Streaming video has become more and more popular in recent years. With sites such as Youtube and Daily Motion become ever more popular, there is now the advent of the concept of PC based TV programs, also known as satellite TV for pc, which is now possible due to a number of recent conditions.

The world is smaller i.e. in this day a ripple on one side of the world has an effect on the other - there is greater harmonisation in brands and trends and global communications takes mere seconds instead of hours and days like it used to.

Percentages of households possessing PCs has rapidly increased in recent years. In the western world, the majority of homes now have access to a PC and over 90% can obtain some sort of internet access. Growing countries such as China, India and now even Africa also report high PC usage rates thanks to cyber cafes and other shared resources.

Bandwidth available has rapidly increased thanks to improvements in DSL and fibre optic technology - a typical connection today can easily handle streaming media.

So what are the possible benefits, not just of streaming internet video but also of satellite TV for pc? There are many and these are listed below.

If the facility is installed on a laptop with wireless internet connection, streaming TV can be enjoyed anywhere, so long as you are within range of internet coverage.

International broadcasters are no longer restricted by line of sight in so far as how far they can broadcast. Instead, via the internet, there are no longer any limitations on this planet.

There are no regular expenses involved with satellite TV for pc. The software usually involves a small upfront fee to cover development costs and a minimal profit margin. If you find anyone charging regular payments, avoid such operators at all costs!

Most programs allow you to bookmark your favourite channels much like in your regular browser. This way you can easily access your favourite channels without having to cycle through a large list.

A great benefit is the sheer number of programs available. Typically, several thousand channels can be had due to aggregation of global feeds.

No other platform than satellite TV for pc can offer the same range of diverse programming: sports, news, movies - you name it, you can get it.

Such software can be run even on the most basic of environments - see below some of the most common requirements

As explained earlier, most internet connections are more than capable of handling streaming media. I personally recommend that you have at least a 512k connection, otherwise known as "half a meg".

Most of these types of software will run on pretty much anything i.e. any Windows based PCs. There are some Mac based softwares but these are quite rare.

There are some alternatives to the programs mentioned above and these are considered next.

Pirates will use illegal filesharing networks to obtain programs but these methods risk infection by spyware and viruses and I do not recommend them.

Digital satellite and cable are the main established competitors, however they require high upfront costs and continuous payments. Satellite reception is also susceptible to bad weather.

A TV card is used by some media professionals but these are not suitable for most people as they require some technical knowledge to install and use. Furthermore, you don't get any extra channels with these.

After a thorough analysis, you can see that satellite TV for pc offers access to a high volume of quality broadcasts but with none of the disadvantages incurred with alternative methods.