Watching BBC shows online

[Quinn_Inuit]

If this is the wrong forum for this thread, please feel free to delete it or move it. If the former, please do let me know by PM, though, so I know what happened. I figured it related to watching TV, though, so it might fit in.

My wife and I are thinking of ditching our cable and just watching everything online. I can build a home theater PC or just buy a Roku, so I'm not worried about the hardware side. (Suggestions are welcome, though.) However, I'm a bit concerned with how we'll get BBC shows. How do you all watch Downton Abbey or Dr. Who without BBC America access? I'm aware of VPNs, but because of my job I'd prefer not to use them.

[CrastersBabies]

Downton Abbey is on PBS.com (full episodes, I think).
Not sure about the others.

[Quinn_Inuit]

Originally Posted by CrastersBabies

Downton Abbey is on PBS.com (full episodes, I think).
Not sure about the others.

Thanks for the info. Do you know how quickly the new episodes go up?

[CrastersBabies]

I don't. I think they're all up from season 3, though. I had to cancel my DVR recording because it conflicted with another show, so I still need to catch up.

[GinJones]

The library. I don't mind waiting for the release on video, and then watching shows in marathon form. I enjoy the marathons. And, I'm cheap.

I've watched Dr. Who, Midsomer Murders, Luther and I can't remember what else on DVD from the library. I've watched Vera and Hustle on Idaho's PBS website.

[Arianna Sterling]

I buy new Doctor Who episodes from Amazon Instant. They're usually up the day after they air.

[CrastersBabies]

Yeah, Amazon Instant is awesome. If I miss a show (like Person of Interest which doesn't seem to air on the network site like most) I can usually get it on Amazon Prime for like 2$. Worth it to catch up if I'm really jonesing.

[Ashwood]

Hulu also has BBC shows, that I know of.

I also watched Downton Abbey on PBS.org for season 3. Thankfully I found out in time before I bought the season on iTunes.

[Torgo]

There are a couple of programs - Tunnelbear, for example - and extensions - Media Hint and Hola - that will do the job. They probably would come under VPNs, but they're easy to use and (AFAICT) legal. I would probably run the extensions in a sandboxed browser, just out of paranoia.

[Quinn_Inuit]

Originally Posted by CrastersBabies

I don't. I think they're all up from season 3, though. I had to cancel my DVR recording because it conflicted with another show, so I still need to catch up.

That's good to know, thanks.

[Quinn_Inuit]

Originally Posted by GinJones

The library. I don't mind waiting for the release on video, and then watching shows in marathon form. I enjoy the marathons. And, I'm cheap.

I've watched Dr. Who, Midsomer Murders, Luther and I can't remember what else on DVD from the library. I've watched Vera and Hustle on Idaho's PBS website.

A solid plan, but my wife and I are concerned about the plethora of spoilers online, especially on our Facebook feeds.

[Quinn_Inuit]

That is very useful information, thank you!

[Quinn_Inuit]

Originally Posted by Ashwood

Hulu also has BBC shows, that I know of.

I also watched Downton Abbey on PBS.org for season 3. Thankfully I found out in time before I bought the season on iTunes.

That's good to know about Hulu, thanks. PBS sounds like an excellent Downton source, at least till the British ones show up on Amazon Video.

[Quinn_Inuit]

Originally Posted by Torgo

There are a couple of programs - Tunnelbear, for example - and extensions - Media Hint and Hola - that will do the job. They probably would come under VPNs, but they're easy to use and (AFAICT) legal. I would probably run the extensions in a sandboxed browser, just out of paranoia.

Thanks, but I think we're going to pass on that. I'm in what you might call a sensitive industry to that sort of thing.