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Cable Cutters: Cheap Alternatives to TV

I don't like service providers. Cable TV, landline phone and fax, mobile phone, ISP, and even satellite radio companies have so little real competition that they know they don't have to impress me very much to get my business. I either pay the full fees and become connected to them by their cord (physical or wireless), or I don't get any service. Until lately.

Now those companies face new pressure from Web-based technologies and services that can offer similar features for far less money, or even for free. Many of these services ride in on the cord owned by the big service provider, relegating said service provider to the job of operating "dumb pipes."

Which TV executive knew just a few years ago that paid and free online services could threaten cable companies? Internet radio being a better value than a satellite subscription, and more.

Here I'll explain the alternatives that can help you walk away from the biggest corded companies that we love to hate. You can pick and choose which are still worth keeping and which to toss. Are you being pressured into buying a service provider's "triple play"? Try three strikes and you're out.

Pay for TV and Movies Instead of Cable Service

The cable--and satellite--TV model is on life support. Who wants to pay $100 or more a month for an endless well of unwatched shows? Even if you have an appetite for premium-channel shows, you can save money by buying some à la carte and watching others free online.

Paid, per-show TV sources are all around you. Apple iTunes, Amazon VOD, Zune Marketplace, Blockbuster On Demand, and Jaman store thousands of shows and movies.

All offer various purchase and rental options, often $3 to $4 to rent a movie for a day. Expect to drop about $30 to $40 per season of scripted, premium-channel TV (HBO, Showtime, and such), or, often, about $10 less for network shows.

That sounds pricy at first, and it often costs more than buying a physical disc. But total up four or five of those seasons and a handful of movies, and you could pay half as much as cable over the same time period.

If you want to watch video on a portable device, stick with iTunes for iPod and iPhone compatibility; or Zune Marketplace for Zune support. Unfortunately, the other stores don't offer portable media player support. If you have an AppleTV or an Xbox 360, you can at least watch your shows in the living room.

Netflix is a good base service for any cable TV-free home. The cheapest subscription for the DVD-by-mail service is $8.99 each month, but much of the value comes in the thousands of shows and movies you can stream from Netflix to your PC. Plus, Netflix can stream to a TiVo, Xbox 360, PS3, dedicated Roku device, and other hardware, so you can watch in the living room without a media center PC.

Similar streaming services like Amazon, Blockbuster, Jaman, and others can play on much of the same hardware. Check your TV-connected hardware against these services' support pages.

I've also got my eye on the upcoming Boxee Box and Sezmi service; both will offer hardware that plays Internet-streamed video on a TV. Sezmi, which will be rolling out nationwide this year, even promises local shows and live sports, one of the biggest deficits in online libraries.

Next: Free TV, Movies, Phone Service, and more

Get Free TV And Movies

Hulu is still my king of free TV sites, although it's uncertain if it will--or won't--change to a paid model. And I've been occasionally frustrated when show episodes or seasons disappear just before I try to watch. But the majority of recent network shows are available. Plus, you'll find movie and TV favorites alongside B-level misses.

As I write this, you can watch "Spartacus" and "All the King's Men" alongside the Norm MacDonald vehicle, "Dirty Work."

Check Hulu first, but also scan other sites for free TV and movies. Crackle, Comcast Fancast, and even YouTube have movies and TV content. If you you're looking for a specific show that you still can't find online, visit its Web site or its network site directly.

Live sports can still be elusive. Check the network that's broadcasting the content for a stream; I saw a Monday Night Football game this way last fall. MLB.com hosts live baseball, but you'll have to pay for service. Justin.tv could be your best ace for any sport. While unsanctioned, many users play live streams of their local stations; just click the sports button.

And remember the cheapest, highest-quality TV source of all: an antenna. Over-the-air HD content looks great, often better than video compressed for a cable TV feed. You'll just need a TV with an HD tuner--typical for most sets built in the last several years--or a PC TV tuner.

How to Watch TV and Movies in Media Center without a TV Tuner

Do you have a Windows 7 PC but no TV tuner? You may be surprised to learn that you don’t need one in order to watch streaming video and even popular TV programming on your Media Center PC or extender thanks to the numerous Media Center plugins currently available. In this post, we’ll look at the TV plugins you can use with Media Center, including those specifically designed for viewing Hulu content as well as other similar plugins for streaming video.

TV/Hulu Plugins
Plugins that allow you to watch TV shows via Media Center are very popular, especially those that provide access to Hulu, the online site where major TV networks have teamed up to provide free, streaming video. There are a number of different plugins to choose from, each with their own feature set and fan base. Which one you choose to install may come down to its offerings, ease of use, price, or just personal preference.


Hulu Desktop Plugin
The Hulu Desktop Integration 1.0 plugin offers an easy way to hop between using Windows Media Center and the Hulu Desktop application, the desktop software that complements the online site. Once installed into Windows 7 Media Center, this plugin sets up its own menu simply called “HULU.” When you click on Hulu in this menu, the software will automatically close Windows Media Center and launch Hulu Desktop already in full screen mode. When you’re finished watching the streaming videos in Hulu, you just click on “Exit” from the software’s main menu and Windows Media Center will return, it too in full screen mode. This easy switching also works with Windows Media Center remote controls but does not work with extenders like the Xbox 360.

