YouTube is now offering 15 50-minute episodes of classic TV shows including Star Trek, MacGyver, and Beverly Hills, 90210 with "prominent new ads." Coupled with YouTube's newly-launched theatre view, this looks like an easy way to wile away a weekend. [via]

Buying a flat-screen TV is exciting, but trying to mount it on your wall is a tedious and risky process. over at our sibling site Gizmodo, editor Nick Broughall looks at the lessons he learned while getting a flat-screen TV installed. The whole account is well worth reading, but there's one fundamental lesson: for practically any complex installation, you're better off getting a professional to do the tricky stuff.

If you fancy watching the Australian cricket tour of India over the next month, going mobile might be your best bet. Telstra will be streaming live coverage of the tour, which begins on October 9, via its Next G network. Of course, that amount of streaming media doesn't come cheap -- it's $3.95 for a day pack or $9.95 for a monthly. If you're interested (and already have a Next G phone), the latter is obviously a better deal.

Windows/Mac/Linux (all platforms): Livestation, the previously invite-only streaming television player, has released its free desktop client for all platforms. The app cites an available 1,275 channels, but the majority are—how should we say—not essential viewing. Still, there's live CNN, BBC, NBC News, Bloomberg, and a smattering of local stations. (Many of the US stations are blocked to international viewers.) The full-screen "carousel" view is pretty slick, as is reducing the player to a corner and having it always stay on top. After creating your account, you can also watch live streams from Livestation's web site, and send twitters marking what you're watching. All in all, a pretty decent solution to quickly pulling up news and information while you're at your desktop. Livestation is a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux systems; requires a free sign-up to use.

A lot of the discussion around here about accessing online television focuses on US options like Hulu, but many people (your Lifehacker editor included) would prefer to catch UK programming. Blogger Charlie rounds up the options for catching UK shows in Australia, from free-to-air to P2P. The solutions offered for accessing online services like the BBC's iPlayer aren't entirely free, but if you haven't got proxy-based methods to work, this is another option to consider. Thanks Chris A!

Hulu may carry lots of up-to-date US programming, but if you're sitting at a computer outside the States, you're locked out of the fun. The quick, straightforward video above details how to access Hulu videos from anywhere using previously mentioned Hotspot Shield to create a quick proxy that makes Hulu think you're browsing from the US. The video focuses on Hulu, but the method should work for pretty much any US-only site.

Pay TV provider Foxtel is changing its prices from November 1. While the entry-level service is going up (from $37.95 to $40), many of the additional channel options are dropping in price (adding extra entertainment bundles is $0.95 cheaper, for example), and pay-per-view movies are also marginally less expensive. It seems that Foxtel wants to encourage people to spend up more on extra content by offering minor discounts, so for people (like me) who just get the basic service, it's a nuisance, though not a dramatic one. Check out the link for full details on what's changed (all prices are now in round dollar amounts, which is sensible). Would rising prices put you off pay TV? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Having recently complained about the haphazard approach being taken to Australia's proposed digital TV switchover, it's good to learn that Australia will be emulating the UK by adopting a region by region switching model, rather than the more drastic US approach of just switching off the analog signal and dealing with the chaos afterwards. There's also a research project underway to ensure that digital reception works well in units and apartment blocks, reflecting the reality that we can't all live in a freestanding dwelling these days. Switchover is still scheduled to be finished by 2013, by which time hopefully the ABC won't be the only free-to-air broadcaster with a decent range of digital channels.

Joost, the web-based provider of on-demand and live television, launched a browser-based version of its offerings this morning. While users of the service's Mac and Windows software can still get at their channels, Joost's new model allows anyone with Flash capabilities, and a temporarily-required browser IE or Firefox plug-in, to get at the good stuff. Joost is expected to go no-plugin-required next month—nice for those on Linux or non-standard browsers—but for now, it's a bit more hassle-free to watch live or canned television at work, or show a friend that old sitcom episode you were referring to. Joost is a free service; requires a sign-up and (for the moment) browser plug-in.

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Recording one channel while watching another is one of the main advantages of a PVR like Foxtel's iQ2, and iQ2 owners will shortly be able to double their pleasure. The 'Four Tuners' software update, which Foxtel will begin automatically rolling out to subscribers from this week, allows two different programs to be recorded while a third is being watched live. I've got to admit there aren't many occasions when there are three things on that I want to watch, but it's good to know that the update capabilities on the iQ2 are being exploited early in its life. Can you find a schedule clash that necessitates recording two stations at once? Share it in the comments.