Watching Online Streaming Television From The U.S. And/Or U.K.

[jfchandler]

So you're feeling nostalgic for the latest TV news from home, or your favorite sitcom... The Thai soap operas just aren't cutting it as a substitute... And your favorite True-UBC package just doesn't have the channels you really want to see. What's a person to do?

That's what I'd like to explore in this thread, and hopefully update on some of the options available via the Internet for watching television content from our former homes, particularly from the United States, since I'm an American, but also from the U.K., hopefully with a little help from the Brits who are more familiar with their own TV set-up than I can ever hope to be.

Let me start by saying what I don't plan to talk about: I don't plan to talk about satellites, because I can't install a satellite dish where I live, and not everyone else can either, plus I know next to nothing about that particular subject, nor do I want to spend that kind of hardware money here in Thailand. Likewise, I don't plan to talk about downloading BitTorrents because, I like to watch what I want to watch live, or at least when I want it... not downloading it for an hour now and watching it later.... I'll leave those subjects to others more informed than me.

So what I'm really talking about is streaming television content from various provider web sites to your PC (or Mac), where you can watch the programming either on your computer monitor screen, or port the video through a Video Out connection to your TV using either an HDMI cable or RCA cables for video, and a stereo mini-jack plug from your computer's soundcard to your TV's audio inputs. Once you have a decent PC or laptop and nearby television, the rest is just acquiring the pretty simple and inexpensive cables.

In the past, particularly here in Thailand, streaming live TV content from abroad was a pretty difficult proposition, because even the best available Internet speeds from the usual Thai ISPs were pretty slow and inconsistent, in addition to often having the habit of slowing to a crawl in the evening hours here when every Somchai and their brother is out surfing the Net. That, and, at least until recently, the undersea cable connections carrying Internet traffic between Thailand and the U.S. was pretty overloaded.

But, things have been getting better, albeit slowly, on that front. Advertised Internet speeds have been increasing, and thus slowly so have the real slower speeds that customers can really achieve, even for international connections.

In my own experience with True DSL in Bangkok, I could achieve somewhat acceptable streaming paying for a 4 MB connection, though it often involved buffering where the video player has to pause to wait for the streaming data to catch up. However, once I upgraded to an 8 mb connection, the ability to receive good quality video streams improved markedly, and the buffering issues grew less frequent. And of course now, the ISPs are advertising 12 and 16 and more MB speeds, and even higher rates on are the horizon.

So, depending on where you live, and what kind of Internet Service Providers are available in your area, the technology is such now that many people don't need to rely on True UBC for their home country television content, however limited that may be, and instead can use the Internet through either free or paid options to see the things they really want to see...

[chaihot]

Sling is the best and allows you to watch complete content from wherever you choose to locate your slingbox. There are also service bureaus (providers) that will take care of all the details so all you have to do is pay your monthly fee and watch tv (just like if you were at home).

The only key is your limitation of your INTERNATIONAL bandwidth. In my case, I can't get enough out of my ISP. In Pattaya or in Bangkok would probably not be a problem.

Edited July 7, 2010 by chaihot

[jfchandler]

So, let's talk about one available option, for those who are willing to spend a little bit of money...

(And for the record, I have absolutely no connection or interest whatsoever with this service or any of the other ones I'll be mentioning subsequently in this thread).

Perhaps you're already spending close to 2,500 baht per month or so for a True UBC Platinum package, which includes 90 channels, many of which probably aren't of great interest to Westerners...or are versions of channels replete with boring and seemingly endless repeats.

What if you were willing to pay a bit more, say about 3200 baht per month (or $99 U.S. in this instance)?

Right now at home, I'm watching a full 180-channel cable television set-up from Los Angeles on the screen of my Bangkok PC, using a service called a2btv (http://www.a2btv.com/), which bills itself as "Real American TV Wordwide". It's not cheap, but in testing it, it's pretty cool and seems to work well for my set-up. They do offer a free short-term trial (which I'm using now) via their web site (no credit card required) where you can download and install their software on your PC that allows you to log-on to their system and receive the TV content online, sample all the channels, etc etc. Here's the full list of their channel line-up.

