Are you feeling like watching a movie, but don’t really want to spend any money? Thankfully, there are many options for streaming movies for free. Here are the best options.
News
New on Netflix – July 2017
Here is a list of movies and shows arriving new to Netflix streaming in July 2017
Google Chrome Now Tells You Which Tab is Playing Sound
How many times have you had multiple tabs open and suddenly been irritated by a autoplay video? You ask yourself “Which of these 20 tabs could be doing this?”. Well, once you upgrade to version 32.0.1700.72 m of Google Chrome, you will no longer have to play a guessing game on which tab is the offender.
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Official YouTube App Now Available For Roku 3
There once was a time when Roku owners had access to an official YouTube app for their enjoyment of cat videos. Suddenly, the app was pulled and was no longer available. Some Roku users were “grandfathered” in and were able to keep their YouTube app as long as they didn’t uninstall it. Others would have to seek third-party solutions, like VideoBuzz or Plex. Well, those days are gone, as the Roku 3 now has an official YouTube app available for download again.
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Netflix Instant, Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant Offer Fireplace Movies For the Holidays
It’s the time of year when family and loved ones gather around the fireplace for the holidays. What? You don’t have a fireplace? Well, how about the next best thing? Netflix Instant, and Amazon Instant once again are offering “Fireplace for Your Home” on their streaming services once again this year.
Netflix Instant: How Fast of an Internet Connection Do You Need?
So you’re interested in using the Netflix Instant service. For the best experience, you’ll need to ensure that your Internet connection is fast enough to support streaming high quality video without a hiccup. So how fast does your Internet connection need to be? Well, it depends on how you intend to use the service.
Netflix requires a connection that is capable of at least 0.5 Megabits per second. That is the bare minimum though, and the video quality my not be all that great with that slow of a connection.
A 1.5 Mbps connection is recommended to stream standard, non-HD video. If you want to view HD quality video though, the recommendations are as follows:
- 3.0 Mbps for DVD quality
- 5.0 Mbps for HD
- 7.0 Mbps for Super HD
- 12 Mbps for 3D
You can change the quality of your Netflix Instant video to accommodate your connection by visiting the video quality settings page on Netflix.
The recommendations above don’t account for your environment. Your networking equipment may slow things down a bit. So if you plan on streaming Netflix to a bedroom in a corner of your home that is far away from your wireless router, you may not get the performance you expect. Test out your connection by visiting SpeedTest.net to ensure you have a connection that is speedy enough for your needs.
If you want the capability of streaming video on multiple devices in your home, judging what kind of connection becomes even more complex. There are too many variables to say for sure what will work. For an example though, I will tell you that my Internet provider serves a 50Mbps option, and that’s what I need to confidently stream HD video from 3 devices in my home.
Well, hopefully you now know everything you need to know about how fast of an Internet connection you need for your Netflix Instant needs. Feel free to share your experience in the comments section below.
Watch American Netflix, Hulu or Pandora From Canada, the UK, or Any Other Country
If you live in the United States and plan on using Netflix, Hulu or Pandora while traveling abroad, you may be shocked to find that your entertainment options will be entirely different. If Netflix detects you are using an Internet connection from Canada, the United Kingdom or any other country, it will change your selection of movies and shows.
If you don’t want to miss out on your American favorites while holed up in a hotel, you may want to try the Media Hint plugin for Firefox and Google Chrome. Just download and install the plugin and you’re done. There’s absolutely zero configuration needed. The plugin will automatically redirect your Internet connection through proxy servers within the United States once it’s installed in your web browser. Then you can enjoy all the American Netflix Instant content you like from almost anywhere in the world.
Watch the 2013 Super Bowl Commercials On Hulu
The ads on Hulu can be annoying, but with the Super Bowl right around the corner, it’s time to start considering commercials as another form of entertainment. Fortunately, Hulu has a special section just for watching this year’s Super Bowl commercials. Simply head on over to the AdZone link on Hulu’s Home page or go here. Then you have everything you need to critique which commercials are the biggest winners and losers before the big game. You can even use your Facebook account to vote for your favorite commercials.
If the selection of commercials from 2013 doesn’t fulfill your need for advertisements, you can also view Super Bowl commercials all the way back from 2008.
69 Episodes of “MST3K” Available On Amazon Prime Instant
If you’re a “Mystery Science Theater 3000” fan, you may have noticed that episodes have been vanishing from Netflix Instant lately. Currently you can only find the movie on the site. As single episodes have disappeared from Netflix, more and more of them are appearing on the Amazon Instant Prime service.
Since Amazon is sometimes a pain to search for specific items, a wonderful soul at Reddit put together an awesome list of 69 episodes available on the service. All 69 of these episodes are $0.00 for Amazon Prime members.
Most MST3K fans already know of the Club MST3K site that has a list of every single episode ever available on YouTube. The videos on that list are often not very top quality though when it comes to picture and audio clarity. So the Prime service is a very nice way to enjoy this classic series.
How to Change the Netflix Instant Bandwidth Usage Rate
Watching Netflix Instant can quickly use up your monthly Internet bandwidth allocation. Fortunately, Netflix provides customers the ability to adjust the video quality so that you don’t exceed your limit. You can visit the Manage Video Quality page by selecting “Your Account”, then “Manage Video Quality”. From there, you can make the selection that works best for your Internet plan.
- Good quality (up to 0.3 GB per hour)
- Better quality (up to 0.7 GB per hour)
- Best quality (up to 1 GB per hour, or up to 2.3 GB per hour for HD)
The “Best quality” setting is the only setting that is capable of providing video in HD. It’s the recommended setting if your Internet plan allows unlimited bandwidth and you have a fast connection. Though you may want to go with a lower setting if you’re worried about hogging of the bandwidth from other devices in your home. You don’t want the kids getting angry at you for watching “Bridezillas” while they are trying to stream YouTube videos.