Streaming video choices for your iPad or iPad 2

You can't make an Apple iPad 2 by cramming 2 first-generation iPads into a panini press — not according to Stephen Colbert, anyway. However, you can heap inexpensive streaming video apps onto your iPad's wide-open entertainment palette. But how?

Leave that to us. If you're in the market for iPad- or iPad 2-friendly video on demand (VOD) apps, we've got you covered with this easy-to-swallow menu of the latest choices.

Mainstream streaming apps
Netflix and Hulu Plus are the most well-known, safe bet VOD apps for iPad users who feel better relying on the biggest and best in the industry. Netflix gives its more than 20 million subscribers instant access to some 17,000 movies and TV shows, any time, anywhere. Streaming to your iPad starts at $7.99 a month following a free download of Netflix's iPad app.

Disappointingly, Netflix's eclectic online library rarely offers up the hottest new releases, which Netflix DVD-by-mail subscribers get first dibs on. Also, iPad Netflix users report recurring stream interruptions. Bonus: If you already have a Netflix subscription, adding it to your iPad is included and doesn't incur extra charges.

Unlike Netflix, Hulu Plus subscribers have exclusive access to the most recent, current-season network and cable TV episodes all season long, from past seasons and even "brilliant but cancelled" shows. The catch? The users of Hulu Plus ($7.99 per month) have no choice but to sit through commercial interruptions every 7 minutes. Bonus: Hulu Plus subscribers are privy to the coveted Criterion Collection, an impressive archive of critically acclaimed, digitally remastered cinema classics.

Time Warner recently launched a free live cable TV streaming service for iPad users who subscribe to their cable network. The TWCable TV app lets subscribers watch live streams of up to 30 shows from any room in the house from channels including Bravo, Discovery, Food Network, and SyFy.

And regardless of which cable provider you're signed up to, networks PBS and ABC both have great iPad apps that will allow you to stream selected content.

Coming soon (we hope!)
Wal-Mart's Vudu and Amazon's Prime Instant Video are the latest Fortune 100-owned streaming video newcomers to latch on to the lucrative market, and both are angling to grab a piece of the iPad pie.

Vudu delivers surprisingly high-quality streaming in crisp, stutter-free, high-definition, and groundbreaking 3D backed by lush Dolby Digital Plus sound. You can rent Vudu movies on a per-title basis for around $2 for 2 nights or buy them for $14.99 and up. Major hiccup: Vudu doesn't play well with iPads just yet, but it should in the coming weeks, thanks to Boxee's imminent, glowingly reviewed Vudu for iPad app.

Amazon misses the iPad VOD mark, at least for now. iPad users currently can't watch Amazon Prime Instant Video HD movies and TV shows without laboriously converting them to iPad-supported files first, a risky endeavor — and that's after forking over $79 for a 1-year membership and downloading Amazon's mandatory Unbox Video Player. We can only hope Amazon provides easier options in the future!

Extra-frugal apps
Several low-cost apps allow you to stream video and other multimedia on your computer to your iPad without skimping on quality. What makes this the bargin choice? There's no video to buy or subscription fees to pay: you're streaming content you already own to your iPad.

Our first choice in this class is StreamToMe, a no-frills, no-fuss, tap-and-play app that costs a one-time $2.99 fee. StreamToMe lets you watch videos on your TV too, turning your iPad into your home theater's mobile control center. There's no syncing with iTunes required, but first you'll have to download ServeToMe, StreamToMe's free helper app.

A close runner-up is InMethod's veteran Air Video app, also only $2.99 to download. Like StreamToMe, you'll first have to download a helper app on your desktop computer and then you can stream away. If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, Air Video supports them, as well.

And now that you know which apps make movies and TV shows easy to watch on your iPad (and which don't quite, just yet), sample them for free to get a feel for which one(s) work best for you. In the meantime, there's no shortage of always-free VOD on YouTube (which has its own app conveniently built in to iOS), Vimeo (which you can visit through your iPad's browser), and Ustream (which has a free iPad app).

[Image credit: Projects With Love]

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