Watching tv on your pc?

Question

There are a lot of online companies offering the "watching tv on your pc" service. Is this legal, does it work or is it a ripoff? I am electronically "challenged" and can't do lot of computer hookups or changes. I would like to be able to watch other channels without all of the cable charges. Can't afford it. Any suggestions?

If any of you have this type service, how were you able to do it? What was the cost?

Answer 1

The only way I know of is to buy a tv tuner card..that I'm afraid isn't free..and then you can have cable hookup to it...If they're offering to have you watch tv on their site..then that's probably got a fee of some kind attached to it.

Answer 2

most of the company's will rip you off, i tried a couple one in Canada and one in USA, they both ripped me off, they took the money and i watched one program then nothing happened after that, except the Canadians tried to put rubbish and Trojans on my computer, and the USA one just keep showing ads through adware, be very careful there are a lot of people out there who will rip you off and damage your machine.

Answer 3

The only legal way I know of for watching free television shows on your PC is from the actual network sites.  For instance, I sometimes miss a show on ABC, NBC, or CBS and will watch it from their respective web sites to catch up.

Discovery Channel has their "Full Episode"  video streaming.  While limited in choices, it does have Dirty Jobs. This is free.

Another option is purchasing shows on Amazon Unbox or iTunes and downloading them to your PC.  Typically you pay $1.99 per episode or can get a discount for a whole season.  Typically less than purchasing the DVD series.  I used Unbox to catch up on the first 1 1/2 seasons of Avatar the Last Airbender from Nick.

Yet another option is Netflix which starts at $4.99 a month.  My wife and I are currently catching up on all of the episodes of Grey's Anatomy.  Watching 3-4 episodes a night with no commercials is pretty reasonable.  They also have the DVDs for shows on Showtime and HBO.  And, of course, if your PC has DVD player, you can watch the show on your PC.

I realize that none of these are just like watching TV and watching any channel you might want to watch.  But they are alternatives to watching nothing at all.

Depending on your viewing habits, $4.99 a month on Netflix could be a reasonable alternative.

Answer 4

Not all of them are legal. Besides their picture quality is questionable.