When you have nothing interesting to watch on TV, you can always switch to the Internet for an unlimited supply of videos ranging from television shows, podcasts, music, full-length movies, news and even live concerts.
Your computer screen is not always the best option to watch web videos, especially if the whole family wants to join in, so let’s look at some devices that will let you enjoy Internet TV on your widescreen television without requiring any complicated setup.
Enjoy Internet Videos on your TV
Apple TV – Connect the device to your TV using a HDMI or component video cable and you’ll be able to download movies, TV shows, podcasts and music from iTunes’ vast library directly through your TV.
You can also use Apple TV for watching YouTube videos, for listening to Internet radio stations and for viewing photos that are on your computer or on Flickr. Apple TV will connect to the Internet through Ethernet or built-in Wi-Fi and retails at $229.
Roku – If you are looking for a simple and cheap option to watch streaming movies from Netflix or Amazon on your TV, Roku Player should fit the bill.
Roku offers quick access to video channels including Netflix, Amazon on demand, Pandora radio and Blip.tv as well as photos from Flickr and Facebook on your TV. The Roku player will connect with virtually any TV and it supports both wireless and wired connections. Starts at $79.99.
Vudu – Vudu has a large collection of movies in HD quality that you can instantly buy or rent using the Vudu box.
Additionally, Vudu allows access to Youtube videos, Flickr pictures, Pandora music as well as streaming video from sites like CBS and ESPN. The Vudu box costs $149.00 though you’ll have to buy an additional wireless kit to connect Vudu to your home network over Wi-Fi.
Boxee Box – Boxee is a free media center software that lets you access content from a variety of sources including YouTube, CNN, BBC, Netflix, TED, University lectures, etc. on your computer. The company has also developed a set-top box that will let you enjoy Boxee’s content directly on your TV.
Other than streaming videos, you can also access content from sites like Flickr, Picasa, Last.fm, Pandora as well as media files store on your TV through the Boxee Box. It is expected to cost around $200.
TiVo HD – The TiVo, that made DVRs a standard household item, now lets you watch millions of videos from YouTube, TV shows and movies from Amazon, Netflix, etc. on your TV.
You can subscribe to video podcasts with TiVo and if a show is not listed, subscribe to it directly by specifying the RSS feed. In addition to videos, TiVo also lets you enjoy music and pictures that are stored on your PC or Mac. Price starts at $249, plus a $12/month service plan for TiVo service.
VuNow – VuNow is an affordable set-top box that will let you watch online videos on your TV without requiring a computer. It supports both wired and wireless network connectivity.
With VuNow, you can watch Live TV channels, YouTube videos, content from video sites like CNN, ESPN, etc. or even listen to Internet radio through your TV. You can also play photos, videos and music directly from your PC or an attached USB Storage device. The VuNow box starts at $129.
Neuros LINK – This is an Ubuntu based set-top box that will bring virtually any web video to your TV using the home network. With Neuros, you can play videos and audio on TV that are on your computer or a USB device.
The device will connect to your television via an HDMI port and is designed for use with a "keymote", a wireless keyboard with an integrated trackball. Available for about $300.
Netgear EVA2000 – The Netgear Digital Entertainer Live is a small box that allows you to easily access digital media stored on USB devices and other networked computers from your television. You can also use the device to watch streaming videos from Youtube, CinemaNow and VuNow. The device comes with a trial version of PlayOn software so you can access videos from Hulu, Netflix, and other sites on your TV. Retails for $150.
Watch Internet TV with Game Consoles
All of the latest generation of game consoles offer easy access to a wide variety of Internet content on your TV.
Wii – The Wii offers full access to the Internet through Internet Channel, which is actually a version of the Opera browser designed for Nintendo’s Wii. It will play any web video that’s in the Flash player format and if you try accessing YouTube on your TV using the Wii, it will automatically redirect to YouTube XL.
You can connect Wii to the Internet though a wired or wireless network connection. Retails for $199.99.
Xbox 360 – The Xbox 360 can connect to Windows Media Center on your PC, bringing internet TV and downloaded media from the computer to your TV. There’s a video store where you can purchase or rent movies, TV shows, or even stream movies from Netflix. Starts at $199.99.
