If you want to watch Netflix and YouTube on your television, you have a few options - video game console, Blu ray player, smart TV, Apple TV, or Roku Box. Google has developed an alternative that is both more affordable and easier to set up The Google Chromecast lets any iOS or Android device, as well as any computer running the Google Chrome browser, control video streaming on your television. For $35, it's a steal. Check out my video review below!
Do you own a Nintendo Wii U system? If so, a new app named TVii is available to you. The app promises to integrate your cable with internet streaming services such as Hulu and Amazon Instant Video (Netflix is arriving in early 2013).. It's a great attempt, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
Ideally, the service should allow you to search and browse for shows that you like and easily watch new or old episodes regardless of where they actually reside. In practice ... it has a few kinks that need to be worked out.. The interface is SLOW when accessing content, since it actually closes TVii and launches a separate Hulu / Amazon app to watch the content. All in all, it takes a good minute of waiting, which is just too much in this era of tablets. Many people would rather just pick up a remote and get instant gratification.
If you can't see the Hulu and Amazon video below, click here.
Nintendo does a much better job with its Sports application, which allows real time tracking of basketball and football, complete with social networking integration.
Netflix is currently $10 for unlimited streaming of its video library along with one DVD at a time. However, this price will be increasing in a few months. Starting in September, Netflix will cost $16 for unlimited streaming video along with one DVD at a time.
I don't mind paying an extra $6 a month for a great service that provides what I want. Between Netflix for old TV / movies and iTunes for paying per episode for recent shows, my TV watching habits are satisfied.
Many of the arguments against the change are on a principle level - the fact that allowing a company to boost their prices by 60% is a slippery slope that will give other companies the leeway to raise their prices. The truth is, Netflix put itself in this position with a low, almost impulse-buy price that I'm sure it realized was not sustainable in the long term. $16 a month is still a bargain, especially considering the amount of server space that Netflix uses to provide streaming content, and the resources required for its DVD service.
I'm sure Netflix will come out of this unharmed, despite the noisy echo chamber currently going on at a lot of the major tech sites.