Before installing this application, you’ll need to install Hulu Desktop. Make sure both it and Windows Media Center are closed before you install the plugin


PlayIt Plugin
With the Playon Digital Media Server, you can stream video on your Xbox 360, HP MediaSmart TV, or any other DLNA-compliant device. However, it wasn’t until the release of the PlayIt plugin that Media Center owners could get in on the action, too. Thanks to a user by the name of Elutmann1 on Microsoft’s Green Button forums, a site for Media Center enthusiasts, the PlayIt plugin lets Media Center users connect to a PlayOn server to stream video as well as use the Media Center controls like rewind, fast forward, play, pause and stop. With PlayIt installed, you gain access to Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, Hulu, CBS, CNN, ESPN, YouTube, and more, all of which become available for viewing within the Media Center application.

However, although the PlayIt plugin software is free of charge, the PlayOn server software is not. PlayOn is $39.99, but a free 2-week trial is available. You can download PlayOn from here then follow these instructions to install the PlayIt plugin. The plugin works on Vista Media Center and up.

For additional plugins designed to operate with PlayOn server, visit the community site at playonplugins.com where a number of developers share additional third-party plugins that works with PlayOn. For example, check out the Channel 9 plugin available here.



Boxee
Boxee is an open source media center type application that received a lot of attention in recent days thanks to its ability to stream popular TV programming to your PC or TV while also incorporating “social” elements like the ability to friend other users, rate content, and make recommendations.

Within Boxee, users have access to content from major TV networks like ABC, CNN, CBS, Comedy Central, and the WB as well as online content like Blip.TV, MTV music videos, MySpaceTV, Revision3 programs, Apple movie trailers, BBC iPlayer shows, Joost, SHOUTcast, Jamendo, Last.fm, NPR, and YouTube. In addition, you can add picture displaying plugins from Flickr and Picasa and RSS feeds.

Hulu support, however, has been off and on because Hulu’s parent company, NBC Universal, was asked to remove it from Boxee by their content partners. Boxee later re-added it using Hulu RSS feeds. Again, Hulu blocked access until Boxee introduced a new architecture which uses Firefox so that Hulu now sees Boxee as a Mozilla web browser so it won’t get blocked.

Thanks to the enthusiast site, Missing Remote with help from MVP Andrew Cherry, there’s a way to added Boxee support to your Windows 7 Media Center. You’ll first need to download this zip file and extract it to your Boxee installation directory (e.g. “C:\Program Files\Boxee\BoxeeMCE”). Then you’ll right-click to launch the file “installBoxee.cmd.” Detailed instructions are here. Although written for Vista Media Center, it works with Windows 7 works too.

To add Boxee onto Media Center’s start menu in Windows 7, you’ll need to navigate to Media Center’s “Extras” menu where you’ll now see Boxee listed. Right-click on the icon and choose “Add to Start Menu” from the menu that appears.



SecondRunTV
SecondRunTV is a plugin that allows you to launch the Hulu desktop application right within Media Center. Since Hulu Desktop works with a remote this makes SecondRunTV feel like it’s just another Media Center application.

The interface for SecondRunTV lets you sort through the available TV stations by Network or by Title. Movies and Trailers are separated in the two other menus. Unfortunately though, the plugin doesn’t work on extenders like the Xbox 360, so it’s only worthwhile if you do most of your TV viewing on your Media Center PC itself. You can download the SecondRun.tv plugin for free here (donations accepted), but be aware that it’s still in beta status.




TunerFree MCE
TunerFree MCE is a Windows Media Center plugin that brings several of the United Kingdom's main TV providers (BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five), as well as all of the BBC Radio stations to your Media Center PC and extender. They’ve also added full Hulu support for their U.S. users.

The program’s interface displays the various channels’ logos for easy access as well as a “favorites” section for tracking your most frequently watched programs. You can also sort the programming by date or search through the available content by keyword.

For a little bit of extra fun, the developer even added a Twitter section which lets you tweet what you watch right from Media Center itself. To use this feature, go into TunerFree’s preferences and enter in your Twitter credentials. You’ll then have a new Twitter icon on the TunerFree start page in Media Center.

TunerFree is a free download (donations accepted) and works on both Vista and Windows 7. (On a personal note, I use this plugin myself and found it to be one of the easiest ones to install and configure.)



HuluMCE plugin
Again thanks to the Missing Remote blog, there’s information on how to add the Hulu Desktop program to MediaCenter as a shortcut from the main screen. This is similar to the functionality provided by SecondRunTV so you would want to try one or the other, not both.

To install this plugin, you’ll need to grab the zip file called HuluMCE Plugin and unzip it into the same folder where you have the Hulu Desktop application installed. (By default - C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\HuluDesktop). There are a few more steps involved to get it properly configured which you can follow by reading through the online guide available here.

Once installed, the HuluMCE plugin will appear in your TV+Movies menu on Vista Media Center or in your Extras menu on Windows 7 Media Center. You can then browse and view Hulu content via the plugin and you can even use your Media Center remote to control Hulu.



ZeeVee
The Zinc Internet browser is a free downloadable software program from ZeeVee, a company known for their commercial and residential solutions for HD video. With the Zinc software, you can browse through a number of channels, including major TV networks like FOX, ABC, CBS, CW, and ESPN as well as online sites like Hulu, Revision3, and YouTube.

A Green Button forum member, Rob Rogers, at one time made a ZeeVee plugin available for Windows Media Center users that lets you launch and browse ZeeVee’s Zinc player in Media Center. Sadly though, he decided to take it down because he didn’t see much interest. However, we reached out to him to ask him about it and he shared the details of how it was made in case anyone wants to duplicate his efforts.

Basically, he downloaded the HuluMCE plugin (above) and modified it to point to the Zinc files instead. That’s it. After doing so, unzip the files it contains in the same folder as your Zinc install (which you must first get from ZeeVee’s website). Typically, the installation location is %ProgramFiles%\ZeeVee\Zv\zviewer\ZeeVeeMCE\. Next, run the InstallZeeVee.cmd as an administrator. You’ll then find Zinc available from the Extras menu in Windows 7 Media Center or the Picture & Videos menu in Windows Vista Media Center.

