If you’ve never looked into digital Internet TV, you might be shocked at how much money you can save while still watching your favorite shows. When the home PC took off and more and more homes got Internet access, the idea of watching TV online didn’t seem very feasible. Connections were slow, and download anything large took a long time.
With the popularity of broadband today and computers that can process humongous files in a split second, watching digital Internet television is now a common use for the home computer. Even kids take watching their shows online for granted today. It’s that common.
If you’ve ever looked at your cable or satellite bill and wondered why it had to cost so much, Internet television might give you something to smile about. You don’t need that $40, $80 or $100+ television programming package to enjoy Internet TV digitally.
Is it legal, though? Are you breaking the law by watching online television? Stick to popular and legitimate websites like Joost and hulu and you won’t have to worry about violating the law or getting viruses or other nasties on your PC. Some sites use file sharing and other methods, and those are not legal or endorsed by the production companies that create the shows.
So if you want to watch digital Internet television, do you need any special equipment or a subscription to do so? You don’t need a subscription! It won’t cost you anything to watch television shows online through websites like Joost, hulu or the websites of the individual networks that broadcast their popular shows.
You do need a broadband connection, and a PC that’s got enough power to let you stream content successfully. If your computer is from before 2003 or 2004, you might have difficulty. It probably doesn’t have the ability to decode the content properly.
It also may not have a fast enough processor or enough memory to do a good job for you. Anything created since then should be able to decode the content properly. Just make sure your processor is fast enough and that you have enough RAM to handle the streaming.
If you’re unsure, the websites do offer help so you can determine whether or not your computer will work. And in the case of sites like hulu or Joost, you can just click on the show you want to watch. If you’re not enjoying it within a minute or two, you probably need to upgrade.
The broadband connection is the other piece of the puzzle to watching online digital TV. Dial-up is going to be too slow, even if you have a 56k modem that’s got enhancements and speed boosters installed. You’ll need cable Internet or DSL. If you have satellite, you may still experience problems depending on how fast you can download content through the satellite connection.
Once you have your high-speed Internet and your fast-enough computer, you can enjoy digital Internet TV anytime without worrying about changing your schedule around a show or having to pay for TV programming.