Canceling your cable or satellite subscription and watching free TV online can save you up to a $1000 a year. It sounds like the good old days of doing without, but really it isn’t. Even if you are only paying for basic cable, canceling it can save you almost $400 a year. Most likely you have the capability to watch free TV right now without missing your favorite shows and movies. Here’s how you can cancel your cable subscription and watch TV for free on your computer or directly on your television set.
Minimum Setup Requirements –
The equipment required to watch free TV shows and movies can vary depending on how much money you have to spend on hardware. The following equipment is the most basic way to get free television on your computer or laptop (read further down to learn how to stream it to your TV).
1. Computer or Laptop – You really don’t need anything fancy, most newer PCs and Macs are capable of video viewing without having to set up any additional hardware.
2. Internet Connection – There’s no getting around this. You will have to have a high speed internet connection such as DSL or Cable in order to watch tv for free. Upgrading your internet service from dial up to DSL might cost a bit more but it is still cheaper than paying for cable or satellite television.
How it Works
To get free television shows on your computer just go to hulu.com, fancast.com or google watch free tv online. Hulu.com, joint venture of Fox Entertainment and NBC, offers streaming video of television shows like The Office, Fringe and The Simpsons and many, many movies can be instantly downloaded to your computer
An account with Hulu.com or Fancast.com will cost you nothing and they even offer rated R movies but if you are looking for brand new box office hits then you’ll need at least a minimum subscription from Netflix. Even if you subscribe to Netflix’s most expensive plan the savings are still substantial.
Advanced Setup Requirements
There is a way to watch television from the internet on your TV. There are 2 different ways actually, through your computer and wirelessly.
Method 1 – Computer to TV
1. Digital, HD or Plasma TV – If your tv is just a plain old every day digital tv then you are set. HD and plasma tvs are nice but not really a necessity. Old fashioned analog television sets won’t work without a converter and even then may not provide good quality viewing. At the very least you need a TV that has S-video hookups.
2. Computer – By connecting your computer to your television your TV becomes an alternative monitor. What you see on your computer is what will be on your television. Your PC or Mac will need either a VGA port or S-video output jack.
3. High Speed Internet Connection – As in the minimum setup requirements you will have to have a high speed internet connection. Dial up will not work.
How It Works
Considering this is an advanced setup it is a pretty darn cheap way to watch television without paying for a cable subscription. Once you connect your S-video cable or VGA to S-video output cable and converter all you have to do is log on to the internet, go to netflix or hulu and watch television. It is as easy as that.
Method 2 -Alternative Wireless Setup
It is possible to watch internet television on your TV without having to plug your computer or laptop into the TV. Here’s how:
Equipment Needed
In order to wirelessly watch television from the internet you’ll need a device like an Xbox 360, PS3 or netflix ready device like the Samsung digital video player or a blu-ray player. You’ll also need a high speed internet connection with a wireless router or wi-fi
(Note about using an Xbox 360: If you chose to use your Xbox 360 then you’ll also need the Xbox Live plan. You can also find instructions for cheaply setting up your Xbox 360 wireless networking at the bottom of this article.)
All you have to do to make this work is connect your digital video player to the television and configure it to your wireless router.
At first glance it might seem as if canceling your cable or satellite subscription will result in having to put up with re-runs of Welcome Back Kotter but I assure you that you can watch new shows and movies through the internet. Most network websites post new airings of shows a day or so after they air on cable.
By getting rid of my satellite dish through Dish Network and connecting my laptop to my television I am saving $1000 a year and you can too.
How To Set up Xbox 360 Wireless Networking
