Watching TV for free online

[disneysteve]

I know this topic has come up before, but I just wanted to mention it again.

We love the ABC show Pushing Daisies. Last night, we were all out and none of us thought to record it. So tonight, I just set up the laptop in our sitting room, dimmed the lights, went to abc.com and watched the episode. It was free. It had just a few short commercial breaks. It was on our schedule and the picture and sound were perfect, which isn't always true on the TV, even with cable.

Since our sitting room stays warmer than our family room, I think we may be doing more of that this winter when we want to watch something together.

Another nice option is that when we are traveling, since most hotels provide free internet access today, we can watch a show or movie of our choosing when we are in the room, rather than being limited to what might be on TV at the time.

If you are looking for free TV options, check fancast.com, hulu.com and the websites of the individual networks (abc, cbs, nbc, etc.). Also, if you have a Netflix membership, you can also go to their site and they have a whole library of shows and movies that you can watch instantly on your computer.

[kork13]

One of my roommates showed me this... The few shows I like pretty much all happen to be on the Fox network, so I can go to their website and watch their most recent episodes anytime. Very handy. You generally have to download a player of some sort, but as long as you don't mind that, it's great.

[disneysteve]

Several times, I've watched a show on my lunch break at work, sometimes over the course of a couple of days, as time allowed. It really lets you control the schedule rather than the networks controlling it.

[MaskedMarvel]

Wow this is cool. I was actually looking for that :P I've cut my cable a while ago and was trying to find a way to watch tv online but most of them you had to pay.

Thanks!

[Broken Arrow]

I finally got a chance to see one episode of the much-talked about Battlestar Galactica. It was good, though I suppose it'd be better if I were to keep up with the show.

Believe it or not, but the internet has also been the only place I am able to keep up with somewhat arcane anime shows. I'm completely hooked on Bleach. Speaking of which, I need to see if new episodes have been posted.

But yeah, all that and it's basically free!

[jamiefic]

We just recently did this with the latest season of Lost because we had to catch up and it's not on DVD yet. For some of the episodes we did hook the computer up to the TV which was a good option (like someone already posted). My brother and his wife only have TV if they watch it through their computer. We didn't have cable for forever, but it now comes with the apartment we're living in...

[Fizgig]

I'm a huge fan of internet TV, and it allowed me to cancel my cable after Hurricane Ike interrupted service in mid-September. I got a set of rabbit ears to watch the presidential debates, and the HD picture was so clear (and FREE!) that I realized I just didn't need cable anymore.

I also use Hulu, Fancast, and network sites. A lot of my favorite basic cable shows are available (Daily Show, Sunny in Philadelphia, etc), and a few I subscribe to on iTunes if they're not available for free. (Costs about $10/mo instead of $130) My $12/mo blockbuster membership takes care of the rest, like the HBO and SHO series I used to watch. Have to wait for the end of the season, but that's okay. There's plenty of entertainment out there.

I hook my laptop to the TV via a HDMI adapter, and play the sound through my home stereo. The picture quality oh a high res or high def stream is surprisingly good - almost HD quality but just a little more 2D. It's a way better picture than I was getting out of my standard definition TiVo, which I loaned to a friend since I'm not using it anymore.

For now it's a great set up. I suspect that once more people clue into the free TV option the ads will start increasing and/or fees will pop up, but right now the tech savvy are kind of flying under the radar.

Edit - Oh, and there are great archives out there for old shows! Hulu has old seasons of Benson, ALF, Married with Children, Silver Spoons, Airwolf, etc. Southparkstudios.com has every single South Park episode available for streaming. It's like having a monster DVD archive but without shelling out the cash or taking up space. I love it! All I need is a hookup for Punky Brewster and The Golden Girls and I'd be in heaven.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Broken Arrow

Believe it or not, but the internet has also been the only place I am able to keep up with somewhat arcane anime shows.

My daughter discovered a Japanese anime' show called Kiba online. It isn't broadcast here. She just watches the new episode each week online. It is probably her favorite "TV" show even though she has never actually watched it on TV.

[Broken Arrow]

Steve, has your daughter ever seen or heard of Hayao Miyazaki?

In Japan, he's a cultural icon. The Walt Disney of Japanese animation. He specializes in high quality (and imaginative) family movies. The Cat Returns, Naussicaa, Porco Rosso, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and more but that's just off the top of my head.

My kids and I have seen most of his works, and they love it.

[Hot dog]

I have been looking into how to hook my tv to my computer cause the room where my computer is is not too comfy and I just cant sit in my desk chair and watch a movie. It is one of the things on my long to do list.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Broken Arrow

Steve, has your daughter ever seen or heard of Hayao Miyazaki?

Absolutely. Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, etc. We've seen them all. Great movies. Very good for all ages, not just kids.

[kork13]

Originally Posted by Broken Arrow

Steve, has your daughter ever seen or heard of Hayao Miyazaki?

In Japan, he's a cultural icon. The Walt Disney of Japanese animation. He specializes in high quality (and imaginative) family movies.

