How to Watch Free TV From Your Computer
Websites that let you Watch Television and Movies at No Cost
Jan 5, 2009
The cost of entertainment can be expensive. Luckily, there are websites that allow users to watch TV shows and movies at no cost from your own computer. With no cost to you and just a few minutes of brief advertisements, you can catch up on missed episodes of your favorite shows, relive old memories with television classics and even watch a blockbuster or two.
Online Television
Watching television and movies online is not only free--it is also legal. According to Gregory Karp of the Chicago Tribune in his article "Watching TV Solely on Computers is Possible," "Full-length TV shows are available on the Internet, supported by short commercials" [January 5, 2009].
Online movies and television is available through many websites including:
- Television Networks: Find your favorite show's website and they might just have a free episode or two online.
- Aggregated Websites: A collection of TV shows and older movies sponsored by advertisers. You get the shows for free, but interspersed with ads for products. Some of these websites include: Hulu.com and Joost.com.
- Freebies on Pay Sites: Many websites offer TV shows and movies for download such as Netflix and Itunes, but sometimes, sites, such as Itunes, offer free or low cost previews, clips or even entire shows
- Youtube: Youtube.com and other sites like it offer free clips and samples of movie trailers and shows.
Playing TV and Movies on Your Computer
Once you have found a TV show or movie you want to watch you can view it on your computer through your computers media player. If you do not have the necessary software installed on your computer, don't worry! The website will usually direct you to a page where you can download the correct plug-in or software to play media on the Internet.
Pros and Cons of Free TV and Movies Online
Viewing free TV shows and movies online legally on your computer seems like a great alternative to paying for cable or downloading shows from paid sites. But, before you cancel that cable subscription package there are some pros and cons to consider:
Pros
- Convenience: You can view the shows you want when you want.
- Streamline Viewing: Access only the TV shows and movies you are interested in viewing and leave the rest.
- Don't Miss Out: You can rewind, pause and restart as much as you need to - unlike watching a show on cable.
- It is free and legal: If you had been tempted to download a show through other means - these options might just change your mind!
Cons
- Online isn't everything: Not everything can be found online. Also, as Karp notes in his Tribune article, there are often delays with networks loading shows onto the air or even deleting shows from their servers. You may not be able to enjoy a show again and again. If you didn't get to finish watching it and it was removed from the server - you can't catch the rerun!
- Picture and sound quality: Unless you've done a lot of tweaking to set your computer up only to watch free online TV shows and movies your computer is also doing a lot of other things besides buffering your shows! Slowdowns, delays, sound quality and the like may all interfere with the viewing experience.
Watching TV Shows and Movies Online is Here to Stay
Even with the cons of online television and movie viewing - new ways to legally access free shows are created everyday! It may be worth a couple of days delay and a few sound bite issues to see episodes of your favorite TV shows and old movies. At no cost to you - why not "see" what all the fuss is about?
