I Want My Internet T.V. (to the tune of “I want my Mtv”)
There has been a lot of talk lately about internet television and even a few devices that incorporate online video into regular television sets. When you do a search for internet tv, what does it say though? From my experience, it says all you have to do is PAY x amount and have all the television stations around the world. I say to myself, I know there is free tv out there. This post is to help you find that free tv.
There are many sites online dedicated to providing television, movies etc. Not all of them are “legal”. I use quotes because there really is not guidelines as to what exactly is legal when it comes to online video. The only certainty is that major motion pictures are typically off limits. The rest? Fair game unless stated otherwise.
It is also a good idea to update your Flash player, Windows Media Player, and download a good Codec package like K-lite.
I think the biggest resource to be aware of is Online Video Guide (OVG). As with anything internet related, be careful. There is an “adult” section there which is probably not suitable for youngsters.
The next place I recommend is Hulu. Although, I’ve read a couple articles lately that Hulu may begin charging for some content. If so, I think they will lose a lot of their fan base. This site is really great though. Remember Alf? Hulu has every single episode of Alf. They have movies as well although you do have to complete a compulsory registration.
One of my favorite sites to waste time at, I mean watch tv at, is Adult Swim. This is a site dedicated to Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network. Again, this site is not for the youngsters. The cartoons here include Family Guy, King of the Hill, Robot Chicken and many others.
When mentioning online videos, it is mandatory to include YouTube. Recently, YouTube started airing full movies which is pretty cool. YouTube is the Godfather when it comes to online video/movies. They were first on the scene with lower quality, user driven content. It is very easy to spend hours watching miscellaneous videos. I like watching live blues guitarists on Youtube. A lot of comedians post their shows on Youtube as well.
If you are looking for higher quality movies, one of the better sites is Divx Moviez. You do need to download and install the Divx player though. If you don’t mind installing the software, this site has some great content.
Disclaimer: I think it is important to always use common sense when attempting to view any content online. A lot of sites say this or that, but really do nothing besides try to exploit you. The sites listed here are a great foundation to quality, bug-free content online. Also, it is always good practice to set up a “Restore Point” on your computer before downloading and installing anything from the internet. This helps in case your computer becomes infected by a virus, worm, rootkit, etc.