VERY true statement. Growing up in Guam (even though separated from Japan by 1500+ miles), Miyazaki's work was everywhere. Multiple friends of mine had every single film he had ever made. Also, anytime I went to Tokyo, Okinawa, or elsewhere in Japan, you saw posters for his films on every building or magazine stand, and in many of the electronics stores (which are literally on every corner in some areas), the TVs were all playing a Miyazaki.

Personally, I've never really like the anime though... I think it's one of those things that you either love it or you don't--not much in the middle.

[Hot dog]

Is there also a site where you can watch sports for free?

[kobe008]

Originally Posted by Hot dog

Is there also a site where you can watch sports for free?

Absoluetly there is. I'm a huge Laker fan and havent missed a game going back to last season cause of the internet. Site is myp2p.eu and go to the Software link to get players and then go to Forums to find games to watch.

[Inkstain82]

Originally Posted by kobe008

Absoluetly there is. I'm a huge Laker fan and havent missed a game going back to last season cause of the internet. Site is myp2p.eu and go to the Software link to get players and then go to Forums to find games to watch.

I spent a year on a job that had me working until 2 or 3 in the morning last year, and I discovered myp2p.eu about the same time.

Soon I became immersed in global sports. You don't have many Americans who get off work, take a load off and see if there's a good cricket or rugby match on

Count me as one of the people who, between legal web sites and not-so-legal file sharing, just cut out cable and TV completely and watches all his shows that way.

[MiikeB]

As of today if you have an xbox 360 and netflix you can put all there instant stream content on your TV directly through your 360. I am watching National Treasure 2 in HD right now and it is pretty nice. Requires you (or your kid) to have Live Gold and any netflix plan other than 1 at a time 2 a month.

[tripods68]

ssshhh...don't tell my boss. But from time to tome, I tune in hulu.com to watch my favorite TV show "House" i missed the night before.

[kork13]

haha 'House'... definitely one of the few TV shows I really like... lol

[CrazShop]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

I know this topic has come up before, but I just wanted to mention it again.

We love the ABC show Pushing Daisies. Last night, we were all out and none of us thought to record it. So tonight, I just set up the laptop in our sitting room, dimmed the lights, went to abc.com and watched the episode. It was free. It had just a few short commercial breaks. It was on our schedule and the picture and sound were perfect, which isn't always true on the TV, even with cable.

Since our sitting room stays warmer than our family room, I think we may be doing more of that this winter when we want to watch something together.

Another nice option is that when we are traveling, since most hotels provide free internet access today, we can watch a show or movie of our choosing when we are in the room, rather than being limited to what might be on TV at the time.

If you are looking for free TV options, check fancast.com, hulu.com and the websites of the individual networks (abc, cbs, nbc, etc.). Also, if you have a Netflix membership, you can also go to their site and they have a whole library of shows and movies that you can watch instantly on your computer.

I agree to a degree...the computer will never replace the TV as far as I am concerned. Lets gather around the computer isn't as convenient and also TV screens have better pictures with the advent of HDTV's and just the size of the screens. I don't know many computers that go upwards of 50 inches plus. I do watch shows on hulu only when i forget to tivo the show. the picture quality is a step down from a broadcast...i disagree with you there cable pictures are not that unreliable. also the sound of the computer's fan cooling itself after an hour episode is annoying. the ability to watch anytime is nice but most cable providers have on demand shows for showtime shows, hbo and such. for the others most boxes today have the capability for dvr so i see you point to a degree but its not like the other option is archaic.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by CrazShop

I agree to a degree...the computer will never replace the TV as far as I am concerned. Lets gather around the computer isn't as convenient and also TV screens have better pictures with the advent of HDTV's and just the size of the screens. I don't know many computers that go upwards of 50 inches plus. I do watch shows on hulu only when i forget to tivo the show. the picture quality is a step down from a broadcast...i disagree with you there cable pictures are not that unreliable. also the sound of the computer's fan cooling itself after an hour episode is annoying. the ability to watch anytime is nice but most cable providers have on demand shows for showtime shows, hbo and such. for the others most boxes today have the capability for dvr so i see you point to a degree but its not like the other option is archaic.

I know numerous people who have given up cable and now watch TV only online. My niece is one of them. I think if you interview a bunch of 20-somethings, you'd find it more common than you might think.

This being a saving site, you can't beat the cost - free. We don't have a large screen. We don't have HDTV. We don't have premium digital on-demand cable. We don't have a DVR. We don't believe in spending money for all of that stuff.

As for picture quality, we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. We have a very nice Toshiba Satellite laptop and it definitely has a better quality picture than our TV. Some sites, like ABC, even offer their shows in high def now, though I haven't tried that. Our internet connection isn't fast enough and I don't really see the point anyway.

The computer's fan is a non-issue. We haven't noticed or been bothered by it at all. My partner's Dell has a very loud fan, though, so depending on the computer, I could see that being a problem.

I don't think the usual way is archaic and I don't think it is going away. I just think the online method is a very good one. In fact, I just read something in Business Week that gave the growth in users for Hulu.com. I don't remember the exact figure, but it was quite large.