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More about the BBC  iPlayer

More about BitTorrents

Watching TV is now an ‘any time, anywhere’ event, with viewers able to watch their favourite shows and films on their PCs.

With wireless broadband becoming increasingly popular, it means you really can ‘watch as you go’.

In the US you can already download TV shows from iTunes. Last month the BBC caught up, launching the rival iPlayer for its own back catalogue.

Some people think TV on the net will never catch on, but the nerds are already ahead of the game and there are lots of sites offering services, approved or not.

Our online team road-tested the best of the bunch.

BBC's iPlayer

What is it?

A long-awaited, free, on-demand online TV service from the BBC. It’s still in a “beta” trial stage, which means it’s full of glitches. ­

Downloading and installing the player takes absolutely hours and it doesn’t even  work on all browsers, let alone Macs.

Shows can be downloaded for seven days after broadcast and stored for 30 days. They will expire seven days after viewing.

What can you watch?

A limited number of shows. Virtually no sport or US shows like Heroes because of rights issues.

Ultimately you should be able to watch the entire back catalogue of Dr Who, Life on Mars or EastEnders.

A half-hour programme takes up to two hours to download on a 5Mb broadband connection.

Is it legal?

Yes.

Cost

Free for UK.

Picture quality

Very good.

Ease of use

7/10.

Would you use it again?

Yes, if there was more choice.

Zattoo

What is it?

Zattoo is the closest thing to TV on your computer.

It started by showing the 2006 World Cup but is a members-only club. Zattoo’s offering of licensed content is unrivalled, so beg an invitation if you can.

What can you watch?

Zattoo streams a number of top channels, including BBC One, Two, Three and Four, and MTV.

Pictures are live, so watching BBC News 24 is up to date.

Streaming is high quality, with a five-second buffering period when you switch channels.

Is it legal?

Yes, all content is fully licensed.

Cost

Free thanks to short, pre-roll adverts when you change channel.

Picture quality

Incredibly high, even when viewed on a full screen.

Ease of use

10/10.

Would you use it again?

Definitely. This could just be the service to revolutionise online TV.

Bit Torrents

What is it?

Bit Torrents are file-sharing protocols used by lots of sites offering TV shows for download, not for streaming.Mininova.org, torrentspy.com and thepiratebay.org are just three sites using this technology.

You download the desired torrent from these sites  – the torrent with the most seeds will be at the top of the list.

The more seeds a torrent has, the faster it will download. The torrent will then appear on your desktop.

You need to download software to grab the movie, so check out azureus.com or transmission.mk.org.

This software is called a bit torrent client and opens the torrent for download.You are downloading portions of each programme from a multiple number of users’ hard drives.

It is a good idea to download a special media player to watch videos instantly. Videolan.org offers the VLC media player which is both reliable and free.

What can you watch?

Pretty much anything you like from the sites listed above. You can download albums, TV shows, blockbusters, indie flicks, or porn – whatever floats your boat.

Some TV series will be available per episode so you can nab them the day or two after they air.

If it’s a series that’s already come and gone, like Lost Series 1, you can often find one file that contains all the episodes.

Is it legal?

Bit Torrents itself is legal

Cost

Free.

Picture quality

Pot luck.

Ease of use

7/10.

Would you use them again?

Definitely.

Alluc.org and Peekvid.com

What is it?

Alluc.org and Peekvid.com are the best video ­aggregators out there. They are like more organised YouTubes as you can go to these sites and search for anything from movies to sports shows to documentaries.

What can you watch?

Everything from episodes of BBC’s Horizon, to documentaries on David Lynch and the Iranian football ­generation.

And of course there are all your usuals on both, including US TV hits Ugly Betty and Heroes, as well as a great ­selection of blockbuster films.

Is it legal?

They say they are merely an index of links available on the net

Cost

Both free.

Picture quality

Variable.

Ease of use

10/10.

Would you use it again?

Definitely.

TV-Links

What is it?

TV-Links is a  really explicit site offering lists and lists of TV shows. Like Peekvid, it offers instant streaming

What can you watch?

This site  allows you to watch thousands of top shows and movies, ranging from Star Trek and Mr Bean to the BBC’s Murphy’s Law and  every  season of US hit 24.

The array of programmes is truly impressive.

You might have to download a small piece of software, but it will tell you and the software takes only a couple of minutes to install. Then you’re laughing – everything is available as video streams.

Is it legal?

TV-Links puts the onus on the user  by ­pointing out all material is hosted by third parties.

Cost

Free.

Picture quality

Good, as long as you don’t mind foreign subtitles. We watched 24 with Greek subtitles

Ease of use

10/10.

Would you use it again?

Definitely.

Joost

What is it?

Started by the guys behind Skype, Joost aims to be a legal file-sharing service which buys content, offering images close to TV quality. Only in beta stage at the moment, but this is one to keep an eye on.

What can you watch?

In its infancy, but Joost already has deals with MTV, Reuters and ­internet favourite The Onion.

The featured programmes are streamed, and while this arrangement is not quite as free-flowing as Quicktime, this is certainly much better than Windows Media Player or RealPlayer.

Is it legal?

Yes.

Cost

Free and subscription services available.

Picture quality

Good.

Ease of use

8/10 

Would you use it again?

Maybe, for the Soccer Channel’s Top 200 Goals.

Babelgum

What is it?

Similar to Joost, Babelgum is a downloadable, free, on-demand TV over the internet service . It is also still in beta testing phase.

What can you watch?

You get access to movies, news, trends, music, sport, documentaries, lifestyle, animation and fiction.

Babelgum also has deals with Gong Anime for cutting-edge Japanese animation Manga as well as Giffoni and Rushes Soho Shorts film festivals. Recent features have included Ministry of Sound TV going to Ibiza plus a deal with Off The Fence for travel, natural history, science and health programming.

Is it legal?

Yes.

Cost:

Free

Picture quality

Good for online video, but nothing special.

Ease of use

7/10.

Would you use it again?

The number of programmes ­available is still pretty limited, but  Babelgum seems to have got the basics right.