How to watch YouTube videos on your TV

When the time comes to view that hot new
YouTube video everyone's talking about, which would you rather do: gather around a laptop, tablet, or, horrors, smartphone, or kick back and enjoy it on your big-screen TV?

Although YouTube was built for Web browsers, it can easily find a home in your living room. All you need is the right gear. If you don't have a so-called smart TV that already has a YouTube channel, here's an overview of the various ways to watch all your favorite cat videos from the comfort of your couch.

Apple TV

Apple's set-top box has a built-in YouTube
channel, and if you pair it with the Apple TV
Remote app, you can enter search words and
phrases much more easily using your iDevice's onscreen keyboard.

Gold subscriber

PlayStation 3 owners can stream all you the
YouTube they want free of charge, bucuriously there's no YouTube channel on the PS4 yet, anyway. However, there's an easy workaround: open the PS4's Web browser and head to www.youtube.com/tv.
On the Wii and Wii U, you simply fire up the
YouTube app. No subscription or extra fees
required.

Google Chromecast

Given that Google owns YouTube, it should
come as no surprise that the $35 Chromecast
video dongle allows for YouTube streaming.
Just keep in mind you'll need a compatible
smartphone or tablet to make it happen.

Roku box

It's a mystery for the ages: Roku's media-streaming boxes, which offer pretty much
every streaming service known to man, don't
support YouTube.
Fortunately, there are a couple easy ways
around this vexing limitation. The easiest is to use the newly reborn MyVideoBuzz (formerly VideoBuzz, which was yanked as a Roku channel earlier this year).
First, venture into your Roku's settings and
find its IP address. Next, using either Chrome
or Firefox, download and run the MyVideoBuzz installer. You may encounter an error message, but continue on until you see the pop-up box with instructions. These include entering your box's IP address and then activating its developer mode. The whole process is a little convoluted, but it works.

You can also use PlayOn, a service that streams a wealth of TV content, including
YouTube. To its Roku channel. Click here, log
in to your Roku account, and add the private
channel code MYPLAYON.

Laptop/Tablet

If you're not interested in buying extra gear,
consider using what you already have. Any
laptop with an HDMI output can easily be
connected to an HDTV (via an inexpensive
cable) for a "traditional" YouTube viewing
experience via Web browser.
Alas, that keeps you tethered to your TV,
which isn't exactly convenient for video-
surfing. Some Ultrabooks incorporate Intel's
WiDi technology for wireless screen mirroring
to your TV, but in most cases you'll need
something connected to the TV that acts as
the receiver. (A handful of TVs already have
the technology baked in.)
Finally, don't forget your tablet: Many
Android models (including some previous-
generation Kindle Fires) have Micro-HDMI
outputs that allow for connectivity to a TV's
HDMI input. That keeps you tethered like
with a laptop, but at least you don't have to
futz with a touch pad or mouse just to
navigate YouTube.