Sony's updated LocationFree wireless streaming video system supports up to two simultaneous video sources (such as a cable box, DVD, VCR, DVR or camcorder), each of which is controllable by an infrared emitter cable. You simply connect your sources to the base station, then connect the base station to your home network via Wi-Fi or Ethernet. The base station can also double as a wireless access point. Once configured, you can play back and control any of the video sources over your network, at home or on the road.

LocationFree video can be viewed on PCs, Macs, PlayStation Portables and Windows Mobile smartphones. on your wireless network. You can even sit at a hotspot in Tokyo and watch your favorite shows remotely. A Windows player pak comes free with the base station. Additional Windows installations and the Mac and Windows Mobile software must be purchased separately. Soon, there will also be a special high-quality client TV option for streaming video to additional TVs around the house. While you can't record LocationFree video to your computer hard disk for offline playback, as you can with TiVoToGo, the two systems can coexist happily, so you could use LocationFree for live remote viewing, and TiVoToGo for offline recordings.

The Pinnacle PCTV To Go HD Wireless is three products in one: a remote video streamer like the LocationFree or Slingbox that lets you view TV sources on your PC over a network; a Windows Media Center player box that puts your PC-based media files on your TV; and a DVR that records TV shows right to your computer hard disk. While it has no Mac support, it's the only product we know of to combine all three features. And unlike the Slingbox, the PCTV hardware has 802.11g Wi-Fi built-in, rather than requiring an adapter.

The TV recording function works over a local network only, but you can access video for playback from anywhere on the Web. There a TV Guide for scheduling shows to record, and you can stream to multiple computers on a local network. The HD support (with optional adapter) preserves the widescreen aspect ratio of HD, the main PCTV hardware has component, composite and S-video inputs.

The Slingbox series is designed to do one thing, and do it well -- make your home TV video sources available over your home network and the Web. Three versions are available, the Slingbox Tuner (single coax input), Slingbox AV (single AV input), and Slingbox Pro. The Pro offers two simultaneous AV inputs (or four with the optional high-definition dongle), and solves the dilemma of whether to connect the cable box, TiVo or DVD player. You can even connect a home security cam, to keep an eye on the house or the kids wherever you are. All work with the companion SlingPlayer software, available for Windows 2000SP4/XP/Vista, Mac OS 10.4, and Windows Mobile 5.0. The Slingbox can be wireless at one or both ends of the connection. The box itself must be hooked up directly to your video sources, but it can then be connected to your network via a Wi-Fi-to-Ethernet bridge like the Belkin Wireless G Ethernet Bridge. At the receiving end, your laptop or PDA can be connected through any Wi-Fi hotspot, or even a broadband cellular network like EV-DO.

You can install SlingPlayer on as many client PCs or PDAs as you like, although only one can be connected to the Slingbox at a time. A virtual remote control gives you complete control over your video sources, so you don't need to leave them powered on. However, you'll need to be careful that you don't try to control the same sources as someone at home! Two people can't play two different things from the same TiVo at the same time, for example. However, if the person at home is watching live TV, and you are watching the TiVo remotely, there will be no conflict.

Speaking of TiVos, the relatively inexpensive Series 2 DT models boasts dual tuners, so you can record two shows at once, while you watch another that's already saved to disk. Even better, the Series 2 DT has a built-in Ethernet port for wired networking, plus a USB port for attaching the optional TiVo Wi-Fi adapter. Once connected to your Wi-Fi net, you can use the Windows and Mac TiVo Desktop and TiVoToGo software to view shows live within the home, or download them to your hard drive and take them with you. TiVoToGo recordings can also be recorded to DVD or transferred to portable players like the Apple video iPod, Sony PSP, and Palm Treo 650/700.