In essence, they're setting up a cable TV account for you in Los Angeles where they are located (there's also a $99 one-time set charge for the basic package), and then they are using Slingbox player software to steam the TV content via your Internet connection. They have three packages for American TV content, including $99 per month for the 180 channel cable service, $139 per month for the same cable package plus an online DVR recorder, or $169 per month for the cable plus a high def video recorder set-up.

The software includes lots of controls for being able to customize and tweak both your streaming protocols, video display formats and on-screen display, which includes an included online channel guide much like the one True and other cable systems use, and even an on-screen remote control device, where you can use your mouse to click the control buttons just like you would on a physical remote control device.

I don't watch that much TV at home, and I don't subscribe or feel the need for a True Gold or Platinum TV package. So this package, as much as I'm liking it, is a bit of an overkill for me, and I'm personally not anxious to spend 3200-3300 baht a month on my television viewing. But that's me. Just recently, another TV member posted about wanting to know where/how he could find all these kinds of American TV channels online...and the price didn't much matter to him. So, to each his own.

Meanwhile, the same company also offers a trio of 136 to 138 channels of British television and radio channels for monthly prices ranging from 79 to 99 pounds per month. The full details of those packages are located here.

From talking to their customer service, I learned their packages, once you subscribe to a paying package, require a 12-month commitment with early cancellation penalties if you quit early. For some reason, their CSR also told me, they have a one-time deposit of $199 for customers without a U.S. Social Security number, which is credited back to the customer in the 12th month of service. Also, the high definition package apparently has a significantly higher one-time installation fee.

One nice thing about this service is that you can access all their content without having to worry about (or pay for) a proxy service to get around the government's censorship activities aimed at blocking other kinds of video sites. For me, at my home, the video quality was perfectly adequate for viewing on my 19 in. PC monitor and my 24 in. tabletop TV. But I didn't test it, nor do I have, any kind of big screen TV setup, so I can't speak to that.

[PattayaParent]

^The link (http://www.a2btv.com/) doesn't work HTTP404 Not Found

[jfchandler]

Thanks for catching that, PP... An extra ending ) got copied into the link address when I did my post, thus screwing up the works...

The correct and working address, without my error, is http://www.a2btv.com/

[Digitalbanana]

Your subject title says "There are free methods" but I can only find reference in your post to expensive subscription sites unless I have missed something?

[Crossy]

Your subject title says "There are free methods" but I can only find reference in your post to expensive subscription sites unless I have missed something?

There are indeed free methods. The problem is that they are invariably infringing copyright of the channels they stream and are thus technically illegal. Direct reference to them would therefore not be permitted by the same forum rules that limit us in our reference to P2P sites.

I'm not even sure that the above referenced site is fully legal since we're watching outside the boundary for which copyright fees have been paid.

HINT. Try a Google of myp2pforum

[jfchandler]

DB, please stay tuned and have a bit of patience... There are going to be several more posts from me coming in this thread in the next couple days, including what I hope everyone will find to be a very useful list of free streaming sites for real quality content like CNN, MSNBC, BBC and such that I've spent a lot of time recently compiling (and testing to make sure they work) for my own use at home...

One of the problems out on the Internet is there are all kinds of web sites that aggregate (gather together) links of supposed TV-video streaming sites... And I've looked at a lot of them, and the majority are filled with load of crap, dead links, advertising pitches and plenty of content in language other than English. None of that is of any use or interest to me, or you, I'd assume.

So I'm going to recommend a couple good aggregating site that have collections of mostly real working links to useful content, and then provide my own personal list of links based on the content (alphabetical by source), regardless of where the link is found.

My original hope was to post the entire list here, so everyone could easily access it, and hopefully add and amend it, since I am by no means the authoritative or complete source of info on these things.

