Media Players - A Quick Overview

Media Players are connection devices such as Blu-ray Players and gaming consoles which allow you to link the internet and your Home Network to your television. It is quickly becoming a staple in home entertainment.

Having a connected HDTV provides applications which bring you movies, web content, music, news, weather and much more. Some experts see it as the future for all TV viewing and will eventually replace cable TV. With recent announcements by Sony offering subscription base Hulu Plus to its PlayStation 3 Gaming Console, this just might be the case.

The three main types of devices available for internet connection are Plug-and-Play Set Tops, Blu-ray Players and HDTVs that have web access.

Roku HD-XR, Seagate Free Agent GoFlex TV and Western Digital TV Live Plus players are examples of plug-and-play devices that bring you content such as Netflix streaming, Amazon Video on Demand, YouTube videos, Pandora, Sports and other selections. Seagate and Ruku are forever expanding their selections trying to entice consumers and developers. Seagate has 10 channels in addition to 17 international video feeds of news programs and 17 feeds from CNN, ABC News, NBC, Fox, CBS and MSNBC. Ruku, the first player to stream Netflix content, has almost 40 channels. (Separate subscriptions or transactions are required for most premium content such as Netflix and Amazon Video on Demand.)

Blu-ray Players and Gaming Consoles with streaming capability do not offer the amount of content as the plug-and-play set top media players. However, the amount of web base content is also increasing at a rapid pace. As stated earlier, Hulu Plus will be available on the PlayStation 3. Blu-ray Players offers a very viable alternative to dedicated media players. Providing access to streaming movies, sports, weather, news, finance, photos, radio stations and much more.

HDTV with web access is the last option and probably the least appealing. Due to the fact that purchasing a HDTV with an internal processor, you run the risk of having an out dated TV within five years. Your HDTV may be in great working order, but will be rendered obsolete if it can not keep up with the new advances in technology. With technology changing all the time you need upgradable connected devices. Many feel Blu-ray Players and Media Devices like Ruku are the better options.

Media Players provide a simple implementation of content that can be readily available whenever you want it. Many consumers will come to the realization that subscribing to premium cable channels like HBO and Showtime and renting various set-top cable boxes is no longer worth it. And once they discover all the other things they can do (such as social networking) with an internet connected television, it will be hard for consumers to ever go back to just cable TV.