You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. Not as convenient or easy at is should be More households are streaming than ever before, thanks to the convenience, quality, and nearly unlimited variety of programming offered. With that convenience, though, comes a multitude of mostly unnecessary frustrations for tech-savvy home theater enthusiasts. A Crash Course on the History of Streaming When Netflix began its streaming service in 2007, it consisted of mostly independent movies that no one had heard of and a small selection of older television shows, with the majority of that content in standard definition. Their service was, at first, only available on XBOX gaming consoles and through computer web browsers, and later expanded to Sony’s Playstation 3 console, internet-connected Blu-ray players, smart TVs, as well as Roku and Apple streaming devices. Netflix’s main competitors were Hulu (a joint venture of NBC, ABC, and FOX broadcast networks offering their prime time lineups the following day), Apple’s iTunes movie and TV on-demand rental and purchase service, Amazon Instant Video (similar to iTunes, a precursor to what we now know as Prime Video), and on-demand movie startup Vudu. As internet speeds began to improve around the country and become more affordable, many services began offering their content in high definition, first in 720p and 1080p soon thereafter, and adding either Dolby Digital or DTS audio with 5.1 surround. Content increased on Netflix when they signed deals with pay television services STARZ (giving them access to movies from Disney and Sony) and EPIX (movies from Lionsgate, MGM, and Paramount), as well as direct deals with Universal, Warner Bros, etc. Nearly every device capable of streaming video came with apps for Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, and Amazon’s streaming service that would eventually evolve into Prime Video. Roku’s streaming devices began to become more affordable to compete against smart TVs and Blu-ray players, and Amazon entered the video hardware sector with their HD-capable Fire Stick streaming device.