What is Hulu TV?
What is Hulu TV?
Hulu TV allows you to watch loads of your favorite TV shows and movies on your PC, for FREE. What’s the catch, there must be a catch? It’s the brainchild of NBC and Fox and they’re not famous for doing anything for free!
Well, there is a catch, but it’s only a little one and often very entertaining in itself, you see, those Fox and NBC chaps have sold advertisements which pop up from time to time while you’re watching your favorite episode of a TV show or your favorite movie, so it’s a bit like watching any other commercial television station, except it’s FREE.
All you need to do is log into Hulu.com (the guy on the video will tell you all about it) and choose to watch whatever you fancy. It’s easy, it’s great and it’s FREE.
What is Apple TV?
What is Apple TV?
The brainchild of Apple Mac (no surprises there then), Apple TV is fundamentally a digital media receiver which is designed to play the digital content from Netflix, the iTunes Store, MobileMe, Flickr or any Windows or Mac OS X computer which is running iTunes, directly onto either an enhanced definition or alternatively a high definition widescreen TV.
Apple TV was originally launched in 2006, as a self confessed “work in progress” and work and progress are two things which haven’t stopped on it since. The second generation Apple TV launched in September 2010 (have you watched the video?) gives consumers the ability to use an high definition TV set look at their photographs, play their music and watch videos which originate from a local network or the internet. Now that’s progress!
What is Tivo?
What is Tivo?
Tivo is the self proclaimed one box, the best way to bring all of your entertainment needs together from the TV and the web, in one, easy to use, amazing box. It can do it all, Cable, Web, Movies and Music. What more could you need?
Tivo is smart, it’s elegant and it does the lot. You can watch Amazon on Demand, Netflix Instant, Blockbuster on Demand, you can surf for videos from YouTube and similar sites, it can host and stream music and even in pull signals over the air. Yes, Tivo definitely has it all.
How Does Tivo Work?
Well, Tivo Premiere (the latest and the best, naturally) connects with your existing cable service and replaces the old cable box with an amazing new high definition DVR experience – that’s the only way to describe it really. The CableCard which you get from the Cable Company simply plugs into the back of your Tivo Premiere and hey presto, it delivers all of your cable channels. But not just that, it also delivers on-demand movies, music and videos via your broadband internet connection.
Can Tivo Work With My Satellite System?
At the moment Tivo only works with a digital antenna or cable service, but watch this space, a new Tivo service will be launched very soon and that’ll be another problem sorted!
Why Buy Tivo?
Now, I know what’s coming next, why should I pay for a Tivo when I get a free DVR from the cable company? Well, you might get the offer of a free cell phone when you sign up to a wireless carrier but it didn’t stop you from buying an iPhone did it? What do you want, free mediocrity or pay that little bit more and have something stunning? A quick glimpse down some of the features of the Tivo which aren’t available on your Cable DVR should demonstrate this perfectly:
- Searching both Broadcast TV and Internet
- Watch recordings on a different TV
- Transfer recordings to another mobile device
- Enjoy YouTube videos on TV
- View your photographs on the big screen
- Access to the worlds largest on-demand video store
- Watch free music videos whenever you feel like it
Need I say more? If you love TV, then you owe it to yourself to have Tivo.
What is Boxee?
What is Boxee?
Boxee is a fantastic way in which you can watch movies as well as TV shows and clips on your TV from the internet. After installing free software onto your computer, you can simply connect it to your TV with either an DVI cord or an HDMI, depending on the type of computer you have.
Which Platforms are Suitable for Boxee?
Boxee will run on many of the major computer platforms:
- Linux – Ubuntu (0.10 Karmic Koala, 9.04 Jaunty Antelope)
- Windows – XP, Vista, 7
- Apple Macintosh – Mac OS X (Leopard 10.5, Tiger 10.4, Snow Leopard 10.6)
- Apple TV – another developer has worked to make Boxee available on Apple TV
What is a Boxee Box?
