To watching streaming TV online, what kind of equipment do you really need? The simple answer is a broadband connection and a PC. If you have those two things, you can watch streaming television online with no problems, as long as your PC is up to the task.
The quickest way to determine if your PC is suitable for streaming TV on the Internet is to go to one of the streaming website’s and give it a try. Joost and hulu are two popular websites where you can watch streaming television shows.
Many channels have their own stations as well, like MTV and various cable programming channels. You can watch that channel’s shows on their websites after the shows have broadcast on the cable channels. Sometimes you can watch several episodes online and catch up on a whole season of shows this way.
If you go to a website like hulu and click on a show to watch, it should start playing immediately, or within several seconds. If you have an older computer, it might take close to a minute. If so, you’ll probably have difficulties with the transmission stopping to cache occasionally before starting again.
If your broadcast doesn’t start quickly or at all, then look at your PC components. To watch streaming television online, you’ll probably need at least 1 gig of RAM which is your computer’s memory. However, 2 or more gigs are best. The more RAM you have, the faster your computer will operate in general, as well as during downloading and streaming.
You also might want to look at your processor and its speed. If your computer has an off-brand processor that’s not Intel or AMD, then it simply might not be powerful to handle the fast processing necessary.
Even among name brand processors, some older ones aren’t going to do the best job for you when it comes to streaming TV on the Internet. An Intel Celeron is much less powerful than a Pentium, and even older Pentiums can have a hard time keeping up with the speeds necessary for newer technologies.
A dual core processor is better, and a quad core is probably best. A better processor and more RAM won’t just improve your Internet TV viewing, but will make your computer run like a brand new machine. It will speed up everything you do on your PC on any given day, so you should consider upgrading anyway.
As for your connection, it needs to be high-speed Internet. DSL or a cable modem is best. If you’re in an area where you have a wireless Internet connection, as long as it’s high-speed you should be fine. Satellite Internet can work also, though much depends on the true speed and consistency of your download capabilities.
With high-speed Internet and an adequate PC, you can watch streaming TV online anytime. Not only can you want new shows right after they’re broadcast, but you can watch sporting events, movies and entire seasons of shows that you might have missed when they were first run on television.