Some friends and I were relaxing in my living room, while we waited for a habitually late comrade, when someone brought up a recent “viral video” he had just been e-mailed at work.

After he spent a couple of minutes trying to describe how ridiculous “Fred and Sharon’s Movies” (fredandsharonsmovies.com) were, I suggested we just watch them.

I turned on the TV and quickly hopped over to AV2 where I have a Mac mini hooked up. The computer takes up the space of a few stacked CD jewel cases on the shelf, and it fills the TV screen in full high definition. Surfing YouTube, we quickly found and watched the video, which instigated an involved discussion of other videos we should watch.

For the next 20 minutes (our friend was really late), we eagerly stared at the screen as the keyboard was passed around and each of us brought up another video. Some we had seen; some we had not.

Some were good; some were bad. Some were very bad. Nevertheless, our impromptu, interactive, cooperative “TV show” was a great time.

This YouTube Party got me thinking about how much video content I get from the Web instead of my TV. I first though about my viewing habits when I reviewed IP-TV from CenturyTel and it became clear I used my computer for most of my personal video viewing. I’d realized I use it all day long at work–downloading from iTunes and video podcasts, videoconferences, WebEx, and making or watching training videos. Much of my work uses video content and requires me to share it.

As Web-based video continues to grow, it is hard to estimate how much traffic is actually video. One study by Ellacoya Networks estimates that YouTube alone made up 10 percent of Internet traffic in 2007. This means YouTube used more bandwidth in 2007 than the entire Internet in 2000. Jim Cicconi, vice president of legislative affairs for AT&T, said last month that the company estimates that “video will be 80 percent of all traffic by 2010.”

While video content continues to grow as a tool, being able to present it on large screens is becoming more important. While projectors have been the resource of the past, flat-screen TVs are becoming more popular because of how simple they are to set up and use without the common troubles of projectors (light levels, throw angles, line of sight, etc). Flat-screen TVs continually grow larger and more affordable, and — because of the new FCC digital change — they are digital, making it easier than ever before to connect them to computers.

Most computers now come with DVI video connections standard (or have an upgrade option) and almost all high-definition TVs come with HDMI connections (a modified DVI connection). With a single cable, the two can be connected together, most often with little to no configuration needed.

Though digital connections on both sides make setup easy, connecting older machines to TVs is not difficult. While not always possible (yes, your 1992 laptop is probably out), it typically can be accomplished with easily available converters and cables—at most, an additional video card.

Once connected, content management is simple. Both Windows and Mac have media center software designed to be used with a TV. Windows Media Center is included with both the Home Premium and Ultimate versions of Windows Vista. Front Row, Apple’s integrated media-management software, comes as a part of both the 10.4 and 10.5 operating systems.

Both media center solutions allow users to easily manage photos, movies, music, podcasts, DVDs, CDs and more with sleek format, using a simple remote control (not always included with the machine). With additional hardware, the systems can even record live TV from broadcast, cable or a satellite dish for later viewing or incorporating into a presentation. Through Front Row, content can be streamed from any computer on the local network.

While having a computer connected to the TV offers the benefits of a slick media center interface along with the ability to use the computer simply as a computer, room limitations might not allow for a direct connection. However, there are still ways to get the content to the TV without the computer or running cable through walls.

Microsoft offers extenders for Windows Media Center. These are devices, connected to a local network (wired and wireless), that stream media from a computer and display it on the TV as if the computer were directly connected. Microsoft offers this feature in its own Xbox 360 and licenses the technology to other companies (Linksys, D-Link, HP and more), which build the technology in the routers, in DVD players and directly into TVs. This gives the complete Windows Media Center experience without the computer in the room (it still has to be on the network).

Apple offers the AppleTV. An iPod for the TV, the AppleTV works with Windows and Mac, requiring only iTunes and a wired or wireless network connection. With HDMI and component video, stereo and optical audio–along with a remote (included)–the AppleTV can connect to almost any TV. An integrated hard drive allows content can be synced between one computer and the AppleTV, just as an iPod syncs, allowing content to be played without a computer. It also allows for any computer with iTunes to quickly stream content to it.

The Apple TV also has YouTube, Podcast library and the iTunes Store built in, allowing for the purchase of music, music videos and TV shows, as well as the rental of movies in standard definition and high definition.

The TV can do it all. In the office, it means no longer needing a TV for VHS and DVD and a projector to make presentations. In the living room, it means watching Netflix streams while reclining on the couch instead of huddling over a laptop. Whether video conferencing at the office (or even at home) or killing time with junk video, hooking up a computer offers all the tools and resources of the Internet with the clarity and availability of a TV.

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