Boxee Box’s will be available soon (they’re already taking pre-orders on Amazon) which means that you won’t even need a PC to get all of these fantastic programs on your TV, and you’ll even be able to watch thousands of movies and TV shows for free! These Boxee Box’s will all come with their own Qwerty keyboards (only I could spell that wrong first time, why is it called Qwerty again?) on the back of the remote, so you don’t have to try and pick out letters on screen. It’s so simple it’ll blow your socks off! Why pay for things you don’t use? It’s just throwing money away.
What is Roku?
What is Roku?
Roku is instant TV in a box, that’s what it is. Maybe I should explain a little more, after all, any TV is instant TV and many of the old ones are boxes aren’t they? OK, well then, let’s see what Roku can do.
Roku is a little box (yes, we know that already) which allows you to stream tons of entertainment to your TV instantly, without a PC. You can have instant access to literally thousands of different movies, sports, TV shows and more, and more choices are being added all the time. Roku can be used with Netflix, Amazon Video, Pandora, HuluPlus (coming soon to a Roku box near you), MP3 Tunes, MLB.TV, plus a whole lot more, you name it, you can watch it with your little Roku box without needing to pay any extra fees. Some are free, and for example the ones which do have subscription charges like Netflix (starting at $8.99 per month), there is no extra charge for Roku.
What is Roku?
So, what do you get with your Roku, and does it take a masters degree in computer science to get the darned thing working? The answer to the last question is definitely no, read on. . .
- Roku is compatible with just about any TV going
- With every Roku you get: remote control, composite AV cable, Two AAA batteries, power adapter, guide to getting started, 30 day money back guarantee and a full one years warranty – can’t go wrong then really can you?
- Plug it in to your TV
- Add the Roku to your home network, it doesn’t matter whether you’re wired or wireless, and there are some clear on screen instructions which make everything oh so easy.
- You will need a high speed internet connection to be able to utilize Roku, with a minimum speed of around 1.2 Mbps. You might also need a wired or wireless router if you can’t connect directly to the cable or the DSL modem.
Your Roku really can be up and running in about 5 minutes, then you can sit back and enjoy your favorites.
And that’s all there is to it, you can have instant access to the biggest collection of entertainment available.
What is Vudu?
What is Vudu?
Let’s start off by saying that Vudu is completely different to Voodoo, although they’re both magic, in their own way. Whereas Voodoo involves lots of mumbo jumbo Caribbean chanting and often a poisonous snake or a shrunken head, Vudu however, is just a great way to watch movies on TV, and that’s magic!
The Art of Vudu
Vudu is the magical technology developed by Vudu Inc, which involves a Vudu Box and maybe Vudu XL, interactive media devices which use peer-to-peer TV technology to distribute lots of great full-length movies to any television. It was secretly being developed in 2004 (told you it was similar to Voodoo) but burst onto the scenes in 2007 when it was revealed via the New York Times that Vudu had signed deals with loads of major film distribution companies and movie studios and could deliver access to almost 5,000 films. Now, even if you’re a real film buff there’s bound to be some you haven’t seen, or would like to watch again!
Vudu Boxes were only available online in the beginning, but from 2008 they were put up for sale in Best Buy Stores and the rest, as they say, is history. By February 2009, Vudu was the first ever on-demand service which could offer even high-definition movies to own, for download.
How Does It Work?
As if by magic! The Vudu Box connects to your TV, whether it be standard-definition, enhanced-definition or high-definition, and also connects to the internet via an Ethernet port. It is designed to exist independently from either a cable/satellite TV system or a computer, and you only need to provide Broadband for it to all work. You don’t pay a monthly amount either, you simply top up your online account which is depleted every time you rent or buy a movie. You can either buy or rent the box, it’s completely up to you.
