PlayOn

Featured in Money, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, New York Times, PC Magazine and other major media, PlayOn offers the viewer even more viewing options.

As I stated in my recent post, "Roku Channels - Liberating the Way You Watch TV," CBS is the least friendly to online viewers and cord cutters.  Since I am a fan of the popular program, "The Good Wife," and the show is not yet included with my Hulu Plus monthly subscription of $7.99, I found PlayOn which streams this show to my television.


PlayOn is more of a browser and media server.  It has the ability to convert and stream media from the internet onto your television and smart mobile device via your computer.  Unlike Roku, which requires no PC, PlayOn is not a device, but a channel which runs through your computer to your device.  The supported devices include the following:

SET-TOP BOXES:  Roku, Google TV, brite-View CinemaTube, OmniBox, Cirago Network HD Multimedia Center, Jadoo TV, Moxi HD DVR, NETGEAR Digital Entertainer Live EVA2000,
Showwx, UEBO M200, ZAAP TV

GAMING CONSOLES: PlayStation 3, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360

MOBILE DEVICES: Android phone (Requires OS 2.2), BlackBerry 10 Smartphones, iPad and iPhone, Kindle Fire, Nook Color

SMART TVs: HP MediaSmart TV

PlayOn will also work on a number of other DLNA-compliant devices, so you may want to check out their website for additional information.

You can use PlayOn to watch your favorite television programs, movies, and just about any video.  Similar to Roku, you add channels to your PlayOn.  Currently there are about 60 channels to choose from including Hulu (not HuluPlus) where I am able to watch such shows as "The Client List," and CBS where I watch "The Good Wife."

PlayOn has also come out with PlayMark which is a browser extension still in beta, but streams any video from the website onto your television.  Using your DMR (Digital Media Renderer) such as the Roku, Xbox 360 or Google TV, you can send the video directly from your computer to your television.  You can watch it instantly or view it later as it is accessed from the folder which was created when you obtained the video.  For instance, if you were watching a video on YouTube or ABC.com etc., the file is saved in a folder of that name and can easily be found when you open your PlayMark channel.

In addition to one of the supported devices mentioned above, the minimum requirements to use PlayOn include: Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or later) or Windows Server 2003/Windows Home Server (Service Pack 1 or later), 64-bit versions of Windows are also supported, Windows Internet Explorer 7 or later, 512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended), and a home network.

Right now you can purchase PlayOn and PlayLater for $7.99 a month, $39.99 for annual or $59.99 for a lifetime subscription and they are serious about your 30 day money back guarantee.   Like Roku, the staff at PlayOn respond to emails and address your questions or issues immediately.  I've had, and know others who have sent emails, and received prompt, courteous replies.

PlayOn is a channel well worth its price, and I'm looking forward to PlayMark coming out of beta into a standard feature such as PlayLater which allows you to record a video and watch it later.

For a demonstration of how PlayOn works, visit their website here.

Browse, click and enjoy,