Streaming video

Like many consumers of online video, Timbo Drayson wanted badly to bring his favorite viral clips from his smartphone to the big screen. But doing so hasn't always been easy, particularly for Google TV owners like himself.

"I love it when the video is playing," Drayson said. "But actually trying to navigate with these remotes is a nightmare."

Fortunately, as a product manager for YouTube, Drayson is in a position to do something about it. Recently, Drayson has been working in Google's London office on a new feature for YouTube designed to make streaming … Read more

Boxee TV is already beginning to show up at Wal-Mart, and now there's a good reason to head there sooner, rather than later.

Boxee has released some additional promotional details for early adopters of Boxee TV. If you purchase a Boxee TV during the holiday season, you'll get three months of free month of "No Limits DVR" service, plus you'll get a reduced $10 monthly fee for the lifetime of your subscription.

Early adopters will also get three months of free Netflix, for both new and current subscribers; if you're a current subscriber, three … Read more

Streaming video may be the epitome of instant gratification, but that's only after you actually find the content you're looking for. You may know you want to watch "True Grit," but it's not easy to remember whether it's available on Netflix, Amazon Instant, or any of the other countless services available.

That's exactly the problem the newly announced Roku Search is designed to fix.

The feature upgrade will allow owners of Roku boxes to search for TV and movies available on Netflix, Amazon Instant, Vudu, Hulu Plus, Crackle, and HBO Go via one simple interface. The Roku Search channel will be rolling out to supported players (Roku LT, Roku HD and Roku 2 boxes) over the week and sits right next to the settings menu on Roku's home screen.… Read more

The one major streaming service heretofore absent from Samsung's TVs, Amazon Instant, is now available.

Today Samsung announced that the popular video service is available for immediate, free download to all 2012 Samsung Smart TVs. The Amazon Instant catalog includes more than 140,000 movies and commercial-free TV shows at a la carte pricing. The app on Samsung TVs also allows access to the more than 30,000 titles available for free to Prime members.

A Samsung rep told CNET that the app will not be made available to 2011 Samsung Smart TVs at this time, but couldn't … Read more

In the past week, CNET has reviewed three separate media devices, each costing $300, and one of them was a television. And guess what: the TV wasn't terrible.

The three products were the TCL L40FHDP60 ($309), the 3M Streaming Projector ($299), and the Apple iPod Touch ($299). Seeing them all together got me thinking: which one of these would I actually buy if I had the money? Is there something else I'd rather do with my $300?

Until we find out whether the Apple iPad Mini exists, I cast the net out a bit farther and two other … Read more

Roku's Streaming Stick was one of the most interesting home theater products at CES 2012, packing an entire streaming-video box into what looks like an oversized USB dongle.

There hasn't been much news about the device since then, but Roku finally announced today that the Streaming Stick will be released in October for $99. That's the same price as its flagship Roku 2 XS and, in fact, Roku says the Streaming Stick is largely a Roku 2 XS in a smaller enclosure.

The Streaming Stick is launching with 15 "Roku Ready" TVs, including models from … Read more

Every time there's a significant update to either product, the e-mails start filling up my inbox: so now which is better, the Apple TV or Roku?

It's an understandable question, and one that only gets harder to answer now that Apple TV has recently added two, significant features: AirPlay Mirroring via Mountain Lion and a dedicated Hulu Plus app. While it used to be easy to give the Roku LT the edge for costing half as much and offering more streaming services, it's a much closer call with the Apple TV's standout features.

Let's take a look at the strengths and weaknesses of both boxes.… Read more

Aereo survived its early legal battles and now it's taking on the arguably tougher challenge: building its subscriber base.

The company announced a new pricing structure for its streaming over-the-air TV service, adding more subscription options to the original $12/month plan. There's now an $8/month option, which offers all of the same Aereo functionality, except you only get 20 hours of DVR storage, rather than the standard 40 hours. Aereo is also offering a discounted annual option for $80/year, which works out to $6.67/month for full Aereo functionality.… Read more

Back at the January Consumer Electronics Show, Roku showed off a prototype of its Streaming Stick -- a version of its streaming box miniaturized to the size of a USB drive, and designed to work with any TV equipped with an MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) port. We thought it was cool enough to bestow it with a nomination as one of the best home theater products of the show.

The good news is that the Streaming Stick is on track for its promised 2012 release. Roku today affirmed that the product will be released "in the coming weeks." … Read more