TubeCore
TubeCore is one of the newer plugins for streaming TV shows from the internet via Windows Media Center. The software finds online video from websites like Hulu, CBS.com, the Onion, Revision3, and many others, and lets you watch it on your Media Center computer or on a Media Center extender like the Xbox 360.

To use TubeCore, you’ll need a Vista or Windows 7 PC, a TV connection (either direct or an extender), and media server software.

However, unlike some of the other plugins on this list, TubeCore is not free. You can try it for 2 weeks at no charge, but afterwards, you’ll have to purchase it if you want to continue to use it. At that time, the plugin is available for a one-time fee of $19.99. Since you are paying, though, you’re entitled to support via the company’s tech support email address and forums.



Sky Player
Just in time for Windows 7’s launch, the Sky Player add-in for Windows 7 Media Center has been announced (although not launched). This plugin, designed for UK customers, lets you watch live and on-demand programming from Sky TV’s online TV service, Sky Player. The player currently offers 24 channels as well as an online library containing 500 movies.

Existing Sky TV customers can simply install the plugin and watch the programming on their Media Center PC or extender. New customers can access the content by paying for a monthly subscription.






Others of Interest
There are a few other plugins that may also be of interest to Windows Media Center users. While these below don’t provide you with access to streaming TV and movies directly, they do provide other ways to watch streaming video on your Media Center PC.


My Trailers and In the Movies
My Trailers and In the Movies are actually two different plugins from the same company. “My Trailers SE for MCE” allows you to watch movie trailers with via Windows Media Center while “In The Movies SE for MCE” delivers information about movies in the theaters now.

In “My Trailers” you can watch trailers for current releases as well as for movies that are coming soon. You can scroll through the releases using the left and right arrow buttons and you can maximize the playing trailer to view it full screen.

“In the Movies” has a feature called "In Theaters" which shows you the movies that are currently playing plus a "Showtimes" which shows you where and what time the movie you want to see is playing. "Reviews" displays comments about the movies and "Coming Soon" gives you a sneak peek upcoming releases. Finally, the "Box Office" section shows the weekend box office top 50 movies.

Both plugins are Windows 7 compatible.

HD Movie Trailers
HD Movie Trailers, which is hosted on Codeplex, describes itself as a "proof of concept." However, a blogger over at Hack7MC.com installed it in order to add movie trailers to the information screen for each movie in his collection. Like it sounds, this plugin lets you watch HD movie trailers via Media Center, but unfortunately, you have to first download them manually and place them in that movie’s folder. You then have to create an XML file so Media Center knows where to find them.

The plugin is designed to work with MediaBrowser, which is a popular alternative UI for Media Center.

Obviously, this is one of the geekier plugins to use, but some of you may find it helpful.

Last But Not Lest, Netflix!
Of course, one of the best ways to stream movies (and TV shows available on DVD) is via Netflix. If you’re a Netflix subscriber, you can access the new option which only appeared days ago from Windows Media Center’s “Movies” menu.

The first time you click on the “Netflix” option, you’ll need to check the box agreeing to the Terms of Service and then click the “Install” button. You’ll then sign into your account or, if you don’t have one, you have the option to sign up for a free trial right there. Once signed in, you can browse through and manage your DVD queue and your instant queue as well as search through Netflix’s database of available movies.

To watch a movie from your instant queue, just click on the thumbnail and then click “Play.” The movie will begin immediately.



So Many Choices…
As you can see, there are numerous choices for watching TV and movies within Windows 7 Media Center even if you can’t afford to invest in a TV tuner card at the moment. Many of the options above are even free to install and use. Although a lot of the plugins focus on Hulu integration, a U.S.-only site, international users will still be able to take advantage of those plugins which stream other content like YouTube videos or Revision3 web shows. No matter which plugins you choose to install, you can be sure it will make Windows Media Center a lot more fun to use.

Times Square 2010 New Year's Eve Producing Live Webcast of the Global Celebration

The 2010 New Year's Eve Celebration will be streamed live for six and a half hours on TimesSquareNYC.org; Livestream.com/2010, Facebook.com/TimesSquareNYC and many other websites. Viewers can tune in to watch and chat live online. The video solution is integrated with social media tools Twitter and Facebook, as well as live blogging tool CoverItLive, allowing the New Year's Eve producer to engage participants and interact with their audience. The webcast will also be available for iPhone here.

Cable Freedom Is a Click Away

Welcome to our living room. Take a seat, make yourself comfortable. Would you like to watch a movie, or the new “Family Guy” episode?

Evan Sung for The New York Times
Devices that fell short of providing the best TV viewing experience and program options lie discarded in the living room of Nick and Danielle Bilton. More Photos »
Oh, that, over there. You want to know why there’s a pile of gadgets and wires on the floor? My wife and I usually don’t talk about that clutter. We actually refer to it as the Gadget Graveyard. Mostly, we pretend it doesn’t even exist. But since you asked, I’ll explain.

This digital necropolis isn’t your typical sanctuary for retired devices. Instead, here you’ll find technologies that tried to provide the best viewing experience and program options with a television, but ultimately fell short. Everything is relatively new, and comparatively unusable — to me at least.

Among this pile you can find my old remote controls and wires from my cable box. Then there’s the dreaded Apple TV, now a $250 paperweight. There’s also the $80 Roku box, a device that allows you to stream video from Netflix, Amazon.com and other sites directly to your television. But wait, there’s more! A Vudu player, a Slingbox and a handful of other single-serving contraptions.

