The Free & Legal To View Online Resource Thread: Where To See Your Favorite Shows

[GHScorpiosRule]

I would love to know, desperately where I can view Poldark's second season/series premiere for FREE! Apparently PBS, instead of airing the premiere, aired an episode of Indian Summers instead! And of course, all the on demand episodes aren't Free! GAH.

So, I'm letting all the episodes queue up until they re-air the premiere. Which means another month before I can watch the second season.

[editorgrrl]

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I would love to know, desperately where I can view Poldark's second season/series premiere for FREE!

Not free, but you can watch 1,000 PBS shows online if you become a member of a participating station. (About $60/year.) http://help.pbs.org/support/solutions/articles/5000692392-what-is-pbs-passport-

[GHScorpiosRule]

6 minutes ago, editorgrrl said:

Not free, but you can watch 1,000 PBS shows online if you become a member of a participating station. (About $60/year.) http://help.pbs.org/support/solutions/articles/5000692392-what-is-pbs-passport-

Yeah, no thanks. I'll just wait until they run the episode again. It's their stupid fault that the premiere didn't even air! Though the synopsis said so, but a totally different show was aired instead! And the premiere isn't even listed in on demand episodes. Just what episodes have aired and will air. How stupid is that??

[possibilities]

Maybe they will air it again in the middle of the night or something like that? Especially if it was a mistake that they aired something else in its place. I often catch PBS shows I missed during prime time, by searching the listings and seeing they're on again at something like 3 am, often very soon after the original airing.

Edited November 13, 2016 by possibilities

[GHScorpiosRule]

4 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Maybe they will air it again in the middle of the night or something like that? Especially if it was a mistake that they aired something else in its place. I often catch PBS shows I missed during prime time, by searching the listings and seeing they're on again at something like 3 am, often very soon after the original airing.

I have my dvr set up to record new and repeat episodes. But nothing yet. I expect, or rather, hope to see the premiere aur after the season ends.

[ABay]

I've watched a fair bit of PBS stuff online at PBS.org because of my local station's inability to program rationally, and I've never seen a limitation of content based on donating, it's always been free.  The only limitation has been what they make available and for how long. Have you tried the PBS app for tablets and phones, or if you have a Roku, the for that? I've used those and never been asked for a fee, either.

[roamyn]

On Saturday, June 21, 2014 at 0:33 AM, Abra Came said:

I'm finally going to "cut the cable" this weekend.  There's so much content available for free, that I just can't justify the cable bills anymore.  I've got a new antenna, Netflix and a Chromecast dongle--hopefully, those will keep the family entertained.  And I'll pocket the $$$ savings every month.  I'll be trying out these links--thanks!

We cut the cable cord, got Sling (terrible) and CBS all access (pretty good).

We're not happy, because alot of content requires you sign on with your tv provider.  But we hate Time Warner so much, and they are the only cable provider in our development. 

We can't watch any football or other sports games, unless they're on ESPN.  History only allows you so many episodes of past seasons (usually 5).  Even History Vault only shows documentaries.  HULU has been very disappointing because most shows only give you current seasons.  Alot of shows block YouTube.

[amaranta]

Question - A service called FullScreen has jumped in on the #SaveChuckAgain hashtag now that Netflix has removed Chuck.  Anyone familiar with them?  I've never heard of them and don't want to visit a site or use an app that's not legal or risky.  Really can't afford to get infected with anything (who can?)  but every year during the holidays Chuck is usually my rewatch.

I may buy it season by season on Amazon as I watch to spread out the cost but thought I'd try and find out about this service first.

I've done a little bit of research for ratings and reviews, and found only a few articles not connected with the site itself.  So I also thought I'd check here and see if anyone has user experience.

[kassygreene]

Masterpiece has started double (and at the moment triple) presenting shows.  For example, today (November 13 2016) Masterpiece is showing The Durrells in Corfu, followed by Poldark, followed by Indian Summers.

The second season premiere of Poldark was actually the first two episodes of series 2 as aired in the UK, smooshed together, as Masterpiece usually does to mess with our minds.  All Masterpiece shows are free at pbs.org for two weeks (don't need to sign in), and then available in most cases forever if you are contributing a minimum amount to PBS.

