Thoughts On Free Streaming Channels

[PeterG]

I bought a new television recently after my cable box stopped working. And the new one would not work with my (very old!) TV.

I am now playing around with free streaming channels. Pluto has season three of LaBrea, plus many seasons of The Challenge. I have Tubi as well which I will explore.

Other channels I am considering, which I'm wondering if any of you have used. What are your thoughts?

Classic Film Time
Comedy Classics
Fawesome
Hoopla
Zone-ify

Not sure about Plex and Spotify. Google tells me Plex is a platform/application for organizing. But also that "Plex offers free streaming (movies/TV) and live TV channels." And Spotify I always thought of as just a music service, but again Google states that, "Spotify is a leading digital music, podcast, and video streaming service..."

If you have thoughts about any other free streaming services, I would really appreciate your thoughts on those as well. Thank you!

 

[Buzz]

I have Pluto and Tubi as well and love both. I also use an antenna and get lots of free channels.

 

[Bunny Hop]

If you watch/listen to Podcasts then Spotify has a lot, but generally the same ones are also on YouTube, which most digital TVs also offer (and both have ads if you don't pay for premium versions).

 

[Tesla]

Roku channel is another one to look at.

 

[PeterG]

Roku channel is another one to look at.

I was going to mention Roku, but I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong)...that is an accessory that you plus into a regular TV which turns the TV into a smart TV.

Or is Roku also a free streaming channel as well???

 

[ilovepaydays]

I use Pluto and Tubi as well. Both are pretty good, especially considering they are free.

My Fire TV also let me add YouTube and Spotify as apps and I can stream videos, podcasts, and music pretty easily.

 

[MacMadame]

I was going to mention Roku, but I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong)...that is an accessory that you plus into a regular TV which turns the TV into a smart TV.

Or is Roku also a free streaming channel as well???

Roku is a service. So there is a box and then you watch streaming stuff through it. It does have its own channel too. But you can get Tubi and Pluto and all the others on there.

 

[my little pony]

I was going to mention Roku, but I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong)...that is an accessory that you plus into a regular TV which turns the TV into a smart TV.

Or is Roku also a free streaming channel as well???

roku is on my tv. there is no box or other accessory (I cant explain it any further im old)
I got Revry last yr to watch King of Drag. It's free. They have a lot of movies. I am not sure if it is available in Canada.

 

[nlloyd]

If you are a member of a public library, you may be able to view a free channel through your library membership. Here is a list through Vancouver Public Library, in BC: https://share.google/ZJTGnNyIqfWENPjt3

 

[Jay42]

I was going to mention Roku, but I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong)...that is an accessory that you plus into a regular TV which turns the TV into a smart TV.

Or is Roku also a free streaming channel as well???

There is a Roku channel but in Canada it's only accessible with the Roku stick or box.

I use Tubi a bit, they get some decent classic Hollywood stuff though video quality can vary wildly sometimes depending on how out of copyright the movie is.

 

[Skate Talker]

And of course there's GEM, the CBC's streaming platform. You can watch without creating an account, but then what you can watch is more limited. You can create a free account, which allows access to more, but contains commercials, or you can pay a fairly small fee for full access to more, including multiple seasons and less or no commercials. (Not exactly sure about exactly what each level gets you because I signed up for the free account years ago and haven't really checked out the other levels recently.) Of course a lot of their content is the same as they show on CBC network, but they also have other good shows that never make it to CBC, or only appear there years later. Typically that would be shows from Australia, England, or elsewhere.

 

[three fingered jack]

The problem I find with some streaming services is that they don't offer closed captioning which I require.

 

[Desperado]

Of the free channels mentioned, I only use Tubi. I finished watching the web series The Bay because I'm a soap fan and so many actors I knew were in the first 8 seasons. I also appreciate their original series like The Z-Suite (Lauren Graham).

And even if the channel is ads based, I really don't find them intrusive compared to Prime.

As for paid subs, I rotate every month or other month and wait for special offers. My favourite is MHz Choice and I splurged for a yearly subs because it was 30% off and the content makes me feel good (a rarity nowadays). Americans can access the Oscar winner Mr Nobody Against Putin through it (but for us Canadians it's on Prime with a Kino Film subs (they have a 7-day free trial though).

MHz Choice has mostly European series and movies with English subtitles. Love their French and Italian content but they have numerous language stuff.

For Australian/NZ/UK stuff, it's of course Britbox or Acorn TV. Neither offers enough content for a yearly subs for me though and Britbox is now particularly annoying with its expensive Premium yearly subs tier offering early releases.

For films, I'm also considering Mubi. Has anyone tried it? There's also a ballet/dance thing IG keeps pimping at me but I haven't looked into it.