Those devices are all behind me now. I disconnected everything, threw it to the side and canceled the cable months ago. Instead, now I have a Mac Mini, wireless mouse and a Microsoft Xbox hooked up to my television.

This quest for cable freedom has been a couple of years in the works. Before I called the cable company to bid my farewell I imagined that I would need a vast array of devices to fill the entertainment void: a device for games, something for television shows, a contraption for streaming movies through Netflix and, finally, something to control all of the above. But it turns out a computer can do all those tasks with some software upgrades and a wireless keyboard and mouse.

I have to be honest, this isn’t as easy as just plugging a computer into a monitor, sitting back and watching a movie. There’s definitely a slight learning curve. One difficult part of this equation was getting used to the wireless mouse. We use a mouse called the Loop, made by Hillcrest Labs, that costs $99. The Loop looks more like a chocolate-frosted doughnut with buttons than something that navigates a television set. To navigate the screen you hold it out and wave your hand from side to side as if you are conducting an orchestra.

As for the computer, you don’t specifically need a Mac Mini. This set up can work with most inexpensive PCs; just make sure the video card can handle the streaming video requirements. Our refurbished Mac Mini cost $380 online.

Although the initial investment was costly, totaling $550, it took only a few months to recoup the money. Back in the olden days of cable we were forced to shell out a relatively standard $140 a month, for television service alone. This cost gave us access to a digital video recorder and hundreds of unwatched TV channels.

Contrast this with today, where our only expense is $9 a month to stream Netflix videos from the Web and the $30 a month that we always spent on an Internet connection. O.K., maybe that’s not completely accurate. When the wireless keyboard died a few weeks ago I was forced to spend another $4 for two new AA batteries. We’ve not yet recovered from that financial loss.

We still come home from work and watch any number of shows, just like the people who continue to pay for cable. We just do it a little differently, starting the computer and then using services like Hulu, Boxee, iTunes and Joost. Another interesting twist to this experience is that we’re no longer limited to consuming traditional programming. With these applications we can spend an entire evening flicking through videos from YouTube, CollegeHumor or Web-only programs.

Here are a few of the applications on our home setup:

Boxee is probably the most clicked icon on our television. You can download this free open-source application from Boxee.tv. It’s important to note that it’s still in test phase and a little rough around the pixels, but over all it allows you to access almost any type of video content online. You can easily stream CNN, Current TV, PBS and more. Most important for us, Boxee easily allows access to the Netflix streaming service, which offers up thousands of movies and television shows (just not always the most popular options).

Next there is Hulu Desktop, the joint venture among Fox, NBC, ABC and many other mainstream programming outlets. This service allows you to watch more than 1,700 television shows, including traditional favorites like “30 Rock,” “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” and “The Office.” Hulu’s downloadable desktop application, as opposed to hulu.com, works extremely well with large screens. Apple’s iTunes application replicates all the features of Apple TV, allowing you to buy or rent movies and listen to your music collection.

Be warned though that iTunes can get expensive. If you watch premium-cable television shows, you can pay more than $40 for the season of a single show. But even that is less than one month of cable. Since there are so many other entertainment options online, we just skip “Dexter” and “Weeds.” Trust me, there is a lot of great free or ad-supported content out there.

Finally there’s Joost.com. Although it’s not a downloadable application and only accessible through a Web browser, Joost offers free streaming movies and a strange variety of cartoons.

While Microsoft’s Xbox 360 (starting at $200), is not absolutely necessary for this setup, it delivers an array of lively entertainment options. I can, of course, play video games, but I can also rent movies (through the Xbox marketplace or through Netflix’s online viewing service), and browse Twitter and Facebook, with a new feature that lets you watch a streaming interface of your social networks flow across the screen.

I understand this kind of living room experience isn’t for everyone. It’s a lot less work to just click a button up or down on a standard remote control. And it can be difficult to explain how to use this unfamiliar toolbox of buttons, programs and devices.

Over Thanksgiving a friend graciously house-sat at our apartment. It took my wife more than an hour to write a detailed description explaining how to use our new TV setup. After explaining how to use the mouse and keyboard, we had to describe how to switch among applications. The instructions read:

“If you want to watch “Ugly Betty,” or “Saturday Night Live,” you will need to load up Hulu. If you’d like to watch some of the movies we’ve downloaded, you will have to quit Hulu, open up Boxee and navigate to the movies folder. To use Netflix, you’ll need to switch to the Xbox and. ... ” But after a few hours of randomly clicking into cyberspace, our friend figured it out.

There is one other showstopper. I know the sports and technology enthusiasts don’t often mix, but if you’re one of the few people who live in both of those worlds you might have to look for other options. To watch baseball you can buy a little dongle that plugs into the back of your computer and streams free over-the-air high-definition channels. I bought this for the Yankees games and it worked perfectly. If you’re an ESPN fan you have two options. Stick with cable, or go to a bar to watch the basketball games.

Over all, I couldn’t be happier with our computer television setup. Now, I just have to figure out what gadgets I’m going to buy with the $1,600 a year I no longer send to the cable company.

Various Tv shows from America

Watch Free Streaming Movies Online

The internet is becoming more and more advanced. There are quite a number of things that you can do online today that would not have been possible a number of years ago. The web is becoming an important place for commercial transactions and trading ventures. Bills are settled online, and products are bought online on commercial web sites such as e-bay. Instead of joining the usual long queues that are mainly present in banks, a large number of customers are opting to carry out their tasks online in what is commonly referred to as online banking by the I.T. people.

