Internet TV is a pretty new concept and one that is a little underplayed in my humble opinion. With DVR and TiVO being the two major standards for recording television programming, the concept of internet TV seems a little backwards, or is it?

I suppose at this stage defining exactly what internet TV is would be a good idea. Internet TV is often referred to as “On Demand” or “Catch Up” TV. These are the programs you missed or forgot to program your DVR for. There are a few services out on the internet that will have programming available for use.

Finding a service is as easy as running a web search on just about any search engine. Type in “online streaming” or keyword phrases along those lines and you will find you have more choices than you would have thought. Once you have found a service, you should probably bookmark it. On your favorite service, locate your favorite program, pick an episode, click and enjoy. It really is that simple.

One thing to think about though is your connection speed. Not all high speed internet connections are equal. It is a sad fact that the higher, more expensive service will net you greater bandwidth and more speed. This translates into a better picture quality and smoother streaming. If you are constantly waiting for your picture to catch up, then you most likely need to look into upping your internet speed with your internet service provider. (ISP)

Another option to logging onto an online service is to get a desktop application. With one of these (and an internet connection) a person can download their favorite program and have 30 days to watch it. The plus to this is that bandwidth during the actual viewing of the program does not matter because it is already on your hard drive! Technically, one could build an entire library of their favorite programs, just do NOT try to sell them.

The final two factors are your computer and the resolution of your screen. Having a fast computer is often better. With internet TV, this is no exception. A faster processor is definitely an advantage as well as having more available RAM. If you are lagging behind some or off sync, try to close down as many other applications as you possibly can and free up some resources.

For better video quality, make sure your screen is able to handle a high number of pixels. This is important, especially when watching HD programming. Not all digital screens will handle HD format, so if you don’t have it don’t get upset, just buy a new screen.

Internet TV is a great way to catch up on what you missed in the last month or so on TV. Being able to not lose your place in a program these days in nearly invaluable. At the very least there is a viable back up to a digital video recorder available to anyone with an internet connection and a PC with a little muscle.

Zeeman Haus enjoys writing articles online on a variety of subjects. You can check out his latest website on 7 Inch LCD TV which reviews and lists the best LCD TVs to help you pick the best one for your needs.