I have been using PlayOn for about two years now, so am pretty familiar with it. I'll try to explain it the best I can.
In a nutshell, it's a media server. It runs on your home PC (so yes, you have to leave your PC on to use it). There are many media servers out there, such as Tversity and Windows Media Center to name a couple.
PlayOn is not free (but does have a fully-functional 2 week trial if you want to check it out). There are several pricing options:
- $79.99 for a lifetime license,
- Annual license for $39.99 for the first year, $19.99 each year after that
- $4.99/month
FWIW, I have a lifetime license, but I was a pretty early adopter and have used it for a couple of years.
Once you install it on your PC (very simple), your devices on your network just pick it up. So in my house, my Wii, PS3, XBOX and FiOS DVR all pick it up. I select the server, then I get an option of about 40 different "channels" such as Netflix, Hulu, Comedy Central, Fox, etc. You still have to have a Netflix account of course. From there it's just a matter of selecting a source and what I want to watch. It takes maybe 30-40 seconds to start, then it just plays normally. What's going on though is your PC (i.e. the server), is connecting, transcoding the audio and video, and sending it to your device. Thus it does use quite a bit of your CPU on your PC.
So, that brings me to the phone. The app is free (but requires the media server on your home PC). The first time you open the app, you have to be on your network to pair the phone with your server. After that, you can stream over 3G/4G or wifi. I have it paired to my EVO and my iPad right now and it works pretty good.
I even made a video of it running on my EVO, but you must
IGNORE THE FRAMERATE. I used ShootMe to record it, and it only captured about 2 frames per second. It's much smoother on the phone, but the video shows I'm on 3G and the basic functionality. I will also note the app is much faster in loading the screens over wifi, but wanted to show it worked over 3G. Here's the video:
YouTube - PlayOn using HTC Evo.
As much as I love it, it does have some drawbacks. The playback controls (such as rewind and FF) are not nearly as good as a native app would be since it's streaming....you can only watch what's been streamed from the PC/Server thus far. There is no HD streaming: not a big deal on my phone, but I wouldn't use it in place of the apps on my XBOX or PS3 to stream Netflix.
However, it does give me Netflix and Hulu on my phone, which AFAIK is the only way to get them. In fact, at my house, it's the only way I can HULU onto my TV. This is plain old regular Hulu (not that Hulu+ crap you have to pay for).
Their website is
www.playon.tv if you want some more info or want to try the trial out.
FWIW, here are some of the 'channels' that I get (a "channel" is really a connection to the website so you can watch the available videos they have). You can get more via another site where they offer plugins that other people develop (
www.playonplugins.com). Regardless, here's some that show up for me:
- Netflix
- Hulu
- CBS
- Comedy Central
- TV.com
- TBS
- OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network)
- Syfy Rewind
- Adult Swim
- Spike TV
- ESPN
- ESPN3
- NFL Game Rewind
- MLB
- NHL
- CNN
- Fox News
- PBS
- PBS Kids
- Nick
- Cartoon Network
- Amazon VOD
- YouTube
- MTV
- BET
- Vevo
- Pandora
- My Media (Beta)
- Cartoons
- Crackle
- ...etc
News A recent update just brought AV1 support to your Android phone
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