10 ways to watch TV cheaper
April 9th, 2010, 8:10 am · 26 Comments · posted by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
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My prediction: This is going to be a big year for TV. But not because the last episode of “Lost” airs next month. Or because yet another season of “American Idol” is one of this year’s highest rated shows.
What’s changing is how we watch TV. Hulu.com, which offers a ton of recently aired TV shows, is a mainstream hit. There are trials by Time Warner Cable offering subscribers access to some cable TV shows on the Web. Dish announced something similar (read: “Coming soon: Dish to let users watch TV online“).
Cable TV companies are losing subscribers. Online video sites, which allow users to pick and choose what they want to watch, are gaining viewers. And for the first time last fall, a major cable provider took its fight against the ever-increasing fees paid to networks to rebroadcast shows public. Something has got to give!
While the state of paid TV is undergoing a monumental change, several services are already available to help consumers pay for only what they want to watch. Now, there’s probably more than 10 suggestions on how to watch web TV on a TV, but you get the picture.
While you can hook up a computer to your PC (a la Windows Media Center or some other DIY software), I’ve tracked down some newer alternatives to pipe TV shows from the Web to your big screen TV. I’ve listed some below, but I’m sure every reader has his or her own favorites. Please share with the rest of us in the comments and if I’m able, I’ll elevate them to the list below.
How else can you watch TV?
What is it: One of the easiest ways to watch Hulu.com on a TV. It allows a game console (Xbox 360, PS3 or Wii) to access Hulu.com and other online video on a TV.Investment: $40 for the software (search deal sites to get it for less), plus a compatible game console or DLNA device, a home computer and home network.
Monthly fees: Need high-speed Internet service subscription. No additional Playon fees at the moment
What you get: One of the easier ways for a TV to access Hulu, Netflix, Youtube, podcast videos and other online video. On-demand content includes TV shows from CBS.com, ESPN.com, plus plugins (thanks to 3rd-party sites) Cartoon Network, Discovery Channel, Food Network, Fox News, HGT, MTV, NBC, NFL, Nickelodeon, SyFy and Spike TV.
Cons: The game console isn’t the one going online to fetch the TV shows. It relies on a home computer to do so. The computer with PlayOn software must be left on. There’s some DIY involved, but this is by far, much easier — and more aesthetically pleasing — than hooking up a laptop to the TV.
How to get it on TV: Besides the game consoles, PlayOn works with the NETGEAR Digital Entertainer Live EVA2000, Moxi HD DVR, VuNow VN1000SD/HD and HP MediaSmart TV. Check the latest devices HERE. On this same user guide is a list of other devices like DirecTV and D-Link boxes that work but are not officially supported.
Read about PlayOn user Jeremy Baker’s experience: “Ditching cable for Xbox saves Seal Beach man $70/month.”
Got a PC and fast Internet? You have the basic tools to access dozens of web sites offering free or cheap access to TV shows. Here are a few: ► Hulu.com — This joint venture includes owners from NBC Universal, News Corp. and The Walt Disney Company. It’s become one of the most popular sites online to view regular TV shows.
► LocateTV (locatetv.com) — Offers a directory of what’s on TV offline and online. If the show is online, users can watch immediately on a PC.
► Fancast.com, brought to viewers by Comcast Interactive Media, offers free TV shows on demand.
► AT&T Entertainment (link: entertainment.att.net/tv) from AT&T of course, offers similar selection to Hulu.
What is it: Watch Instantly is an extension of Netflix’s popular video rental service but you don’t have to leave your house to pick up or return movies. Moves are streamed to your TV from the Internet.
Investment: A Netflix-friendly device, which include game consoles, connected TVs and others (see list below).
Monthly fees: Minimum plan of $8.99 gets user unlimited access to Netflix streaming library of thousands of movies and TV shows. User will also need high-speed Internet service subscription. The minimum plan includes one DVD rental at a time, which is returned by snail mail.
What you get: Watch entire seasons of TV shows, including “The Office,” “Weeds” and “Lost” for one price, albeit a season later than everyone else. Netflix’s online library continues to expand. New releases, as of April 6, include “Julie & Julia,” “Angels & Demons” and season 5 of “Weeds.”
