Gadgetory

some of the best video and music is on the internet like on-demand movies and TV shows from Netflix and Hulu or funny homemade videos from YouTube but today you're no longer limited to only watching that content on your computer I'm Sharon Vaknin for cnet.com and today I'll show you how to get your favorite streaming content onto your TV lots of devices give you internet to TV streaming but your choice will depend on what kind of services you want to access and what your budget is for example the $100 Roku 2 XS is a tiny box that connects to your TV via HDMI and gives you 1080p video streaming from dozens of places like Netflix Hulu YouTube CNET an even internet radio like Pandora keep in mind of course that with any of these devices you still need to pay monthly subscription fees like 8 bucks a month for Netflix Roku connects to the internet with an Ethernet cable or Wi-Fi but keep in mind that if you are using Wi-Fi you'll need a pretty good connection at home and as an added bonus the Roku 2 is also packed with games but if you want to opt out of games and that Ethernet port the cheaper Roku model is 80 bucks speaking of games if you have a PlayStation 3 at home you're already equipped to stream internet content with an Ethernet or solid Wi-Fi connection and a PlayStation Network account you can stream Netflix Hulu Vudu YouTube and even some sports channels like MLB TV the ps3 won't get you nearly as many services as Roku but if you already on the console games a blu-ray player and streaming make it a great all-in-one device the Xbox is also media streaming device but you'll have to pay 60 bucks a year for an Xbox Live account plus any subscriptions like Netflix now if you're an Apple fan and you've got iOS devices and a well-stocked iTunes library your streaming device of choice might be the Apple TV for less than $100 this box can of course stream content from popular services like Netflix and YouTube but the Apple TV is the only one that can also play videos and music from any of your iOS devices and your iTunes library on your computer so you can stream a video you just shot on your iPhone or the Lady Gaga album you just purchased on your computer all to your TV check Apple's website to find out what other streaming video services the Apple TV supports and do the same for the Roku and ps3 so you can pick the best device for your needs and if you ever need a simple cheap way to stream media to your TV an HDMI cable from your computer or tablet to your TV should do the trick you might need an adapter like this one for the iPad but it's still way cheaper than buying a dedicated device if you have any other streaming device suggestions let me know on Twitter or my facebook page for cnet.com I'm Sharon Vaknin