Techie Inspire – The Technology Blog
Last year was an exceptional year for Internet TV. Google has marketed their TV play. Roku and Apple have updated their technologies with Boxee and Internet STBs. You will find if you want to add an Internet-connected box to your TV, you might struggle with the choosing the right technology for you and your family.
4. Google TV
Google TV proves the most ambitious of the competition. The downside to it? It proves complicated in understanding and using. Google TV provides a system that is integrated with your satellite or cable set-top box. It allows the ability to switch between your TV watching and the Internet interface on the TV. The interface makes it effortless to search the Internet for videos that you can play on your TV.
If you are a fan of short-web clips from the Internet and you want to show them on your TV, Google TV box is the most accessible and easiest way to monitor and locate them. Some people enjoying watching the clips on their iPad or laptop.
One thing that I find disappointing about Google TV is the fact that it does not have a lot of applications yet. This is something that will occur in the future, but currently, there are hardly any applications with Google TV to choose from.
3. Boxee Box
It has been predicted that Boxee will govern the competition in the near future. It has the best UI of the other devices. The remote is the best compared to the competition. It has a keyboard located on the back. It is the only one that integrates social networking into the TV experience successfully. Boxee proves entertaining and easy to use. It also proves attractive and durable. The user experience appeared cleaner than Google TV. Sadly, one downfall with Boxee, is that there is not enough fresh material to watch.
Boxee allows access to your personal movies and videos and integrates them into the experience. Another impressive feature is that you can find the software on Linux, MAC and Windows, so you can download it free of charge while trying it out. You can run it on your own box that is connected to the TV or, you can buy the Boxee Box STB to make it easier.
2. Apple TV
Apple TV is lightweight and small in-size. This feature makes it tremendously easy to connect to virtually any TV or entertainment system. There are tons of materials available with Apple TV, especially if you already have iTunes and Apple ecosystem.
The updated Apple TV no longer overheats, and it does not have silly local syncing with personal computers or MAC. It now integrates Netflix. Apple claims to have the best experience using and watching Netflix among the competition. The fact is, despite the upgrades and bug-fixes, Roku has the best navigation, and speed and the clarity are hard to match.
On the positive side, Apple contains a library of newly-released movie rentals that are easily accessed to tons of video podcast and audio. There is also a delightful gallery of movie trailers. Apple TV is connected in with AirPlay to allow iPad and iPhone devices to stream content over the air to Apple TV. Once they get this going, it will prove quite entertaining to observe how well it works. Apple TV is a little-bit better than Boxee. It is also productive and provides better content overall when compared to Boxee and Google TV.
1. Roku
One extraordinary thing about Roku is that it proves painless to use. It takes videos from the Internet and delivers them to your HDTV clearly and competently. Unbelievably, Roku is inexpensive when compared to the competition.
When Roku was first launched, it was marketed as a streaming box for Netflix on Demand. This technology has expanded and offers tons of varying content and channel options. It does not have the ability to access web clips from the web yet, as Boxee and Google TV can. On the positive side, if you are seeking a box that will allow you watch a clip from a particular channel on your TV, Roku is hands-down the best choice.
Author Box: The post is authored by William Taylor. William likes to write on varied topics like computer technology, cloud computing, information science, internet and digital TV. Apart from that, he has written article for blogs and web pages. Visit his site to gain knowledge on adsl internet and digital TV.
