Streaming Video Holiday Edition

Even tho Christmas displays were up in stores BEFORE Halloween, it's still 17 days until Black Friday (and 20 days til Cyber Monday)! A hot item this year will be streaming internet video to your HD-TV, and devices are available from a variety of vendors. New HD-TVs and Blu-Ray players may have wireless internet built-in, handling the most popular subscription streaming from Netflix ($96/yr), Hulu Plus ($120/yr) and Amazon ($80/yr). Streaming internet video still isn't a replacement for cable TV, as current cable TV providers are jealously keeping their channel content away from streaming internet providers. In the stores this year you'll see offerings from Roku (1.2 million sold in 2012), Apple TV (5.3 million sold in 2012), and now Boxee (0.12 million sold in 2012). One of these is perfect for an older (or 2nd TV) which may not have other built-in options. Some (Apple TV) have "pay per view" options, and you'll need a streaming subscription for Netflix. Other options for streaming to your TV are based on gaming systems such as PlayStation or Xbox. In addition to streaming internet content, some also allow streaming your OWN photos and videos to your big-screen TV. I like the free Plex Media Server http://www.plexapp.com/ (available on Windows, Mac, Linux), and the free Plex channel on Roku. You can also stream Plex content to an iPhone or iPad (local or REMOTE) with a $5 Plex app. Here's a solution to viewing your family photos and videos when away from home visiting friends and relatives -- and you don't have to decide ahead of time WHICH of your photos/videos to sync to your smartphone or tablet. Plex will also transcode while streaming ("on the fly") older MPG/AVI video to the newer MP4 format, and maintains your position within a video -- i.e. you can start watching on a TV via Roku, and complete viewing it later on an iPhone or iPad. Just as you use iTunes to "rip" music CDs to digital files (and also looks up album art and track names), Plex will organize your ripped DVDs and Blu-Rays with movie album artwork and film descriptions (separate $35 ripping software is required). If you need help adding these capabilities to your Media Center, just call or write Professional Nerds. Here's a hint: Organize your media FIRST (i.e. make sure all your videos are in either your PICTURES or VIDEOS folder or subfolder), and then you'll be ready to configure Plex and Roku to stream it! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-31/wal-mart-to-sell-boxee-tvs-challenging-apple-and-roku.html