be the best choice due to it’s low cost and reliability. Roku can stream in Hi-Def, has strong interfaces for both Netflix and Hulu Plus and has simple and quick set-up. The Roku box connects to your internet connection, wirelessly or by ethernet cable, the box then streams the internet signal to your TV. All streaming devices utilize this same process.
The most popular streaming content services are Netflix and Hulu/Hulu Plus. Netflix has over 100,000 titles between their Movie and TV offerings. Selections are distributed by Netlix with two methods, discs are sent by mail and a large amount of content is also available for streaming. One shortcoming for Netflix is that they do not have recently released films.
Hulu’s service is mainly to provide TV episodes from ABC, Fox, NBC and PBS. Hulu is the no-charge ad supported version with somewhat more limited content, Hulu Plus has a monthly subscription the advantage being no ads and improved selection.
Blockbuster and Vudu are good selections if you are looking to stream recently released movies, Vudu has many recent releases available for a 2 day rental ($3.99 in SD, $4.99 in HD).
To stream smoothly and reliably you need a broadband speed of 2.5 Mbps or more. For Hi-Def 10Mps is required.
Can you get rid of your cable company for a low price? Yes, you can. The first step is to purchase an antenna to hook up to your TV. Next purchase a Roku box for from between $60 – $100 depending on model. Get Netflix streaming ($7.99) and Hulu Plus (also $7.99). For news you can use CNN online which includes many news videos. Roku also offers a free news channel. You can purchase a season of the NBA through NBA League Pass ($120.00 for a season) and you can buy Major League Baseball for about the same damage. There are methods to stream some pro basketball and baseball games for free. ESPN360 is a no fee service that streams college and professional sports, you can get to it through any computer with a high speed connection, but not with a Roku box.
Watching what you want when you want and without commercials is such an improvement over traditional TV, that it’s certain, TV’s future lies with streaming.
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