placeshifting

Placeshifting (or place shifting) is a technology that allows anyone with a broadband Internet connection to have video streams from their home television set or personal video recorder (PVR) forwarded for viewing at any location where they have a computer display and a high-speed Internet connection. Images and sound from the home video equipment are processed into digital signals and transmitted to the new viewing location over the home Internet connection.

Placeshifting is an attractive feature of home automation for professionals who spend a great deal of time on the road (for example, in hotels with high-speed Internet connections). The technology may also prove popular among people with second homes (for example, vacation cottages in the mountains or on lakes). Considerable cost savings can be realized because placeshifting eliminates the need for multiple subscriptions to TV broadcasting services. As cell phones and wireless networks become capable of supporting high-speed Internet connections, placeshifting will become possible with them as well.

Another type of technology called timeshifting enables a user to watch programs at a time different than when they were broadcast.