Here’s a list of the websites I commonly visit to view programming. I normally watch on my Dell Studio Hybrid on the big screen. Having an actual computer as part of your home theater system bypasses all of the restrictions applied by devices like the Roku player or Apple TV. Plus you can integrate a Blu-Ray drive so you have one less device!
I have been contemplating and researching various solutions for watching content from my computer on my television. Today there are many choices, but all have had shortcomings that have given me pause.
The Apple TV seemed like the most likely solution after a visit to the Apple Store and a demo of the slick user interface. Out of the box the audio and video formats are restricted to those normally associated with Apple products. Of course, you can hack your Apple TV with Boxee to gain more of the functionality I desired.
The Popcorn Hour promised to be an excellent, if barebones, media streaming solution. In fact there seem to be many solutions that follow this path from various manufacturers too numerous to mention.
Even the folks at Roku have a very inviting offering which facilitated access to streaming media via your NetFlix account.
But what about watching video over the web from CNET, YouTube or Hulu?
What about streaming internet radio from Pandora or Live365?
Lastly, do any of these devices play DVD’s or Blu-Ray discs?
The answer sadly is no…
The only real choice that provides access to all of these media options is a home theater pc. The Dell Studio Hybrid PC allows me to access all of this content in a very small and quiet device. Add in the optional Blu-Ray drive and you have a pretty future-proof device that comes out on top against all other options.