The internet is also educational in that a lot of information can be accessed from it. Scholars and students benefit greatly from it, in that the information is accessible 24 hours a day, ready to be utilized. This was not possible before the internet came into being. If you wanted information or viewpoints from a person in Australia in an in-depth form, the only option would have been to fly to Australia to hear it from that person.

Also, communication has been greatly improved through the internet. There are many services available, including e-mailing, video conferencing and chatting. You can also use a web cam to see and talk to the other person.

Of late, the internet has become a very big source of entertainment material. You can access blogs, chat rooms and movie web sites for very little in terms of payment. Movies are being uploaded on the web at an alarmingly fast rate. In fact, some movies debut on the internet first before they open to cinemas and other places.

It is possible to watch movies online through streaming. The movies are uploaded onto a server anywhere in the world. Through multimedia streaming, you can view just about any movie available online. There are those that are blocked and you might need special permission in order to access the website on which the movie is loaded.

There are a number of stages involved in the streaming process. When a user follows a link to a particular movie clip on the web, your browser software will send out a request to the server on which the clip is held anywhere in the world.

In response, the server will stream the clip to your computer continuously, forming the stream. Once the data is received by your computer, it will automatically open the media player software contained in your computer. Once the player is open, the data being streamed to your computer is stored in a buffer. It may take a while for all the data to be received, depending on your bandwidth and to some extent the speed of your computer. This requires you to be patient.

No More Online Video for You, Unless You’re a Cable Subscriber…

We knew it was always come down to the question of what to do about online video. Although the overwhelming majority of broadband customers still take some sort of video package (or simply don’t care enough about television to get one in the first place), there is a small, but growing number of people who are dispensing with video packages from cable and relying entirely on broadband video services to watch network and cable programming.

Hulu and Joost, along with limited fare from the major American networks, as well as video offerings from the CBC and BBC exclusive to residents of those countries, create the potential for a major problem for cable operators — what happens if people stop buying video packages.


Comedy Central's Video Streaming - Will it be available to non-cable subscribers for long?
Comcast and Time Warner, the nation’s largest cable operators, have plans to put a stop to the erosion in video subscribers before it gets serious — by seeing to it that they don’t get to watch free online video any longer.

Comcast’s On Demand Online and Time Warner’s TV Everywhere services are either in operation or will begin trials later this year. Both seek arrangements with cable programmers (coincidentally many of which they also have an ownership interest in) to create a new authentication system to block non-video subscribers from accessing video content aired on those channels. Cable subscribers who do take a video package will get in for free.

The video programming would still exist on various cable network websites. Comedy Central would still have clips on comedycentral.com and CNN would still have their news clips at cnn.com. But under the cable operators’ proposals, those clips would no longer be available to individuals who cannot prove they have a video subscription.

Currently, some 90% of Time Warner’s broadband customers also take a video package, and Time Warner can easily authenticate those subscribers with a type of “authorization key” which an online video player would seek for permission to play the programming. Time Warner is also contemplating whether live streams of cable channels would also be a good idea. Currently, cable operators routinely insist on prohibiting live streaming of the cable networks they carry.

Of course, the problem will come down to those who subscribe via satellite dish services or a smaller cable operator or telephone company video package. Does this enforcement only occur on Time Warner and Comcast’s own broadband networks, or would it be widespread?

Multichannel News covered the Time Warner TV Everywhere trial:

Time Warner Cable is working with two major programming partners on its “TV Everywhere” initiative to make sure the Internet-video service is easy to use and scalable, said Peter Stern, the operator’s executive vice president and chief strategy officer.

Stern, speaking on a panel here at the Cable Show ‘09, said the MSO is already working closely with two programmers — Turner Broadcasting System and another he did not identify — that will involve authenticating consumers “in a very straightforward way so they can get access to content.”

“To be honest, we’re still working it out in terms of the user experience,” Stern said.

The concept, which is being Comcast and Cox Communications, is to reinforce the cable TV subscription model, by providing that programming to paying customers over their Internet devices.

Stern pointed out that 90% of Time Warner Cable’s broadband customers are already paying for multichannel video.

“Those people are already entitled to watch this programming,” he said. “The big risk we have is, if we don’t offer this programming to them the way they want it, they’ll turn to piracy.”

Alternatively, if that programming is provided to them for free over the Internet, the risk is they’ll cancel their subscription service - with such “cord cutters” obtaining their media online.

Some basic principles Time Warner Cable is following in developing TV Everywhere are that consumers should “have choice in terms of the sites they can have access on,” he said. “That will be dictated by programmers, not the cable operators.”

Stern continued, “Not to say we’ll not have content on the [Time Warner Cable] RoadRunner site, but we’d be kidding ourselves if we thought we were the only site consumers should be able to access.”

Cable operators have always been concerned about “leakage” of valued cable programming to online streaming or piracy. Cable programming currently charge subscription fees to cable operators for carriage on those systems. Some, like C-SPAN or Current, amount to pennies per month per subscriber. But others, particularly for sports programming, Fox News, basic movie channels, and other high-rated channels command enormous fees amounting to several dollars a subscriber per month each, whether the subscriber wants to watch the programming or not. These costs are continually increasing. Fox News, for example, leveraged very strong price increases for its news channel, as well as forcing a number of cable systems to pick up the low rated Fox Business Channel to receive discounts. Viacom also routinely demands cable operators take additional networks they may not want to carry in return for discounts on the networks those operators do want.

It all gets passed on to cable subscribers in the form of rate increases every year. With the increasing number of channels on a cable lineup, when a bunch demand rate increases, rates can spike significantly from year to year. Nearly all have carriage contracts that forbid the cable operator from selling their network(s) on an a-la-carte basis.

