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Rent The Addams Family from Netflix

         

The Addams Family: Vol. 1
(Vol. 1 is available for free, on-demand viewing as part of your Netflix subscription.)
The Addams Family: Vol. 2

The Addams Family: Vol. 3

The Basics
What I call "the basics" are the websites of the broadcast and cable networks that have your favorite TV shows. Online program offerings vary so it's worthwhile to check them out in advance so you'll know what you can get and when with each site. For example, you can watch new, full episodes of Grey's Anatomy at abc.com the day after they air whereas you have to wait eight days to watch those of House on fox.com.

Here is a list of some of the more mainstream networks that show full episodes (not just clips) of many of their programs:

Broadcast: ABC | CBS | CW | Fox | NBC | PBS

Cable: A&E | Adult Swim | Cartoon Network | Comedy Central | Discovery | Disney | FX | HGTV | History Channel | Lifetime | MTV | Sci Fi | TNT | TV Land | USA | VH1

Beyond the Basics
There are so many websites with such a wide array of things to watch that time, rather than money, DVRs or subscriptions, is what's required to take advantage of all that they offer. The sites below let you watch full-length TV programs and program clips from broadcast and cable networks, plus feature films and trailers from major and independent studios, all on demand and for free. Many of them also have videos, although this lens does not focus on videos as "programming," per se. (Maybe in another lens...)

CastTV
One of CastTV's stated goals is "to index every video on the web (from YouTube to iTunes, and everything in between)." Thus its tagline, "One Stop Watching."

If you're a fan of The Big Bang Theory and The Mentalist, both of which air on CBS, don't bother going to the network's website, hulu, or any of the other major entertainment sites to watch these shows because they've been pulled for reasons of which I am not aware. You can, though, watch them plus thousands of other TV episodes and movies, on CastTV.

AT&T Entertainment
Not to be outdone by rival cable provider Comcast and its Fancast entertainment site (see below), AT&T recently launched its own, which offers content from ABC,CBS, the CW, Fox, Hilu, MTV, NBC, TV.com, and other TV networks, movie studios, and program portals.

ChannelChooser and Freetube
In addition to having hundreds of channels at your disposal on both sites, one of the top reasons to use either one is each streams The Movie Channel, so you can watch whatever is on this pay cable channel without having to subscribe to it! (Note: Not all channels have programs available all the time. And adult programming IS available so you must turn the Adult Filter "on" or use the "Family Friendly" version to have it and other inappropriate content removed.)

Fancast
You can watch thousands of full-length TV episodes, TV clips, feature-length movies, and movie trailers on this entertainment site from Comcast,

Hulu
If you're in the U.S., then you can watch thousands of episodes of hundreds of TV shows, along with movies, clips and trailers at Hulu.com anytime for free. A joint venture between NBC Universal and News Corp., Hulu carries programming from more than 100 content providers, including FOX, NBC Universal, MGM, Sony Pictures Television, and Warner Bros. amongst others. This site, which was poo-pooed by many in the tech industry when it launched in early 2007, has been such a hit that The Associated Press selected it as the Website of the Year for 2008.

Jaman
Jaman is like some of the other movie sites in that it has hundreds of free movies that you can watch immediately on your browser. The difference is that with some movies, you have to rent them with Jaman "tickets" or purchase them, and then download them to the Jaman Player for viewing. (You get a free ticket when you register, and more tickets when you invite friends and they register on Jaman.) But don't let the rent or buy thing dissuade you from checking it out. Jaman has tons of movies that aren't available anywhere else.



Joost
Another site like Freecast, Hulu, and Veoh - it has loads of TV shows, movies, music videos, news clips, and more. Watch while you can because, according to this TechCrunch article on 1 July 09, Joost will be "... laying off most of staff, and refocusing the business to 'white label online video platforms for media companies.'"

Justin.tv
Justin.tv bills itself as "the place for live video." In addition to streaming The Movie Channel to Freetube, it streams 24/7 Movies, The Movie Theater, Movie Favorites Channel, and hundreds of other channels that cover entertainment, news, sports, music, comedy, and other videos.

Modern Feed
Modern Feed has several thousand episodes of nearly 3000 shows in about 80 categories across 800 networks. And if you want to watch stuff on your iPhone/iPod, you have roughly 500 shows from which to choose.

MovieFather, MovieTVOnline, VStream, and XOXOMovie
Movies, movies, and more movies -- from those that are about to open or just opened in theaters to ones that were just released on DVD to older films -- all online and all for free. (Note: I do not know how these sites come to have access to these movies and I don't want to know. Nor do I condone copyright infringement. I am simply offering information about these sites. Use it how you will.)

