Free Cable TV Alternatives
Free?
I use to pay over $75 a month on cable television and hardly ever watch any TV at all. I have 2-4 shows that I like to watch but other than that if they aren’t on I am just wasting time flipping through channels not really looking for anything in particular. It seemed like a waste of money to me. I thought, why don’t they just let you pay for the stuff that you watch instead of a package of channels that you could care less about? I’m pretty sure many people feel the same way. I wanted to write about some alternative and free ways to get television content without cable or satellite.
First – Everyone knows about TV antennas right? Yes they were what we used pre-cable to catch TV stations over the air and the picture quality was a little snowy or you had to hold the antenna just right. I have an HD TV and didn’t want to sacrifice the HD quality picture that cable HD channels provided. Indoor antennas have come a long way since then. Now you can buy HD antennas that pickup HD signals over the air. I live in a bigger city so I’m not sure how it would work in a rural area. I went ahead and bought one of these HD antennas about a year ago and couldn’t be happier. I get all of the network stations (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) in HD and its even better quality than my cable connection was. It also picks up about 15 other HD channels and 25-30 regular channels. So now I can watch these channels free with only the initial cost of about $30 for the HD antenna. I also spend a lot of time on the computer doing work, research, etc. and my office doesn’t have a TV in it so I purchased PCTV HD Prostick USB HD antenna from Pinnacle systems. It comes with software that enables you to have TIVO like funtions. I can run it full screen on my monitor or in a resizeable window off to the side while I am working.
Second – you can go to the network stations websites. A lot of the big name shows like, Lost, Heroes, etc are posting the shows on their websites to watch. They usually stick commercials in there that you can’t get around but at least it’s free. The other downside is you can’t watch it on your big screen television or at least if you do hook it up to the computer the quality won’t be great.
Third – The internet is filling up with websites that deliver television content. There a tons of sites but I will list a couple that I use here.
- Joost – You can find content from providers such as: Comedy Central, MTV, WB, etc. They also they have a lot of music and entertainment content. You have to download the software to watch but it is free to signup.
- Hulu – This site is in Beta but you can signup for the beta testing or someone can invite you. Some examples of shows are: SNL, Family Guy, Arrested Development, The Office, 30 Rock, Simpsons, Firefly, and many many more. If you want an invite contact me from the contact page and I’ll see about sending one.
Fourth – What about Movies? Well I’ll just point you in the direction a website and the rest is up to you.
- OVGuide – This is sort of a guide to different websites to find movies and television content. Not sure about the legality of some of the web sites but use your own judgement.
I hope this helps some save some money or get rid of a part if not all of their monthly TV expenses. Just remember if you want a quality picture on a 42″+ TV then antenna, cable or satellite is your best bet, but if you don’t mind watching TV on your computer then your good to go for content.
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