What You Need to Know About Streaming Movies and TV programs
Streaming media (movies and TV shows) to your TV, tablet, and even your smartphone has been very popular. The largest sources for streaming are Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon.
What is streaming? Simply stated, Streaming is defined as a method of receiving videos (movies, TV shows, etc.) and audio directly from the Internet without having to download them into your computer, tablet, or smartphone. CLICK HERE to read my blog for additional information.
TV manufacturers today are selling “Smart TVs.” A Smart TV is a television set with Internet access. Connected to your router, it contains apps for streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and many others. Most TVs being sold now are Smart TVs.
However, those of you that have older TVs can purchase “set-top boxes” such as AppleTV, Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, and Chromecast. These devices allow a digital signal to be received by your TV so it is possible to access media sources such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon.
I recently purchased a new TV (Smart TV) and can now watch the streaming services directly on my new unit. However there are other older TVs in my apartment, and I am able to stream using one of the set top devices listed in the previous paragraph. I chose the Roku device, since it gave me flexibility at a good price.
CLICK HERE to read a review of the new Roku stick and a comparison of all the leading set-top devices.
When streaming from your tablet and smartphone, remember to only do so from wi-fi locations, since Internet access through wi-fi is free. Using your wireless carriers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, etc.) for Internet access can be costly (ie: Streaming 2-3 movies in the course of a month could use your entire data plan for that period).