A few years ago, when we wanted to enjoy a movie, we just had to go to our usual video store and rent the corresponding movie. But conformation has been increasing the speed of the Internet and fiber optics has become common content consumption has shifted from the video store to the Internet.
In addition, the different streaming video services have contributed to this and therefore to the closure of video stores. If you want to start enjoying the advantages of streaming, in this article we show you the different options and devices that we can use to enjoy this new way of consuming content.
What is streaming?
In words so that everyone can understand, streaming is the digital distribution of content, mainly of the multimedia type, through a network of computers or servers. When we access content of this type, our team is responsible for gradually downloading the content and storing it in the buffer of the same, so that we do not have to be suffering cuts during its reproduction, especially when we talk about video or audio files. Netflix, HBO and Amazon Prime Video are the most popular streaming video services while Spotify and Apple Music are if we talk about audio.
In order to enjoy these types of services, our Internet connection must be equal to or greater than the transmission rate of the service, a rate that will depend on the quality of the content that you offer us, since it is not the same to play content in 4K quality, than in HD or standard resolution. If we want to enjoy content in 4K quality, the minimum speed of our connection must be between 10 and 15 Mbps, while for HD quality the necessary speed varies between 3 and 5 Mbps.
Streaming from the Internet
As I have commented above, the main video streaming services are Netflix, HBO and Amazon Prime although we can also include Hulu, although the latter is not available worldwide, which prevents it from being as popular as the previous ones.
These streaming video services store all content on servers and we can access them through the different applications for mobile devices that they make available to us or through a browser in the case of accessing from computers.
All applications allows us to send the content to the television of our home as long as we have a compatible device, which we are going to talk about in this article.
Streaming from a computer
But we can also stream streaming directly from our home without having an Internet connection, since we can turn an old computer into a server that will broadcast through the entire Wi-Fi connection in our home. The advantage it offers us compared to streaming services via the Internet is that the speed of our Internet connection it is not related to the one we need to reproduce the content.
What do we need to stream?
In order to start sending content via streaming to our television, we must bear in mind that at the moment this operation can only be performed from a computer, console or with a smartphone / tablet, since they are the only ways that allow us to access content of this type.
Computer
If it is more convenient for us to access the content via streaming from a computer, the only thing we will need is to access via browser. In addition, we will also need the devices compatible with each format. If we talk about the Apple ecosystem, the best selection is the Apple TV. While if we talk about a PC, the best option is the Google Chromecast device.
But if we are one of the people who has his computer in the same room as the television the best we can do is connect it using an HDMI cable This way we will avoid having to invest in a device that we don't really need unless we want to reproduce the content on a television that is not in the same room as the computer that gives us access to our personal server or access to the different streaming video services
NAS device
NAS devices have become a alternative to cloud storage services, since they allow us to store any type of content locally and access it remotely, either through our smartphone or tablet or from a computer.
They are also compatible with the different applications available on the market to be able to access your content from a television, console or mobile device. If we usually store a large number of movies or series on our computer but we want to avoid it being continuously turned on, the NAS is the best solution we can find in the market
Xbox - Playstation 3/4
Video game consoles have also become multimedia centers with which we can access remotely to content stored on the Internet from different streaming video services such as Netflix, HBO and others or to content that we have stored locally, on a computer or on a NAS.
Native app
The applications to access via streaming are not only available for mobile platforms, but rather They are also available for video game consoles and depending on the ecosystem we are talking about (Windows, MAC or Linux) it is likely that we will find an unofficial application to access the content. The applications allow us to easily send the content of our device to the screen of our home quickly and easily.
Applications to create streaming servers and play content
But if we want to create our own server to access our favorite content that we have previously downloaded, on the Internet we can find two options: Plex and Kodi, the best applications available on the market and that they offer us a large number of customization options and functionalities.
plex
Plex offers us different options to be able to access our favorite content from anywhere, not only from our home, so if our idea is to create a streaming video service that we can access from wherever we are, Plex is the best option on the market. First of all, we must install the application on a computer, a computer that will become servers where we are going to host all the content, be it videos, music or photographs. Second, we must download the application to access the content.
The Plex application is priced at 5 euros, both in the App Store and in Google Play, but it is not the only option available in the market. In iOS we can use the Infuse application, one of the best applications to enjoy our favorite movies and that offers us almost the same information as Plex in terms of movies and series. Both applications allow us to send the content directly to our television using the different devices that we show you in this article.
Kodi
Kodi are another of the great options that They allow us to set up a streaming server, but it offers us some limitations, since this application is not available in the Apple application store, which limits its use among users of the Apple ecosystem, since the only option to be able to enjoy all the options offered by the original application is by using the jailbreak.
VLC
Another of the best applications to consume content via streaming. Unlike Kodi and Plex, VLC does not offer us any application to create a server in our home, but it does allow us to access all the content. Being free, developers have not included the option to download all the information related to the film or series that we want to see, but if that is secondary to you, this application is perfect, since it is compatible with all video and audio formats on the market.
Communication protocols used by Smart TVs
DLNA
If you have a relatively recent Smart TV, about 4 years old, your TV is most likely compatible with this service, which will allow you to either install the Plex application for smart TVs or connect directly to the computer where all the content is stored. that we want to access. DLNA connection can be made through a Wifi connection or through a network cable, the latter being the most recommended as long as it is possible mainly for transmission speed issues.
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP)
This communication protocol is the one used by most applications that allow us to consume content via streaming from our computer. While it is true that both Plex and Infuse and VLC are the best applications to consume this type of content, they are not the only ones, but they are the ones with the best results.
FTP
This communication protocol has always been the most used when it comes to transfer entire files not for streaming, but allowing us to download the content on our device allows us to enjoy the content that we want to view by downloading it previously.
Devices to enjoy content via streaming
If we do not have a computer in the same room as the main television of our home, a video game console such as the Xbox or the Playstation 3/4 and our television is not compatible with the different protocols that I have mentioned above (DLNA , UPnP and FTP) because it is not Smart TV or smart, we will have to resort to any of the following devices that we show you below:
chromecast
This device is one of the cheapest that we can find on the market and offers us a fantastic value for money but it is intended to be used primarily with devices managed by Android. We can also make use of the Chromecast with Apple's iOS ecosystem but the limitations it offers us in terms of compatibility are too many and it is not worth it.
Apple TV
Apple TV is the best, and we could say the only option, for send content wirelessly from our iPhone, iPad, iPod or MAC without any cables to our TV. This device, which after its last update has its own application store, offers us direct access to the most popular video streaming services as well as applications such as Plex, Infuse or VLC.
Xiaomi Mi TV
Managed by Android is the Chinese firm's commitment to this type of device for make our televisions smarter if they already are or only smart. Managed by Android, it offers us access to a large number of applications available in the Google Play Store
Other devices
In the market we can find a large number of set-top boxes similar to the Xiaomi Mi TV, but we have only mentioned that model because it is one of the best known weeks and that it can offer us more guarantees in this regard. You may have also heard of Bluesens Web TV, a device that performed similar functions but that led to numerous legal problems for the company since it allowed the payment services of some national providers to be viewed for free.