Full TV Episodes: Paid Options

Missing full episodes of a favorite television show doesn’t have to be a necessity when you’re away from home.  You can still catch full TV episodes, even without a digital video recorder or a tape recorder.

The answer is simple.  You can download full episodes of your favorite TV shows, days, weeks, or years after they air.  You don’t have to have huge numbers of tapes of DVDs that take up space; you just need a place on your computer’s hard drive to store them.  Since many cable companies around the world don’t provide digital video recorders to their customers, and many don’t even support the technology, it’s often necessary to use what’s available in order to ensure that you can watch full episodes online. 




What You’ll Need

If you’re going to download full episodes of your favorite programming, you’ll need to have a computer, a broadband internet connection, and the right hardware to run it all.  A high quality video card is a must, as is extra memory to make sure that your computer doesn’t slow noticeably or cause your video to stutter.  Any computer retailer will be able to sell you what you need, but if you already have a computer, the chances are good that you already have the basics required to start enjoying full episodes online.  Full TV episodes are easy to find; you just have to know the right places to find them.  Since watching full episodes of a TV show may be illegal if you don’t get the content from the right sites, you should be careful and only purchase from recognized, well-respected vendors. 

You’ll need to make sure that you have a monitor that is large enough so you can comfortably enjoy the whole show.  With some computers, such as a laptop, you can often use a digital cable cord to play the video on your full-sized television. 


Where To Buy

You can download full episodes of your favorite programming, including full TV episodes from a number of vendors.  While you can find free episodes, that may not be legal where you live, and you should always purchase the episodes from websites such as the ones listed below to ensure that you’re obeying the law.

Apple iTunes

iTunes originally started as a music-only service, but in recent years has branched out to include full TV episodes, as well.  You can log onto the iTunes store to find what you’re looking for, and it will show you all the options at your disposal.  You simply choose which television show and episode that you want, and your computer will download it, so you can watch it anytime.  If you want, you can even take it on the go with you and the family, by burning it to a disc or transferring it to your iPod.  Regardless of how you decide to watch the video, once you purchase it from the iTunes store, it’s yours to do with as you please.  It’s completely legal, and the fees and royalties all go to the right people.

Amazon

Amazon.com is another of the major online vendors of full length, high-quality video content.  Like iTunes, the Amazon website is completely secure, and your personal data are safe.  Your credit card information and other items that could identify you are kept in the strictest confidence.  Amazon also offers High Definition video and quality that is surpassed by no other service.  Prices vary based on the content you’re looking for, and there are hundreds of shows and thousands of episodes from which to choose.

Regardless of the site you choose, you should always make sure that they have your best interests in mind.  Confirm that their site is secure, and always read the user agreement.  It may be long, but it will save you time and money in the future.  Companies such as Amazon and Apple are large, and their sites are not only secure and easy to navigate, but you’re sure to find the best selection at the lowest prices by looking through their sites first. 

To Pay Or Not To Pay

There are many sites out there that offer video hosting services, and some are free.  While it’s true that those sites often provide content of acceptable quality, there are few that are definitely legal.  Hulu.com is a website that partners with several of the major networks and hosts very high quality videos of their most popular shows.  Hulu costs nothing, though the selection is somewhat limited. 

One thing that you should avoid at all costs is a free video site that is not explicitly legal.  There are many such sites, and while they often have a huge number of videos available for viewing, the full episodes are often of inferior quality to the pay sites.  Full TV episodes tend to be very large files, and the compression that they undergo to put them onto a website often degrades the video quality severely.  So if you want to enjoy truly high-quality video, you’ll need to either use a pay site, or a free site such as Hulu. 

Using those online websites is a wonderful way to ensure that you can watch full episodes of your favorite programs without having to make constant trips to the video store or wait for reruns.  Your family can enjoy the full TV episodes with you, and you’ll never be put in the position of having to choose between two programs.  If you don’t have a digital video recorder, or you just like to take your shows on the road with you, using your computer to download full episodes is the best way to go.