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10 ways to watch TV cheaper

April 9th, 2010, 8:10 am by
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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. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • • | 26 Comments »

Forget Hulu, cable TV! ‘Daily Show,’ ‘Colbert’ heads to TV alternative

March 26th, 2010, 12:40 pm by

If you’re still mourning the loss of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on Hulu.com, there’s a new cheap source in town.

MediaMall Technologies, which sells PlayOn software to TVs to web videos, announced today that it added a link to ComedyCentral.com shows, including “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report.” The feature is in beta and available for free to existing and new PlayOn users.

The software  is installed on a home computer, which accesses online videos and TV shows from Hulu, YouTube, Amazon Video, Netflix and several other online video sources. Then, on a PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and certain other networked devices compliant with the Digital Living Network Alliance, users can view the videos on their big TV — no extra cables or wiring necessary. Third-party developers also created plugins to grab on-demand videos from Food Networks, NFL, MTV and many other TV networks.

But PlayOn has really won converts because it is one of the rare ways to view Hulu videos on a regular TV. (Hulu, of course, currently offers free access to several TV shows that typically require a cable TV or paid subscription.) Earlier this month, Hulu said that the two Comedy Central shows were being pulled from its site after Hulu failed to get the rights from Viacom to continue airing the shows online.

But PlayOn isn’t free. The software is $40, though you can usually find it cheaper online and there’s a free 14-day trial. Users also need broadband Internet service plus a home network and a DLNA device, such as the game consoles. After all that is in place, there are no further charges.

However, for this new product, MediaMall says it may charge a one-time $5 to $10 fee after the Comedy Central feature graduates out of beta status, scheduled for June 2010.

“It isn’t 100% decided yet- we are still doing some research, but it is likely to be $5 to existing customers for a limited time after the release and then go up to the standard $10 price going forward,” said Tracy Burman, with MediaMall. “…There is no official agreement between ComedyCentral and PlayOn.” Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Internet • Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • • • | 2 Comments »

The Daily Show, Colbert Report leaving Hulu

March 3rd, 2010, 8:44 am by

Spotted: Go-to Web TV site Hulu.com lost online favorites “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report,” according to the official Hulu Blog.

Even though the two shows were very popular and generated ad revenue, Andy Forssell, Hulu’s senior vice president of content and distribution, said that the company could not get the rights from owners Comedy Central and Viacom to continue airing the show online.

“In the past 21 months, we’ve had very strong results for both Hulu and Comedy Central, in terms of the views and revenue we’ve generated, thanks to a couple of key trends. First, more and more of our viewers have voted with their time by making these shows a regular part of their day. And second, we’ve driven steadily increasing revenue per view as advertisers voted with their budgets to take advantage of innovative ad formats and very strong advertising effectiveness,” Forssell wrote.

The shows will exit next Tuesday, March 9 at 11:59 p.m. They will available at Comedy Central sites TheDailyShow.com and ColbertNation.com.

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Posted in: Internet • Video & TV • • • • • • • | 3 Comments »

Boxee’s Web TV going beyond the D-Link box?

February 10th, 2010, 2:35 pm by

Boxee Box by D-LinkNoted: Web TV-ish service Boxee has a deal with Fountain Valley’s D-Link Systems to release the first piece of hardware with Boxee’s online video service. That won’t be out until next quarter. Now, NewTeeVee reports that Boxee isn’t limiting itself to D-Link’s hardware. Could there be a Boxee Blu-ray player in the works?

Boxee, a free web service allowing users to watch TV shows on the Web while socializing with online friends, told the news site that it wants another hardware device for consumers by the end of the year.

Interestingly, NewTeeVee writer Janko Roettgers also mentions the Hulu dilemma. Hulu owners like NBC don’t want the free Web TV shows to be accessed by the Boxee Box or other similar devices. Boxee said it plans to ask for a licensed application. Read the story:  Next Up For Boxee: A Blu-ray Player?

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Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • | 3 Comments »

How much could Hulu charge? Prices emerge

February 4th, 2010, 11:06 am by

hulu.comSpotted: For those who want to watch all their favorite TV shows online for free, here are a few headlines that could affect that dream:

► Hulu.com will probably begin charging consumers for premium content but when? The Wall Street Journal reports nothing has been decided. Read: “Disney: “No Decisions Have Been Made” on Hulu Premium.”

► An analyst with Forrester Research believes Hulu will offer two prices: $4.99 for an ad-free Hulu or $14.99 a month for the full season and TV archive, reports USA Today. Currently, Hulu offers only the most recent five episodes of TV shows. Read: Free video site Hulu explores premium pricing.

► Good Morning America, Nightline, ABC World News with Diane Sawyer and other news shows are now available on Hulu.com, reports Broadcasting & Cable. Read: “ABC News Added To Hulu.”

► Another reason why Hulu may soon not be as free as it is today? NBC owns 32 percent of the free TV site, and NBC will soon be acquired by Comcast Corp. Comcast, in turn, is working with Time Warner Cable on a “TV Everywhere” effort to offer certain TV shows only to existing cable customers. Read: “NBC Officially Owns 32 Percent of Hulu (Until Comcast Acquires It).”

► At least the free TV shows on NBC.com will continue to be available to all consumers — not just paying cable customers, reports Broadcasting & Cable. This detail was noted during the U.S. House committee hearing on Comcast’s pending acquisition of NBC. Comcast promised that NBC.com’s content, which offers full episodes of its top shows, will still be available to all consumers.

