In preparing for a recent trip, I checked my TiVos very carefully, wanting to make sure that they both setup to tag team record shows. There was a complicated algorithm involved to guarantee that I maximized the number of shows recorded on the HD TiVo while never over-filling it which would lead to it deleting things before I was back and ready to watch them. Choices had to be made—did I need Heroes in HD, could Sarah Connor be recorded in SD, what about The Office and Pushing Daisies? The dance was an intricate one, but it all worked out in the end, nothing was lost and now, two weeks later, everything has been watched, I am once again up to date with my viewing.
Of course, as I am regularly informed by e-mails, I had another choice than TiVoing—the vast majority of shows I watch are available for viewing legally from at least one website. Much of what is available for legal viewing online (and, as someone who used to work in production, legal viewing is the only type I condone) now looks great, is available with a minimal number of commercials, and is just plain convenient when one isn't at home.
There is, I've noted, one main drawback of online viewing however - figuring out exactly where (and if) the show I want to watch is available online. Sure, iTunes has a bunch of shows that are watchable, but not for free, and for me, I'd just as soon wait and watch something later than pay to watch a free show.
So, here's what I've learned, ABC and CBS each offer some of their shows for free directly from their own websites. NBC and FOX do similar things, but they also have teamed up on the utterly fantastic Hulu, which has a ton of shows and movies from both networks available. And then, there's Fancast (while a publicist sent me the link to them, I've since noticed an incredible number of banner ads all over the net promoting the site).
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