The Content Exploration Series is presented by Mashable Explore, a new way to discover resources and information on your favorite Mashable topics. Mashable Explore is brought to you by the all-new, 100% reinvented 2011 Ford Explorer. Drive One.

Whether it’s through an Internet-enabled HDTV or Blu-ray player or a set-top box like Apple TV, Roku or the Boxee Box, it’s easier than ever for consumers to access online content on their television sets.

Still, subscriptions services like Netflix or Hulu Plus aside, finding content to watch and enjoy on a connected device — or even via home theater PC — can be difficult. In fact, we think the biggest failing in the connected device space is that of content discovery.

Fortunately, there are apps, tools and services to help users find fresh content on their TV or set-top box.

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Boxee

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Boxee was one of the first commercial companies that really made an effort to bring web and digital content to the living room. Whether using the Boxee Box from D-link or the software for Mac OS X, Windows or Linux, users can access content from a local network or from many popular online video sites all in a clean, remote control-friendly interface.

Here are some of our favorite Boxee apps for discovering new content.

Clicker

The Clicker.tv app for Boxee doesn’t currently work with the Boxee Box, but it is a great app for users who have Boxee running on a Mac or PC.

Clicker remains one of the best ways to find content from around the web. It combs through a range of different sources, but provides one central watch queue. Clicker was recently acquired by CBS Interactive, and we hope that some of the new discovery and recommendation features available through the website make their way into other connected TV apps.

Redux

Redux is a great site for finding random links, viral videos or images. Redux for Boxee (again, this app currently doesn’t work on the Boxee Box) is a fantastic way to discovery new content by watching or subscribing to user- and group – generated content playlists.

You can also create your own channels or add your own picks to various channels.

Your Friend’s Suggestions

One of the best elements of Boxee is that it lets you share what you are watching and what programs you like with your friends on Twitter, Facebook and within the app itself. Content discovery is often most effective when recommendations come from people we know. By getting a glimpse at what your Boxee friends are watching, you might just discover some new content yourself.

Adding More Apps

The official Boxee repository has a large collection of apps for services ranging from Crackle to Vimeo to Netflix. Need more? It turns out that there is a ton of great user-created applications available in third-party repositories.

To be clear, not all of these apps are 100% stable, and some may not work as expected. Still, if you want access to different kinds of content and want a way to discover more viewing choices, adding a third-party app repository is the best way to do that.

To gain access to more apps, simply click on the apps sidebar and choose under “Extras” select “Repositories.” Then click “Add a repository” and enter in the location URL.

You can find a list of repositories that work with Boxee here. For users who want fast access to some of the most popular third-party apps, simply enter “dir.fuzzthed.com.” Enjoy!

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Plex

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Plex is similar to media centers like Boxee or XBMC, but the difference is that the focus, at least on the media player side, is on Mac OS X. Plex is designed to be used from the couch and with a remote control.

Like Boxee, Plex comes with support for various applications. These apps include services like YouTube, Vimeo and Netflix, as well as Hulu, ABC.com and PBS.

To add more apps, go to the Plex Online category and then select one of the menu choices. You can browse through the most popular apps, featured apps or recently updated apps. You can also browse by category or media type.

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Roku

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Roku has support for some great content — including Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant Video. For users who want to turn their Roku experience up a notch, there is also the option of adding private channels.

As I wrote back in December, private channels are third-party channels that are either experimental or that aren’t necessarily a good fit for the Roku channels store.

Adding More Channels

To access these channels, which include gems like YouTube, go to Roku.com and log in to your account. If you don’t have an account, take the time to set one up and register your Roku. Once logged in, you can use the “Add Private Channel” option to enter in a special code that will add that channel to your device.

Here are some places to find private channels:

• Roku-Channels.com — This site keeps an eye on what channels are being added to Roku, officially and via third parties.
• Roku Users Group — The Roku Digital Video Player user’s group on Yahoo Groups is a great place to find private channels.
• Roku Forums — The official Roku forums also offer a great way to get private channels, which include things like TV.com.

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XBMC

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XBMC is media center software for Mac, Windows and Linux computers, embedded systems and even the Apple TV 2. Like Boxee and Plex, you can extend XBMC by adding third-party add-on options to the mix.

Adding More Add-ons

XBMC supports a number of official add-ons through its Official Add-on Repository that is included with the latest XBMC installation. Some great apps and content sources are available through the unofficial channels, too.

The XBMC wiki has a great article on adding unofficial add-ons to your XBMC setup.