But the TV (ThaiVisa) mods apparently would frown on that, since most of the third-party sites relaying content from places like CNN and similar are not exactly following copyright laws... So I'll need to handle relaying the full set of that info in a more indirect manner to anyone here who's interest in order to keep TV (ThaiVisa) happy. That's one of the issues I've been dealing with behind the scenes here.

I'm just trying to lay out the different options, including paid and free. So please bear with me, just a bit.

Your subject title says "There are free methods" but I can only find reference in your post to expensive subscription sites unless I have missed something?

[jfchandler]

Crossy, I'm no attorney, and as I said above, I have absolutely no connection of any kind with that site or any other similar ones. But at least as regards the site mentioned above, I don't believe you would be correct in your comment below.

By subscribing, they (that company) are taking out a cable TV service subscription for you (the subscriber) in Los Angeles, which is within the copyright area. And then, the same as any individual can already do on their own via Slingbox and such, they providing the service of forwarding that content to wherever you (the subscriber) may be via the Internet. If you look, they also are marketing to and apparently making arrangements with military bases/posts for U.S. service personnel as well.

If what they're doing is not kosher, then I'd assume that would mean the whole Slingbox approach to things would fall similarly amiss. And I just don't believe that's legally the case.

Similarly, some of the U.S. mobile phone companies are now offering services to U.S. subscribers where you can watch TV or pro sports content on your mobile phone, wherever you may be and can get access to the Internet via your mobile.

I'm not even sure that the above referenced site is fully legal since we're watching outside the boundary for which copyright fees have been paid.

[2008bangkok]

If your computer is in the UK then you can use the official BBC and ITV websties to view live BBC1,2,3 and ITV 1,2,3

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcone/watchlive/

http://www.itv.com/watchitv/

[jfchandler]

And of course, there are a variety of VPN and similar software programs that can assist one, even while residing in Thailand, in accomplishing that status...

[2008bangkok]

This A2BTV is kinda steep at 80 gbp for Freesat when if you are in the UK you can get TVcatchup for free

[2008bangkok]

And of course, there are a variety of VPN and similar software programs that can assist one, even while residing in Thailand, in accomplishing that status...

Exactly

[jfchandler]

2008, I'm an American..not a Brit...

But for everyone else reading here, what is the "TVcatchup" you're referring to???

This A2BTV is kinda steep at 80 gbp for Freesat when if you are in the UK you can get TVcatchup for free

[jfchandler]

Another similar paid service that I've been reviewing the past several days, on a trial basis, is called USATVAbroad. I originally had high hopes for this service, which also sets up a U.S. cable TV account for its customers and then relays the cable TV content over the Internet via a standard Adobe Flash player. But alas, my testing experience with them proved to be pretty disappointing, though perhaps the company involved can get their act together in the future.

As you can see by looking at the link above, they also offer a trio of packages, but the one that intrigued me was the lowest priced one, $25 per month with no set-up fee, supposedly giving subscribers access to what might be considered the major 6 TV networks in the U.S.: ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS and CW. (If nothing else, that would be great for catching primetime TV series and network pro sports broadcasts). They also offer two other much more expensive packages, similar to the A2BTV.com reviewed above, that offer 65 and 200 channels, respectively. USATVAbroad doesn't offer free trials, but they did offer a 3-day, $5 trial of their basic "Essential" package which I signed up for and tested the past several days. On their web site, they say you need to be either a U.S. citizen or have a U.S. address in order to qualify for an account. Like A2BTV, USATV doesn't require the use of any proxy or VPNs to work here in LOS.

First, the good: their Flash based streaming service worked fine, and the picture quality was good. Their player includes an onscreen volume control, a simple button to toggle between windowed and full screen modes, and an on-screen program guide adjacent to the video window. It was easy to change channels by simply clicking the desired channel icon on the screen, and they also had a separate button for "high-res" mode, though I didn't notice much difference in that. Their on-screen interface is clean, uncluttered and easy to use. As in turns out, the cable system they feed to customers originates from Pennsylvania, so apart from the national network content, you unfortunately get local news and related stuff from an area not many people are likely to be interested in. That's about all I can report that's good.

