You’ve got a lot more choices out there these days than just cable tv, thanks to the
selection of TV and movies provided by video streaming services. While you won’t be able
to watch live sports or news like you would with cable, these sites do make a great alternative
for entertainment.
The streaming services we’ll talk about in this video allow you to start watching
videos on your computer as soon as you subscribe. But most of these services are also compatible
with mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, as well as devices that stream directly to
your TV, like Roku and Chromecast.
Let’s start with one of the most popular streaming sites: Netflix.
With Netflix, the monthly price is low, you can cancel your subscription any time you
want, it has a good selection of tv shows and movies, and you can watch them all commercial
free. It’s also known for its easy to use interface, popular original programming, as
well as its recommendation system.
Hulu is another popular site for streaming videos, and it offers a wide variety of current
tv shows. There are actually two different versions of Hulu: Hulu.com, which is completely
free, and HuluPlus, which requires a paid subscription.
But there are some more differences between these two besides cost.
Basically, of the shows on Hulu.com, you’ll usually only be able to stream the last five
episodes of a season that aired on TV. Use is also limited to your computer, so you won’t
be able to watch shows on your phone or tablet.
HuluPlus on the other hand, offers episodes from current and previous seasons for most
of the shows available on the site. HuluPlus also gives you more device options. With the
HuluPlus subscription you can watch shows on your smart phone, tablet, game console,
and a number of other devices.
Hulu isn’t ad-free though. So even with the paid subscription to HuluPlus, you’ll
still have to tolerate some commercial watching before and during your show.
Amazon Prime Instant Video is another popular option for streaming video. When it comes
to selection, it offers a wide variety of TV shows, movies, and original programming
to choose from, as well as the added benefits of being a Prime member (like free two-day
shipping on all your Amazon orders).
Rather than a monthly payment, with Prime you’ll pay for a year upfront. Also, there
may be times when you find a title available to stream on Amazon that isn’t included
in the Prime membership. These titles will require paying for them individually, meaning
you could end up paying extra for a video in addition the total price of your subscription.
Vudu is another video streaming service that offers thousands of titles to choose from,
but it’s doesn’t require a subscription. All of the TV shows and movies are rented
or purchased on an on-demand basis. So in terms of cost, the total amount you end up
paying depends solely on how many titles you rent or buy.
But since it’s still kind of an up-and-comer, Vudu has a smaller library of titles to choose
from. And if you’re renting or buying titles frequently, over time you could end up paying
more than you would for a subscription service.
If it seems like one of these services alone won’t meet your entertainment needs, consider
combining services for a more comprehensive selection of movies and shows to choose from.