With cable video pricing increasing, many subscribers downgrade their subscriptions to save money. If a cable programming is giving away their content online, that creates a greater incentive for viewers to stop paying for video packages, and rely on their Internet connections instead.

Earlier this week, Time Warner CEO Glenn Britt reiterated that although the erosion of video subscribers isn’t a problem today, it could easily become one tomorrow. He cautioned programmers who give their shows away for free online that a day of reckoning may be coming, when a cable operator is no longer willing to pay for networks that give everything away online.

Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corporation, which owns Fox News, supports the concept, according to Multichannel News:

News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch said that cable networks have to find a way to monetize the Web, before consumers begin to expect to get their content for free.

“The fact is with free content, people are used to it being free on the Internet,” Murdoch said. “Nobody is making any real money from the Web except search. We have to monetize it.”

The other controversy involves cable operators trying to limit video viewing by imposing usage caps or tiered pricing on consumers, limiting the amount of video they can consume online. At the lower end of the caps proposed by Time Warner, viewing Hulu or Joost programming would be akin to “pay per view,” with fees of 50 cents or more per show in broadband costs, once one’s usage allowance expires.

TV technology is headliner at electronics show CES 2009

LAS VEGAS | Exhibitors at this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show, which officially began Thursday, appear determined to not let the recession slow down the stream of new gadgets and software.

But one of the big focuses of the show is a consumer device that predates the others — the television. TV makers are adding such features as streaming Internet movies and 3-D, betting they can keep consumers away from basic, no-frills sets.

The manufacturers are fighting an unhappy trend. DisplaySearch, a research firm, forecasts that global sales of LCD TVs, the most popular kind, will fall 16 percent in 2009 to $64 billion. That would be the first sales decline since the technology debuted in TVs in 2000.

To entice consumers, manufacturers are touting relatively inexpensive advances — including top-line and value-priced TVs that connect to the Internet.

Such TVs started appearing a year ago with limited functions, like being able to display news and weather reports. Now, back-end systems and for streaming movies are coming together.

For instance, LG Electronics Inc. and Vizio Corp. announced that some of their TVs will be able to show video from Netflix Inc.’s streaming service. LG said the service would add $200 to $300 to the price of a TV. Panasonic Corp. and Sony Corp. televisions will show videos from Amazon.com Inc.’s Unbox service.

Yahoo Inc. is emerging as the leading provider of other Internet data services, through its Widget Engine. Sony, LG, Toshiba Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. all plan to introduce TVs that can grab Flickr photos, YouTube videos and news.

Two other new features cut across the top-tier models: improved handling of fast-moving scenes and reduced power use.

Last year, manufacturers touted sets that display 120 frames per second, for sharper and smoother action and panning scenes. TV signals and discs have only 24 to 30 frames per second, so the sets compute more frames to stick between the existing ones. This year, most manufacturers are raising the bar to 240 frames per second, but not by computing more new frames. Instead, the backlight will switch on and off quickly, fooling the eye into perceiving even smoother movement.

Manufacturers also have jumped on the opportunity to get their sets certified under the new, much tougher Energy Star requirements set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In November, the agency introduced limits for the power use of switched-on TVs. The old rules only specified the amount of power TVs use in standby mode, with the screen off.

The goal for the Energy Star program is to recognize the most energy-efficient products, those in the top 25 percent of a category. But most new TVs announced at the show will meet the requirements, so the EPA probably will have to raise the bar.

Sony introduced what it called its “first green line” of LCD TVs. The Eco Bravia models will use 40 percent less power than last year’s models, exceeding the latest Energy Star requirements. Samsung and Panasonic announced TVs with similar cuts in power consumption, without branding them as “green.”

Samsung, the world’s largest TV maker, is making a big push in LCD TVs that are backlit by light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, rather than fluorescent tubes. This is less radical than dispensing with LCDs to use a different technology known as organic LEDs, yet it promises power savings, eye-popping colors and contrast.

BBC One and BBC Two to stream live online from next week

BBC One and BBC Two to stream live online from next week

Watching television programmes over the internet has taken off in the past year since the introduction of the BBC's catchup service, the iPlayer

The BBC is to begin showing all its programmes live over the internet from next week, raising questions about the long-term viability of the licence fee.

Critics said that although viewers would still need to buy a licence to watch programmes on their computers, it would become harder to ensure payment. There are also questions over whether the telephone network could cope with the expected rise in internet traffic.

Sir Howard Davies, the director of the London School of Economics, who sat on a committee reviewing the future of the licence fee at the beginning of the decade, said: “What are they going to do? Seize your computer and look through your history? Can you imagine the licensing people doing that level of enforcement?”

The corporation, which already makes digital channels such as BBC Three and BBC Four available online, announced yesterday that it would complete the picture by making BBC One and BBC Two available from next Thursday.

Watching television programmes over the internet has taken off in the past year since the introduction of the BBC’s catchup service, the iPlayer, which enables viewing of material broadcast in the previous seven days.

Since its launch on Christmas Day last year, some or all BBC programmes have been watched 250 million times. EastEnders, watched by an average of 18.9 million at least once a month on broadcast television, was watched 457,000 times on the iPlayer last month.

The corporation believes that viewing over the internet will not be enough to persuade the public to get rid of their televisions. A spokesman said that the BBC wanted to “offer our licence fee-payers more choice and flexibility” and that the broadcaster “fully expects this to supplement, rather than replace, viewing via traditional broadcast to a television”.

In total 25.3 million households pay the television licence, generating £3.37 billion for the BBC. However, one in 20 households dodges the levy, despite an aggressive enforcement campaign in which viewers are told that the list of nonpayers are “all in our database”.

