Recently I gave in and shelled out for a long awaited Playstation 3. Not only was I pleasantly surprised at what an amazing piece of hardware the PS3 is, but I had no idea the operating system was so versatile. With a web browser and full screen Flash 9, the Internet on a 48" HDTV never looked so good. So what makes the complete package even better? Streaming video of course! Enter MediaMall's PlayOn.

As you probably know the PS3 is already very capable of streaming video off of your Windows machine, but that requires that you have the video already on it. PlayOn on the other hand sets up media server that is essentially a wrapper for some of the most popular flash video sites out there. With access to sits like Hulu, CBS, YouTube, and even CNN, instead of navigating to the page with a browser you can search, play, and even pause each sites' content as if it were already on your local media server. Oh, and did I mention PlayOn supports Netflix instant play as well!? That's right kiddies... say goodbye to your free time. The application is still in beta, but it worked flawlessly for me and seems to have a lot of future promise as other sites become available. By far the biggest advantage is the ability to play the content at native resolution on your HDTV. Last night I watched a couple episodes of Firefly off of Hulu and it sure beat sitting in front of my computer screen.

So if you're looking for a more comfortable way to catch up on some Internet video channels, I'm highly recommending this service. The initial install comes with a 14 day free trial that is fully functional after which the final cost is $30. Honestly, I think it's a pretty fair price considering the amount of content they give you access to.

One last note, this service is also available for the XBOX 360 and HP Mediasmart TV with upcoming Nintendo Wii support.