Now the bad: From the start of my trial, though I initially wasn't sure why, I could only receive the PBS, CW and sometimes the Fox channels. The ABC, CBS and NBC channels were absolutely dark with no picture and no sound. I tinkered around a bit, thinking maybe I was doing something wrong. But eventually as I became familiar with their set-up I realized it was nothing at my end. So I waited a bit, thinking maybe it was just a temporary glitch. And then after some hours, with the problem remaining, I sent a customer service email to their support desk asking about the problem. Another 12 hours or so passed--and still none of the Big 3 channels--before I got an emailed response saying "apparently" some of their equipment had gone down, but they should have things restored by the end of the day and they were extending my trial for an extra couple days... OK, I figured, everyplace has problems sometime... So I waited.

Then some hours later, with still nothing from the Big 3 networks, I got another email from the same technical support guy there saying, to my amazement, that they were having to take their entire system down until August 1 (3 weeks into the future) "to make some upgrades to increase system capacity." That sounds pretty improbable to me, frankly, but it did end my trial and my log-in no longer worked at all since they had canceled my trial, and they promised to issue a credit card refund for my $5 trial payment.

As of today, they've now put up a message on their "Essential" plan web page saying that plan will be "unavailable for new signups" until August 1. Of course, they don't say anything to what would have happened to their existing "Essential" plan customers. But even more strangely, their web sites for the other two more expensive plans don't have that message and don't say anything about any problem. So it almost would lead one to think their other two services might somehow still be operating. Frankly, I don't know, but now that I see how they've posted on their web site, I'll probably send an email back to their tech support guy asking is their whole system down, or somehow only the Essential plan part.

In any event, I liked their set-up and the video was clear and easy to use. And while I personally am not in the market for a $100 a month TV streaming subscription, if it really worked, I might think it worthwhile and of value to shell out $25 a month (about 800 baht) to get unlimited access to the Big 6 U.S. TV networks. However, needless to say, my initial encounter with them hasn't gone too smoothly, and it would make me a bit cautious of using them in the future.

Edited July 9, 2010 by jfchandler

[joncl]

I do love the reviews to date, please keep them up. Meanwhile you could try this if you can. Windows 7 and or Vista (if you have it) via windows media center and a free proxy.

[jfchandler]

Jon, maybe you can PM me with what exactly you're suggesting...

I have PCs at home running Win 7, Win Vista and Win XP... And my Win 7 machine has Media Center installed on it.

I also have access to paid VPNs, but I don't use free proxies...

I do love the reviews to date, please keep them up. Meanwhile you could try this if you can. Windows 7 and or Vista (if you have it) via windows media center and a free proxy.

[joncl]

well all the networks you mention above (CW, ABC, NBC, CBS etc etc) are already setup in the Windows Media Center on Win7 Home (well it on mine), so all you need is a proxy (free or paid) to access them and watch in WMC.

[jfchandler]

Another quite good TV streaming web site that specializes in network news channels is Livestation.com. Most of the content is free and easy to access.

There are a couple of really good things about this site. One is that it appears to be an official re-broadcaster, as opposed to others who re-transmit commercial TV content without official consent. Another is that Livestation.com hasn't been blocked by the Thai govt. meaning it can be accessed directly from inside Thailand without the need for any additional enabling software. And because it's a relatively official re-broadcaster, its signals and official channels appear to be pretty stable and consistent, unlike some of the unofficial web sites.

Livestation's roster of free, no subscription English-language network channels includes:

-- Al Jazeera,

-- BBC World News (which the site says is down until July 13),

-- BBC World Service radio,

-- C-SPAN 1 from the U.S.,

-- Deutche Welle TV and Radio,

-- Euronews,

-- France 24 and

-- ITN UK.

All of those channels will play for free via a regular web browser interface on the Livestation web site, but they also have a free Windows-based software player download that you can install separately that gives somewhat more control and customization options. The web site also offers a range of other less official channels that apparently can be linked to Livestation by third parties, but those seem to come and go, as might be expected.

