Some Final Thoughts & Tips

 

Web and Software-based Tools
You may have noticed that I didn’t cover a lot of the web and software-based solutions for watching various programming. There’s a reason for that – virtually every one of those solutions stink!

One that I’ve noticed advertised “on sale” frequently at Fry’s Electronics is called Digital TV for PC 2. While it promises “unlimited viewing of over 1000 television stations”, the reality is that it offers nothing you can’t find using a web browser. And the bulk of the channels are garbage. Just check out the reviews on Amazon for an idea what a completely worthless product this is.

Others, such as Play On, do have some supporters. But I suspect these are usually geeks who enjoy playing around with all the tools available. I don’t believe Play On provides any significant benefit over the services covered in this book. For one, most of the video offered via Play On is in standard definition and looks bad on an HDTV. So why bother? The fact that they no longer offer a free trial on their website is also a tell-tale sign. NOTE: You can still get a 14-day free trial at this link if you would like to test it out. It’s only $40 for a lifetime subscription so if you think it adds something worthwhile to your streaming choices, it won’t break the bank.

I found that while the interface is nice (very much like Roku), the video quality simply wasn’t up to par. I’d rather watch through the websites of the various networks and get the higher quality video. And since most of the channels Play On offers are already part of Roku’s list of channels, where the video quality is much higher, I was never sold on the benefits of using Play On.

Be careful what you search for
When you are searching for free TV or streaming video online, be extra cautious. I find many of the tools claiming to give you “free TV channels” of some sort have websites littered with ads – never a good sign as to the legitimacy of the product – and require installing a “viewer.” Quite often that also means installing browser toolbars you would never want and other software that falls into the category of malware. The less tech-savvy among us, which is likely the majority of folks, should definitely steer clear of these types of tools. They are much more likely to cause headaches than to improve your TV viewing experience.

One website I can recommend, at least to some degree, is www.spreety.com. This site is a directory for the various free TV choices online and links directly to the content providers’ websites. I would, however, steer clear of the free toolbar offered on their website. Simply use the site as a directory of what’s available instead.

Redbox Streaming Coming Soon
Redbox recently announced that it will be offering a streaming service similar to Netflix, also priced at around $8 per month, in early 2013 (latest estimate is sometime in the second quarter of the year). This offers an intriguing solution since they have also indicated that users will be able to rent DVD and Blu-ray discs as part of their subscriptions (at a nominal additional fee), although details on this are sketchy at this time. For anyone who lives close to a Redbox kiosk, this could be a huge benefit and well below the cost of a combination streaming and DVD by mail subscription package offered by Netflix. Currently Netflix charges $8 for streaming and another $8 to have one disc out at a time.

Don’t Forget the Network Sites
All four major networks, as well as many of their cable counterparts, offer some version of online viewing for their shows. The selection is limited and rarely is more than the most recent handful of episodes available, but you can occasionally find a show not otherwise available elsewhere (especially in the case of CBS shows). Here are the ‘Big Four’ network sites:

www.nbc.com

www.cbs.com

www.fox.com

www.abc.com

 

The options that are available for your home viewing enjoyment nowadays are immense. And they will only be getting better in the years ahead. Hopefully this book has given you some solid insight to help put you in control so you can get the most bang for your entertainment dollar.

Join the revolution… and enjoy!