Cons: This won’t help if you need to know what happened last night on “Lost.” Available episodes are dependent on the last DVD release. For example, the first 5 seasons of “The Office,” now in season 6, are the latest available. Selection is limited and not as vast as Netflix’s DVD library. But the library continues to grow. Also, there’s still a subscription fee though new customers qualify for a free month. One inconvenience: If viewing Netflix service on a Wii or PlayStation 3, a special disc needs to be inserted. Xbox 360 users must subscribe to Xbox Gold Live for an additional fee.
How to get it on TV: Numerous Internet devices pipe Netflix videos to the big screen including the 3 major game consoles, the Roku digital player, plus several HDTVs and Blu-ray players. Here’s a complete list: LINK.
A la carte TV?
On a PC, you can pick and choose which full episodes you really want to watch for free.
► CBS at cbs.com/video
► NBC at nbc.com/video
► ABC at abc.go.com/watch
► FOX at fox.com/fod
► PBS at video.pbs.org
► Discovery Channel
dsc.discovery.com/videos/► Disney Channel
home.disney.go.com/tv► Lifetime (full episodes of ‘Project Runway’), mylifetime.com/video
► ESPN at espn.go.com/video
► MLB.tv offers full out-of-market games 90 minutes after they air. Or watch all games online at MLB.tv for a minimum of $20/month or $120/year.
► Got another? Comment below. Thanks!
What is is: The first hardware built to put the Boxee online TV service on a TV. D-Link Systems, based in Fountain Valley, happens to be the first company to build a device for Boxee.
Investment: Price TBD. Users will need the box in order to pipe the Boxee video service to the TV. Alternatively, users can hook up a PC to the TV and access the free Boxee service.
Monthly fees: Besides high-speed Internet, there should be none.
What you get: Boxee connects viewers to several sources of Web videos online, including Netflix, Youtube,
Cons: It’s not out yet.
How to get it on TV: Because D-Link is building the box, this will plug into a TV and Internet with the usual cables. No need to add a PC to the home entertainment center anymore.
From readers (thanks all!): ► Irvine’s www.koldcast.tv
What’s coming:► Redbox, which has DVD vending machines, wants to get into “low-cost video streaming,” says PC Magazine. More AltTV on TV:
► Vudu - On-demand HD movie rental site available as a feature on several TVs and the Vudu box.
► WDTV Media Player — Western Digital’s TV-in-a-box that attaches to a big TV and Internet. It offers viewers access to PlayOn software, which in turn can access Hulu.com.
What is it: Sezmi.com is a new TV service that mixes over-the-air broadcasts with select cable TV channels for a monthly fee of $5 to $20.
Price: The key is the $299 1-terabyte DVR that fetches shows online and over the air and feeds it to users based on preferences.
Monthly fees: Monthly fee of $4.99 offers access to over-the-air channels, Youtube and other web videos. For $19.99/month, around 15 cable TV channels are added. User provides own high-speed Internet service.
What you get: Access to broadcast TV channels, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and PBS and other over-the-air channels available in your neighborhood. The premium plan includes access to Animal Planet, Bravo, Discovery Channel, TNT, TLC, MTV, CNN, TruTV, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, TruTV, SyFy, USA, TBS and VH1. Both plans offer access to YouTube, on-demand movies (which may include rental fee), and thousands of video podcasts.
Cons: Service requires up-front investment with the $299 DVR, plus installation is DIY. Read the review, “Sezmi TV a deal at $20/month but not for everyone, says tester.”
How to get it on TV: The box connects to the TV and home’s Internet using the usual cables.
REVIEW: Reader Josh Kaplan reviews Sezmi: “Sezmi TV a deal at $20/month but not for everyone“
What about broadcast TV?If you’ve got a good roof-top antenna, digital TV or digital converter box, you should be able to access most of the over-the-air TV channels for free. It’s a great alternative if you can actually get the channels to come in. Some tips: ► Visit AntennaWeb.org to get a general idea of how good reception will be at your house.
►Check TitanTV.com to see what digital channels you should already be receiving.
What is it: They look like regular HDTVs or Blu-ray Disc players, but they’ve also got an Internet connection. That gives these connected devices access to dozens of video sources online. TV makers are creating their own library of video services, which includes companies like Vudu (rent or buy HD movies), Amazon on Demand (rent or buy), Netflix and more.
Price: These connected TVs start around $1,000 while Blu-ray players are around $200 and up.
