You want to stream movies, music and pictures to your TV at home. You also want access to YouTube and other online TV services when you want them and you want a inexpensive but effective solution.

What is the best Media Player to choose?

There are a host of media players on the market and lots to consider before you shell out for one. Some are cheap as chips and others not so cheap. Some can play almost any file type and others are restricted. The fact is you could be weeks trawling through all the spec sheets and customer reviews online and still be none the wiser.

So I’m going to make it easy on you, here’s the solution you are looking for…..

Boxee

Boxee by DLink

I’ve looked into many solutions for customers and there are a few that fit the bill but for me at this particular budget, Boxee is the one that gets my vote. It’s full of features and add-ons and once you have a good home network set up you will not have any problems with Boxee.

12 months ago it would have been a throw up between Boxee and Apple TV but since iOS5 and the new Apple TV were released it is Boxee by a mile.

Here are some of the features;

1. Watch Live TV

With the addition of the Boxee RF dongle you can connect your incoming cable direct to your Boxee. Pretty cool if you ask me.

2. Apps

Select from hundreds of Apps such as Netflicks, Facebook, Pandora, NHL, Youtube etc. Select from interests such as news, current affairs, finance, music, You’re bound to find ones that match your interests.

Boxee Home Screen

3. Social

Get all the videos from those you follow on Facebook and Twitter streamed to you device.

4. Local files

Of course you can tell boxee where all your movies, music and pictures are stored so you have access to them when ever you want them.

Boxee Movie Library

5. User Interface

I really like the navigation and user interface. Boxee is nice to use and this element is primary in all consumer electronics but most manage to get it so wrong. You’ll like it a lot.

6. iPad Synchronicity

Run the Boxee App on your iPad and gain some really cool benefits like, if you are watching a video on the iPad you can send it to your TV so everyone can view it. Really cool.

Must knows

A few things you have to know, and have in addition to Boxee to make it all work nicely are;

• A Network Attached Storage Device (NAS Drive). A NAS is always on and so when using to store all your media files you don’t need to have your PC , Mac, Laptop etc turned on.
• A better than average broadband connection. Don’t muck about with a 3 meg or 5 meg broadband connection, get your self something above 10 meg to avail of HD streaming from the Net without buffering. Buffering is “stop-start, stop-start, stop-start” when your watching an online Vid. It basically means your computer or broadband connection is not good enough to handle the data stream.
• A good location. Boxee should be positioned beside your TV and you’ll need another HDMI connection available on the TV set to connect Boxee.
• An RJ45 network connection. Boxee will operate wirelessly but wired is better and more stable.
• (Very) Basic Network Set-up knowledge.
• Streaming Blue-ray movies from your local network may be a problem, but this will depend heavily on how good your local network is.

To purchase Boxee go to the TechStore

For more information on Boxee see their website