If you live on the west side of a timezone boundary while your PBS station is on the east side (as I do), then you can easily get messed up when program times are announced in Eastern.

Anyway, it is there, it did air, it is just not presently free.  And it probably won't repeat until next summer at the earliest, shortly before season 3 begins (if there is a season 3).

[GHScorpiosRule]

2 minutes ago, kassygreene said:

Masterpiece has started double (and at the moment triple) presenting shows.  For example, today (November 13 2016) Masterpiece is showing The Durrells in Corfu, followed by Poldark, followed by Indian Summers.

The second season premiere of Poldark was actually the first two episodes of series 2 as aired in the UK, smooshed together, as Masterpiece usually does to mess with our minds.  

So then episode two is really episodes one and two? Then I have it in my queue.  But they really did have that Indian Summers episode that did air with the picture of Turner/Poldark and a description of the premiere. 

Sigh.

[TaraS1]

Does anyone know where to stream old/current seasons of the Bake Off shows (UK, AU or any others) here in the US?  I've watched all the British seasons that aired on PBS but I'd love to know where to watch other seasons.  I've always been afraid to look too closely for them on YouTube, for fear of spoilers.

[Chaos Theory]

23 hours ago, roamyn said:

We cut the cable cord, got Sling (terrible) and CBS all access (pretty good).

We're not happy, because alot of content requires you sign on with your tv provider.  But we hate Time Warner so much, and they are the only cable provider in our development. 

We can't watch any football or other sports games, unless they're on ESPN.  History only allows you so many episodes of past seasons (usually 5).  Even History Vault only shows documentaries.  HULU has been very disappointing because most shows only give you current seasons.  Alot of shows block YouTube.

I have always been a fan of Netflix.  They're originals rate from ok to awesome depending on your tastes.  The price for streaming isn't aweful I think it's about $10 if you don't go crazy and if you want DVD it's another $10 again if you get one at a time and you can get one or two a month so not a horrible price.

The downside is that new seasons don't show up until the newer seasons often already start so you are often an entire season behind the current season.  

Edited November 14, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[Writing Wrongs]

I recently got a Roku and spent a night going through all the free streaming channels. A a couple of  good ones (with ads) are Crackle and Tubi TV, which has some old shows I'd been wanting to watch again like The Others (2000) which was very X-Files/Supernatural-like and The Lost Room mini-series. CW Seed also has shows like Forever, Birds of Prey and V (2009).

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 11/13/2016 at 10:35 PM, kassygreene said:

Masterpiece has started double (and at the moment triple) presenting shows.  For example, today (November 13 2016) Masterpiece is showing The Durrells in Corfu, followed by Poldark, followed by Indian Summers.

The second season premiere of Poldark was actually the first two episodes of series 2 as aired in the UK, smooshed together, as Masterpiece usually does to mess with our minds.  All Masterpiece shows are free at pbs.org for two weeks (don't need to sign in), and then available in most cases forever if you are contributing a minimum amount to PBS.

If you live on the west side of a timezone boundary while your PBS station is on the east side (as I do), then you can easily get messed up when program times are announced in Eastern.

Anyway, it is there, it did air, it is just not presently free.  And it probably won't repeat until next summer at the earliest, shortly before season 3 begins (if there is a season 3).

Reposting this just to say that apparently, airing the first two episodes as one only happened in the U.K. Because my second episode was just...the second episode, and PBS never aired the first one. Or do I need to call my cable company, because they were the ones that showed it as the season premiere of Poldark, when in fact, it was Indian Summers that aired. And emailing PBS got me nowhere, as I'm still waiting for a response.

[kittykat]

On 11/13/2016 at 8:12 AM, roamyn said:

We cut the cable cord, got Sling (terrible) and CBS all access (pretty good).

We're not happy, because alot of content requires you sign on with your tv provider.  But we hate Time Warner so much, and they are the only cable provider in our development. 

We can't watch any football or other sports games, unless they're on ESPN.  History only allows you so many episodes of past seasons (usually 5).  Even History Vault only shows documentaries.  HULU has been very disappointing because most shows only give you current seasons.  Alot of shows block YouTube.