The easiest way to get access is to install the Repositories Installer Add-on. Under System –> Add-ons, there is an option to “Install from zip file.” Simply download the installer, locate it within XBMC, and now you can browse various third-party add-on collections and extend your add-on choices.

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Bonus Content: Free Movies

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PopcornFlix — PopcornFlix is a new web service that offers free access to feature-length movies — most of them from independent filmmakers. Right now, PopcornFlix is available only in the United States, but the company is actively working to sign licensing agreements in other countries.

The movies are free and ad-supported, and the library has a few hundred films and is growing. We mention PopcornFlix because it will soon be available for both Roku and Boxee, and it’s available via the web right now.

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Your Picks

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How do you discover new content to watch on your connected devices? Are there any must-have apps that a Boxee/XBMC/Roku/Plex user should install? Let us know.

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Series Supported by Mashable Explore

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The Content Exploration Series is presented by Mashable Explore, a new way to discover resources and information on your favorite Mashable topics. Mashable Explore is brought to you by the all-new, 100% reinvented 2011 Ford Explorer. Drive One.

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The Innovative Entertainment Series is supported by Dolby. “Like” Dolby for a chance to have Adam West read your Facebook status update, live, on camera, February 18th.

A few years ago, most people probably got the majority of their media content from either a cable box, an optical disc or from an Internet download. Today, with the advent of YouTube, ubiquitous connectivity and better access to broadband, many users now get the bulk of their content streamed directly to their devices from the cloud.

The connected living room is taking shape — finally — and commercial content creators are embracing digital media in a big way. Of course now, the problem isn’t so much finding a way to get quality commercial content streamed to your TV, smartphone or computer, but deciphering what service is the best.

We’re taking a look at five of the the most popular streaming media services to see how they stack up.

Note: Although some of these services do provide access for users outside of the United States, issues related to content licensing and service availability are still largely U.S.-centric. Furthermore, the majority of consumer electronics that support streaming services are focused on North American consumers. We apologize to our international readers and hope we can take a look at more region-agnostic alternatives in the future.

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1. Netflix

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Netflix completely revolutionized the DVD rental space when it debuted more than a decade ago. Over the last few years, the company has exerted more of its energies and resources into becoming the most visible subscription streaming service.

Featuring one of the largest streaming content libraries and capturing subscribers by the millions, Netflix is one of the big players in the streaming media space.

PC/Mac Access: Yes, using a web browser (requires Microsoft Silverlight), Windows 7 Media Center, Plex, or Boxee.

Mobile Device Support: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Windows Phone 7. Android is coming soon.

Connected Device Support: Roku, TiVo, the new Apple TV, Google TV, PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and countless HDTV sets, Blu-ray players and other devices.

Price: Streaming only plans start at $7.99 a month

Selection: Netflix has an ever-expanding selection of TV shows and movies and the company has made it clear it isn’t afraid to open up its wallet to bring more streaming content to its compatible devices.

Our Take: At this point, one has to make an effort to find a new TV, Blu-ray player or set-top box that doesn’t support Netflix. This, coupled with the new low-cost streaming only plan and the ever-increasing content library makes Netflix a winner. HD quality isn’t as sharp as on some other services and title availability can change without notice, but for catalog TV titles and a good selection of new and old films, Netflix is a winner.

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2. Amazon Video On Demand

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Amazon first launched its media download service, then known as Amazon Unbox, as a way to compete with iTunes and Microsoft’s pre-Zune digital storefront. That service failed, in part because the DRM was annoying, it didn’t support connected devices (or Macs) and portable device support was limited.

Amazon Video On Demand has been much more successful, and by shifting from downloading to streaming, the retail giant can offer a better selection of film and television content to rent or own. Taking a cue from Netflix, Amazon has also partnered with a growing list of device makers to include support for its service on television sets, set-top boxes, Blu-ray players and DVRs.

PC/Mac Access: Yes for streaming via the web browser. Offline viewing requires Windows.

Mobile Device Support: Limited. If you have an older Creative Zen or Archos device or select Nokia smartphones, you might be able to play back downloaded Amazon Unbox content. Otherwise, this is a service designed for the web browser or TV set.

Connected Device Support: Roku, Logitech Revue, TiVo, select Sony and Panasonic Blu-ray players, and TVs from Samsung, Panasonic, Vizio and Sony. Amazon maintains this list of supported devices.

Price: Movies and TV shows are available for purchase or rental a la carte. TV episodes are sold for $1.99 each and select shows can also be rented for $1.39 an episode. New release films are $3.99 for a rental and generally $14.99 to own. Amazon offers specials for users who want a season’s pass of a TV show, as well as special offers on new releases and catalog titles.

