I used to be a huge TV addict. Now because of the lack of time, I may only use it as background. But I am still watching it from time to time to relax and switch off from work. Therefore I was quite happy to discover this (quite old but not yet covered) tool.
TV Chrome is a Google Chrome extension (it does have a Firefox version but it doesn't seem to be compatible with Firefox 5.0) that tunes into live television feeds from across the world and lets you watch various international TV channels online.
I have found it great for various purposes:
- You can keep track of hot news or sports while at work with no TV;
- You can use watching TV as background noise (especially when you need to do some monotonous work and music makes you either too sleepy or two energetic);
- You can use it to relax and switch off from a hard task you have just completed;
- You can use it if you are learning a foreign language and need the constant stream of a foreign language speech in the background;
- You can use it like a regular TV no matter what you are using it for in your daily life.
Have it Installed
The tool is installed as a regular Google Chrome extension: just click the "Get TV-Chrome" link, install the app and use it right away.
You may need to install the Windows Media Player browser plugin and here are excellent instructions on doing it from Google Chrome:
- Download and install the plugin from here;
- Click Run to start the Setup Wizard. Follow the instructions in the wizard to finish installing the plugin.
- Re-start Google Chrome and enjoy the TV Chrome experience!
Give It A Test Drive
The TV Chrome extension worked pretty smoothly with me. Immediately after installing it, you can find it in your toolbar. Click the icon to get a list of all available channels broken into categories by country and type (news, sports, entertainment, music, movies, etc):
There are plenty of countries represented, though not every station is always online, obviously. Click any category link to have it expanded into the collecting of actual TV channels inside. Click any station to start the video in a media-player-like pop-up. You will need to give it a few seconds to tune in and buffer the video.
The quality of the video may vary but most of the channels you'll come across will be at least decent quality.
You can double-click on the player to view the video full screen.
Drawbacks?
Nothing is perfect and this app does have a few inconveniences as well:
- You are likely to find some channels deny access, fail to respond or have moved (there's an easy tool to report a broken channel, so let's hope the database is cleaned up often);
- There are quite a few ads inside the player, but come on! The app is absolutely free! Besides, you can resize the player window to cover up any distractions.
What are your thoughts? Do you feel inclined to give the tool a try? Please share your opinions in the comments!