Yeah.  We have Netflix, Hulu, Prime and just recently HBOnow.  Netflix is good for older shows and their originals, Hulu is when were watching a current season of something (Mr kittykat likes anime which they have a lot of).  We probably use Prime the least but we got a good yearly rate and use the shit out of Amazon so it made sense.  Plus it has Dr Who, Downton Abbey and Mr Robot, which the other two don't.

That being said I really want to watch the new Top Chef but...sigh...cable provider.  We're a Comcast region and that shit is not happening.

[DearEvette]

On 11/13/2016 at 8:49 AM, ABay said:

I've watched a fair bit of PBS stuff online at PBS.org because of my local station's inability to program rationally, and I've never seen a limitation of content based on donating, it's always been free.  The only limitation has been what they make available and for how long. Have you tried the PBS app for tablets and phones, or if you have a Roku, the for that? I've used those and never been asked for a fee, either.

I wonder if it has anything to do with your member station?  I have had the experience of some select shows being free on the PBS app.  And then some being free within a few days of the original airing.  And then some not being free at all.  They show up on the app withalock symbol which only unlocks if you donate and become a member.  I didn't realize that the most recent season of Endeavour was out and when I tried to see if I could see the first couple of episodes they had they dreaded lock symbol.

[Llywela]

On 03/12/2016 at 0:17 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

Reposting this just to say that apparently, airing the first two episodes as one only happened in the U.K.

No, no, it didn't. The first two episodes aired separately in the UK, over two weeks, on the BBC. It was on Masterpiece in the US that they got smooshed together into one extended episode, causing much confusion in the episode threads.

Edited January 17, 2017 by Llywela

[navelgazer]

I stream MSNBC here. It is free, but it can be ad-heavy.  It airs MSNBC promo bits rather than regular ads.

http://www.livenewschat.eu/politics/

Here is an alternate that airs the ads.

http://www.hulkusc.com/watch-msnbc-live-streaming/

[Jac]

On 03/12/2016 at 7:26 PM, kittykat said:

Yeah.  We have Netflix, Hulu, Prime and just recently HBOnow.  Netflix is good for older shows and their originals, Hulu is when were watching a current season of something (Mr kittykat likes anime which they have a lot of).  We probably use Prime the least but we got a good yearly rate and use the shit out of Amazon so it made sense.  Plus it has Dr Who, Downton Abbey and Mr Robot, which the other two don't.

That being said I really want to watch the new Top Chef but...sigh...cable provider.  We're a Comcast region and that shit is not happening.

Is HBONow worth it in terms of what is available? I also have the Netflix/Prime/Hulu triple but I love a lot of things that are on HBO and never get to watch them unless I am at my parents over the holidays.

[DangerousMinds]

Get their user ID/PW for cable/HBO and watch all of the shows on the HBO app.

[kittykat]

On 1/18/2017 at 2:34 PM, Jac said:

Is HBONow worth it in terms of what is available? I also have the Netflix/Prime/Hulu triple but I love a lot of things that are on HBO and never get to watch them unless I am at my parents over the holidays.

It's worth it for me.  I never had cable when I was younger so I've been using it to watch older shows (The Sopranos, The Wire, etc) I know Prime has most of those too but then I do watch shows like Game of Thrones, Veep, Silicon valley week by week.  You can also subscribe and cancel whenever.  So if all your favorite returning shows are between April and August you can do it for those months and not sign a yearly contract.

Aside from shows they have a decent movie selection (lots of new films that they premiere every Saturday) and a good documentary and live comedy selection.  Overall, I enjoy it.

[BW Manilowe]

On 10/2/2016 at 7:58 PM, ethalfrida said:

I cannot find where to watch SEason 4 of The Americans. It is listed with FX and FXNow but there are no options to play. It will show on Amazon Prime for 3 dollars per episode but I already pay the cable people so it's not such a deal at that price. Anyone have any suggestions?

I think this is the info you want. TVGuide says it's coming to Amazon Prime on February 15th--presumably for streaming since you've already said they have individual eps to purchase/download. But I'm pretty sure you have to be an Amazon Prime member to do that.

http://www.tvguide.com/news/amazon-streaming-whats-new-february-2017/?ftag=TVG_Twitter

[ethalfrida]

8 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

I think this is the info you want. TVGuide says it's coming to Amazon Prime on February 15th--presumably for streaming since you've already said they have individual eps to purchase/download. But I'm pretty sure you have to be an Amazon Prime member to do that.

http://www.tvguide.com/news/amazon-streaming-whats-new-february-2017/?ftag=TVG_Twitter

That's awesome and thanks. Yes, I'm a Primer. What about you?