Selection: Amazon has a solid selection of old and new hits for movies and most current U.S. TV shows, including premium cable shows from HBO or Showtime.

Our Take: Amazon Video On Demand is best when viewed as an iTunes alternative that can also be used with a growing list of HDTVs and Blu-ray players. We appreciate that purchases are stored on your Amazon account and can be accessed from other devices. We also like that Amazon frequently runs specials on new releases. The lack of mobile device support does make Amazon more limited than some of the other services, but its flexibility elsewhere makes it a good value.

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3. Hulu Plus

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When Hulu first hit the scene back in 2007, many scoffed at the idea that streaming TV shows in a web browser could work. If you ask Hulu’s backers — News Corp., NBC Universal, Disney and Providence Equity Partners — it’s possible Hulu has worked too well.

Hulu Plus was conceived as a way to not only monetize Hulu, but also provide a better selection of catalog content and official support for mobile devices, televisions and set-top boxes.

Hulu Plus only officially launched a few months ago, but already the company says it is having a positive impact on its bottom line.

PC/Mac Access: Yes, via Hulu.com and the Hulu Desktop application.

Mobile Device Support: iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Android support for select Android 2.2 devices is coming soon.

Connected Device Support: Roku, PlayStation 3, TiVo Premiere (soon), Xbox 360 (soon) and select HDTV and Blu-ray players from Vizio, LG, Panasonic, Sony, Haier and Samsung.

Price: $7.99 a month.

Selection: Good selection of current TV shows and some movies. Hulu Plus doesn’t feature every title from the regular Hulu.com, but it does feature more episodes of certain series, full back catalogs for some classic shows and offers users access to 720p streaming content for compatible programming. Many (but not all) Hulu Plus programs are served ad free.

Our Take: Hulu Plus is a great choice for users who watch a lot of television, especially current shows. There is a significant amount of overlap between the content offered by Hulu Plus and Netflix, but Hulu wins for current episodes of hit TV shows. The iPad and iPhone apps are great and a growing number of devices are gaining Hulu Plus support. It’s worth checking out on your PC or Mac and is a good feature to look for when buying a connected TV, Blu-ray player or set-top box.

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4. Vudu

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Vudu started its life as a set-top box aimed at movie lovers. The big play was to offer Internet-delivered HD movie content to users. That’s all fine and dandy today, but in May 2008, it was pretty revolutionary.

The company has since shifted away from making its own box, instead opting to license its service to HDTVs and Blu-ray players. In March, Walmart acquired Vudu, and the company has continued to expand its device support. Last month, Vudu announced that it will begin streaming 3D HDTV content.

PC/Mac Access: Yes, via Boxee. This requires downloading and installing Boxee and then adding the Vudu app.

Mobile Device Support: None. Vudu does offer an iPhone app that lets you browse, search and rent content from an iPhone or iPod touch for playback on a Vudu compatible device.

Connected Device Support: Limited but growing. Vudu is accessible via the PS3, Boxee Box and a growing number of HDTV and Blu-ray players from Vizio, Panasonic, Samsung, LG, Toshiba and more.

Price: A la carte. Vudu offers $2 for 2-day specials on some titles, but most movies are $4.99 for an HD rental and $5.99 for an HDX rental. Most rental windows are 24 hours, but you can watch content on multiple devices.

Selection: More than 17,000 movies and TV shows, Vudu usually gets new releases the same day as the DVD hits stores.

Our Take: From a quality standpoint, Vudu is unmatched. HDX rentals really blow the boundaries of what one expects from a streaming service. That said, Vudu doesn’t have the library of some of its counterparts and it can be expensive. If you have a fast Internet connection (and a Wireless-N router), Vudu is a great way to enjoy high quality new releases at home.

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5. iTunes

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In a little over a decade, iTunes has evolved from music manager to content behemoth. Four years ago, Apple decided to venture into movie and TV purchases, later expanding those offerings to rentals.

Content can be played back on a Mac, PC, iPhone, iPod touch, iPad or Apple TV. The latest Apple TV streams content directly from the server. The iTunes media ecosystem is more limited than some of the other services — it works in iTunes or on Apple devices, period — but the ubiquity of iTunes and the variety of content shouldn’t be easily dismissed.

PC/Mac Access: Yes, iTunes software required.

Mobile Device Support: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch. Purchases work on older iPod devices too.

Connected Device Support: Apple TV.

Price: TV show rentals are $0.99 and movie rentals start at $2.99 for SD and $3.99 for HD. TV show rentals are 48 hours, movies are 24 hours. Most content can also be purchased.