Monthly fees: Depends on what “app” you use. For example, there’s no subscription fee to Vudu, but you pay $3.99 or more to rent or buy the movie.
What you get: Access to nearly every movie or streaming video available online but usually for a small fee.
Cons: You’ll need one of these devices. And these don’t give you free access to the Internet, so you likely won’t be watching Hulu.com TV shows on TV. Also, each manufacturer is working on agreements with the various video sites so offerings will differ from company to company.
► There are many more options out there but I can’t list them all (Apple TV, Windows Media Center…) For all the experts out there, other readers would appreciate your suggestions so please comment below. Thanks!
For more on TV services, see the following links:
 * Time Warner Cable* Cox Cable * Verizon FiOS * AT&T U-verse |
* DirecTV * Dish Network * Web TV * All TV |
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THE CHEAPEST WAY TO WATCH TV IS TO BUY A DECENT INDOOR ANTENNA. YOU GET UNCOMPRESS HD CHANNELS AND ABOUT 100 FREE HD STATIONS.
Gadgetress, either I need stronger coffee or something’s amiss in your 5th paragraph where it says, “While you can hook up a computer to your PC.” Otherwise, loved the article!
I thought that was a novel concept. Actually, in some circles, that would be called “clustered computing”. I personally like connecting my typewriter up to my keyboard so I can type twice as fast.
What equipment is required to connect a typewriter to a keyboard? What model typewriter works best? If possible, explain the connections. I’d like to try your system. Thanks.
Gadgetress, you missed one in your own backyard – Irvine-based KoldCast TV. Colin Stewart of the The OC Register discovered us three years ago. Your readers should be aware. And, yes, we’re on Boxee, too, with many more integrations on the way.
KoldCast TV is the premiere Web TV Network. http://www.koldcast.tv and blog.koldcast.tv
Great article. I’ve gone the broadcast tv / Roku / Netflix route for my cheaper tv. I now have much more control of what I watch and a lot more content to watch, then I did when I was paying for cable. This solution costs me $60 a month less than what I was paying for cable. Find out more at:
http://www.cheaper-tv.com.
what is the point? If you still need to use a high speed internet service. Time Warner , Cox , Comcast…etc.. owned the high speed internet business. We still have to depend on them to get on the internet.
My area only have Time warner cable to provide cable modem, tv and phone in one package. It is cheaper than buy Cable from TW , TV from Dish or DTV , and phone from AT&T.
It is also a headache if you have to run different coaxial for internet, TV, and phone
These high-speed Internet-based TV options do tend to appeal to consumers who already spend money on cable modems or other fast Internet options. In fact, some folks I talked to are willing to spend more to get faster Internet (which is what Time Warner and other cable providers are counting on. See “Time Warner toys with raising Internet prices“). But I feel this is changing because many non-techies are looking for non-cable options. So yes, you’ve got to weigh the price of Internet with the “cheaper” TV option. But if you order Internet anyway, this is a way to spend less on cable TV…
uh…well yeah, you DO need to have internet connection to use the internet.
So the more TV you can get for FREE or cheap, the less you have to pay to your ISP each month for cable TV.
I switched over to streaming video at Netflix. In fact it was the deciding factor in buying a BluRay player. No commercials, no cable fees, and it works great. Even if I don’t have a DVD to watch I can always find something on the Streaming video to watch. It’s not a great selection and some of the Starz stuff is really awful, but it’s better than the garbage that you find on 1000 channels on cable or satellite that have 35% commercials!
We’ve cut way down on our cable bill. The most minimum subscription to U-Verse (we get 100 channels) plus Roku in the bedroom to stream our Netflix. We have a blueray player on the big screen where we can get Netflix and my husband hooks up his laptop via HDMI and we get ANYTHING off the web. It’s very cool. It works well for us because we don’t watch seriel television or reality TV. Although we just started the first season of Lost via Netflix streaming and we are hooked on that.
My husband is a total geek. When he hooks the laptop up to the TV (especially to get his MLB.com stuff) he uses his Droid cell phone as a remote control. Like I said, a TOTAL geek.
Hopefully, the guide was a little less geeky. It’s definitely not new news for the techies but for many folks, it’s an introduction into what’s next.
One last note, I REALLY enjoy reading your articles on the OCRegister. I am not as geeky as my husband but have been able to keep up a bit just by reading your stuff. I will REALLY miss you. Good luck in your future endeavors ,,, did I mention how much you will be missed?
