Are you looking for more video content? Something besides what’s on the menu from major streaming services. Well, the good news is there are many TV Shows and Movies that you can stream for FREE! Read these tips below and become a more intelligent and efficient streamer. NOTE: Before you even think about streaming make sure you have enough bandwidth to do so! Read more about our high-speed internet packages.

Join a Streaming Group

You would quickly go broke if you were to pay for every streaming service you want given that this is the industry trend nowadays and everyone seems to offer their own paid subscription. But what is the alternative to coughing up cash for Disney+, Amazon, Netflix, and a few others? A streaming group, sometimes referred to as a streaming ‘alliance’. Basically, how it works is that YOU buy a family plan for ONE streaming service. Then you get other members of your family do the same with another streaming service. All of you then share passwords and plans and you’re in business! The key to making this work is making sure that you’re being fair and honest. If you’re paying for Disney+ and your in-laws are just using it without contributing, it can lead to some resentment. But if they buy Netflix and give your family a profile on their account, then there are no more sour feelings and you both get access to all that content at a heavily discounted rate! Also, don’t be worried about a crackdown on password sharing. Stories of a crackdown are overblown, just need to make sure to keep it reasonable and in a small group of regular users. An alliance of three or four households is most likely going to be fine. But if the passwords start getting shared with your cousin and your cousins, cousins daughters boyfriend, you will probably get locked your of your account and get a suspension.

Calculate Your Internet Speed Needs

Here’s an easy to remember rule of thumb. You need a minimum of 5Mbps to watch a regular HD TV show. You need at least 25Mbps to watch an Ultra-HD show. You’re watching Yellowstone on Ultra-HD while your spouse streams a cooking show over YouTube, your teenager plays call of duty with their friends, and your toddler leaves Coco Melon running on the iPad as background noise? You’ll then have 25MB+5MB+5MB+5MD, so you need a minimum bandwidth of 40Mbps. Round up if you expect to be streaming during peak hours, if your family members like using multiple screens at once, or if someone in the household is a heavy user.

Free Services Can Be Great

Free streaming doesn’t begin and end with YouTube or Vimeo. Sites like Tubi, Much, CTV, BNN, APTN, the Family Channel, Global, OLN, Slice, HGTV, and the Food Network stream shows for free. For the most part, if it used to be on your cable, chances are it exists as a website that has free, on-demand, ad-supported content. CBC has CBC Gem have an ad-supported free service which is definitely worth looking into. Something that is also worth noting, many people don’t realize that their library card comes with access to streaming services like Hoopla or Kanopy. Is there an art, classic, or foreign film you have in mind but can’t find anywhere? Check your local library’s website. This of course depends entirely on your geography and whether your local library system offers such a thing.

Don’t Snub the Smaller Streaming Platforms

When most people think of streaming services, they think of the giants like Netflix, Disney+, or Amazon. You should also consider the following: • BritBox, for anything British. • Quello, for concerts and live events. • The Criterion Channel, for the classics. • Tubi, for MGM, Paramount, and Lionsgate movies. • Sundance Now, for independent movies. • Shudder, for horror movies. • CuriosityStream, for documentaries. • Crunchyroll, for anime and other animation.

How to Easily Check Where Content Is Available

It can be a huge time resource to figure out where the best movies and TV shows are. Thankfully, there’s a search site called JustWatch that aggregates all of the different databases for you. Looking for the last episode of Succession? It’s streaming on HBOMax. Just make sure you have it set to Canada!

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