Home AV streaming

Originally published in Personal Computer World as part of ‘Your media, anywhere’

Home AV streaming

As we’ve mentioned, streaming functionality is finding its way into more and more ‘standard’ devices, such as TV sets, and AV receivers. For example, both Denon and Yamaha both have AV receivers and other audio equipment that comes with an Ethernet connection, and can access music from an DLNA server, or internet radio streams. Yamaha’s products support MP3, WAV, AAC and WMA support, while some of Denon’s add FLAC to the mix.

When it comes to video, format support is often more limited; Samsung has TVs with DLNA support, and it’s found in some of Panasonic’s latest models too, as well as those of a few other manufacturers. However, while you might think DivX would be common, it’s often omitted, and more likely to be found in devices like DVD or Blu-ray players. Some sets support only MPEG2 and H.264 streams – the same formats used for broadcast TV – while some Sony models only support music and still images. In short, if you want a TV with built in streaming, read the specs carefully, and do your research before buying.