Miss a TV show? Catch it online

— -- A television revolution is underway. The concept of prime time is dying as many networks are putting full-length programs online, allowing you to catch popular shows and old favorites for free over the Internet on your own schedule.

Like regular television, online TV generates revenue from ads, but don't expect to fast-forward through commercials on the Web as you would with a digital video recorder. At least for now, however, there are fewer commercial interruptions online. You see a couple of minutes of advertising for each half-hour show. Some sites also use annoying pop-up ads, though.

What you need

All you need to watch shows online is an Internet-connected computer. However, if you want to use your TV's bigger screen rather than your computer's monitor, you must connect your TV to your computer.

Your computer needn't be terribly powerful to watch regular TV shows streamed over the Web. Your broadband Internet connection speed is more important because video eats up bandwidth. Video sites usually adjust the video quality to suit your connection speed.

You'll need a more capable computer to watch the relatively few shows available in high-definition. A dual-core processor, 128 megabytes or more of graphics memory and 1 gigabyte or more of RAM are recommended. Your broadband speed should be 2 megabits per second or faster.

Most sites play shows directly in your Web browser. You may need to install a browser plug-in. Others require that you download a special player.

Watch out for broadband caps

Your service provider may impose a broadband usage cap. You could quickly hit this cap if you watch a lot of shows. An hour of standard-definition video can be more than 200MB of data.

Also, some players use peer-to-peer technology, which uses your computer to help distribute shows to other viewers. This will add to your bandwidth usage.

Start at a network's site

If a show is available online, it should be on the network's site. Fox, CBS, ABC and NBC each host their programs on their sites.

Many cable channels like Comedy Central also feature shows on their sites. You won't find much from premium channels like HBO, though.

The networks also have distribution deals with other sites. A number of sites offer shows from several networks. However, content will vary from site to site. Shows available on a network's site may be absent from third-party sites. And, you may notice a difference in video quality.

Aggregator sites

Hulu features both full-length episodes and short clips. Additionally, there is a selection of movies. Fox, NBC and related networks provide the programming. You can catch shows like Bones,ER and Nip/Tuck.

Hulu will also help you find other networks' shows. Hulu's search box can direct you to programs on other sites.

Joost is much like Hulu. However, it requires a special player that uses peer-to-peer technology. The software runs on both Intel-based Macs and Windows machines.

Joost features videos from CBS like Jericho and NCIS. There is also programming from CNN, MTV and other cable channels. In all, more than 28,000 shows are available.

Fancast (www.fancast.com) features full-length shows and clips from the networks. There are also movies and programming from cable channels. You'll find shows like House,Big Brother and Star Trek.

Some shows may not be available online. But Fancast tells you how you can watch shows on-demand via Comcast.

TV Guide offers shows from the four major networks and cable channels. For example, there's Brothers & Sisters,NCIS and Burn Notice.

You can watch videos directly on the site. Or, you may be directed to a different site. TV Guide also links to sites where you can buy shows.

Even your favorite Web portal may be getting in on the action. AOL, MSN and Yahoo all have video sites. You'll find videos from the major networks and cable channels.

Kim Komando hosts the nation's largest talk radio show about computers and the Internet. To get the podcast or find the station nearest you, visit: www.komando.com/listen. To subscribe to Kim's free e-mail newsletters, sign up at: www.komando.com/newsletters. Contact her at gnstech@gns.gannett.com.