Internet TV Players: An Alternative to Cable?

Recently, internet TV players have become very popular among people traveling or living abroad, as well as with those people just trying to save money on their cable or satellite costs. Two of the more popular players available to download are Livestation and TVU Player. These programs are both free to download and require no subscription fees for basic use (Although, recently, Livestation began offering higher quality channels and exclusive content for a small premium). They also both claim to provide a plethora of decent quality channels from both the USA and abroad. When I first read about these programs, I was understandably skeptical, but figured I would take the plunge; what did I have to lose, they are both free programs. Once the downloads were complete, I began exploring their supposed "extensive" channel selection, only to find a limited number of English speaking channels on either player. Now given the fact that I was paying nothing and was able to view even a couple of familiar American channels was impressive, but what amazed me the most was the prevalence of International stations.

As I explored further into their channel selections I began to realize what a benefit some of these streaming channels would be to a person living or traveling far from home. While I was disappointed to discover the fact that there were in fact so few American channels, the discovery of new international news networks was an unexpected surprise. I found that both players seemed to provide access to numerous news and entertainment channels from India, China, South Korea and Russia. I surfed around and managed to try out many of the stations and can say that most of them were actually of fairly high quality on both players. Very little time was spent buffering the streams on either Livestation or TVU, and although Livestation does seem to take longer to connect, I just assume this is due to the higher bandwidth and lower signals of a few of their stations.

While there are other players out there that claim to bring you hundreds or even thousands of channels for low monthly payments, I remain skeptical of what they can in fact deliver. One thing I can say however, is that the two players that I investigated and reviewed are definitely worth a look by anyone who is interested in watching international news. While these programs absolutely do not provide a feasible alternative to cable or satellite, Americans could benefit from the convenience and international exposure that these types of programs can provide. I regularly find myself watching news from India or South Korea simply because it provides me with my world news from a completely different perspective.

As far as a final answer as to which of the two previously reviewed players is better is difficult to say; Livestation seems to have more high quality channels while TVU Player has a more simplistic layout. I find myself using TVU Player more often, not necessarily because it is the better player, but because my computer lacks a great deal of processing power and the ability to scale the lower quality video down allows me to do more multi tasking while I watch my news. Each one of the programs have their own pros and cons, but I encourage you to check them both out and decide for yourself. Seeing as though both are free to download, you have nothing to lose but a little time and hard drive space.

http://www.livestation.com
http://www.tvunetworks.com