A little over 6 years ago, we cut the cord on cable. In the beginning, we used many services that are now becoming popular to watch TV shows and movies for a low cost or free, including Netflix, Hulu, as well as checking out movies for free at the library. There are, however, many other options when you are seeking to watch premium content for little or no cost.
My younger daughter got me hooked on Asian dramas and programming. Now, I watch many of the most popular serials online for free. One of our current favorites is the international hit, Boys Over Flowers, which is a Korean drama based on the popular Japanese manga, Hana Yori Dango. Viki is available globally, has over 1 billion videos, and millions of people all over the world gather at this site to watch internationally popular shows, music and movies. Most of the programming has been translated into over 150 languages. So, whether it's Bollywood, Manga or other popular Asian programming, you can probably find free, high quality access to it on this site.
Several years after I cut cable, I started to miss it when HBO premiered their new series, Game of Thrones. I had resigned myself to waiting for it to come out on DVD and be offered on Netflix, when my next youngest daughter told me about this site. Now, I can watch all of the episodes of "GoT" as well as many of my other favorite shows that I mistakenly believed I could only view with an expensive cable subscription, such as How I Met Your Mother and Merlin.
While some popular shows may have early episodes available on Netflix or HuluPlus, TV-Links often has the latest episodes of these and many other popular series. Once I discovered this site and Viki, I cut the cord to Netflix as well. To watch a show on TV-Links, it's a bit more complicated than watching the dramas on Viki or Hulu. You search for the show, then click on the correct result. You then search the seasons for the episode you want to view and then click, "view all search results."
Many of the top search results will be through providers where you need a subscription, such as HBO or Amazon (which Amazon programming is free on this site if you have an Amazon Prime membership) but scroll down and you will see several providers that offer the show in streaming HD for free. AllMyVideos.Net and Putlocker.com are two of the sites I usually go through on TV-Links to watch my favorite shows on this site. Be careful though, as this site can be dangerous for downloading viruses. I don't actually choose to download anything, but chose the free viewer when it loads to stream and watch.
Other Sources
Many Networks post new episodes of their popular shows on their websites, usually within a day or two of their broadcast. This is how I watch shows like Survivor on CBS or House when it still aired on FOX. My local news airs their broadcast online live in HD as well, so I really don't feel like I am missing out much by no longer having cable.
I have missed having access to the Olympics, but we still have access to many other popular live sports events on ESPN 360 because of their relationship with Verizon, our DSL provider. With ESPN3 we can watch thousands of live sporting events for free: NBA games, The Masters, College Football and Basketball, Euro 2012 Soccer, Grand Slam Tennis Events and more.
The basic cable package in my area is almost $70 a month. You do the math, we've saved a lot by cutting out cable, without sacrificing access to entertainment.
No comments:
Post a Comment