Extreme Video Edition!
OK, I have to admit it, I've probably been a massive media maven since birth! I probably had the first VCR on the block! I remember recording every episode of ST:TNG starting with the very first episode September 1987! You couldn't do that with The Original Series in the 1960s. You had to watch everything live back then, they hadn't even invented reruns yet.
I've used them all: VCRs, DVRs and even a DVDR for recording directly to DVD instead of VHS tape. DVDRs are great for converting VHS tapes to DVDs too. I even use my DVDR to make mp4s for YouTube of old VHS video.
Anyway, this post is supposed to be an update to this post. That was back in July of 2012. My arguement then was that the best way to watch your fave SciFi TV shows (old and new) was via online streaming to you PC, tablet of cellphone ie: not on TV! You could use NetFlix, Hulu or Amazon Prime with your device of choice. I used my WiFi Kindle Fire HD 7" with Amazon Prime.
Don't forget your fave webseries! Many of mine a Star Trek related like ST:Continues, ST:Phase2 and ST:Renegades. BTW, ST:Axanar is a new series that looks really promising! Webseries such as these are great to watch on your tablet or cellphone using an App called YouTube Downloader (not to be confused with the FireFox add-on) whereby you can download the next episode of your fave webseries from YouTube when you are near a WiFi Hot Spot and watch it whenever and wherever you want. Other webseries on YouTube you may want to look for are: HISHE, TED, Ignite, ViHart, Kahn Academy, Geek & Sundry, Table Top, Nerdist!
BTW, it's such a shame that the SyFy Channel is no longer the SiFi Channel! Now we get to watch WWF on SyFy, TNG on BBCA and FireFly on History Channel?
So, here's what's new. Now, most TV channels have an App. So, download the App for the channel that runs your fave series and watch it on the road! You're no longer relegated to just the YouTube Downloader app. So, you have a lot more choices for content. You do need WiFi or 4G. BTW, in a pinch, you could always setup a WiFi hot spot on your cellphone! I'm using my WiFi Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" now.
FYI: I refuse to get a tablet with 4G. Why pay extra for such hardware when WiFi Hot Spots are so prevalent now? Remember the early days of the iPhone and iPad? That's Steve Job's legacy. You had to get 2 devices each with it's own data plan. So, you pay Apple twice as much as should be necessary. That was the business model that made Jobs rich! Ever hear of a phablet? It's a large cellphone with apps or a small tablet with cellphone capability. Let's cut to the chase: I want a large tablet (like this) with cell access! That's one device with one data plan, done!
Note, TV seasons used to be Fall-Spring with repeats in the Summer. Some series went Winter-Summer. Maybe they'd break for XMas or Easter. Maybe you'd get a Halloween or Thanksgiving special and that was it! Now you get 1/2 season shows in the Fall and Spring with 12-13 episodes per calendar season like Supernatural. Some shows are only one calendar season like Vikings, Defiance, Falling Skies and Last Ship!
So, what follows are my genre related picks for 2014 to give you examples of this new way of keeping up with your fave shows:
WINTER 2014:
APP: PBS
SHOW: Downton
SPRING 2014:
APP: History
SHOW: Vikings
SUMMER 2014:
APP: TNT
SHOW: Falling Skies
APP: TNT
SHOW: Last Ship
APP: TNT
SHOW: Legends
APP: SyFy (not for streaming - extra content)
SHOW: Defiance
SHOW: Dominion
FALL 2014:
APP: AMC
SHOW: Walking Dead
APP: CBS
SHOW: Big Bang Theory
APP: ABC
SHOW: Marvel
APP: ABC
SHOW: Forever
APP: CW
SHOW: Supernatural
APP: CW
SHOW: Flash
APP: CW
SHOW: Reign
APP: BBCA (no app, sorry)
SHOW: Dr. Who
NOTE ON LEGENDS:
I was really looking forward to Sean Bean in Legends but I was disappointed. His is the only good character. They don't really flesh out the other characters and the other actors don't have much to do. But you gotta love Sean in LOTR and an old BBC series called Sharpe based on the Bernard Cornwell novels!
NOTE ON DOMINION:
Dominion was another diappointment! I love Anthony Head from Buffy and BBCA's Merlin. However, the plot was slow and Head was not the main character. He couldn't carry the whole show on his shoulders all by himself, I'm afraid.
NOTE ON FOREVER:
By contrast, I'm really liking Ioan Gruffudd in Forever! All the characters are nicely fleshed out and work well together. I remember the first season of ST:TNG. The actors were so stiff and fake! I'm a big fan of Ioan since the film Titanic and an old BBC series called HornBlower based on the C.S. Forrester novels. BTW, in a similar vein, I also love what they did with the Patrick O'Brien novels in the movie Master and Commander!
Now go enjoy some of your own Extreme Video Streaming adventures!
Generally Speaking,
A. Jorge Garcia
Applied Math, Physics and CS
Teaching with Technology,
Great post I didn't know you could stream TV shows with network specific apps! I also enjoyed reading about how you assign seats on the first day of class.
ReplyDeleteYup! One thing I didn't mention is that some of these apps require you to login into your cable service provider. That's why I almost said you can even drop your cable service, but I didn't!
ReplyDeleteOh, did you see the blurb at the end about the BBC series Hornblower and Sharpe? I included YouTube links to these shows. I can't believe you can get these series on YouTube for free. They have other series like the original Twilight Zone and the original Star Trek as well as some full-length movies like Robin William's Bicentenial Man on YouTube for free too! Enjoy, AJG
ReplyDeleteyeah I was thinking to myself I could dump cable! I will check out these youtube links thanks!
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ReplyDeleteRight? Me too! Well, we have the Optimum Triple Play. I'm thinking we could nix the phone and the cable and just keep the ISP. Too bad we can't drop all of it and just have a cell phone for WiFi in a pinch. Some of these apps ask you to login to your cable provider but all they ask for is your userid and passwd for the email address you have with the ISP.
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