The other thing that many people might miss on the Livestation web site (and it's surprising they don't make it more visible and accessible) is the fact that they also offer monthly paid subscription access to three other major news network channels that might be of great interest to various folks. Those are:

-- CNN International for $7.49 per mo.

-- CNBC Europe/Middle East for $7.49 per mo., and

-- Bloomberg TV for $7.49 per mo.

You can find the details of those and some other paid services they offer at this part of their web site. In each case, Livestation notes that they are an official partner with the content network. The $7.49 monthly price per channel works out to about 240 baht, which is pretty reasonable if, for example, you don't want to pay extra for True's Gold or Platinum packages, but still want to get CNN or CNBC, or example.

Frankly, I've never understood why CNN itself doesn't offer a paid streaming service of its own, since I think a lot of people around the world might pay for it. CNBC USA does offer its own paid video streaming service called CNBC Plus that claims to offer commercial free streams of the networks' three different feeds from the U.S., Europe and Asia. But it's more pricey at $9.95 per month or $99.95 per year. Though they do offer a 7-day free trial. For American folks with a real interest in business-finance, the small additional cost of the direct CNBC service might make it a better alternative to the Livestation CNBC feed that's cheaper but only gives their Europe feed.

Regarding Bloomberg TV, unlike CNN-I and CNBC, it's available on True Cable's less expensive Silver Package that's now priced at 590+ baht per month, but not on the least expensive Knowledge Package priced at 340+ baht per month. Also, in the next day or two, the list of free streaming channels I'll offer here will include a couple of pretty reliable 3rd party links for accessing Bloomberg's video stream.

All in all, whether you use only their free channels or decide to opt for any of the paid subscription add-ons, Livestation is a quality, good option for news junkies, although it's only free major network offering from the U.S. at present is C-SPAN 1.

[jfchandler]

Chaihot, if you're using or familiar with Slingbox-based service providers other than the ones I've mentioned below, please post some info or a link on them here... I'd love to check about them...

Sling is the best and allows you to watch complete content from wherever you choose to locate your slingbox. There are also service bureaus (providers) that will take care of all the details so all you have to do is pay your monthly fee and watch tv (just like if you were at home).

The only key is your limitation of your INTERNATIONAL bandwidth. In my case, I can't get enough out of my ISP. In Pattaya or in Bangkok would probably not be a problem.

[jfchandler]

Jon, maybe you know something I don't know (in which case I hope you'll share it here), or maybe we're in different places, me being in Thailand.

I do have Windows Media Center on my PC...and I just went back thru that software package and through all of its various features I can find.

For me, here in BKK, Windows Media Center gives me access to a variety of on-demand video podcasts, both of network news and entertainment shows, via the Internet TV menu.

But I can't find any way to access live streams of any U.S. TV network broadcasts from within Windows Media Center.

If I were located in the U.S., and if I had a TV tuner installed in my PC (which I don't), then I could plug a cable TV cable into my PC via the TV tuner and watch that cable TV system's cable content via my PC within Windows Media Center.

But here in Thailand, even with a proxy, I see no way to access live streaming content from the U.S. TV networks. Podcasts on demand, yes. Live streaming, if it's possible, you'll have to share how..

well all the networks you mention above (CW, ABC, NBC, CBS etc etc) are already setup in the Windows Media Center on Win7 Home (well it on mine), so all you need is a proxy (free or paid) to access them and watch in WMC.

[jfchandler]

Hmmm.... Your post has helped remind me what I don't like about Windows Media Center (apart from its balky content menu).... which is, a lot of their video podcast content is chopped up into small pieces... For example, they have MSNBC's Countdown show under the News tab... But instead of being able to watch the entire 1 hour show in its entirely, they've chopped up the show into different several minute segments by topic.... So if you want to watch or try to watch the entire show, it means clicking, downloading and playing a bunch of different individual titles... I'd rather watch the entire show live and streaming...and not have to worry about all the clicking and playing...

