Although there's still room for improvement, streaming video content around your house (and beyond) has never been easier.
The popularity of media streaming devices such as Apple TV and the Xbox 360 has given a great boost to home theater. It begs the question of whether or not you can equip the vaunted "connected home" yet. We're close, but I think there's still some room for improvement, particularly with the various incompatible flavors of DRM out there. That said, there's a plethora of premium content out there for your viewing pleasure, and a growing number of devices to stream it and watch it on.
There are two ways to acquire content: record your own or download it. Each has its pluses and minuses, which I hope to discuss more over the next few months. Suffice to say that if you buy your TV commercial-free from the Apple iTunes store (we won't get into illicit downloads for now), you'll need Apple TV. If you record your own, you'll need a Media Center Edition (MCE) PC and an Xbox 360 with Media Center Extender. You can also buy and download content directly to the Xbox, but the selection on Xbox Live Marketplace is fairly sparse at this time.
As Windows Vista (Premium and Ultimate versions) has incorporated MCE, many new PCs will let you stream video to an Xbox 360 with Media Center Extender support. All-in-one PCs such as the HP TouchSmart IQ770 provide a wealth of media features, and rigs such as the Velocity Micro CineMagix Grand Theater are specially tailored to home theater.
Both the Xbox and the Apple TV sit on your network. They let you watch your TV, home videos, and photos on your TV in your living room. Xbox 360 supports 720p HDTV content, while Apple TV is limited to 480p. Apple TV works with both Windows and Macs. Predictably, Xbox 360 with Media Center Extender support is Windows-only.
With Slingbox Pro hooked into your home network, you're not just restricted to streaming content around the house. In fact, you can stream TV content around the world when you travel. You can receive it on a PC that has SlingPlayer software installed or to a Windows Mobile handheld running SlingPlayer Mobile.
Whether you want your home theater strictly for home or also to go, we have a solution for you. Read on to find one that will keep you entertained.
So far one of two shipping MCE systems with CableCARD tuner (the other is the Sony Vaio VGX-XL3), the CineMagix is a powerful home theater-oriented system that can stream premium cable content to an Xbox 360 in your den or family room.
This quintessential kitchen PC can stream recorded and live content from its built-in analog cable tuner. Premium content is limited to downloads, since the TouchSmart only has an analog tuner. The TouchSmart runs Vista Premium with MCE, so it can also stream to your Xbox 360.
If you have a Vista Premium or Vista Ultimate PC, the Xbox 360 can stream all your MCE videos, photos, and music to your living room over your WiFi network with an optional adapter. If you're luck enough to have Cat V Ethernet in your house, the quality is even better. The newest version of the Xbox 360, the Xbox 360 Elite, comes with a 120GB hard drive, and oh yeah, it comes in black.
The Apple TV connects at up to 802.11n speeds on your home network, and unlike the Xbox, it works with Macs and Windows PCs equally well. All you need is the latest version of iTunes running on your Mac or PC.
This lets you access your Apple TV or MCE PC from across the room or across the world using your home's LAN or the Internet. With a Slingbox you can hit your home network and watch your Apple TV using your Windows Mobile smart phone or EV-DO-equipped notebook (Mac or Windows).