How to stream movies and TV shows for free on Android

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Stream Movies In U.S.

HBO NOW

The stand-alone app corresponding to arguably the greatest TV network on the planet has had a bit of a shaky start in life, with many users reporting that they've been having trouble starting it on launch day (at the time of writing, it also didn't work with rooted devices).
But if you can get it to work, then you gain access to the greatest TV catalogue in history (for $14.99 after a 30-day trial). Big-hitting shows include Game of Thrones, The Wire, True Detective, The Sopranos - for those alone, it's worth the gamble, right?


androidpit hbo now
Who cares if it was launched as a buggy mess? Just look at that line-up! / © HBO NOW

Hulu

It was only in recent months that Hulu brought its streaming service to Android, which lets users watch premium TV shows and movies on their smartphones or tablets without paying a subscription fee. Hulu comes packed with current and classic shows, Hulu originals, movies and plenty of kids' shows, making it a perfect family tablet companion.
Of course, if you want full access to the Hulu library you will need to pay a 7.99 USD monthly fee, but there are plenty of gems to find in the free version too.


androidpit hulu plus
Hulu offers a free and paid service for online video and movie streaming to Android users. / © Hulu

 

Stream Movies In Canada / U.S.

Crackle

Crackle is a hugely popular free app available in the US and Canada which is updated monthly with new TV shows and movies. Created by Grouper but later bought by Sony, the app features ads which run at regular intervals throughout the content, but as a compromise you get an excellent selection of media and an app which functions far better than some of the other TV service ports on the list.


androidpit crackle
Crackle offers Android users a bunch of modern and classic hollywood movies, for free! / © Crackle

 

Stream Movies In UK

BBC iPlayer

This catch-up service has been going strong for a number of years now and the slick Android app is a great way to watch TV series and movies. It doesn’t have a huge archive to sift through, but the iPlayer catch-up service was extended to 30 days last year, meaning you have a month to catch up on almost anything played on the BBC in the past month.


androidpit bbc iplayer
The BBC is home to many much-loved British shows like Dr Who and The Apprentice. / © BBC

 

ITV Player

The ITV Player app suffered a woefully bad introduction to the Play Store with it being essentially broken on many devices. But, after turning many corners, it's finally in a decent state. The ITV Player app let’s you stream ITV channels live to your device, as well as catch up on any shows you may have missed from the past week.


androidpit itv player
The ITV Player app has had its problems but seems to be improving with recent updates. / © ITV

 

All 4 (4oD)

The recently rebranded 'All 4' - formerly know as 4oD has a fantastic selection of shows, aimed at a slightly younger crowd than BBC iPlayer. Frustratingly, many users are still reporting crashing and inconsistent performance, but it's free and has some great content, so don't let that put you off. Featuring interesting experimental shows like Black Mirror and Utopia, as well as the inimitable British comedy, Peep Show, All 4 is the place to go for the best of British offbeat TV.


androidpit all4
The All 4 app includes TV shows from Channels such as E4, More4, and 4Music.  / © Channel 4

 

Demand 5

Channel Five’s premier catch-up service Demand 5 is also now available on Android. The updates aren’t as regular as we would like, but nonetheless Demand 5 offers a wide selection of Channel 5 shows and archived programmes to re-watch on your Android smartphone or tablet. The programming quality is arguably lower than the standard offered by Channel 4 and the BBC, although a bit of American Horror Story, or reality cop shows never goes amiss.


androidpit demand 5
Cop chases, Big Brother, and other guilty pleasures populate the Demand 5 app. / © Channel Five

 

Stream Movies Worldwide

SPB TV

The Android SPB TV app is not region specific, offering content from around the world via a selection of weird and wonderful stations. It’s not the kind of app you will use to watch the latest Hollywood blockbuster, and you won’t find NBC or Showtime on there, but if you want to take a chance on a wild card then this is it. A few of the stations definitely appear to be of a more adult nature (how you choose to use that information is up to you).


androidpit spb tv
The SPB TV app features a number of international and independent TV stations. / © SPB TV AG

 

LiveNow!TV

LiveNow!TV offers a broad range of channels from around the world to stream live, as well as a variety of classic/B-movies; mostly a bizarre but entertaining mix of horror and Kung Fu movies. LiveNow!TV is a free service supported by ads and of course it doesn't have the same clout as something like Netflix or even Hulu. However, the live TV streams work surprisingly well, and it remains a great option for streaming a number of well-known channels.


androidpit livenowtv
For a free app, the number and quality of the live-streaming channels available in LiveNow!TV is impressive. / © Live Now!
Those are just a few suggestions for how to stream free movies & TV shows on your smartphone. Do you know any others?


Source : androidpit
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How to protect your Android phone from viruses

Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Simple and free steps to ensure your smartphone is secure and virus free.


Samsung phone running Lookout

Android is currently the UK’s most popular operating system. So, if you own a modern handset made by a well-known company such as Samsung, Motorola, LG or Sony, the chances are that it runs a version of Google’s Android operating system.
You wouldn’t dream of leaving a Windows desktop or laptop computer without virus protection, and nor should your Android smartphone be left exposed to infection.
Of course, you might not think of your smartphone on the same terms as a computer but modern Android devices are powerful mini-computers.
Android is considered an ‘open’ operating system, which essentially means that smartphone manufacturers are free to change it to make it work just the way they want and anyone can develop and release apps for it. This means it is more prone to viruses than other mobile operating systems.
Fortunately protecting your Android handset is straightforward - and free. Read on to learn how to block all types of mobile malware

Step 1: Update your Android
Android software update

It’s important to keep your Android software up to date.  As well as new features, each update includes bug fixes to help protect your phone.
Tap the Settings icon, then scroll down to the System section and tap the About option followed by System update. Now tap the Check Update button.
If an update is found, follow the prompts to download and install it.

Step 2: Prevent installs from unknown sources

Prevent installs from unknown sources


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Take YouTube Videos Offline on your Mobile

Friday, January 2, 2015
YouTube users in India rejoice. You can now download YouTube videos on your Android or iOS device using the official YouTube app itself and watch the videos later while you are offline or on a slow connection.
It takes a few easy steps to download a video on the YouTube app. Open a video, tap the download button (see screenshot), choose the resolution for the downloaded video and it will begin to download on your device. There’s a new “Offline” section in the YouTube app where you can find a list of all videos that are currently in the download queue or available for offline watching.


Download YouTube Video
The offline feature is available on the YouTube app for both Android and iPhone.
That said, there are certain obvious limitations. One, not every video available on the YouTube website is available for download. The offline mode is mostly disabled for music videos and movies.
Also, the downloaded videos can only be watched inside the YouTube app. I did some digging on Android and it turns out that YouTube saves the videos into smaller chunks as .exo files, a format that is not supported in other media players.
There are however no restrictions around the number of videos that you can take offline with the YouTube app, you are only limited by the free storage available on your iPhone or Android phone.
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