[joncl]

I am in Bangkok with an Asus notebook from over there in Fortune tower with all the networks I mentioned above already in their OEM Windows 7 Home edition, Windows Media Center (although I dual boot to Ubuntu 99% of the time)

[jfchandler]

OK. so I just lost an entire post I had written, and now I'm a bit grumpy... But nonetheless, pressing onward. Another TV member here suggested another service for accessing some online TV network news content that is a pay-per-month arrangement. I've dealt with them in the past, and am less than impressed for a variety of reason, but let me mention them nonetheless.

The site is RealNetworks and what they call their SuperPass. The TV news content is not available as far as I can tell from Real's main U.S. web site at http://www.real.com/superpass (which you may not even be able to directly access from a Thai ISP). But in typical Real fashion, they have an entirely different SuperPass available from their U.K. web site that is located here.

Now Real was one of the original pioneers in Internet video streaming thru their RealPlayer software in the 1990s. But then they kind of fell into obscurity and were overtaken by others such as I-Tunes, Windows Media Player and others. They also used to offer a ton of paid audio and video subscription services including CNN content and U.S. pro sporting games, but much of that, at least in the U.S., fell apart after the Dot.com bust. Ever since then, Real has continued to try to claw their way back to market relevance/prominence.

As far as I can tell, customers who live outside the U.K. can still subscribe to their U.K.-based SuperPass with its LiveNews package for 11.99 pounds per month (about $18 U.S.). It does include CNN (International, I believe). But all the other offered channels--Al Jazeera, BBC (for customers outside the U.K.), Deutsche Welle, EuroNews and France24--are already available for free elsewhere, including at the Livestation.com web site reviewed above.

So given that, I'm not sure why anyone would want to pay $18+ U.S. per month just to get CNN via the Internet, when the Livestation site is also offering CNN as a standalone subscription for $7.49. But then there's more. Again in typical Real fashion, they have a different U.K. web site that isn't visible or linked from their main U.K. page where they appear to be offering a different and more economical set of subscription options for TV News.

The second Real UK site appears to give customers the option of subscribing to only one premium TV network such as CNN for just 5.99 pounds per month (about $9 U.S.) But again, given that Livestation also offers CNN as a standalone for $7.49, it's hard to see how the RealPass makes much sense. I did test the links on the second site, and it appears to give you a working function to subscribe.

Real does offer two-week free trials for their SuperPass services, but not unless you're willing to hand over your credit card info. Their U.S.-based SuperPass, priced at $14.99 per month plus tax, by comparison, appears to offer little or no live TV news content.

Instead, it includes access to an online movies library, unspecified CBS television shows, 10 music monthly downloads from Real's Rhapsody music store, a PC game to download each month, and CD-DVD burning capability through an enhanced version of their RealPlayer software.

The U.S. site also indicates that other content partners for their U.S. SuperPass are the Animal Planet, Discovery, National Geographic and TLC cable channels. But what exactly SuperPass subscribers get from those content providers (live streams or podcasts or what) isn't spelled out on their pre-subscription web pages, which is another tendency common with Real.

For all those reasons, it's hard to find a reason to recommend them or paying for their service. But I'm certainly open to anyone else giving me legitimate reasons why my assessment might be wrong.

Edited July 9, 2010 by jfchandler

[2008bangkok]

2008, I'm an American..not a Brit...

But for everyone else reading here, what is the "TVcatchup" you're referring to???

This A2BTV is kinda steep at 80 gbp for Freesat when if you are in the UK you can get TVcatchup for free

TV Catchup is a free site that have the majority of the free view channels that are available in the uK, to my knowledge they have actually teamed up with the broacasters so this is why they offer it for free while other sites like the A2BTV are charging 80.. www.tvcatchup.com

[jfchandler]

WOW, that's kind of cool. I quickly counted about 38 different UK TV channels that are available thru www.tvcatchup.com.

However, to use it, you do have to sign-up/register on their site and have a UK IP address.

When I tried, however, it said the site "was not compatible with" the name of my ISP...even with a UK IP.