► One man tells his story of giving up cable TV for two years in favor of Hulu and other free online TV only to return to cable this month. The main reason? His girlfriend needed access to fashion TV. Read: “Why I Caved, Bought Cable TV, And Gave Up On My ‘Hulu Household.’”

► Slate’s The Big Money has a guy who writes about Hulu and related trends at the Hulucination blog.

More recent Web TV news:

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

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • | 10 Comments »

Free-TV site Hulu could start charging in 2010

October 23rd, 2009, 10:26 am by

Hulu.comSpotted on DSLReports: The idea that consumers should get free anytime-access to TV shows — most that are free on broadcast TV anyway — just isn’t working out for News Corp., a part owner in the free Web TV phenom Hulu.com.

Chase Carey, News Corp.’s deputy chairman, said that Hulu needs to start charging, according to a Broadcasting & Cable report. Carey said this during the publication’s OnScreen summit. A move to start charging subscribers who flock to Hulu’s free offering of TV and movies could come as soon as next year, Carey told reporter Claire Atkinson.

“I think a free model is a very difficult way to capture the value of our content. I think what we need to do is deliver that content to consumers in a way where they will appreciate the value,” Carey said. “Hulu concurs with that; it needs to evolve to have a meaningful subscription model as part of its business.”

NBC Universal, News Corp., The Walt Disney Company and Providence Equity Partners are part owners of Hulu.

Read the story: “Chase Carey: Hulu to Charge in 2010”

Time Warner Cable @GadgetressGot a question for Time Warner Cable? Here’s your chance to get it answered. Click HERE

Is this a bait and switch? Readers of the story snarkily point out other free TV options available to the public, like Babelgum.com. Or they demand that if Hulu starts charging, it needs to nix the TV commercials. Some say they’d be willing to pay $5 to $10 a month, others say no way!

At least Hulu has helped kick cable companies into action. Time Warner and Comcast plan to offer Web access to several TV shows on demand at no extra charge to paying customers, via the TV Everywhere service (read earlier story: “Time Warner plans to offer popular shows online — to paying customers.”

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Posted in: Internet • Video & TV • • • • • • | 21 Comments »

AT&T’s new site has same ol’ free TV shows, movies as everyone else

September 10th, 2009, 3:25 pm by

AT&T sneaks AT&T Entertainment into homes, a new place online to view full TV episdoes.AT&T today officially launched the mysterious web site at www.entertainment.att.net offering full-length TV shows and movies for free.

Called AT&T Entertainment, the site has videos from ABC and NBC Universal (via an agreement with Hulu), CBS Interactive and many more familiar channels.

But as mentioned earlier (see “AT&T mystery site offers free movies, TV shows online“), most of the content appears to be the same stuff found on Hulu.com (although not everything on Hulu is available on AT&T’s new site, like “The Simpsons“).

Well, that’s because it is, confirms an AT&T spokesperson. This is part of an ongoing effort by AT&T to offer video to its TV, Internet and phone customers, i.e. the three screens.

“At this time, none of the content is exclusive, but we’ll be adding content to the site on an ongoing basis, including online content that is part of our three-screen deals, which often includes exclusive or AT&T-produced content,” said Deborah Rapoport for AT&T.

“We want to give customers their favorite TV programming and movies when they want it, where they want it,” she said.

Sound familiar? Verizon said nearly the same thing last week when it joined the cable industry’s “TV Everywhere” movement, which plans to offer the same videos online as on TV to paying subscribers. Shawn Strickland, vice president of FiOS product management for Verizon, said, “… only Verizon is able to deliver to customers what they want, wherever they go.”

Rapoport said that AT&T Entertainment is not part of TV Everywhere, which has the backing of Verizon, Time Warner Cable and Comcast Corp.

A big difference is that AT&T’s site is for anybody — not just AT&T customers. TV Everywhere is for customers who already pay for TV service.

However, if you’re an AT&T U-verse TV subscriber or an AT&T Internet customer, you can log into the new site and access your account to schedule and manage DVR recordings to your TV. That remote-access feature has been available since 2006.

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Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • | 1 Comment »

AT&T mystery site offers free movies, TV shows online

September 4th, 2009, 7:55 am by

AT&T sneaks AT&T Entertainment into homes, a new place online to view full TV episdoes.Noted: As spotted on DSL Reports this morning, AT&T Entertainment appears to be a new Web site offering full episodes of popular TV shows, although available broadcasts don’t look much different from Hulu.com‘s offering. And for now, the TV shows and movies are free.

Shows include “The Office,” “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” “90210.” There are 114 networks represented, including the big 3 networks, PBS and MTV, plus untraditional outlets like World Cyber Games, The Onion and Hulu.

But some of the shows are just clips so don’t get too excited.

The bonus for AT&T U-verse TV customers is that they will be able to view their U-verse guide and manage DVR recordings within the AT&T Entertainment service, according to the FAQ. Also interesting to note is most videos will be on the site “indefinitely.”

AT&T Entertainment offers TV shows online, with links to Hulu.

While this may be part of the cable industry’s TV Everywhere movement to bring TV shows online to paid TV users, many of the shows have a link to Hulu. I spotted a Hulu logo during a quick glimpse of the service. The “My Name Is Earl” episode provides a related link to the same show on Hulu (see image on right).

MultiChannel News reported last week that AT&T and DirecTV were venturing into TV Everywhere land, though no official comment has been made. The effort was launched by Time Warner and Comcast Corp. Verizon joined last week to provide the service for its FiOS TV customers.

Previous U-Verse news:


Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local TV services

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • | 1 Comment »

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