SlashControl
SlashControl is the AOL site that, as of this writing, has 81,352 free online videos, including TV shows and movies (clips and full length). It's a lot like Fancast, Hulu, and the other portals and better in at least this respect: browsing is so much simpler and easier on the eyes.

Sling.com
Sling has content from Hulu plus CBS, CollegeHumor, Reuters, and the Associated Press.

TV.com
TV.com is from CBS so much of its programming is from the Tiffany Network and the CW. To me, it's a combination of (wanna-be) Hulu, TV Guide, and Facebook. If you're interested in social networking while browsing or viewing programs, this is a good place. Note: If you want to watch episodes of Big Bang Theory and The Mentalist, you'll have to go elsewhere because CBS is not streaming these programs.

TVCorn
If you're looking for a recent episode of your favorite show but can't find it on the network's site, Hulu, or elsewhere, try TVCorn. It has every episode of every season for quite a few shows, and every episode of one or more seasons for all others.

TV-Video.net
This is one of my favorite sites. It has every episode of every season for some of my favorite broadcast, basic cable and pay cable shows, including Entourage, Family Guy, Grey's Anatomy, House, The Office, Rome, and Weeds.

Veoh
In addition to network- and studio-produced TV shows and movies, Veoh has web series and thousands of videos. You can also upload your own content. It's one of the best sites out there for video entertainment online.

WatchTVSitcoms.com
I use this site for movies, not for TV shows, because you have to install Zanga in order to view the latter. It's similar to the other movie sites that have new and recently-released movies: And if you're interested, the site also has music (not videos but MP3s), games, and videos of sporting events..

Yidio
TV shows, movies, anime, videos, music videos, and news clips (national, local, international, sports, celebrities). As if all this weren't enough, they also have games.

House on DVD -- On Sale at Amazon



House: Seasons 1-5

Blinkx
Blinkx is a video search engine. If you can't find what you want to watch anywhere else, try Blinkx.

Joox
Joox is a site that bookmarks videos found online. Divx and/or steamplug plug-ins are required to view the TV shows and movies.

SideReel
Sidereel is more of an entertainment guide than video viewing site. However, when you're not sure about which site has the episode you want, Sidereel lets you know where you can find it, whether it's the network's site or Hulu, or even iTunes or Amazon.

TV Guide
The list wouldn't be complete without TV Guide, the preeminent site to find out which show is on which station at which time in your broadcast, cable, or satellite viewing area.

Lest we forget, here are some other well-known sites where you can watch TV programs, program clips, movies, and trailers.

Amazon Free TV
AOL Video
MSN Video
MySpace Video
Yahoo TV
YouTube

If you already have a subscription, then you know Netflix streams 17,000 movies and TV shows that you can watch on your computer or TV (high-speed Internet connection and Netflix-ready device required). If you don't have one and are willing to spend $8.99/month, it's well worth it (imho). In addition to getting DVDs by mail, you also have access to the Netflix video-on-demand service (free with your subscription), which comes in very handy, especially during those hours when infomercials rule the broadcast and cable channels.

If you're willing to pay a few bucks for high-quality video on demand without the need for a subscription, then check out iTunes and Amazon Video on Demand.

Top 100 Movies on iTunes
Top 100 TV Shows on iTunes
Movie Rentals at Amazon Video on Demand
New TV Episodes at Amazon Video on Demand

There are several sites that have links to online TV channels from around the world, including:

BeelineTV
ChannelChooser
Freetube
StreamingTheNet
WWITV

If you're interested in foreign cultures and languages, these sites are great places to watch as the locals watch.

Depending on what you want to watch, online viewing can have its drawbacks.

At sites that have recently-released and new programs, most notably those that have movies and TV shows from sources other than the producers or their legitimate content partners:

• They often split a movie into two or more parts, where Part 2 may not pick up right where Part 1 left off, so you may miss a critical, plot-forwarding part.


• The audio and video may not be in sync.


• The audio and/or video quality can be terrible.

As for the other sites:

• The video and audio quality varies by site, although most of what I have experienced is pretty terrific (and a lot of it is in HD, too).


• While most of them have the option for full-screen viewing, some don't, which can be a real bummer.


• There is a lot of programming duplication so it's a matter of personal preference as to which site to use for a program that is on several.

Even with a drawback here and a glitch there, as long as you have a high-speed Internet connection, you can still greatly expand your viewing options -- whether you have cable, satellite, or plain ol' over-the-air broadcast TV -- all without paying an extra cent! Enjoy!

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