A television licence is required “irrespective of what device you are using – television, computer, laptop, mobile phone or any other – and how you receive programmes, whether by satellite, cable, via the internet or any other way,” according to TV Licensing, the body that collects the fee. It also pays for BBC radio.

There are concerns about the impact that a surge in online viewing could have on the way the internet functions.

Francesco Caio, who conducted a review into the future of the network for the Government this year, believes that there could be medium-term problems because of the extra capacity required for live television.

Mr Caio said: “Online television does not cause any capacity issues for the moment but in three to five years’ time there could be problems that will particularly affect areas of dense population.”

A spokeswoman for Tiscali, the fourth-biggest internet provider, said: “If you download a television programme, it can be done efficiently, in between other network traffic, but streaming a video [showing live before it is completely downloaded] takes up a set amount of capacity – about 300 kilobits a second.” Tiscali believes that broadcasters could pay more to prioritise their content to run smoothly over the internet, although the BBC has shown little willingness to pay.

Mr Caio said that the unwillingness of broadcasters to pay would more likely lead to the cost being borne by consumers through an increased monthly subscription.

“Broadband prices have been falling but I think we could get to the point where the need for investment means that prices of telephone and internet services will start heading north,” he said.

Jana Bennett, the director of BBC Vision, said: “The launch of BBC One and BBC Two online completes our commitment to make our portfolio of channels available to watch on the internet.”

Formally, the BBC plans to run the online broadcasts of its two principal channels for a year but it is unlikely to abandon the experiment.

In any event it has little choice because existing rules mean that any website can transmit the two channels, plus ITV1, Channel 4 and Five, if they have the right technology.

Online broadcasting is also likely to be a boon for technologically sophisticated expatriates and other viewers who do not pay the licence fee.

Although the BBC, like other broadcasters, tries to ensure that its content can be watched only in the United Kingdom, it is possible to buy software that covers up a web surfer’s location, making them appear to be watching in Britain even when they are not.

Who watches TV on TV anymore?

How’s this for layers of irony: my teenage daughter was in her room recently watching the TV show Gossip Girl on her laptop — let’s not get into exactly how — when I overheard the following line from the show: “Who watches TV on TV anymore?” (A quick Google search reveals I didn’t mishear it).

That’s indeed the billion-dollar question as telecom service providers enter today’s video arena — a market that spans cable, satellite, the Internet and mobile devices. At the TelcoTV show this week, Parks Associates released some video-viewing data showing just how confusing — yet full of opportunity — today’s video market really is.

According to Parks, Internet video viewing is indeed on the rise, but so is the viewing of prime-time TV shows. The research shows that 80% of adults in broadband homes do some form of Internet video viewing. Twenty-six million adult home broadband users are watching streaming TV episodes at least once a month, and about 6 million adults in broadband homes pay for premium Web video content on a monthly basis. At the same time, many of those are catching up on TV viewing they missed — with just over half (52%) watching missed episodes, while 37% liked watching shows for free, and 29% appreciated having fewer ads in Web replays.

Those are interesting numbers, and they point to a clear trend that finds viewers attracted to — and searching out — content across a variety of networks and devices. It’s a blurring of the lines that only will continue.

Just this week, AT&T debuted its VideoCrawler video Web search engine, staking a claim in the growing Web video market. It’s not a stretch to imagine VideoCrawler pulled onto AT&T’s U-verse service; Verizon already is beta-testing just such a service, which it demoed at the Telephony LIVE event last month. Comcast, meanwhile, has been crossing the TV and Web worlds with its Fancast site.

How TV Streaming Has Changed How Viewers Watch Their Favorite Programs

TV streaming lets viewers watch their favorite programming in a matter of minutes on their computer. The programs are channel as a continuous stream on the internet. TV streaming is becoming the wave of the future of the internet.

Nowadays, there are different stations that are making their content available on the spot with this type of viewing. They feel that this is a different way for them to get more people online. In turn, when more people are watching tv online, the stations will get additional revenue. This provides the stations with an advantage because for them, the costs of tv streaming are minimal.

Since the word “free” will send anyone running, more people have been flocking to get the live feeds and access the tv streaming on the internet. As long as stations can keep their costs to a minimum, they will reach out to attract more people to watch their favorite shows. All a person needs is a broadband connection and a free media player. Windows Media or Real Player works well with this method.

The portals that are used with this method rely on advertising to keep them afloat. As long as the content has appeal, the stations will be able to provide valuable and interesting viewing to those that are turning to tv streaming. This concept is being used not only in the United States, but around the world as well. The expansion of this method provides an opportunity to serve in niche markets instead of just restricting it to certain areas.

This method allows producers to continue putting more shows and more episodes that people want to watch. Another reason why more viewers are turning to the internet for their favorite tv shows is because the producers know what areas to target. They have become very savvy as far as learning to get an audience for their programming.

TV streaming provides viewers with looking at an improved video screen resolution on their computer. There are so many selections for viewers to choose from and more people are catching on to this new way of watching their favorite programming. A lot of this programming cannot be found on cable or satellite. You would think that with all of the channels that these two main mediums have, people would be able to find whatever they want.

This method has led the way of providing high quality programming free to the viewers. Not only do they get what they want, but they can watch it in the comfort of their own home without having to fight anyone over regular programming from the tv set.

FREE SATELLITE TV FOR PC

I have seen the prices of everything go up in the course of a few years and that’s typical but where I live, the price of cable TV is ridiculously high.

I understand that people are in search of the best deal when it comes to cable and satellite providers and the choices are few and far between.

What I discovered recently is that you don’t need Comcast employment in order to get free cable TV. I have discovered free satellite TV for PC.

You get 3,000 channels and zero monthly fee’s.

