Watching TV on your LAPTOP??

[DarkFudge2000]

I posted this same question in the General forum but I'm not sure if it belongs here so I am reposting for a possible more appropriate audience

I am looking to see if there is a service I can purchase on a monthly basis that would provide someone stationed oversees US television on their laptop (internet TV)

The concept would be that these people are not in the US, they opt to sign up for a monthly Internet TV service and they can get US television on their laptop from the country they are in

Does such a service exist from a carrier, how it would basically work -- do I need to install something, etc - how much it costs and any other information. Also any drawbacks to this?


If you dont have any details, please just name some players in this industry that you think could offer what I'm looking for. I have a family living oversees for the next 2 years that is going crazy without US TV. They do have laptops so I think I can offer some good advice

thanks for any help you can provide

 

[George P Burdell]

Bittorrent?

 

[pm]

You can:

1. Hulu - http://www.hulu.com/ (this is the solution that the TV industry is pushing)
2. iTunes TV (and/or AppleTV) http://www.itunes.com Buy TV Shows on iTunes (they have lots of Comedy Central and SciFi shows, they used to have a lot of NBC), they are HD and commercial free and you can watch the shows about 24 hours after they show on TV. Coupled with an Apple TV, this is a good solution, but expensive. High on the wife-acceptance factor though.
3. Joost - http://www.joost.com/ (ad-support, peer-to-peer TV)
4. Slingbox -http://www.slingmedia.com/ (if you have a TV in the US, "internet broadcast"it).

With all of these, I'm not sure if they limit viewers to a restricted IP range (ie. you are in another country so you can't watch them). iTunes does limit to US customers, but I'm not sure if you have a US credit card and a US address, if they will stop you from buying anything outside of the US. Slingbox needs a home-base somewhere.

I've never heard of exacrly what you described - an internet subscription-based TV service.

For all of these, you'll need a computer and a decent internet connection. The only one that can deal with a slow internet connection is the iTunes solution. For a computer, cheap ones work fine. I use a $69 Atom-based Intel motherboard (with 1GB DDR, 200GB HD, and Windows XP) and I'm fine with all of them - works fine with 720p movies as well as well as Netflix instant-viewing movies too. I've never tried Slingbox. If you get something that allows a remote (like an ATI TV Wonder), then you can navigate the computer with a remote as well. Or, if you need to type, get a wireless Logitech mouse + keyboard.

 

[DarkFudge2000]

wow thanks...that HULU.com is awesome....can I hit that site from outside the US if im overseas?...thats the big question!


thanks alot

 

[pm]

That is the question. But I'm not sure of the answer.

It's not looking good without a bit of a "hack" to make sure your IP look like it's in the US.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008...-of-the-united-states/

 

[Deeko]

slingbox - that's what my old roommate did when he was in india for 6 months.

 

[Michael]

Slingbox (or similar devices) is the best bet.

After a while, you won't care as much. If it is just a specific show you want to keep up on, bittorrent works the best.

Michael

 

[onlyCOpunk]

hulu doesnt work overseas, i've tried. just hook up a slingbox to someones tv before you leave

 

[DarkFudge2000]

ok cool thanks guys...however, there's no better solution out there for American TV overseas on your PC??

What about all these $49 advertised Internet TV ads I see all over the place like from underground sattelite and such that advertise anywhere between 2000 and 9000 channels by just running the installed software??

What's the deal with those?...do they work? are they good?

 

[pontifex]

hulu is cool but they don't seem to have any of the shows i want to watch.
sidereel links to sites that host the videos but finding one of those links that actually works can be a major pain.

 

[Michael]

Why do you want a better solution than Slingbox? It will do exactly what you're looking for.

Michael