The catalog of movies quickly grew, with more than 15,000 movies and TV shows being available by May 2009. All sorts of things are available, major motion pictures, documentaries, independent films, kids programs, cartoons, musical recordings – you name it, you can watch it!
What is Vudu? Vudu is never having to go to the video store again (sorry Mr Video Store owner, but you can’t stop progress).
How To Watch Online TV For Free
LOST, in Spain…
So, there I was in Madrid, Spain earlier this year, visiting a friend I hadn’t seen since her company relocated her to the flamenco capital of the world. I arrived confident I’d be able to watch my favorite shows on ABC.com, Veoh, or Hulu, among other sites. So, after spending the day catching up with my BFF, and after calculating the difference in time zones (what time will I have to get up to watch it, you must be joking), I went back to my hotel and proceeded to hook up my laptop and set my alarm, eager to catch the latest episode of Lost.
As I clicked on the episode link on ABC’s site, anxious to see which of the island’s deep, dark secrets would be revealed in this installment, I was greeted not by Josh Holloway in full shirtless glory, but rather a curious little message:
“You appear to be outside the United States or its territories. Due to international rights agreements, we only offer this video to viewers located within the United States and its territories.”
So I quickly went to Veoh and ran into the same obstacle. And then I tried Hulu. And then another site, then another. My desperation far exceeded anything I’ve ever seen from ABC’s most famous housewives. I went to CBS, NBC, Fox, The Weather Channel, just to see if I could get anything at all in English. Anything at all! It was useless. I was not in the right “geographic region”, no I was on the other side of the world!
The realization slammed home. I might as well be in the damn, God-forsaken island, because as long as you’re outside the United States and its territories, you’re in TV purgatory, doing your time till you’re able to move on to TV heaven.
Now, the following is all hypothetical – it never really happened. This is just a make-believe story about how someone in Spain could watch live TV online for free.
So, the next day I complained to my friend about missing this very crucial episode of Lost. She saw how dejected I looked, promptly approached my laptop, and proceeded to enter the atdhe.net URL. Then she simply clicked on the link for ABC. And miracle of miracles! I was watching General Hospital! (Umm, don’t tell anyone). OK, admittedly it was in Spanish but we soon figured out how to change that - I’m not that cultured yet even though she’s been having lessons!
Here is a little video on how to watch free TV online.
So, here’s the deal. I’m not entirely sure it’s legal so don’t tell anyone, but it does work. At the above mentioned site you have several links, including major American TV networks, and you watch live TV with each link.
Now, as Cost Coachette, I’m always on the lookout for great ways to save money and my brain instantly knew I was on to something here. Major cost saving opportunities. So, here I present to you the results of my research into watching TV online.
When you’re outside the US, there are several sites where you get to watch network TV online absolutely free of charge, like ATDHE. The quality is not that great, particularly when you expand to full screen mode, but desperate times call for desperate measures, right? Some other options are wwiTV and Streamick (free movies on HBO and TNT, plus sports channels like ESPN!), but my hands down favorite is SideReel. Although it’s not live network TV, you get to see the shows you want to see, whenever you want to see them. SideReel provides several links to watch your favorite series online. Some may not work if you’re outside the US, precisely due to “geographic location”, but there are so many links you’re bound to find one that works.
For expats in foreign lands, these are great options. And for those who want to save money on cable at home, why not watch TV online? Let’s say you pay $50 a month for your cable service, which most likely does not include any premium movie channels. That means you pay $600 a year. And what if you’re paying this amount just so you can catch a couple of your favorite series once a week? Sometimes the cost is simply not worth it.
And here’s my uber-fabulous Cost Coachette tip of the day: most TVs today have VGA input, while most computers have VGA output. This means all you have to do is get your hands on the cable that links your computer or laptop to your TV, go to any of the major network sites, Hulu, or Veoh (and in these sites streaming video quality is better), and presto! No need to pay for cable TV anymore.
OK, I now return you to regularly scheduled broadcast TV show.
How to watch Hulu outside the US.
