streaming video for cheapskates

[dock98]

You don't need a media center PC or a set-top box to watch PC video on your TV.

by Erik Rhey

In our previous Solutions story, "Stream Video to Your Living-Room PC", we covered how to stream movies from services such as Netflix's Watch Now, Vongo, and others to your living-room PC or set-top box for display on your TV. Well, what if you don't have a living-room PC or a set-top box—and don't want one! Maybe it's the price that's holding you back, or the fact that you just don't want yet another box to configure and keep in your entertainment center. Since set-top boxes and media center PCs are still mostly niche products, we're guessing there are a lot of you out there.

But watching a video streamed from your PC to your TV would still be nice, right? You could burn DVDs, but that's time-consuming, and your feng shui proclivities dictate that you avoid having a bunch of DVDs you'll never watch again cluttering up your home. Well, for the penny-pinchers, the minimalists, and those who have older equipment, there are still ways to watch PC video on your TV, many of which cost less than $100. Don't expect HD picture quality—or even DVD quality for that matter—but in most cases the video signal is quite watchable.

The cheapest Route