With a broadband connection and a little effort, you can watch tons of movies and TV shows online for free. Many sites offer free access to visual media. The problem is, how to find these sites. Read these steps so you can watch movies and TV online for free.
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Method 1 of 4: Legally Stream Video
Step 1. You can start with YouTube
Until now, YouTube is the largest and most popular video streaming site. It can also be used as an ideal place to listen to popular music, including current hits.
- YouTube is also full of homemade shows and series of all kinds. Although they are usually made on a small scale, the videos can be very entertaining and informative.
- Sometimes, you can find popular movies and TV shows on YouTube, but usually videos that are popular and well-known will be removed from the site for copyright infringement.
Step 2. Try upstream.com
Hulu is a mainstream video site like YouTube that bridges the gap between free content and professional content. The site has a constantly rotating menu of free movies and TV shows, as well as a more expansive monthly paid service.
- Hulu tends to show a lot of free TV shows, but very few are popular TV shows. They usually present a mix of old events with new ones available.
- There are very few free movies available on Hulu, but they are easy to find. Again, here tends to provide a mix of old and new videos.
Step 3. Spend your time on vimeo.com
It's a rival site to YouTube. Just like YouTube, all videos on Vimeo are free, but users can pay to upgrade to stream higher quality and get more space to upload videos.
- Vimeo features independent and high-quality works, such as artistic short films, as their flagship. The site also features many videos created by ordinary users.
- You'll be hard-pressed to find popular TV shows and movies on Vimeo, but there are tons of lesser-known videos at low production costs.
Method 2 of 4: Streaming from Third Party Sites
Step 1. Be aware that streaming illegal content doesn't mean it's trouble-free
If you don't download a movie or TV show and instead stream it from a site, you are not legally responsible for the movie. However, it's illegal to post videos so that others can stream them if you don't own the copyright of the video. It is also illegal to stream videos for multiple people to watch or download parts of a video.
While it's rare, you'll always run a legal risk when streaming something you don't own
Step 2. Do a search on the internet to find the title and stream you want
There are many other, smaller rival sites that stream videos to enjoy. Most are provided free of charge. You can quickly access it using a Google search.
- Sites that are often used include Project Free TV, Megashare, Putlocker, Sockshare, Dailymotion, and WatchCartoonOnline.
- A good template to search for videos is: "(movie or TV show) full (put *movie* or *episode* here) free". For example, "Game of Thrones full episodes free".
- A more specific search will return a more specific response, for example "Game of Thrones full episode 3, season 2, free".
Step 3. Never click "download" on a streaming site
These sites are funded by dubious and potentially viral advertisements. In general, it's enough to use common sense to avoid this problem, and if you're in doubt, don't click on any obscure links. You can safely open any video you want as long as you know what to avoid:
- Download link
- Advertisement
- Claims that can "speed up your computer", or update your browser (browser).
- Chat rooms, text bubbles, or "made private" conversations.
- Claiming that your computer has a virus, needs to be cleaned of something, or requires "Administrative Rights".
Step 4. Understand how to use mirror link. Most streaming sites are not the sites that host the video you want to watch. These sites act like filing cabinets, having links to every movie and episode to which they also have access. After clicking on the link you got from an internet search, you will be taken to a web page containing a series of links, which often contain names like VidShare, PutLocker, MooShare, etc. These links have the actual videos, and are usually ranked by usability.
- Next to each video there is often a "score", which tells you how good the video is.
- Never click on "download" links, or click on links outside of this list, as they are usually spam.
Step 5. Choose a mirror link with a high rating
Usually the title of the episode or film will be colored and written in bold. This is the link you want. Click this link to visit a new page that has a rectangular video player in the middle.
If the video screen doesn't appear, exit the page and try another link
Step 6. Click the "play" button on the video screen
There may be many other buttons on the site, but they are for advertising. You can close them by clicking the little "X" in the top-right corner of the ads, but they usually disappear once you click the "play" button. It's usually in the lower-left corner of the video player.
Step 7. Use a foreign site if you can't find the video you're looking for
Many foreign video streaming sites are in a legal gray area due to the lack or absence of copyright protection laws in countries like China and Russia. While this is a dubious choice, these sites sometimes provide streaming media (especially popular movies) that you can't find anywhere else for free.