Edited July 9, 2010 by jfchandler

[Digitalbanana]

Suggest you catch up reading the myp2p forum alluded to earlier if you want to know all about UK TV. You'll probably get results faster.

[jfchandler]

First a bit of an update regarding the USATVAbroad service I reviewed earlier in post #39...

In response to my email, their customer service folks responded that indeed their higher priced "Enhanced" ($99 per month for 65 channels) and "Premium" ($199 per month for 200+ channels) are continuing to operate and are not down, unlike their Essential package. And, in response to my email, they gave me a complimentary trial of their "Enhanced" package that I've been testing during the past several days.

To my surprise, unlike their Flash-video based "Essential" package of the six major U.S. networks that I reviewed in post #39, the two higher priced packages are delivered entirely different and via the same Slingbox player technology used by the other similar provider I also reviewed above, A2BTV.com. So both companies are using the same delivery method, although A2BTV's feed is coming from Los Angeles, whereas even the higher priced feeds from USATVAbroad are coming from Pennsylvania.

Between the Flash video and the Slingbox approach, here in BKK with my True 8 mb connection, I definitely got better and smoother video quality thru the Flash video method. It was clear and crisp and had no skips, albeit on a plan that only offers the six major U.S. broadcast networks. On the two different companies' Slingbox technologies, I got a lot of fuzziness, especially when the video had a lot of movement, and my feed rates from them seemed to bounce around between 125 and 250 Kbps. Setting the video feed to anything more than 320 x 240 pixels incoming resulted in a lot of degradation...though that feed displayed fine on my 24 in desktop TV.

It's an unscientific impression, but after trying both, I had the feeling I got somewhat better video quality from the A2BTV feed, perhaps because it's originating from the West Coast, which usually had better Internet connection speeds to Thailand than sites on the East Coast. But I think a lot also has to do with the nature of the video you're watching, and whether it contains much motion or does not. In either event, the Flash video from USATVAbroad (which is now down for all of July) had much better quality and was the lowest priced option among the group.

After that, the best deal among them clearly is the $99 a month "Full Ticket" package from A2BTV.com that includes 180 channels. The $99 package from USATVAbroad includes only 65 channels of so-called basic cable. I also had a good customer service experience with A2BTV, when one of their tech's used online chat to talk me through setting up the required Slingbox software, and including their server details and such.

Re USATVAbroad and their "Essential" plan, I'm wondering whether it will return in a Flash-based environment or something different instead. The company's web site for the "Essential" plan now talks about new features being DVR/time delayed viewing and set-top box options "coming soon." We'll see...

If you folks are aware of or using other similar services out there, please post about them here with name and link.

[jfchandler]

Lastly, for today at least, I've finished work -- at least for now -- on my roundup list of online streaming links for major U.S. TV networks and some UK ones as well...

Apparently, it would not be deemed acceptable (due to copyright issues) by the Thai Visa folks for me to post the full list here, which was my original preference.

So instead, if anyone would like a copy of the list (which is contained in an .htm file for easy opening and access in your browser), just PM me and I'll return the file as an attachment in the PM reply.

As I say in the list document, a lot of the links are for U.S. video streaming domains that currently are being blocked by the Thai government, even though they for the most part have nothing to do with Thai internal politics. But the Reds used some of them to spread their broadcasts during the recent civil unrest, and that means formerly accessible domains inside Thailand are now cut off.

There are, of course, solutions to those kinds of issues.

Lastly, if people are aware of other good online streaming links for commercial TV content, please PM me with the info, and I'll update my list accordingly...

[appleman]

My favorite TV show from the US, even though it is a fake news program, streams all their programs - thedailyshow.com. You can also watch the Colbert Report from their site. For some reason they are not blocked here.

I wonder why you won't watch torrents. I can watch all the TV shows that I like from them. I just downloaded Seasons 1 and 2 of 30 Rock, which I had never seen before. It and Tina Fey are a hoot. Waiting for the next episode of True Blood.