10 Best Media Streamers
Get your media off your office desktop and onto the big screen with these streaming boxes.
The television set has to be the most loved device in the house. After all, how many hours do you spend in front of the toaster each day? Despite all of that adoration, though, the boob tube no longer corners the market when it comes to audiovisual excitement. Thanks to advancements in online multimedia delivery, services such as YouTube, Picasa and iTunes also offer a lot of Web-based entertainment to get you through the wee hours of the morning. Still, no matter how much you can contort your body, sitting in an office chair is definitely not a “sweet spot” when it comes to enjoying your favorite film or soap opera. Mercifully, these days, there are plenty of ways to get audio, video and photos off the computer and into any room of the home. Here are a few of our favorite streaming devices that let you enjoy music, movies and more anytime, anywhere.
This nifty 21st century boombox can tap into all of the music on your computer, as well as services like Rhapsody, Pandora, Slacker, Sirius web radio and more. As such, multimedia content is easy to transfer from the bedroom to the basement to the backyard. All that’s needed is your existing home network and a power outlet. To crank tunes out, the system has a 30-watt digital amp, two ¾-inch tweeters and two 3-inch woofers. Other features include six preset buttons and a built-in alarm clock.
$299.99, www.slimdevices.com
Check out our Logitech Squeezebox Boom review.
Logitech Squeezbox Boom
Streaming movies is a nice bonus for Netflix subscribers, if you don’t mind curling up with your computer. Thankfully though, many manufacturers are making this feature a lot more comfortable by rendering your favorite Netflix selections viewable right on the living room TV. None are as cheap or compact as Roku’s small player. Hook the unit up to your television and a wired or wireless network, and voila: Over 12,000 movies are currently available to download, with hundreds offered in high-def. By the end of this year, the unit will also tap into 40,000 movies and TV shows from Amazon.
$99, www.roku.com
Roku Netflix Player
Netgear doesn’t rely on subscription services to hold your attention span. Instead, this compact box brings the endless entertainment of YouTube, live Internet TV, popular Internet video websites, premium video-on-demand and online video searches to your TV setup. Add an external USB device for photos, music, and even more video options. About the size of a deck of cards, the unit syncs up via Wi-Fi or Ethernet, with composite, component and HDMI connections for your TV.
$199, www.netgear.com
Netgear Internet TV Player
We’ve talked this one up several times before for a simple reason – it’s one of the best streamers for multi-room audio. Whether you want country in the kitchen or pop by the pool, this system can wirelessly deliver different tracks or the same tunes to various areas of the house simultaneously. Aside from accessing your existing digital collection, Sonos also has options to add Pandora, Last.FM or other online music sites to your playlist. The system also comes with a killer controller, or you can use an iPhone or iPod touch as your method of pausing, playing or rewinding favorite jams.
Starts at $999, www.sonos.com
Check out our Sonos Multi-Room Music System review.
Sonos Multi-Room Music System
Linksys Media Hub by Cisco
Looking a lot like a PC hard drive, this bulky but useful unit gives all of your photos, video and music a safe place to live. It also shares that wealth with any connected device in the home, as well as around the world via any Web browser. Three models are available: The NMH305 has a 500GB hard drive while the NMH405 and NMH410 add in an LCD screen and 6-in-1 card reader, with the latter bumping storage up to 1TB.
$299 to $429, www.linksysbycisco.com
Check out our Linksys Media Hub by Cisco review.
Linksys Media Hub by Cisco
The PlayStation 3 may have Blu-ray support and a rockin’ media store. However, as video game systems go, it’s the Xbox 360 that’s a gamer’s streaming dream. Late last year, the home console further added access to online rental service Netflix. So, like a few other recent hardware releases, this device can use your existing account to call up a slew of movie and TV titles on-demand. However, unlike other Netflix streamers, this one allows you to play Halo all day or enjoy a Guitar Hero fix. Other features provide carte blanche to taunt opponents via Xbox Live (subscription required) or options to purchase and download new games, videos, and music straight to your system in the Xbox LIVE Marketplace Video Store. Now if only manufacturer Microsoft would add in that Blu-ray drive…
Starts at $199, www.xbox.com
Check out our Xbox 360 review.
Xbox 360
miRoamer
It’s time to replace that Hula girl on your dashboard with Web access, and Blaupunkt has teamed up with miRoamer to make that happen. The system allows drivers to tune into tens of thousands of radio stations, via a large-screen display. Of course, if you don’t want to scroll through all of those options, you can log into the miRoamer website to peek at genres and stations, as well as customize a few preferences. A release date and price hasn’t been announced for the in-dash device yet, but auto buffs should be able to install it by late summer for about $399.
Price TBD, www.miroamer.com
miRoamer
It’s not brand new, but this box remains one of our top picks when it comes to streaming media. Apple’s slick, slender unit shares the wealth of your entire digital collection, whether it comes in music, video or photo form. When your grandma’s 80th birthday pics start to bore you, the unit can also access iTunes for TV shows, movies, and plenty of podcasts – all in HD as well. (Titles cost between $2.99 and $4.99.) The unit also comes with its own little remote, but the last upgrade threw in a feature that allows the box to play nice with third-party controllers as well.
$229, www.apple.com
Check out our Apple TV review.
Apple TV
Satellite radio is great, until you have to leave your home or car. For those that occasionally like to hoof it, the Stiletto is the ultimate streaming audio invention. Three models are available: The 100, the 10 and the 2. Each one can receive live portable broadcasts of Sirius radio (subscription required), and offer storage for up to 10 hours of your favorite programming. Other features include Sirius Replay, which allows listeners to rewind up to 60 minutes of live radio and bookmarks to tag favorite songs for a later purchase.
$149.99 to $279.99, www.sirius.com
VUDU
We love to root for the underdog. VUDU isn’t related to Apple, Linksys or any other major firm you may have heard of, but the manufacturer is certainly making a name for itself with cinephiles as of late. Three different boxes can deliver the VUDU experience, which includes 11,000 streaming movies, including 1,100 in VUDU’s own HDX 1080p format. The basic box has a 250GB hard drive, the XL has 1TB, and the XL 2 is for rack-mounted, professional installs. On-demand film rentals range from $1 to $4. New features also allow users to access web video, or integrate the box with home automation systems.
Starts at $149, www.vudu.com
VUDU
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