I tried out the PlayOn Digital Media Server yesterday. It is a software that runs on your PC that is networked to your XBox 360, and allows you to stream Netflix, Hulu, CBS, Youtube etc. on your TV. I am trying it out because if it works as expected, I will be able to get rid of my cable TV subscription. It costs $39.99 a year, which means I will be saving to the tune of a few hundred dollars every year.
Setup was pretty easy. However, even with my fast internet connection (10,000 kbps according to the speakeasy speed test), I lost connection at least 20 times while trying to watch Heroes, season 3, episodes 14 and 15. I also noticed that every time I fast forwarded or stopped the video, I could no longer resume watching without restarting the PlayOn server (It gave me an error saying the connection to the computer is broken).
Overall, it feels like PlayOn will fill an important need in people’s lives, namely, being able to watch internet TV on the TV set. But at this time, I just didn’t find it reliable enough to use it to replace my cable connection. I plan on using it for my full 14 day free trial though. If things get better, I will update you all.