[BW Manilowe]

23 minutes ago, ethalfrida said:

That's awesome and thanks. Yes, I'm a Primer. What about you?

Not yet. Still trying to decide if it's worth it with how much I use Amazon (which isn't normally that much except around my birthday & the Christmas shopping period).

[ethalfrida]

That is definitely a consideration. For me, it allowed me to save about $225 per month by eliminating cable. The Amazon only series are excellent too.

[ethalfrida]

On 1/19/2016 at 7:20 PM, Cobalt Stargazer said:

If anyone can answer this question, I'll give you a box - no, a case of virtual Thin Mints.

 

Why is Law & Order not streaming anywhere at all? I know its twenty seasons, and that'd be a lot of work, not to mention money, to make available other than on DVD, but not even ION airs more than season thirteen to the finale. I even checked Putlocker, which is a fairly extensive site, but no joy.

I haven't read all of the posts to see if anyone answered your question...  but Law & Order streams on Sling Tv in the Blue Package as well as Alone.

[Guest]

On 1/18/2017 at 3:34 PM, Jac said:

Is HBONow worth it in terms of what is available? I also have the Netflix/Prime/Hulu triple but I love a lot of things that are on HBO and never get to watch them unless I am at my parents over the holidays.

I do what the other poster above recommended and subscribe to HBONow for a few months here and there, to catch up on GOT, Veep, whatever.  I don't watch enough HBO shows to make it worth it year 'round.  

But I thought I'd mention how I just watched WestWorld for free...  There is a new service called DirecTV Now that offers a free one month trial, and you can add HBO.  You do need to enter a CC for billing but you can cancel the next day and the trial still runs.  The default trial is a week but I googled around and found a discount code that made it a month.  The DirecTV app kind of sucks, at least with my Fire stick, but it's do-able for a month of free HBO.  

Anyone know how to watch Atlanta when you're streaming only (Netflix, Hulu, Prime)?  We'll probably just buy it on Prime but it's such a short season, I'm tempted to wait til it's on Hulu for free but that could be a long time, I'm guessing.  

[maxtothe]

Can anybody help me locate any of the following UK episodes in a form I can watch on my Win 10 laptop using either Microsoft Edge web browser or Windows Media Player – I need to use these players as they are capable of casting to my TV via my WDTVLive, whereas other players (such as ITunes) are not ...
- Call the Midwife S05 E7 and E8
- Black Work S01 E3
- Broadchurch S03 E8
- Silent Witness S19 E1 and E2
If I can't locate these, I'll definitely be in the doghouse!!
Thx in advance

[bmasters9]

10 minutes ago, maxtothe said:

Can anybody help me locate any of the following UK episodes in a form I can watch on my Win 10 laptop using either Microsoft Edge web browser or Windows Media Player – I need to use these players as they are capable of casting to my TV via my WDTVLive, whereas other players (such as ITunes) are not ...
- Call the Midwife S05 E7 and E8
- Black Work S01 E3
- Broadchurch S03 E8
- Silent Witness S19 E1 and E2
If I can't locate these, I'll definitely be in the doghouse!!
Thx in advance

I found one of the episodes you were looking for on YouTube-- Episode 8 of the fifth season of Call The Midwife. You can download it from SaveTube in an MP4, and MP4s play in Windows Media Player. Will this work?

Edited May 10, 2017 by bmasters9

[HunterHunted]

On 1/25/2017 at 11:17 AM, Winston9-DT3 said:

I do what the other poster above recommended and subscribe to HBONow for a few months here and there, to catch up on GOT, Veep, whatever.  I don't watch enough HBO shows to make it worth it year 'round.  

But I thought I'd mention how I just watched WestWorld for free...  There is a new service called DirecTV Now that offers a free one month trial, and you can add HBO.  You do need to enter a CC for billing but you can cancel the next day and the trial still runs.  The default trial is a week but I googled around and found a discount code that made it a month.  The DirecTV app kind of sucks, at least with my Fire stick, but it's do-able for a month of free HBO.  

