Despite the limited selection of shows, this is a well-executed approach to streaming TV, and it's hard to beat the comfort and convenience of living-room-friendly, on-demand media.

Works in: 7 Much like the popular , Windows 7 allows you to stream your music, photos, and videos (including recorded TV) from your home PC to other PCs running Windows 7. That's great if you're on the road with your laptop or netbook and you want to watch the football game you recorded at home. What's not so great is the number of hoops that Microsoft makes you jump through to set the feature up. Here's how to do it.

Start Windows Media Player, and click Stream, Allow Internet access to home media. Click Link an online ID, and then select Add an online ID provider. On the Web page that appears, choose either Download for 32-bit or Download for 64-bit, depending on which version of Windows 7 you have. Save and then run the downloaded file, which installs the Windows Live ID Sign-in Assistant app.

When that's done, return to the Link Online IDs window and, under Online ID Provider, click Link online ID. Enter your Windows Live ID username and password. (Don't have a Live ID? Click the link in the box to sign up.) Finally, click OK. Return to Windows Media Player, and click Allow Internet access to home media.