Playstation 3 – You can use PlayStation 3 to access any website through the built-in internet browser though it doesn’t support flash-based content.
You can also access photos, music, and videos on your computer from a PS3 using a wired or wireless network. The PlayStation Store built into the PlayStation 3 console offers movies for instant rental and purchase over the internet. Starts at $299.
Set up a Windows Media Center Extender
If you have digital content on you PC that you would like to enjoy on widescreen television, you can go for Media Center Extender. These devices will help you stream pictures, music, videos, and other media from the PC to your TV over the home network without any wires.
Xbox 360 can be used as an Extender device but there are more like the Linksys DMA2100 and D-Link DSM 750. These are however expensive options and will only work if you have a PC running Windows Media Center software.
Internet TV with Blu-ray Players
Although Blu-ray was initially positioned as the future in videos, streaming videos from the internet are quickly making any disk-based technology seem dated. LG and Samsung have combined the best of both worlds in some of their Blu-ray players.
LG Players – The BD370 player offers streaming videos from Netflix, CinemaNow and YouTube, while the costlier BD390 version adds support for Vudu and wireless connectivity. You can also enjoy photos, videos and music from your home network on a large screen. Price starts at $249.
Samsung players – Like LG, Samsung too offers support for streaming web videos in their Blu-ray players. These device offer direct acces Netflix, Blockbuster on demand, Youtube, and streaming music from Pandora. Blu-ray players start at $199.
Watch Digital Content with Digital Media Players
Most hardware devices discussed above will let you watch streaming videos directly from the Internet on your TV using a wired or wireless network. However, if you are looking to save some bucks, there’s another option.
You can use your existing computer to download videos, music, pictures and other digital content from the Internet, transfer them to a USB stick or an external hard drive and then play these files on a TV using a Digital Media Player.
Western Digital HD – Connect the WD HD Media Player to your TV, attach a USB drive (or a digital camera or your portable device) and you’ll able to enjoy all the digital content from your couch. The player supports practically every audio, video and image format and you can connect it to the TV using HDMI or composite A/V cables. Cost is $99.
Popcorn Hour – The Popcorn Hour device allows you to play all kinds of video, music and photos from the Internet or from your PC and external storage devices directly to your TV.
Except YouTube, Popcorn Hour supports nearly every popular web service including Flickr, Picasa, CNN, Blip.TV and more. You can even follow feeds of Yahoo! Weather and Yahoo! News on your TV via Popcorn Hour. Starts at $299.
Asus TV HD Player – Like the WD player, Asus O!Play Media player can play nearly all audio and video codecs but it also supports external SATA disks in addition to USB drives. The Asus player has a LAN port so you can stream content directly from any network connect PC on your TV. Cost is $99.
FreeAgent Theater – Connect the FreeAgent drive to your PC or Mac, transfer the file and then slide it back into the FreeAgent Theater Dock to enjoy all the digital media on your TV. This has an Ethernet port as well so you can easily access shared content on your network or watch YouTube videos, pictures from Flickr or Picasa and even RSS feeds on your TV. Starts at $195.
WD Network Player – This is like the WD Media player discussed earlier except that it is network capable so you can watch Internet content live on your TV from a variety of sources include YouTube, Pandora, Flickr and Live365 online radio stations. You can also access media from any other computer in the home on your TV. Starts at $120.
[*] Some portable media players like the iPod and Zune can directly connect to the TV so you can download stuff on your computer using iTunes (or Zune Desktop player), sync the media files with your portable player and then play them on your TV.
Get Internet on your TV via an old Laptop
If you have a spare desktop or laptop computer that you are no longer using, you can use that computer to watch Internet content on your TV.
First install Boxee – it’s a free software for Mac, Windows and Linux that will let you watch streaming videos, music and photos from numerous sources including YouTube, BBC, CNN, Flickr, Pandora and Last.fm. Then connect the laptop to your TV using standard cables, grab a wireless keyboard and control your computer from the couch.