No contracts and no hidden fee’s ever.

If you’re tired of high cable and satellite prices that can only provide you with a few channels then you can now say good bye to this and say hello to free satellite TV for PC.

It seems that every year the cable and satellite providers increase their rates with no stop in sight. I know that people are tired of this and the monopoly of cable TV. Free satellite TV for PC has been a way for me to break free from this strangle hold.

I love free satellite TV for PC since I can appreciate 3,000 channels with no monthly fee’s ever and no contracts and no special equipment.

I like the fact that it’s less then my cable provider charged me each month to get only a few channel choices. With free satellite TV for PC I have no headaches and deal with no BS.

NO increase in monthly rates
NO required contracts
NO monthly rates
NO monthly bills
NO problems.

When I realized that free satellite TV for PC was available and that you get 3,000 channels that consist of sports, movies and more then I had to have it and I’ve never looked back.

The question that I was asking myself and what most people should ask themselves is why would they pay 90.00 or more a month for cable or satellite TV when they can get it free monthly. It was an obvious choice for me as it’s been for my friends and family. If you feel like you have been taken advantage of by your cable or satellite provider then free satellite TV for PC is the ONLY choice.

My suggestion to everyone and anyone is to get free satellite TV for PC as it’s the only choice for me. What other choice is there?

Should I pay 90.00+ a month for 100 or less channels or pay zero monthly for 3,000 channels. The choice is easy as you would think it would be for most intelligent consumers in this economy.

I hope I spread some light as it pertains to options out there and never again do you have to deal with the rising cable and satellite costs since I found another way and you have also.

Think about it for yourself and say what am I paying and how much am I getting for the money that I’m paying each month? If you’re not getting 3,000 channels and no monthly fee’s and no contracts then this I would surmise can be the only option as it was for me.

Free Satellite TV For PC

Swarmcast Solidifies Presence in China With Hupo.tv Partnership

Swarmcast, the leader in high-quality online video streaming, today announced that Shanghai-based online entertainment and video site Hupo TV (www.hupo.tv), will use Swarmcast’s Autobahn Platform as the foundation for its online video offerings across its broad range of music, celebrity, live sports and general entertainment channels. Hupo TV is one of only five licensed video sites in China and the largest professional content site, with more than 60 million unique monthly visitors. Hupo TV has partnerships with MSN China, Baidu Entertainment, China Music Radio and Major League Baseball. Through Swarmcast, Hupo TV will offer its customers and advertising partners a TV-like experience for live and on-demand Internet video. Hupo TV is part of the Broadwebasia group of companies. Broadwebasia (OTC Bulletin Board: OTC.OB), is controlled by Brad Greenspan, the founder of MySpace.

“With high quality Internet television, we can draw new audiences to our networks and build attractive advertising opportunities,” said Davis Li, CEO of Hupo TV. “It’s all about user experience and profitability. If you do not have the quality, you cannot attract advertisers. Swarmcast understands the economic and technical demands of delivering Internet television over China’s infrastructure, even during peak times.”

This announcement underscores Swarmcast’s rapid global expansion. Swarmcast recently opened an office in Beijing, following the opening of its European headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland in August. The Beijing office is the fourth presence after Tokyo, Zurich and Minneapolis.

“China represents the future of Internet television and we are committed to building that future together with partners like Hupo TV. They have the foresight to understand that you can’t build and maintain a successful business model around online video if you haven’t taken the steps to ensure the highest quality user experience,” said Kelly C. Egan, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Swarmcast. “Our new operations in China represent our commitment to the Chinese market and continues our rapid growth and strengthens our overall value proposition.”

About Swarmcast

Swarmcast’s Autobahn Platform empowers content providers to build profitable businesses around high-quality online video. The Autobahn Platform delivers full screen, high quality video that sharpens to the best experience for each viewer. Swarmcast is redefining what is possible for Internet video for the likes of Major League Baseball, and TV Tokyo.

Is Facebook really a place to watch TV?

Slide, the Widget start-up primarily responsible for delivering individuals photo slideshows and videos announced that it would be hosting video from CBS, Warner Brothers, and Hulu on Facebook. This is the beginning of a new Facebook application that is being worked on in partnership with FunSpace Channels that will open today. Facebook and TV? Does that go together?

I personally must admit that this saddens me, as Facebook’s appeal for me has always been that it is so opposite MySpace. MySpace allows users to bog down their page with text, music, photos and video- consuming my bandwidth and irritating me to death. Facebook on the other hand, I’ve always loved for its simplicity and ease of use. It can be used in both my professional and personal life and it’s not covered with colors, widgets and videos.

Facebook offers person-to person and person to group communication venues. It is more communication-based rather than entertainment-based. I feel like Facebook is starting to become trendy, and more media and advertisement oriented. It’s no longer the Facebook I used to love.

When Facebook opened the doors to application developers last year, I knew it was doomed. It was the start of Facebook appearing more like MySpace. The new redesign took Facebook back to the days of simplicity requiring users to actually click a tab to view the widgets and applications of their friends. I really thought Facebook was headed back toward a communication-geared website.

I am not impressed with the television-on-Facebook concept. Warner Brothers, CBS, and Hulu all currently have their own sites for streaming media- and when I want to watch TV on the web, that’s where I go to. The last thing I am interested in doing is logging on to Facebook and watching my shows through what is already slow and quirky at times when it comes to using applications. I am probably not alone in saying that if I want to see a clip from my favorite show I’m headed straight for YouTube, or the television network itself.

Facebook needs to be left alone, and left to what it’s designed for - communication and keeping in touch on a professional and personal level. Leave the streaming media, and bandwidth eating applications to MySpace.