Are you still paying for cable? No, this isn’t going to turn into an ad for satellite television, which seems to be just as, if not more expensive than cable these days. It just seems that in the current economy, when people try to cut costs and save money, cable is one of the first things to go, along with eating at restaurants, and other entertainment, like going to the movies. Some people haven’t gotten rid of cable altogether, but have cut it down to the bare minimum, only receiving the four major networks, public television stations, and maybe a couple of local stations. If you can’t watch cable, you can at least watch network prime time, right? Well, there’s good news. Whether you no longer have cable at all, or you want to save even more money by doing away with that cable bill entirely, you don’t have to miss out on your favorite shows. Instead, you can watch streaming TV through numerous websites on the Internet. These are just some of the options out there..
The major networks saw how many people were doing away with cable, and did something about it. They began making many of their most popular shows available on their websites. This was also in response to NBC-owned site Hulu putting up many shows for free, supported by advertising revenue. The other networks realized how much money they were missing out on, and did the same. It wasn’t long before some of the cable networks caught on as well.
Now, in addition to seeing prime time shows that appear on CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX, you can watch cable shows from networks like TBS, and even TV Land, which has just started producing their own original shows like Hot in Cleveland in addition to showing classics such as I Love Lucy and The Dick Van Dyke Show. And they’re all available for free. All you have to do is sit through a few commercials. It’s almost like you’re watching real TV!
After a somewhat rocky beginning in March 2007, Hulu has grown into a popular destination to watch TV online. Not every network show is available on the site. Some, like CBS, prefer to keep their shows on the network’s own site. But in addition to major network shows, many cable shows can be seen on Hulu as well, not to mention programs that are no longer on the air, such as Bewitched and Ugly Betty. Also, miss an episode of your favorite soap? You’ll be able to catch up with who did what to whom on General Hospital, All My Children, and a few others.
Hulu is in the process of launching its Hulu Plus service. It began a testing phase in July 2010, and after reviewing the data, lowered the subscription price from $9.99 to just $7.99 per month. With Hulu Plus, you can watch entire seasons of shows without worrying about missing an episode because it expired. The premium service offers more shows than the free service, and many of them are available in high definition. In addition, Hulu Plus allows subscribers to stream TV shows not just on computer, but via the iPhone, PS3, and soon the Xbox, as well as other devices.
Another venture that had a bumpy start, Netflix is now edging out competitors Blockbuster and Movie Gallery, once thought to be the end all, be all of entertainment rentals. It began as a service that allowed customers to receive DVDs through the mail, and keep them as long as they wanted with no late fees. Accounts range from the basic that only allows one DVD per month, to the highest-priced option with four DVDs at a time. But no matter which account you choose, they all allow instant streaming. The service also recently added a new price point of $7.99 per month for streaming only. You can also now stream Netflix on the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii.
Blockbuster and other rental establishments were mostly known for providing movies, with a few TV shows thrown in here and there. Netflix went above and beyond there, too, providing access to hundreds of television shows, from classics to recent hits such as Dexter and Weeds. These are especially nice to find through the service since they normally not only require cable, but premium channel subscriptions. What Netflix charges per month is a fraction of what you would pay to have Showtime or HBO.
In our busy lives, free time is at a premium. When the workday is over, household chores are done, the kids are in bed, and the mood to relax and watch some TV strikes, you don’t want to spend half your free time jumping from site to site trying to find something good to watch. That’s where Yidio comes in. The site acts as an aggregator, listing all the locations on the Web where you can find the shows you want to watch.
Some of the results are for pay sites like Netflix, but it also lists a ton of free sites where you can watch streaming TV for free. You can either browse the more than 500,000 episodes from 5,000 TV shows, or use the site’s search function to pinpoint exactly what you want to watch, and find out where to get it. Yidio also offers points that give registered members access to premium content. You earn Yidio points for your activity on the site, everything from signing up, to adding favorites, to sharing content once you’re a member. The best part is, it’s free to join!
