Smart TV, Hulu, Roku, HTPC, and now...streaming sticks?

[IDemo]

It's gotten to be time to replace both the tired old PC and upgrade to a flat screen TV from our trusty old 19" CRT. I've been considering how best to approach a streaming-capable tv without forking out the bucks for a Smart TV but it looks like there are umpteen different ways to go. I see set-top boxes such as Hulu and Roku. Now I see the really attractive looking streaming stick technology from Favi and Roku.

As is, the TV and PC are close enough simply to connect an HDMI or DisplayPort cable directly, but that's no guarantee it will remain that way. Would it be easier for the time being simply to do that or do these devices provide more functionality than a direct PC connection does?

[CabalPowered]

1. The FAVI looks like a good device

It's hard to beat the price and it has DLNA support for local file streaming. I like Roku but it doesn't have DLNA support. I did the stream from the comp to the tv thing for awhile but it didn't work for me. Just too much tinkering back and forth. I finally bought an NAS device that supported DLNA and put all my media there. But if you're just doing public cloud stuff.. then no need for DNLA.

As for the computer monitor.. this will sound strange but you need to consider the base. A number of manufacturers units are so light and the bases so cheap that they'll wobble while typing. It's very annoying.