Sitting in front of the TV is as popular as it's ever been, but network and cable TV do not have the hold over viewers that they once did. Whether or not you "cut the cord," streaming content onto your TV screen from services like Netflix, YouTube and Pandora is one of the best ways to access your favorite media. There are many ways to get online video to your living room screen. Here are your options:

Smart TVs

First things first: If you have a smart TV, you probably don't need a separate streaming device, and if you have a streaming device, you probably don't need a smart TV. Smart TVs can run dozens of streaming apps, including perennial favorites like Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant Video, which may render a separate streaming device redundant.

Set-Top Boxes

Still the gold standard for streaming devices, set-top boxes are gadgets that look like extremely small video game consoles. Generally, you'll need to carve out a little space in your entertainment center and use a cable to connect your set-top box to a TV's HDMI port.
Exact features vary by device, but every set-top box runs apps that provide access to dozens of video and music channels, like Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, Pandora, Spotify and Plex.
One advantage of set-top boxes is that they're usually large enough to pack fairly powerful hardware. Devices like the Fire TV and Nexus Player support a wide variety of Android games and Bluetooth controllers.

Streaming Sticks

The term "streaming stick" is a bit of a catchall, as it includes everything from tiny set-top boxes to devices that cannot function without the assistance of your mobile device or computer. The only common factor is that they all plug in directly to your TV's HDMI port rather than using a separate cable.
Technically speaking, dongles that mirror content from phones and computers via Miracast and similar wireless protocols are also streaming sticks. A Miracast dongle is not a replacement for a full-featured streaming device, but it's a handy way to mirror content from a PC or an Android or Windows phone to your TV.

XBMC Players

One of the earliest streaming protocols, XBMC has grown from a curiosity on the original Xbox to a collection of open-source apps for technophiles who are willing to exchange a fair amount of time and effort for near-complete control over what they can watch or listen to.
XBMC systems require a lot of user input to get up and running. You may have to install your own operating system, program your own apps (or tweak open-source ones) or even build a box from scratch. If that sounds like fun, though, you can program one of the most versatile machines on the market, capable of everything from streaming music and movies from your PC to running Google Play apps. XBMC systems can play just about any kind of video or audio file, and from just about any source.