In Part I, we cut our cable, and then in Part II, we built a media center PC with the savings. Now it’s time to put that PC to use and start finding shows online, but where to go first?
That brings us to…
Part III – Finding Shows Online
Congrats! I see you’ve gotten that media center PC up and running, so lets get going. Today will be a fire hose of links, all of which provide access to cable programming over the internet.
The quality of video that each cable company provides does vary from site to site. Some are in high definition, while others not. Some offer full seasons of TV, while others only offer the most recent one or two episodes after they air. The options vary further with commercials. Occasionally sites will even allow you to view a longer commercial upfront in exchange for an uninterrupted show, but this is not the standard everywhere. Since there are so many differences, we’ll start off with a list of our favorites:
The granddaddy of all TV-over-the-internet websites, Hulu is an online video partnership between ABC, NBC and FOX, which also carries some cable content from channels such as Comedy Central, Bravo, FX, Style, Syfy, E!, G4, A&E, and several others. This all adds up to one massive amount of content in a single convenient destination. Hulu backs up their full spread of content with clear 480p video, and the ability to pre-watch commercials on many of their shows, allowing you to hit the kitchen or the restroom while the 2 1/2 minute commercial plays, and letting you come back for pure uninterrupted viewing.
Our Picks: Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, Modern Family, The Daily Show, Community, Greek, and so much more.
One of the hardest things to get over the internet is live sports, and that is why MLB.TV is the only subscription-based website we are recommending here today. Luckily, MLB is leading the pack with it’s online service. The one HUGE caveat to this plan is that due to draconian blackout rules, you cannot view a team’s game over the internet if you are currently watching from their home market! If you happen to live outside your team’s home market, however, or just really like to follow the league, MLB.TV is a must-have for baseball fans.
For a $100 subscription, you get full 720p video of any team, viewable not only on your computer but on your smart phone as well. You also get the option to go back and watch past games, either in their entirety or in condensed game format. There is even a pop-up fantasy baseball player tracker that lets you jump from game to game to catch all the at-bats of players on your fantasy team. That is full service! For an extra $20, you get the ability to watch anywhere up to 4 games at one time on a single screen, as well as in-game DVR controls, letting you pause, rewind, and fast-forward the games. It is a shame that MLB.TV is not available for many fans living in their home markets, and even more of a crime that other sports leagues have not followed MLB’s lead in designing such a beautiful and rich internet viewing experience.
The days of video television are long gone, but these two networks survive as TV’s home for guilty pleasures: trash reality TV. Love it or hate it, you’ve watched it, and now you can watch it online! The added bonus is having to click over to the next episode means you aren’t as likely to get sucked into the middle of a Sunday-morning whole-season marathon.
Our Picks (VH1): Celebrity Rehab w/ Doctor Drew, Tool Academy, Scream Queens
Our Picks (MTV): MTV Unplugged, The Real World DC, and for the truly brave, Jersey Shore
Discovery Channel & History Channel
After that dose of “reality”, you’re going to need some serious non-fiction to get your brain moving again, so why not go to the only other channels with the ability to suck you in for hours: History & Discovery. These networks offer full episodes for about 1/3 of their programs, but everything offered is worth watching. Unfortunately, while there are some fairly long compilations and clips, there are no full episodes of Mythbusters or Survivorman.
Our Picks (History): Ice Road Truckers, Jurassic Fight Club, American Pickers
Our Picks (Discovery): Dirty Jobs, American Loggers, Treasure Quest
Best of the Rest:
A&E – Hoarders, Dog the Bounty Hunter
AMC - Breaking Bad
Cartoon Network/Adult Swim - Robot Chicken, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Boondocks, Space Ghost Coast to Coast
CNN – The news
E! – The Soup, E! News, Chelsea Lately
FX Networks - It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Sons of Anarchy
Lifetime – Project Runway
Nickelodeon – Invader Zim, Zoey 101, Hey Arnold, All Grown Up (Rugrats)
Spike – Manswers, Surviving Disaster, Blue Mountain State, Entourage
Syfy – Caprica, Ghost Hunters, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate Atlantis
TBS – Seinfeld, Family Guy, The Office
TLC – Cake Boss, BBQ Pitmasters
TNT – Southland, Leverage, Numbe3rs
USA – Burn Notice, Psych
Thanks for reading, and come back next week for a feature on some great shows made just for the internet Yes, having a media center PC opens up the possibility to watch stuff you can’t even get on cable! Have a favorite show that you watch online but is not mentioned here? Leave a comment!
I can’t believe you forgot PBS! You can watch tons of great programs and movies – along with Masterpiece classics on there! It’s a lifesaver to people who severed the cable – well that and HULU…which I love.