Buyer's guide: How to add wireless functionality to HDTVs

I would like to watch online videos on my HDTV, but it doesn't support

Wi-Fi connections. I don't want to buy a new television yet. Is there

any way to add wireless functionality to my TV?



Rohan Fernandes, Kirit Mehta, Yashpal Singh







You can invest in a digital media player for your HDTV. Your set must

have a free HDMI port (and in some cases, a USB as well) to

accommodate the device. This set-up will let you wirelessly stream

content from the internet, or connected devices, and also has the

ability to play a wide range of digital formats. Now, depending on

your budget and specific needs, you can opt for any one of the two

types of players...



Ultra-portable: Google Chromecast (available online for Rs 2,999)

resembles a USB pen drive; connects to your TV via its HDMI and USB

port (for power), and is capable of streaming content — pictures,

music, videos — wirelessly from a PC, smartphone or tablet. You will

require the Chromecast app (available for Android and iOS) to help

with the initial set-up.



You can also consider the Roku 3500R Streaming Stick (Rs 5,000), which

can be controlled via the Roku app (for Android and iOS) as well as

the included remote control. While both devices will also let you

stream content from the web, they do not come with internal storage

that lets you store content.



Box-type: These devices also have to be connected to your TV via an

HDMI port. The added advantage is that they come with extra

connectivity options, including USB ports for flash and external

storage drives, Ethernet for a wired network, optical-out for digital

audio, a slot for SD cards, etc.



Here, you can opt for the WD TV Live (Rs 8,000), Roku 3 (Rs 8,500) or

the Amkette evoTV (MC, AC or XT) (with prices from Rs 6,000 to Rs

8,500).



The WD TV is ideal for personal multimedia content and to access

pre-loaded web services like YouTube and Flickr.



The Amkette players offer greater USB connectivity (four compared to

the two on the WD TV and one on Roku) and are Android-based systems,

giving you access to the apps on the Google Play Store.



The Roku includes a microSD card slot and a remote control that has a

convenient 3.5mm jack for earphones (these are also included). When in

use, audio is streamed wirelessly to it. However, it is handicapped by

a limited support for digital file formats.



It can play MP4, MKV, AAC, MP3, JPG and PNG, when compared to the WD

TV and Amkette players, which support a wider range of AV formats like

DVD (VOB files), high-def MT2S videos, Windows Media files and

high-quality audio standards like OGG and FLAC.