Selection: iTunes has a solid selection of titles for purchase, including most current TV shows and a good selection of new releases. The rental selection isn’t as strong and catalog content lags behind some of the offering from Amazon.

Our Take: iTunes might be the de facto marketplace for music, but for streaming content, the choice is much less clear. The TV rental pricing is solid — whether you are watching on a computer, Apple TV or iOS device, but for movie content, we’re not as convinced. Vudu offers better quality, Amazon often has better pricing and for catalog titles, Netflix and Hulu are both ahead. iTunes is a good last resort for a new release and a great choice for TV show rentals, but unless you live in an Apple-only ecosystem, it’s worth exploring other choices.

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Series Supported by Dolby

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The Innovative Entertainment Series is supported by Dolby. On February 18th, Adam West could read your Facebook status. “Like” the Dolby page to watch it live, on camera.

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Vizio, the electronics manufacturer known best for its flat-panel TVs and LCD displays will soon join its rival Samsung in becoming an Android mobile phone and tablet company, too. According to The Wall St. Journal, Vizio has announced its first mobile phone called the “Via Phone” and its first tablet computer the “Via Tablet,” in advance of the annual Consumer Electronics Show’s start in Las Vegas this week.

The Interface

Both the new phone and tablet will have the same look as the company’s TV sets, which you can see in the photos provided. There are two sections of applications displayed on the screen: “Favorites,” for your most heavily used apps, and “All Apps,” for everything else.

It also appears as if Vizio has done away with the typical 4-button setup found on most Android devices – these photos only show a menu and back button as well as a stylized “V” whose function is currently unknown.

Looking at the bottom on-screen toolbar, the menu buttons read “Email,” “Home,” “Web,” “Music” and “Movies,” the latter two which hint at some sort of multimedia integration, perhaps.

The Apps…Wait, Did You Say Netflix?

Speaking of movies, one bit from the WSJ story jumped out at us. The devices will provide access Vizio’s Via Plus Internet Service, the article says, referring to Vizio’s app ecosystem which aims to deliver a consistent interface across Vizio products from TVs to Blu-ray players and now, smartphones and tablets. But it was WSJ’s description of Vizio’s plans for Via Plus on its new mobile offerings that really caught our eye. The Via Plus service on the new devices, said the WSJ, “lets users access apps such as Netflix Inc.’s movie downloading service, the Android Market and the Facebook and Twitter social-networking sites.”

Netflix? Netflix! The same Netflix that said it had to delay its instant streaming application for Android devices because of troubles with developing a secure enough Digital Rights Management (DRM) system on Android-based devices? Either the WSJ overlooked a very interesting aspect to this story, intentionally downplayed this reveal, or perhaps they got it wrong – Netflix may surely run on Via Plus on Vizio TVs, for example, but not on these new mobile devices.  Who knows?

We’ll hold out for the official unveiling at CES 2011, we suppose, to learn more.

The Specs

The Via Phone will also feature a 4-inch screen, a 1 GHz processor, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, a microSD slot, a front-facing camera for video calls and a rear-facing five megapixel camera. The Via Tablet will have an 8-inch screen, a 1 GHz processor, 3 speakers, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, a microSD slot, and a front-facing camera for video conferencing. In keeping with Vizio’s TV-focused sensitivities, both devices will also offer HDMI ports. Both will also offer HD video playback.

A “Real” Remote Control

One unique feature to both the tablet and phone is the addition of a built-in IR blaster, which allows you to use the mobile device as a TV remote, not just with Vizio products, but with any consumer electronics device you have connected to your home entertainment center.

Although there are a lot of different “Remote” apps already in existence, both from independent 3rd-party developers as well as TV providers like Comcast and FiOS, these tend to use the home’s Wi-Fi network to communicate with DVRs and set-top boxes. Samsung’s mobile gadgets will instead function like a real remote control, which uses infrared technology to control functions on electronic devices.

Android Version, Price, Launch Date?

The new phone and tablet will run Android, but the company has not yet specified which version of Android it will offer. “Gingerbread” (Android 2.3) is the most current version of the mobile operating system from Google, but the yet-to-launch version code-named “Honeycomb” is the revision that will be fully tablet-ready. Honeycomb isn’t expect to launch until March, but because this is an announcement only from Vizio, not the actual launch, it’s fully possible they will run Honeycomb when they launch.

An interesting sidenote to this report: Vizio said that it developed both the phone and tablet over the past year and a half with a team of less than 10 people. Matthew McRae, Vizio’s chief technology officer, said that the team included mobile specialists from Nokia and other device manufacturers.