Anyone know how to watch Atlanta when you're streaming only (Netflix, Hulu, Prime)?  We'll probably just buy it on Prime but it's such a short season, I'm tempted to wait til it's on Hulu for free but that could be a long time, I'm guessing.  

You can also add HBO to your Prime subscriptions. I've added Starz. You can stream Atlanta on Hulu, but FX is launching their own service. 

https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/7/16106354/fx-streaming-service-ad-free-plus-comcast

[shapeshifter]

For those wanting to slog through Ken Burns' currently airing, 18-hour The Vietnam War at your own pace and time, see here: http://www.pbs.org/show/vietnam-war-not-edited/

[Just Here]

Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel will be available for free this (extended) weekend (January 12th through  15th). 

From Variety:

Quote

[Amazon] announced Thursday that “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” will be available to stream at no cost starting Friday, January 12 at 12:01am local time and concluding at 11:59pm local time Monday, January 15, using the Prime Video app for TVs, connected devices including the Fire TV and mobile devices, and online.

The move comes after the series won two Golden Globe awards for its freshman season: one for Best Musical or Comedy TV Series and another for series star Rachel Brosnahan, who won the award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy TV Series.

Edited January 11, 2018 by Just Here

[weyrbunny]

Huh. I did not know this thread existed. To contribute to the cord-cutting cause, here are some other free streaming sites:

go90.com

Verizon's attempt to compete. Skip past the teen melodramas and "web-isodes", etc. and you find a mix of 80's-90's classic movies and more recent TV--every episode of Veronica Mars and Fringe, for example. And anime like FMA: Brotherhood and Durarara!!.

CWseed.com

It was the only place I could find Aliens in America. Mentioned here before, but FYI, it has "hidden" shows like AiA not listed in their search or menus. If you're looking for older CW, WB, or CBS shows, google them or edit the CWseed URL to check. I don't know why Max Headroom is on there, but I'm glad it is. And also Pushing Daisies. Some shows have ads, some don't.

Acorn.tv

Free via login from the public library, if your library subscribes, or seems to have free trials often. Has a spectrum of modern British shows and movies--the way BBC America used to be. Includes hard-to-find Masterpiece Theatre classics like The Flame Trees of Thika, too.

hoopladigital.com

Free with a library card. Regular rotation of BBC shows, Canadian shows, things you find at a public library. At one point, it had a ton of Starz shows--every episode of Spartacus and the like--but that must have ended in 2017.

YahooView

BTW, Hulu still offers free TV episodes... on YahooView. Pluto.tv also partnered with Hulu, but I tired of it (ads) and haven't used it in months. There are just so many other options.

Like Tumblr. You can watch the cult show Other Space free on Tumblr. Which, if you want to laugh, you should do.

Edited February 18, 2018 by weyrbunny

[ratgirlagogo]

17 hours ago, weyrbunny said:

hoopladigital.com

Free with a library card. Regular rotation of BBC shows, Canadian shows, things you find at a public library. At one point, it had a ton of Starz shows--every episode of Spartacus and the like--but that must have ended in 2017.

Interesting.  I work for the New York Public Library and we don't subscribe to this ( neither does the Brooklyn Public Library or the Queens Public Library).   NYPL subscribes to Kanopy, which has a limited version of the Criterion Collection and a lot of documentaries and arthouse films.   I will suggest it to my overlords.

[weyrbunny]

Hoopla has plenty to offer—the James McAvoy years of Shameless UK, anyone?—though the player will lock up sometimes. My sense is that Hoopla, and libraries, are struggling to keep up with demand, and so they add more caps with each passing year. I’m trying to enjoy it while it lasts.

Two sites that I forgot…

BritBox.com

Includes newer UK shows, and if Acorn or Hoopla don’t have a British show, BritBox might. Not free, but has free trials, etc.

Freeform

The only place I could find 10 Things I Hate About You. Some of the on-air shows aren’t free, unless as a promotion. But, if you’re looking for older ABC Family shows like Bunheads, or even some ABC shows, check here. If you can’t find a CW, UPN, or WB show on CWSeed, check here.  

Thanks for mentioning Tubi.tv, @Writing Wrongs. I’d never heard of it, and it has Black Books! I’m now watching Running Wilde though, and my new favorite word is “Unnece-soirée.”

