There has been a growing trend over the last couple of years, watching TV online is becoming more and more popular as people realise how easy and cheap internet TV can be in comparison to more traditional cable and satellite TV subscriptions. Not only are the options cheaper online they are also far better value with some services offering thousands of channels for a single one time payment. Watching TV online is now as easy as registering with a provider and then downloading and installing a simple software package, all of which can literally be done in a matter of minutes.
In the last 5 to 10 years satellite and cable subscription TV has been popular in Australia. Before that time there were very limited channel options when watching TV with only 5 national free to air television stations. With the growing popularity and mainstream usage of the internet many more options have now become available and people are responding in large numbers. While traditional satellite and cable subscriptions in Australia can cost anywhere between $300 and $1700 a year watching TV online can cost just a fraction of that.
Internet TV is not a new development, many people around the world have been watching internet TV for several years. However until now watching TV online has generally been a somewhat complicated process, with many different small providers to choose from, often requiring a complicated process to setup on a computer and was hampered by slow internet speeds. Now watching TV online is much easier and anyone can get started literally within minutes and wont require an advanced working knowledge of computers. With the growing trend in Australia towards faster and more reliable broadband and wireless services the possibilities of internet TV are finally available to everyone.
Internet TV works by connecting the software you install on your computer with a central computer network that then streams TV directly to your computer. So now you simply need to install the software on your computer which is usually a very simple point and click process with no additional drivers or extra software required and you can be watching TV online in no time. Older internet TV services were operated on a similar subscription model as traditional cable and satellite subscriptions requiring a monthly payment for a certain amount of channels. Now, however, newer internet TV services are offering internet TV services with thousands of channels of programming available for only a single one time payment. So you simply need to pay for the software once and you have unrestricted unlimited access to thousands of channels.
Newer internet services are able to provide thousands of channels of content because they are aggregating many different subscription services in to one large service. So the service provider will sign up for local TV subscription services all around the world and combine them into one service. It is not physically possible to get most overseas TV subscription services in Australia. Even if you could sign up for overseas TV services it would cost thousands of dollars every month to get several thousand channels. With newer internet services you can now watch TV online for less than the cost of a single month with many traditional cable and satellite TV services.
Another great thing about watching TV online is the flexibility of some of the software available. Live pause, rewind and record are all standard offerings. Record several programs at once with the only limitation being how much your computer can handle, not how many channels your TV service provider will allow you to record and not bound by the limitations of unnecessary and expensive digital TV hardware and recorders. An added benefit of watching TV online is that you can watch TV from any laptop or desktop computer in your home. Just about all new TVs, such as LCD and Plasma TVs provide some way to connect to your computer so not only can you watch TV on your computer you can just as easily watch on your TV too.
So the question many people will be asking is why should I keep paying hundreds of dollars every year for traditional cable or satellite TV when I could be watching TV online for next to nothing? The answer is simple, you should not be paying for traditional cable and satellite TV services. Many of the new online TV providers provide you with most if not all Australian TV channels so you will not be missing out on anything. The only thing you will be missing out on is a monthly bill from your current subscription TV provider.
