10. Internet Channels

TV over the Internet is slowly catching on. Windows Media Center has several "channels" available in the Showcase menu. These channels stream text and video over the Internet, providing a pseudo television experience. Unfortunately, the quality cannot compete with cable or satellite.

In most of the channels, there are no live feeds; the user selects clips from a range of topics.

Internet TV imitates the real thing in one other area: advertisements. Often, before each video clip, a short ad will play. Since the user must input their Zip Code information into the box, ads could theoretically be "targeted" to specific areas.