Colorado unemployment continues to creep up and the recession/depression remains in full swing. Even if you have a job and discretionary income, you should be circumspect about how you spend your money, right?
Telecom services are pricey and there are always ways to improve your service at a better price point. I believe that having a high-speed cable connection is like a lifeline to the outside world, but cable TV? Now that I have been going without it for several months, I am finding it easy to live without. Too much home shopping and infomercials for me. Too much of the same overall. And I resent paying for networks I don't watch.
Again, cable is pricey. As of January 2008, the average monthly home cable bill was $84.59, up 21 percent from two years earlier, according to the Federal Communications Commission. As we improve and simplify home networking to make Net-connected TVs easier to own, the thought of tapping video on demand through online sources becomes increasingly appealing.
Yes, the quality of the video isn't as sharp and yes, you have to sit at your computer. But it is FREE.
The trend of watching TV on the Internet is catching on, especially with younger consumers. About 72 percent of people ages 18 to 29 have watched a video online, compared to 34 percent of people ages 50 to 64, according to Pew Research Center study.
Among the online options is Hulu.com, http://www.hulu.com/ a joint venture NBC and Fox that officially launched last year and offers free TV shows and movies. Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp. — the nation’s largest cable company — runs a similar site called Fancast.com, http://www.fancast.com/
At the same time, YouTube made deals last November to carry full shows in an alliance with CBS and MGM, which is great if you are a fan of a particular show. The TV shows are free but include advertisements that would play before, during, and after the videos. YouTube also offers unique programming...The National Archive, in celebration of its 75th anniversary, has posted 17 videos to YouTube from its audio-visual collection at www.youtube.com/usanationalarchives.
ItTunes offers some television programming for a price. A “season pass” for The Office, for example, costs $35 for 22 half-hour episodes.
Other online options inlcude:
PBS Frontline: Missed that Frontline episode? No worries - you can watch it online. In fact, PBS has quite a few shows that you can watch online - just use this search string in Google to find them: site: http://www.pbs.org/ "watch online" -frontline.
AOL in2tv: free episodes of your favorite classic TV shows, anything from Gilligan's Island to the People's Court
Like Television at http://tesla.liketelevision.com/(public domain cartoons, movies and more)
YouWeb at http://www.youweb.tv/ includes MTV, CNN and ESPN, as well as broadcast tv and radio stations worldwide.
wwITv.com: An " independent guide to online streaming media available on the web." Channels available from all over the world.
Democracy Internet TV: watch TV online via the free Democracy Internet TV viewing platform. Over 600 different channels available.
ChannelChooser: A free online TV portal with hundreds of channels to choose from, all streaming.
BBC: You can watch the BBC news from London online every day of the week, anytime; another way to find BBC online streaming or archived programs is using this search string in Google: site:http://www.bbc.co.uk/ "watch online".
Adult Swim Fix - Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block, featuring King of The Hill, Robot Chicken and others.
And of course, we love Netflix The best deal for movie lovers is the $17.99/month three-at-a-time plan. Careful on this one though. We know people who signed up for Netflix, got their three movies, and then kept these same discs for several months, continuing to pay $17.99 for the privilege.
And, of course, your local Denver Public Library branch offers hundreds of movies and documentaries on DVD. We also use the Red Box or DVDPlay rentals at our local MacDonalds and Safeway.
If you really want to watch television on your TV set, you can sign up for Comcast's Economy Video Package in Denver. It consists of the following channels, Basic analog channels, USA, Fox News, A&E, Lifetime, Hallmark, Spike TV, truTV, Cartoon Network, AMC, CNN, Comedy Central, History, TVLand, Animal Planet, BET, E!, Galavision, TV Guide, Disney, Nickelodeon, Food Network, Weather Channel, CSPAN, CSPAN2, and Music Choice Channels. This new package will be available for $39.99 as a stand alone product, or at $29.99 if sold with other Comcast products, such as Internet.
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