TV on the computer

[Ed Fenwick]

Aloha guys, do any of you watch TV on your computer? I have a laptop hooked up the the TV set and am interested in watching TV with it. It seems that I am paying for commercials as much as the content! I want to drop cable TV.

TKS God bless Ed

 

[bob k 2]

i dont have cable. refuse to pay over 150 a month.

i live on the NJ shore right across from NY i paid $150 for a HD antenna for the roof of my house and get about 30 channels. for any thing else i have a computer hooked up to the same Tv and netflix and amazon have enough content to keep me busy during the winter.

 

[Ed Fenwick]

Tks bobk, I stream Netflix also but I am too far away for an antenna. 100 miles with a large mountain between us. Roku works well but there are no local channels for news and tsunami alerts.

Any one else? Ed

 

[Richard L]

 

[Richard L]

I have DirecTV and previously I had Time-Warner Cable. They offer some reasonably cheap packages with extra savings the first year, and additional discounts through the second year (full term of the contract)



I looked at a lot of ways to watch Free TV on my computer and unfortunately there are not many options that don't cost you something.



One website is USTVNOW. It is live broadcasts of the over the air broadcasts of ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, etc (about 6-8 free stations). The broadcasts are typically from New York affiliate stations, so you do not get your local news. The other problem is that the broadcasts are not in HD, but overall the quality is good, depending on your monitor's resolution. You can get a lot more channels like ESPN, TLC, Food, CNN, DISC, History, etc but it cost about $100.



Another alternative is Hulu.com. They have a free package that allows you to watch previously air episodes of many of the populate TV shows, but usually it's after the end of the season. They do have some shows, like the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, etc that you can watch the next day...after about 9:00am.



Hulu also has a pay version HuluPlus that is only about $7.99 and you can get some live TV, Movies, and other programs, mostly delayed broadcasts. Very similar to the $7.99 NetFlix streaming videos of movies and episodes of popular TV shows after the end of the season.



If you have a DVD, PS2 or a TV with apps that allow streaming video, you can watch them on your TV or PC. If you have a laptop, tablet PC or one of the newer SmartPhones , you can download the hulu, and NetFlix apps and you can watch movies in your backyard, hotel room or sitting on the beach, as long as you have a good WiFi connection.



I have Hulu (free version), NetFlix and a RoKu streaming video box that has about 25+ or thirty free channels and some pay channels which gives me access to far more movies and TV shows (delayed) than I could watch in a lifetime..:grin:



PS: I just read that you live in Hawaii, so I don't think you can even get DirecTV there?



Another option is to use basic cable for you local stations and local news and then use Hulu, NetFlix and free USTVNOW for some of the other stuff.



...Rich

 

[Ed Fenwick]

Thanks Rich, I added USTVNOW to Roku. We will check that out for a while and maybe try HULU Plus

 

[Bill V]

As for local news--check your local stations' websites. Most of the ones where I live have started simulcasting all their news broadcasts on their website (and/or their apps). You may be in a similar situation.

 

[Richard L]

Bill V makes a good point. Some local networks will broadcast their news programs on their website, or you can download a free app to watch on your Apple or Android cellphone or tablet PC



Here in Waco, TX only the local NBC station does a live broadcast of their three news programs at 6am, 6pm, and 10pm. They use a free app called "Syncbak" available for Apple or Android devices...But as of now, the local NBC news is the only program being broadcast.



...Rich

 

[Ed Fenwick]

I just put in a Rabbit dongle. It works great, plenty stations. I am told that after the first year free it will cost $10. I like that, any of you tried this?

Ed

 

[Richard L]

Ed,

That Rabbit TV dongle sounds pretty cool...:supercool:



I suspect that it does not show "Live" TV, only On-Demand reruns of earlier episodes of TV shows?



But for that price and a $10 per year subscription, the Rabbit TV Dongle sounds like the MagicJack equivalent for TV..:grin:



Give us a follow up post in a few weeks after you have had a chance to use it for a while.



...Rich

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Rabbit TV is a usb enabled subscription service that links to a website that indexes free video content on the web, categorizing it by TV Shows, movies, etc. It and its service do not provide the streaming of the programs, but instead, the service acts like a web-based TV guide of free movies and shows on the Internet. If you find TV shows that you want to watch through it, say like Greys Anatomy, then it launches the ABC.com site and its player. It's cool for those looking for a service that helps them find what is out there...and available free.

 

[Ed Fenwick]

Aw gee TJR, now what do I do?

God bless Ed

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Ed,



If you like Rabbit TV, continue to use it. If they charge you next year or the year after, figure out if you want to keep using it based on whether or not you feel it provides the value to you that is worth the cost.



It's an okay service, I suppose, if you don't know what you want to watch on the Internet and would like a service to tell you what free shows and movies are available.



TJR

 

[Richard L]

TJR,

OK, I understand all that, but what is the alternative to finding out what TV's and shows are free on the Internet?



I think the cost of the Rabbit TV dongle and a $10 annual subscription is worth it even if it does not have Live TV content? It sounds like you have tried Rabbit Tv...Is that the case? If so, what do you like or dislike about it?



...Rich

 

[Richard L]

TJR,

OK, I understand all that, but what is the alternative to finding out what TV's and shows are free on the Internet?



I think the cost of the Rabbit TV dongle and a $10 annual subscription is worth it even if it does not have Live TV content? It sounds like you have tried Rabbit Tv...Is that the case? If so, what do you like or dislike about it?



...Rich

 

[Thomas Rogers]

RichardL,



I did not purchase RabbitTV.



I read a couple of reviews on it and watched an video review. I did this because I actually have to keep on top of video on the Internet trends as part of my job. On the surface it looked like the product and service offering itself was streaming the video. I wanted to see if that were the case.



I too think that for some, the cost of a web-based, interactive "TV-Guide" of free movies and TV shows on the Internet is worth $10 (one time, definitely, annual, probably).



I'm pretty sure there are other "indexers" like this, for example yidio (see link below).



The things that I think RabbitTV is doing, purposefully, is they are requiring the USB dongle for a few reasons:



1. To create a revenue stream from the USB dongle itself.



2. For the marketing and exposure they get from putting the dongle and its packaging on store shelves.



3. To make it seem to some like there is magic happening, kind of like magic jack, and that the magic is in the USB dongle and without it you wouldn't have access to all those wonderful free movies and tv programs. Of course, all those things are already freely available on the Internet, what the product does is makes it easier to find and access them.