Are there any free services to replace Cable TV? With TiVo, PVR and TV tuners, we can see that computers and TVs are coming together. Unfortunately, these three solutions all cost one important thing: mullah. Whether you’re rolling in it or strapped for it, I’m sure that we can all agree that cash is important: and as much as it pains us, there are times when we have to sacrifice our cash for services such as the gym, magazines, and…yes, cable TV.
Watch Free Internet TV Online
Until lately, I could have considered canceling subscribing to the gym or magazines — but not to cable TV. I don’t know why — perhaps I’m addicted, or perhaps it’s just the TV vibe. I found this unsettling, so I set out on a journey to the land of Internet TV to find free. I return with a list of five for everyone to enjoy — who knows, you might just cut the cable.
1. Hulu
Hulu is definitely what I’d consider one of the neatest things since sliced bread. I once went on a trip to the U.S. recently, and had the opportunity to try it out: if I hadn’t been careful, I might’ve stayed all day at the hotel just to watch the shows on it! Quality was acceptable, load times were quick, and — best of all, they had The Simpsons. Unfortunately, Hulu’s still only exclusive to residents of the United States.
2. AnyTV
Now usually I don’t endorse software that I haven’t personally tried, but I felt compelled to mention this one that I found in PC World – I felt that if it was good enough for them, it’d be good enough for the folks over at QuickOnlineTips.
3. Fancaster
If Hulu had acceptable-quality videos, Fancast’s quality is definitely high-def. Although Hulu is the pioneer and did come first, Fancast is a close number-one contender: the video that I had started actually fit very gracefully onto my 1280x800px monitor by default! However, like Hulu, Fancast is also only available in the United States: which kind of bites for the rest of the world. I’ll throw in two words that I hope don’t get censored: proxy servers.
4. Miro
Miro is the crown jewel of our five: we definitely saved the best for last. Miro is available to the entire world, and actually, has already been mentioned a couple of times on QuickOnlineTips. I felt the need to bring it back up to do it some justice: you haven’t actually experienced Internet TV until you’ve tried Miro. Quality is excellent, GUI is reminiscent of a PVR, and download speeds are acceptable.
5. Joost
Perhaps the most famous of the five, Joost is already pretty popular amongst mainstream crowds. However, I’d still consider it pretty underrated — depending on your region, they’ve got tons of material available for free that your service provider would charge for. However, because Joost streams video, quality might be compromised for waiting time. I’ve given Joost a test run myself, and I’ve found each of its updates to be more and more impressive. If you’ve yet to try it, give it a shot! [Joost shut down in 2012]
There you have it folks — although there are a few more services out there that offer Internet TV, I felt that these five were the ones most worth mentioning. Who knows, if I wandered a bit further into Internet TV territory, I might be able to come back with a few more jewels to share with everyone!
This guest article was written by Herbert Lui from CutEdge.org where he blogs about tech advice, resources, and reviews for the consumer, that will help you buy smarter, think smarter, and know more about products.