4 Great Websites for Watching TV Online

Why, you might ask, would anyone want to watch television online? Why not just watch TV on TV? One answer is that there are many of us who watch so little TV that we don't enough to find it worth paying to have regular television transmitted to our homes. Yet we don't disdain television.

And there are occasionally shows and events that we would like to watch, realizing, of course, that the selection may be limited and that we will often be watching a less than clear image on a teeny section of our computer screen. Given these facts, which we freely accept, it is very nice to have found several good sources for watching television online.

While the websites above are my personal recommendations, these and many more can be found at the sites listed in the following article: http://familyinternet.about.com/od/computinglifestyle/tp/tvonline.htm.

1)C-span: www.C-span.org : Many people do not know that C-span has its full television offering streaming on its website 24 hours a day. C-span 1, C-span 2, and C-span 3, are all available to watch-- albeit on a tiny little section of the screen. However, if one doesn't have regular television, this is a fantastic resource for watching congressional hearings, presidential and other candidates' debates, academic lectures, speeches, press conferences and many other public events. C-span also provides access to all of the above in archived form so that these presentations can be viewed later. There are also archived documentaries, special historical series and such unusual events as debates by third party candidates (that one could otherwise never see). It is an unparalleled resource! As on TV, it is commercial-free

2) PBS: http://www.pbs.org/video/?nav=vid: The Public Broadcasting System now makes many of its series available for free in archived episodes. Such documentary series as Nova, Frontline, Antiques Roadshow, Julia Child, Bill Moyers Journal and more are available to watch 24 hours a day. As on TV, it is commercial -free

3) Hulu: www.hulu.com: This very easy to use site has numerous new and old television show episodes from every category as well as very recent news. You can find old shows you haven't seen in years, such as The Bob Newhart show as well as episodes of The Office, the Family Guy, innumerable reality and game shows; many episode of Saturday Night Live among hundreds of choices. This is a very user-friendly site. There are commercials during the episodes but there are only a few, they are quiet, tasteful and mercifully short. A countdown is also provided to let you know how many seconds are left until the episode resumes. A highly recommended site.

4) Tidal TV : http://beta.tidaltv.com: Like Hulu, Tidal TV has hundreds of offerings including some true oldies such as Perry Mason episodes from the 1950s. More prominently, however, it has all kinds of cable TV shows-- simply too numerous to mention. It is also use-friendly and though it has commercials, it provides a countdown so that you can be assured the commercial is soon to end. There is a world of choice on this site.