You may be most familiar with this site as the place to look up information about TV shows, movies, and actors. It’s a comprehensive site where you’ll find all kinds of data—when a TV show was released, when and where an actor was born, movie trivia and quotes, and thousands of photos. IMDB also allows registered members to post on message boards, rate movies and TV shows, and even add synopses and trivia items.
Not long ago, IMDB took the final step in being an all-around entertainment site, and added streaming video. While the site does offer full-length TV shows, they are far outnumbered by clips and movie trailers. In addition, it’s sometimes difficult to find consecutive episodes of TV shows. The ability to watch TV on IMDB has improved since it was introduced, but it still has a long way to go to be a viable alternative to most other sites that offer streaming TV.
Look out NBC. CBS is coming up right behind you with a site eerily similar to Hulu—TV.com. Seriously, they either hired the same designer, or NBC and CBS are the same company, and we just don’t know it yet. In any case, TV.com offers a wide variety of streaming TV content, just like Hulu does, and is free, just like Hulu is.
How do the sites differ? Well, TV.com seems to be comprised mostly of clips from TV shows rather than full episodes. Hundreds and hundreds of clips with a whole episode thrown in here and there for good measure. If you’re an NCIS or Medium junkie, you’ll appreciate the availability of full episodes on TV.com since they’re not available on Hulu, but for the most part, you’ll have to sit through a lot of clips to piece together entire episodes of most shows.
Amazon.com long ago diverged from being just a book seller. You can now find products on that site from food, to clothing, and everything in between. Amazon also owns IMDB, and is one of the largest retailers of DVDs, so it just follows that it would eventually come around to providing a streaming video service.
Amazon Video on Demand offers a wide variety of methods for watching both TV shows and movies. The fastest way to get access is to watch instantly online. Once you find a show you want to watch, simply choose the Buy or Rent option. When the payment is confirmed, click “Watch Now,” and the video will automatically begin playing on your computer over your Internet connection. There are certain connection requirements for the best quality, so be sure to check those first. Buying a show will allow you to watch it anytime through the free Amazon Unbox video player you can download and install on your computer. Renting is the most affordable options, but only gives you access to a program for 24 hours.
With so many streaming TV options out there, new services really need to find a way to stand out, and Joost has done that pretty well. Not only can you find great TV shows and movies to watch, Joost offers entertainment news videos, and featurettes about popular movies like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The service is still in beta, so its library will no doubt continue to grow and improve.
Parents will especially love Joost. If you’re tired of the overly merchandised cartoons on TV nowadays that only get your kids asking for toys and other products they’re going to forget about next year when the new cartoons and products come out, sit them down with Joost. There’s a Cartoon Classics channel where you’ll find old favorites such as Rocky and Bullwinkle, Mr. Magoo, Fat Albert, Casper the Friendly Ghost, He-Man, and even a handful of old black and white treasures, and classic character cartoons likeFelix the Cat!
It may surprise you to know that YouTube isn’t just for surprised kitties, or those wonderfully unique OK Go music videos. YouTube started out as a place for amateur videographers to get their work out there, and gain public attention. It’s since evolved into a tool for entertainment and marketing, and while there are many imitators, no other site has been able to duplicate YouTube’s popularity.
Many people have taken to creating their own channels, and producing their own shows, but you can also find many network programs on YouTube as well. The only thing is, there are very few full episodes of network and cable shows. You’ll mostly find clips of shows such as Survivor, Man vs. Wild, andMythbusters. But if you’re an MMA fan, you’ll love the ESPN MMA Live channel, which not only offers full episodes, but highlights and commentary.
One of the best things about watching streaming TV is that you don’t necessarily have to watch it on your computer. With a little tech savvy, you should be able to connect your computer to your television so you can watch the shows you want, when you want to, on a larger screen. This is easiest to do with a newer television, so if you’re still hanging on to that console set you got from your grandparents, you may want to think about upgrading. Don’t get rid of the console television, though. It’s a classic!
No comments:
Post a Comment