Aww… thanks! I will miss doing this very much. If you want to keep track of what I’ll be doing next, you can find me at tamara.net
Thats me right there
Roku = Streaming movies and TV series, While its not all great, you can find something to watch and enjoy the time.
I have the 3 DVD/BluRay option, blu ray option is extra
Bought HD Antenna for the TV
DirecTV bill was 120 a month for the HD DVR package with 200 channels of crap. along with HBO and Stars.This is the cheapest package you can get with DirecTV for the HD and HD DVR with movies. I counted how many stations I watched and 4 were regular tv, HBO, Stars, SyfyHD, TNTHD, FOXHD, USAHD… look at that …. only 10 stations… and 4 I could get for FREE,,, USA and TNT only play re-runs of crap for the most part so..witht he exception of in plain site that I caught every once in a while……
Cut the movies out and its 90 bux including taxes and FEES.
So, no more of that. I Laptop it to the TV, pump it over in HD
I use:
http://www.hulu.com
http://www.cbs.com
http://www.syfy.com
http://www.nbc.com
http://www.fox.com
Episodes will expire at some point on their site
and last but not least
http://www.yidio.com/
you ask why so many,, well some sites don’t delete older episodes from the queue like HULU and the regular syndicated stations,, example,, I can get all of Mercy, Miami Medical, Glee, Caprica,, Ghost Hunters and they never have an expire date in the queue. So, perfect solution for the geek like me. The web has turned into my own personal DVR without the cost. I was always a week behind on my shows with SYFY anways,,, hence the Caprica, etc. And guess what… Syfy pumps their shows on their site a week late,, i can wait ITS FREE…….Now with Yido.com they are links to other sites to play the goodies, no big deal and i can use YIDIO as my TNT and USA that I was using for re-runs of NCIS and such…., it all works well for me and its all FREE on the web.
Good article, didn’t know I can get to hulu through Wii. Gonna try it out. Really enjoying watching Netflix Instantly through Wii. Was going to get DirectTV but I’ll delay and see how hulu works through Wii. THANKS for the tip!
Nice thing about Playon is there’s a 2-week free trial. If you like it, dont’ forget to search deal sites for a discount code. Cheapest I’ve seen it (and what I got it for) was around $20.
Dish Network is much cheaper than DirecTV, but my
Netflix seems to be working fine for movies and older tv series
I use the web for everything else
I use:
http://www.hulu.com
http://www.cbs.com
http://www.syfy.com
http://www.nbc.com
http://www.fox.com
Episodes will expire at some point on their site
and last but not least
http://www.yidio.com/
Turn the stinking thing OFF and go read a book. You’ll be a better person for it.
I’ve written two articles about Boxee. It’s a cheap alternative to a cable bill. Some people have made it sound costly and complicated. My cable goes to my modem, which turns the connection into wifi.
That allows me to stream shows to any TV in my house without any wires. I just need an Apple TV, laptop or another media player connected to the TV.
The point is a 10-foot interface. Nobody cares if you can stream House M.D. to your laptop. Who wants to watch a show sitting at a desk. It is all about the 10-foot interface. Your couch and a TV!
If we’re really looking for cheap options here, then the cheapest is taking a PC, XBOX, or Apple TV and loading the boxee sotware. Hulu will give you most of your TV fixes, while the other “apps” will get you specialized programs like comedy central, etc. Is it live, well, no, but we’re going to cheap here. I find it funny that the author writes a piece on watching TV for cheap, but fails to emphasize the FREE options.
Great info, Tamara. We’ll miss your expertise on all things gadgets!
I’m thinking of dropping Cox Cable. The service is terrible and you pay for stations that you don’t want. For over a month the sound will go off for about 10 seconds during a program. I called Cox and they said this has been happening for some time now in Orange County, but they haven’t fixed the problem. Does anyone else have this problem other then the Lake Forest area?
Yep, having the same problem here in MV…
Bob, yes…the Cox sound drop has been happening in LF for awhile now…you would think we would get a credit for that, but no. We have been with Netflix mail service for awhile so it was a natural move for us to buy a tv we could view Netflix’s instant movies on. Cox is too high for most…even with the bundle.
The “bundles” are a joke. They knock off $10 on our $190 bill. Big freaking deal.