Getting the Internet on Your HDTV

 With the first round of college basketball championships already here, and a new season of baseball right around the corner, it may be hard to find your team on TV.  There's no doubt that LA is a melting pot of people from all over the country - so if your alma mater is in a different state (or an underdog), you'd better hope they make it to the Final Four, or you may never get to see them compete.  Yankee fan?  You'll have to subscribe to expensive satellite and digital cable packages to see any games that aren't against the Angels.

Or - you can get yourself wired with a home theater system that has internet connectivity and catch the games online - as well as movies, TV shows, and all the internet has to offer.

This can be as simple as connecting your computer to your HDTV with just a single HDMI cable.  If your laptop has an HDMI output (pictured) - you're in luck.  Otherwise, you can use a DVI-to-HDMI cable - the DVI on your computer and HDMI on the TV.  Either of these options will give you HD-quality picture on your big screen TV.

If sports aren't your thing, but movies are, many new HDTVs come equipped with special features that allow you to stream or to access movies stored online - without the hassle of a set-top box.

For example, Sony has just released their new line of state-of-the-art LED HDTVs - the EX700 series.  In addition to top-of-the-line features like 1080p, 120Hz refresh rate - and the crisp, beautiful picture provided by backlit LED lighting - these TVs come with BRAVIA Internet Video.  Previously only available on Sony Blu-ray players, you can now access it directly from the TV.  Companies like YouTube and LoveFilm have partnered with Sony, and users can now stream their content directly to their TV.

If you're interest in what your new TV is capable of - be it streaming videos or sports - visit a Ken Cranes showroom and ask an expert about your options.