Watching TV

Its been 3 months since i last watched TV programs on a TV box. Why? Because i don't have one and buying a TV just for freeview channels didn't seems convincing enough and to get sky or virgin TV subscription is pretty expensive. So, i decided not to buy a TV and not to get a TV subscription.Well, it turns out, TV industry has started to realized the opportunity of reaching an audience like me, one who has internet connection, a laptop, no TV box, and doesn't mind few ads to watch TV for free (even though the channels are all freeview ones).

iplayer, a bbc online channel for tv or radio. You can watch live channels (tv or radio), can browse through programs and watch them anytime you like. i am not sure if its available anywhere else in the world but its surely is available in UK, and have been watching live or catching up with missed or recorded programs. It a BBC online player, so it doesn't have any ads, which is great but as its a BBC player, it only has BBC channels. Apart
 from being available online, its also available as mobile apps. Watching programs on the go (going to work on bus/train), has made commuting so much easier and better.

tvcatchup.com, its has over 40 freeview channels, but shows a couple of ads before the live channel starts. BBC, itv, channel 5, flim4, etc, almost all important freeview chanels are there and switch between channels quite easy. The only annoying part is that when you switch channels, it shows a couple adds again, but if you are changing channels too often in very short period of time, it does not show ads that many time, which is a very nicely done, and doesn't make it that annoying while changing channels. TVcatchup is also avaibale as mobile app and so watching live tv on the go, like with iplayer.

There are some other channel specific mobile apps that have come up recently, itvPlayer and demand 5 (channel 5) Like iplayer app, you can catch up with programs that you have missed or you can browser/search programs and watch as and when you like.

I have them all and that's where i get my TV experience these days. I stream through my 2 mbps tethered mobile connection and my TV experience has been very smooth. The only thing thats not as smooth as TV is that, while chaning channels, i have been click mouse buttons rather than remote buttons. Once ii got used to click mouse buttons, online and mobile apps tv experience has been really nice. TV content whenever, wherever and however you want. Be it on your computer,on mobile or on tablets, its available. Whether you are at home, at cafe or on a bus, its available. The only thing you need is internet and these days you are more likely to have an internet connection that a TV connection. And if you have internet coonection, it is now for sure that you dont need TV connection to watch TV, be it just the freeview ones. That's how i have been watching TV for the last 3 months and i feel like it'll be a while before i buy TV box.