Australian streaming service Stan has acquired the rights to every single episode of the hit TV show Seinfeld. What's more, they've been digitally remastered in high-def widescreen to take advantage of modern tellies. You can start binge watching this Friday. (George is getting excited!)
Dear Lifehacker, My boyfriend and I have moved in together, and we need a smart (ish?) TV that's good but cheap. I'm looking for something with great picture quality and online connectivity (with inbuilt apps) for under $1500. Does such a thing exist?
Dear Lifehacker, I am a Netflix subscriber and avid user. However, when I am without an internet connection (such as on a plane) I find I have nothing to watch. Is there a way that I can save Netflix shows and movies locally to my device for offline viewing? If not, since I am a paying Netflix subscriber, would it be wrong for me to torrent Netflix Original content? Thanks, Netflix Addict
The wait is nearly over: the fifth season of Game of Thrones will screen on Australia's Foxtel network in under 48 hours. To prime yourself for this quasi-historic occasion, we've assembled the best Westeros-flavoured articles from across Lifehacker and the Allure Media network. Let the feast begin!
Streaming entertainment service Presto is finally offering a free trial of its full TV and movies subscription bundle. Prospective customers can try out the full Presto package with a free 30 day trial which includes newly added HBO shows such as Rome, Big Love and Hung.
Australia's homegrown streaming entertainment service Stan is developing a spin-off series of the Australian horror/serial killer movie Wolf Creek. The new series will once again star John Jarratt as the psychopathic Mick Taylor with the films' original writer/director Greg McLean also returning. In other words, the battle for streaming supremacy in Australian lounge rooms is about to get much bloodier.
Brief news items of note for Lifehacker readers, including: Microsoft Surface Pro 3 review, Audi A3 e-tron Australian hands-on, ABC confirms simulcast of every new episode of Doctor Who.
The 20th edition of the Commonwealth Games officially kicks off in Glasgow, Scotland on 23 July. (Thursday morning in Australia.) However, only a sliver of coverage will actually make it to regular, free-to-air TV. Here's what you need to get 100 per cent live coverage during the two-week event.
The free video streaming service Viewster has bolstered its content library with local programming, including the satirical At Home With Julia. For those that prefer crap-tastic sci-fi serials, the 2007 version of Flash Gordon has also been added to the service.
Livestation is a free TV player application which lets you watch live news (or sport) from anywhere in the world. It's based on Microsoft's Silverlight technology. You can sign up for the technical trial on their website - I just got accepted into the beta myself.Available channels include French and English language news channels including Al Jazeera, BBC News 24 and BBC World, as well as a couple of BBC radio stations.It requires XP SP2 or Vista and IE 6 or later to play - although they say there's a Mac version on the way. It also requires a broadband network of at least 640 kbps - and, as with any streaming video, you'll want to keep an eye on your download limits.
It's hard to imagine any Star Trek fans that wouldn't already have the whole collection on DVD, but just in case you don't - US TV station CBS is making every episode of the original series available through streaming video. You can also catch classics like Twilight Zone and MacGyver. Nerdy!
Watch full episodes of anything from Battlestar Galactica to Buffy (that's just the B's, people) with web site Fancast. Brought to you by cable provider Comcast, Fancast follows in the footsteps of sites like Hulu (or OpenHulu) and the episode-streaming offerings already offered by the big three networks. Then Fancast takes things a step further, going well beyond simple video streaming by integrating movies and other services into the site. For example, Fancast also directs you to Amazon or iTunes to buy a DVD, Netflix or Blockbuster to add it to your queue, or to Fandango to buy tickets if what you searched is still in theaters. The site can be confusing, but it's a strong start. While you're getting your TV fix, check out six more ways to catch your favorite shows online.
FanCast
You may have already heard of Hulu, a closed beta, on-demand TV service from NBC Universal and News Corp. designed to stream the latest new shows from NBC, Fox, Bravo, Sci Fi, and more YouTube-style. But you may not have heard of OpenHulu, a Hulu clone that's attempting to embed every video from Hulu (which is part of how Hulu is designed to work) so you don't need an invitation to Hulu to enjoy the free, on-demand TV. You'll still get embedded ads here and there, but the quality is high and the streaming quick. Seems like the list of ways you can catch your favourite TV shows is growing by the day.
openHulu
Explore the legitimate and more *ahem* fan-driven ways to watch, read about, and discuss your favourite television addictions at Sidereel, a wiki-driven site that also aggregates links and clips for music and movies. The site offers RSS feeds for each show's content, but its best value may be its archive of links to episodes from previous seasons, both on the network sites and elsewhere. It's free to browse and click through Sidereel, but contributing to the wiki pages requires a free sign-up. For more ways to keep current on your TV fixes, check out Adam's Six Ways to Catch Your Favorite TV Shows. Thanks, Filament!
Search for and find episodes of your favourite missed television shows or web-based video content with web site Find Internet TV. In essence, the site is a search portal that knows where to look for current shows and can quickly tell you where to find what you're looking for. Find Internet TV is a barebones version of previously mentioned Tape It Off the Internet (lacking the design sheen and BitTorrent integration). If nothing else, though, its directory listing of full episodes available online is a nice starting point if you've missed an episode of a show and want to quickly find where the network makes their episodes available. Of course, if you're serious about watching TV without the cable bill, here's six ways to catch your favourite TV shows online.
With the fall television schedule in full swing, many of us are back in the habit of plopping down in front of the tube at night to catch the latest installment of our favourite show when it's scheduled to air. That means clearing your schedule to watch the show and then sitting in front of the TV for a whole hour just for 43 minutes' worth of programming. That doesn't seem very productive, does it? Luckily, this viewing season there are more ways than ever to catch the latest episodes of your best-loved shows without becoming a slave to the prime-time television schedule. So forget the fall lineup as you know it, because this year you're going to watch TV on your terms.