Edited February 20, 2018 by weyrbunny

[shapeshifter]

June 11 in Chicagoland it was necessary to rescan our channels.
This will happen again here for other channels and on other dates for other locations too.

It's due to an allocation of frequencies to wifi, or some such thing—by the US Congress, so I doubt it will effect folks in Canada or other countries.

I kept having warnings across my screen, which weren't very helpful regarding what to do.

Fortunately I came across an online PSA ( https://iontelevision.com/rescan ) a few days ago that did apply to my equipment, so I'm sharing it.

Quote

 Sometimes a Double Rescan is needed to clear the memory of your digital TV or converter box:

1. Disconnect the antenna from the Converter Box or Digital TV.
2. Rescan without the antenna connected. As with any scan, follow the on-screen instructions or owner's manual for your device.
3. Unplug the Converter Box or Digital TV from the electrical outlet for one minute.
4. Reconnect the antenna to the Converter Box or Digital TV and plug the unit into the electrical outlet.
5. Rescan the Converter Box or Digital TV one more time.

The "rescan"  procedure for steps 2 and 5 above will vary. 
For example, with my 10-year-old TV using a window antenna, it's:

1. Press the Home button on my remote.
2. Select CHANNEL.
3. Select Auto Tuning.
4. Select Start.

Edited June 12, 2018 by shapeshifter

[Just Here]

IMDb (owned by Amazon) has just launched a free -- with commercials -- film and TV streaming service, called "Freedive" (Mashable article).

[Anela]

On 11/5/2016 at 8:14 PM, GaT said:

Interesting, I know it was listed in their Beta section until yesterday, so I guess that's when they made it official. We already have a Netflix subscription, so it looks like it won't cost us more than it already does, but it definitely isn't "free"

Amazon does the same thing. I was all excited to watch something, until I clicked through and found out that I could subscribe to something through them. Their free trials through amazon, are usually shorter than the ones you get with the streaming service itself, so I've never gone for it. 

[ABay]

That is very annoying and happens to me all the time, too. The only positive thing about those trial subscriptions is that Amazon's interface is usually better than the channel's Roku app.

[Kromm]

I just got an LG TV and was pleasantly surprised they give you a range of digital channels for free that are built in via streaming directly to the TV.  

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Kromm said:

I just got an LG TV and was pleasantly surprised they give you a range of digital channels for free that are built in via streaming directly to the TV.  

Huh.
Cool.
So what model and size?
And perhaps more importantly, how many miles are you from the nearest broadcasting city?
(I'm guessing it has an internal antenna)
I can watch a lot of  "free" TV on my 9-year-old LG because I have a Mohu Leaf hooked up to it, but I have to have the leaf in a window facing Chicago, because it's 30 miles away.
Or is it through your modem, or...?

[Kromm]

9 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Huh.
Cool.
So what model and size?
And perhaps more importantly, how many miles are you from the nearest broadcasting city?
(I'm guessing it has an internal antenna)
I can watch a lot of  "free" TV on my 9-year-old LG because I have a Mohu Leaf hooked up to it, but I have to have the leaf in a window facing Chicago, because it's 30 miles away.
Or is it through your modem, or...?

No antenna. It's streaming content.  So you don't just need Internet, but realistically probably a 10 Mbps connection or better. The typical minimum for most services is 100 Mbps these days though.

The specific model doesn't matter, but it does have to be a model with "LG Smart TV w/ webOS":  https://www.lg.com/us/experience-tvs/smart-tv/use

That's likely to be the vast majority of models they sell though.  I'm looking at ads for Best Buy for $150 LG TVs that sell there which have it.  

I just found LGs own explanation of it:  https://www.lg.com/us/tv-audio-video/lg-channels

And the channels included:  https://corp.xumo.com/lg-channel-plus/

They are very special interest channels, not real wide services, but some seem pretty useful.  Although to be honest, you could probably get all of this and more on the Pluto TV streaming app as well:  https://pluto.tv/   or the Tubi streaming app: https://tubitv.com/

Although with something like Pluto TV or Tubi, you have to stage it through your phone or tablet and Chromecast (Android steaming) or Airplay it (iOS/Apple streaming) to your TV.  So really the convenience of the LG channels is just it being free standing and not tying up your phone or tablet, or requiting an extra plug in device to the TV like a Chromecast or Roku dongle.  They're built into the TV already, providing you've linked it to your Internet already.

