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Digital News Report – I have to admit, television has just got more complicated. In the just the last few years streaming video over the Internet is changing the way you can watch your favorite TV shows and movies. At first you might say, oh no, I just want to get my cable or satellite TV. It can be the easiest way to watch TV, but it does limit your options for the way that you could watch TV. You might not have access to the cable TV service with on-demand programming. One big reason is to fight the rising cost of the satellite and cable TV bills. Netflix has streaming video service and DVD rentals starting at $8.99 per month. Hulu Plus is all the main network TV shows starting at $9.99. You still need to have an unlimited DSL or even faster Internet connection to make the streaming video to work.
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Google TV
Google TV is the new guy on the block for streaming Video to your TV set. Some television sets have Google TV built into it or you can get Logitech’s box and keyboard device and plug it into your own television set. What is good about the Google TV is that it is like have an Internet browser on your television set. The price starts at $299 for the Logitech’s version of Google TV. It is a bit expensive at this time compared to other set top box options.
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Roku
Roku is another set top box that connects to your Internet and streams video to your television set. They have a comprehensive selection of video websites. It is designed for watching TV shows and movies, not browsing the Internet. They offer the least expensive set top boxes starting at $59 and going up to $99.
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Boxxee
Boxee.tv is their website and they have two ways to get their connection to streaming video, one is to buy a Boxee set top box, and another is to use your own computer. They are more expensive than the Roku box pricing. But they claim that they offer more video. However, they are not clear as to what you get for your money, but this seems to be the standard way of selling their video streaming services on set top boxes. It seems most of the companies allude to having all the channels but fail to list specifically. On their website they say that it will cost $199 for the box and the service fee to use Boxee.
Other Set Top Boxes and options for Streaming Video to your TV set
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There is also the WD TV Live which will stream your video to your TV Set. Apple TV also is a set top box for watching streaming video. The Microsoft Xbox 360 is a gaming console that has streaming video built in. The Nintendo Wii gaming system can also stream Netflix rentals over the Internet.
Blu-Ray DVD players with built in Streaming Video Capabilities
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This alone can send your head spinning when you are looking at this option. If you look for a Blu-ray DVD player that has streaming video capabilities you will notice that each one of them offer different online video content. So you need to determine what is most important to you and what is least important. If all you are going to do is watch Netflix, most will have this functionality, but if you want to access some of the audio, and independent, and how-to video sites you might have to do some research before buying the player. Also you should consider if you are going to connect with a a wired Internet connection or if you are going wireless. A wired connection can be less expensive, but if you do eventually go wireless the extra accessories you buy can make it more expensive in the end.
Television sets with built in Internet
The same dilemma is faced with the television sets with streaming video options. You have to know which video channels are supported. Also there are special widgets for checking the weather and such that will vary from TV set to TV set. Sony has Bravia Internet Entertainment (for their Blu-Ray players and TV sets) which has there channels listed and apps as well. For each manufacturer you should investigate to what they offer before buying into the TV set.
Premium Paid Streaming Video Services
So as you can see there is so many different choices to pick from in order to stream video to your TV set from the Internet. The question you have to ask yourself is to which of these video services should you pay money for? Here are a brief overview of some of the major subscription services.
Netflix
Netflix has a wide selection of movies and TV shows starting at $8.99 per month plus they mail DVD rentals to your mailbox. They have many TV shows that you can watch a whole season show by show. They have PBS documentaries, a great selection of History Channel documentaries, and so many other shows to watch. The movie selections rotate with the Starz streaming videos which are mostly movies. They also have a large selection of movies to watch as well. Because Netflix compresses your video to fit your Internet speed you have less interruptions when watching your shows.
Hulu Plus
The Hulu Plus service is $7.99 per month (was $9.99 recently) and is centered mostly around network TV shows. It is a bit frustrating to browse Hulu Plus for full length shows you had to scroll through and icons and there isn’t a way to list them out and sort by different criteria. You can pretty much expect to get the current season shows, but don’t think you’ll get to watch previous seasons of your favorite show. Hulu Plus does have a wide variety of documentaries and some full length movies. With the new lower price of $7.99 (as of November 17th) they are starting to get at least a little competitive with their pricing.
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Other Paid Services
There are plenty of ways to rent videos for a fee with several other options including BlockBuster on Demand, CinemaNow, Amazon’s Video on Demand, Sony’s Crackle, and Apple TV rentals – just to name a few.
Conclusion
One thing I can say, is that if you want to stream the HD formatted shows you will need a super fast Internet connection, DSL didn’t cut it and would pause throughout on some transfers such as on Sony’s Crackle. One the other hand, Netflix compressed the video to minimize the pauses and was able to stream with few interruptions on the DSL connection. So if you are lucky enough to have cable broadband or better don’t think that you will benefit from all streaming content providers. I also enjoyed the ehow channel and the YouTube channel for learning how to do stuff.
For each person, they will likely have their favorite shows and interests that will be different which is why it is important to investigate all options that are available before investing money into equipment or services that you won’t use.
By Victoria Brown