No pricing or carrier information is available yet. Vizio will also be introducing new Via Plus HDTVs and Blu-ray players with Google TV built in at CES 2011.

Over December we’ve reviewed the top Web products and developments of 2010. Now it’s time to look ahead to 2011. The ReadWriteWeb team is always thinking about what’s next, so in our final series of 2010 we attempt to predict the big stories of 2011.

Predictions are of course a tricky business. The braver the predictions, the more risk of them not coming true! Without further ado, here are my predictions for 2011 – 5 serious and 1 not so serious.

1: Flipboard becomes the breakout news reading app of 2011. With its latest round of updates in December, Flipboard introduced Google Reader and made some significant changes to sharing and navigation. I expect Flipboard to introduce more such upgrades in 2011 and begin to expand to other devices than the iPad. These moves will push Flipboard into becoming a very popular app to browse, curate and share news each day. It won’t usurp Google Reader for curating and sharing activities, simply because Google Reader can be used on the PC. However for mobile surfing, which will be an increasingly important way to browse news in 2011, Flipboard will rule in curating and sharing of media.

2: eBooks will hit 20% market penetration by the end of 2011. In 2010, the Association of American Publishers reported that eBooks made up 9.03% of total consumer book sales – compared to 3.31% at the close of 2009. I'm predicting this growth to rocket in 2011, thanks to a plentiful supply of cheap eReaders and a long overdue price war on eBooks between Amazon, Barnes&Noble and others. I predict it will reach 20%, in other words one in five books in 2011 will be sold as an eBook. If that bold prediction comes true, it will be great news for book consumers and will silence eBook skeptics about the future of eBooks. Disclaimer: I'm not suggesting paper books will go away, just that eBooks become much more popular and utilized.

3: Internet of Cars will be the surprise hit of the year. This year we saw further commercialization of services that connect everyday objects to the Internet. In 2011, I predict that cars (not smart homes, smart grids, etc.) will be where the most innovation and mainstream attention happens for Internet of Things technologies. Apps like AutoBot will gain traction over 2011.

4: Internet TV tips and gets huge consumer uptake. In 2010 there was a lot of progress in this sector: Apple TV re-design, Google TV, Boxee, Roku, Clicker and other developments. Most of this activity was largely experimental though, in that no one vendor got the formula quite right. For example, the launch problems of Google TV at the end of this year. However in 2011, consumers will flock to these products as they mature and more Internet TV content is made available – particularly in the U.S. market, but hopefully to international markets too.

Picking a breakout product is difficult, as each of the main players offers something different. I don’t think there will be a breakout product, although Google has the broadest capabilities and so it has the potential to become one if it gets the product right. I predict that Google won’t dominate this market though; and neither will Apple.

5: A major pop music star will do something amazing with web technologies, that blows open the online music scene. Arcade Fire set the scene in 2010, with their experimental collaboration with Google on an HTML5-fueled interactive video. In 2011, I expect an even bigger star – someone innovative like Kanye West or Lady Gaga, or a totally new star – to do something that re-defines what music means online. That could be something new in a live show, a music video, or something completely unexpected. To get more specific, I’ll bet on something that blends a live album with internet technologies – which sells unexpectedly well and thus sets a trend in the music industry.

6: Bonus prediction: by the end of 2011, the most viewed YouTube video of all time will no longer be Justin Bieber. Instead it will be a collaboration between an unknown comedian and a breakout new baby. I’m envisaging a combination of comedy tap dancing and baby giggling (perhaps recorded using an auto-tune device). Yes, 2011 will mark the return of viral comedy and laughing babies to the top of the YouTube charts – this time as a duet!

It looks like Sears wants to get in the online movie market. The retail company, which also owns Kmart, has just announced that it is launching a Netflix-like movie download service, called Alphaline Entertainment.

Powered by Sonic Solutions’ RoxioNow platform (Rovi just bought Sonic Solutions for $720 million), Alphaline allows Sears and Kmart customers to download movies and and TV shows online. The company says that it plans to make the platform available to users on a variety of devices, including mobile.

A number of Sears’ competitors including Walmart have already started to dabble in the online movies space. Walmart recently bought Vudu, a service that streams movies to internet-connected TVs. BestBuy teamed up with Sonic to put its movie library in all of the Web-connected devices the company sells at its stores.

But when it comes to actual movie rentals from the web, these companies haven’t been able to compete with giants like Netflix. It should be interesting to see how long Alphaline survives.