Find this article at: http://www.labnol.org/internet/watch-internet-videos-on-tv/12177/
Tags: amazon, Archives, flickr, How-to Guides and Software Tutorials, internet tv, podcasts, youtube, Internet
Reader Comments
Nice write-up Amit. Great summary covering all the bases. Personally I’m using a combination of Windows 7 and XBOX 360 and TVersity. Does the trick for me.
Written by MrGroove on 12.29.09
Nice. Any idea, which of these is available in India?
Written by abey on 12.29.09
There’s a much easier and cheaper way. Try this before you go out and spend a lot of money. I’ll bet you’ll spend a very long time exhausting available excellent free video and audio. Most new TVs have either a VGA or HDMI video port. Just hook up your TV via a video monitor cable. Select the PC as your TV source. Connect your computer sound to your TV via a simple jack available at any Radio Shack store. Get a cheap USB wireless keyboard and mouse (like Logitech). Then sit back and enjoy your Internet on your large screen TV. You can either wire your computer to your cable ISP with ethernet cable, use your house electrical wiring, or even receive the signal wirelessly. It’s really pretty easy. I’ve been doing it for years.
Written by Ray Silva on 12.29.09
all of this media sharing capability is the second priority of a linux sat recivier (eg Dreambox ) and its done perfecly
. i am currently watching all sat providers in my wide screen tv :D + watching the stuff i have in pc
Written by traveler on 12.29.09
You missed a couple of devices –
Blu Ray Player
- Sony BRAVIA Internet Video BDPN460
TVs
- Sony BRAVIA Internet Video + Widgets on W/Z/XBR9 TVs.
- Some Samsung models with Widgets
Among current competing TV & Blu-Ray products, Sony has the most wide selection of Internet Video content for consumers (mostly free and some Paid content)
Written by Dipendu Saha on 12.29.09
All the options seem to be for people residing in the US.. Any options for Indians?
Written by Krishna on 12.29.09
Good list. Though “xtreamer” and “AC Ryan Playon HD” would be worthy additions to the digital content players.
Written by Shantanu on 12.29.09
Amit,
thanks for the article. am currently discovering some great content using miro, but its true that watching with rest of folks on big screen is what i’d really love to do.
so far, i’d just connect the laptop screen using the vga cable from the tv, but there is no way to output sound from the tv speakers, so i connect the desktop speakers to the laptop, still not as powerful.
with devices like freeagent theatre…does the sound problem get taken care of? I dunno if that’d be available in india.
–
DP
Written by Diabolic Preacher on 12.29.09
@Abey – Most of the digital media players like Western Digital HD Players and FreeAgent HD Player from Seagate should be available in India. Or you can ask a friend in US to get the box for you.
@Ray – Thanks. Yes, the cheapest DIY option is to hook your computer to the TV as I mentioned at the end.
@Dipendu – Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll include the Sony Bravia Blu-Ray player in the list. I have purposely skipped Internet enabled TVs here as this list is more about getting TV on your existing TV.
@Shantanu – AC Ryan PlayOn HD player looks like a great solution. And it’s available in India as well according to their site. Thanks.
@DP – The VGA or S-Video cable will only handle video so you need a separate cable for audio. Get an RCA stereo cable, connect the single connector to the audio ouput of the laptop and the dual connector (white and red cables) to the audio input on your TV screen.
Written by Amit on 12.30.09
Playstation 3 (at least the slim one) does support flash-based content as youtube. But as there are a lot of Flash versions out there some sites are not working. One of the problems with PS3 is that you cant set up easy an diferent proxy to watch videos made for special regeons.
Written by tom on 12.30.09
I use my Xbox for streaming videos to my TV .. it rocks .. apart from streaming internet .. i can see any digital media stored on my Network on my TV ..
Written by AmitD on 12.30.09
Amit, a correction, AFAIK the PS3 Internet browser is flash enabled. It can play videos on YouTube (Ref link . Though its a shame that hulu blocked PS3 browser from accepting content.
And Dipendu mentioned, I use my Bravia TV to connect to the internet, though most of the “free sources” are not that good…
Written by yogesh on 12.30.09