Like most current Smart TVs it's got Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Hulu, and others all already installed on the TV too.  I've got my Chromecast dongle plugged in too, but don't require it for much anymore.

The big thing I don't have is paid cable.  I haven't for years.  I too have a digital broadcast antenna.

[Kromm]

Hmm. I'm gonna have to use Pluto TV a lot more they've really pumped up their channel selection.  Plus Peacock has a ton of content now too.  Tubi actually has less than I'd recalled, A lot of crap movies and a lot of reality TV they seem to have seconded over from the networks who don't restrict them that much (so some Bravo, A&E, Fox, type stuff, even some reality shows I recognize from Australia, of all places, but the common denominator is it's stuff that 4 or 5 years old, minimum).  

[shapeshifter]

Yes, Peacock makes me feel like the free TV of my youth has returned, only without having to be there at a specific time or having to wait until summer for reruns. 

[Jaded]

I am still soooooooooooo tired of the volume increasing commercials shown by Pluto through their app. Quite frequently it's a commercial advertising another channel outside of the one I'm usually watching. The advertisement for Pluto Vevo Music Channels seem to be the biggest offender right now that I've been encountering. I really like the app but have gotten woken up more than once after falling asleep watching something because the huge spike in volume scared me. Recently I was in that stage between being awake and asleep when it happened. 

[SuprSuprElevated]

12 hours ago, Jaded said:

I am still soooooooooooo tired of the volume increasing commercials shown by Pluto through their app. Quite frequently it's a commercial advertising another channel outside of the one I'm usually watching. The advertisement for Pluto Vevo Music Channels seem to be the biggest offender right now that I've been encountering. I really like the app but have gotten woken up more than once after falling asleep watching something because the huge spike in volume scared me. Recently I was in that stage between being awake and asleep when it happened. 

I realize you're talking about streaming, but didn't the FCC or some governmental agency mandate something about the volume changes between commercials and programming (on broadcast/cable television)?  This was years ago, maybe 90's?  If I'm correct, then it didn't stick, because it is still a problem.  Also annoying is the volume disparity between dialog and music/sound effects in a given show.  

Edited November 14, 2020 by SuprSuprElevated

[Bort]

On 11/14/2020 at 6:44 AM, SuprSuprElevated said:

Also annoying is the volume disparity between dialog and music/sound effects in a given show.  

That could also be a settings issue on the tv volume. They have those settings for “cinema” and “music” and it’ll affect how you hear what’s on the tv, so make sure the audio settings are appropriate for what’s being watched.

[peachmangosteen]

On 11/14/2020 at 7:44 AM, SuprSuprElevated said:

I realize you're talking about streaming, but didn't the FCC or some governmental agency mandate something about the volume changes between commercials and programming (on broadcast/cable television)?  This was years ago, maybe 90's?  If I'm correct, then it didn't stick, because it is still a problem. 

I was sure there was some law about that too but either there wasn't or they don't enforce it anymore because the commercials are 10 times louder every fucking time!

Quote

Also annoying is the volume disparity between dialog and music/sound effects in a given show.  

Thank you! 

1 hour ago, kariyaki said:

That could also be a settings issue on the tv volume. They have those settings for “cinema” and “music” and it’ll affect how you hear what’s on the tv, so make sure the audio settings are appropriate for what’s being watched.

I'll have to take a look at this. I don't think my TV has anything like that though. 

[Bort]

10 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I'll have to take a look at this. I don't think my TV has anything like that though. 

Even settings like “balance” and “fade” can cause the disparity between dialogue and background noise. 

[peachmangosteen]

2 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

Even settings like “balance” and “fade” can cause the disparity between dialogue and background noise. 

See, this is why I never change anything. There's too damn much! It's like how you're not supposed to have 'motion blur' or something but I never see that specific setting so I have no idea if my tv is doing it or not. All I know is, either every show is dark as hell/basically unseeable and the volume of speaking is at like a 1 or my TV needs it's settings fixed but I'm too lazy to figure that out lol.