- Be careful when dealing with foreign sites. You will come across a lot of malware and spyware. Never download anything from this site, and make sure the antivirus program on your computer is up to date.
- Don't expect to get high speed when you watch the video. Unlike YouTube and other popular Western sites, most of these sites use outdated hardware so videos will load slowly even if you're on a fast computer.
Step 8. Be aware that search engines often remove links to illegal videos
If you're having a lot of trouble finding links that still work in search engines, click "Read the DMCA complaint". This is a collection of lists of links that search engines should not display on search pages. Even so, the link actually still works, and if you copy and paste the link into the search field, you will be taken to the correct page.
Method 3 of 4: Download Torrent Movies and TV for Free
Step 1. Understand that dealing with torrents is illegal and can expose you to viruses
Downloading movie and TV files directly to your computer is a simple act not recommended because of the risk of lawsuits and catching the virus. If caught, you could face very heavy fines and/or imprisonment. Even so, millions of people around the world use torrents to find the movies and TV shows they want for free.
Step 2. Install a torrent client
A torrent client is a place where you can download torrent files and convert them into a format you can watch. It does not require a central server, as torrenting is a way to share information from one computer to another. There are many clients that can be downloaded for free on the internet. Some of the popular clients include:
- Torrent
- Vuze
Step 3. Find a torrent tracker site
Many sites provide torrent lists, which you can search for by typing in the keyword "torrent tracker". The most reliable trackers are the ones that are easy to browse, have lots of links, and don't mix up with ads.
Step 4. Search for the TV show or movie you want
Most public trackers have a copy of every new TV show and movie, shortly after the movie or show is released.
Use popular abbreviations to find the file you want. For example: if you want the second episode of the third season of a TV show, search for "show name s03e02"
Step 5. Download torrents that are widely supported
Torrents are most popular if they have a " seeder ", which is often listed next to the file title after you've done a search. The speed you can get to download torrent files depends on the number of seeders available.
Most torrent sites allow you to sort your search results by number of seeders by clicking on the word "seeders" at the top of the page. Torrents that have many seeders are less likely to contain viruses, as many people have used them successfully
Step 6. Check the comments to make sure that the video can be played
Most sites provide a comment section under the "download torrent" link. Read the comments as much as you can to see if the file quality is to your liking or not. Many sites also have a rating system that can help you determine quickly whether a torrent is a good one or not.
Step 7. Click "download torrent"
The torrent will be opened in your torrent client and the file will be downloaded automatically. When the download is complete, you can watch the video!
Step 8. Download magnet links if possible
This file is a little different than a regular torrent file. These files match content based on identifiers that can later be searched without using a central tracker.
Method 4 of 4: Making Sure The Computer Is Capable Of Playing Movies
Step 1. Test your computer's ability to stream videos on YouTube
Go to YouTube and select a video that is at least a few minutes long, such as a music video. Does the video load in 10-20 seconds and play without pausing or stuttering? If the answer is yes, then your internet connection is probably strong enough for most video streaming services. If the answer is no, then you should either buy a new computer or switch to a faster internet connection.
Step 2. Perform an internet speed test
To check the speed of your internet connection, visit SpeedTest.net and click the green button that says BEGIN TEST. If your internet speed is below 256Kbps, your connection may not be strong enough to stream videos adequately.
- Mbps is a larger number than Kbps. If your speed number is followed by Mbps, you probably already have an adequate connection speed. However, 0.535 Mbps means it has the same speed as 535.55 Kbps.
- Almost all new computers have more than enough capability to stream video. If the problem is in your computer, immediately buy a cheap but new computer.
Step 3. Update plug-ins if prompted
Sometimes you come across a video that won't play before you download a certain add-on, which will guide your computer to read the video. While you should always be on the lookout for scams, there are three main add-ons you can update: Microsoft Silverlight, DivX, and Adobe Flash.
Step 4. Download free antivirus software to protect the computer
Depending on how much you want to watch those movies and TV shows, you may accidentally visit a site that has bugs and viruses. If you don't download and click on ads, you'll most likely be able to avoid this happening, but you should still be careful.
- Windows users can download AVG Anti-virus which is absolutely free.
- Mac users can download Sophos anti-virus for free.
