As Internet connections get faster, computer monitors become larger and HTPC integration become more widespread, watching TV shows online has become downright ubiquitous. In the dark ages, like three years ago, the only place you could get truly high-quality copies of TV episodes was to either buy the DVD or to BitTorrent the episode, you know, if one of the big TV groups happens to follow that particular show.

I love tvRSS as much as the next pirate, in the last 18 months, something pretty awesome has happened in regards to commercial television: free web streams. And the quality continues to get better, with each of the major networks offering some kind of HD-experience (iTunes HD tends to be better, but of course, you pay for that privilege).

So here is a list of all the places you can watch current and classic TV shows for free, online. Many of these sites have regional restrictions, based on country. Not to fear, in my next article, I'll discuss how you can access any of these sites (or any region-locked) site, regardless of your physical location.

If you want to rent a video, you can go to pretty much any video store and walk out with a movie of your choice. It doesn't matter what studio produced that film.

But if you want to watch streaming video of network television programs, you either need to visit the network's website or find a site that streams pirated copies.

It looks like that could be changing. Increasingly we're seeing networks offer up programming on sites like MySpace, Yahoo!, and AOL. You know, pretty much anywhere but YouTube.

Today ABC and this blog's parent company AOL have announced an agreement to stream ABC programs through AOL's video portal. You'll still be able to watch recent episodes at ABC.com, but if you want to watch free, advertising-supported videos from ABC, CBS, and several other channels, you can visit AOL. While we work for AOL here at Download Squad, our dream is that one day streaming video will be more like video rental stores. You'll be able to visit the portal of your choice and watch all the video you want.

ABC will offer about four episodes of popular programs at a time on AOL's video site. AOL and ABC will split the advertising revenue. Meanwhile, NBC and News Corp are preparing to launch their own video portal, possibly within the next few weeks. NBC also plans to launch a service that lets users download free programs that can be watched within one week of their original broadcast date.

Oh yeah. For those of us who've failed to plunk down the cash for an HDTV, but still crave a little high-definition action, ABC is now offering it's HD programming online.

Is it just us or is anyone else thinking that their TV is taking up way too much space for the amount of value it provides?

[via Lifehacker]

In an industry where the list of HD formats and sizes has already expanded beyond the arguable boundaries of sensibility, Multichannel News has dug up some interesting details on how ABC will be flexing this format just a little more with a new HD online venture. With full episodes of some shows set to debut online in July, ABC will be bending the rules of HD by providing their shows at 1280 x 720 (the minimum dimensions to warrant the HD label) and 24 frames per second - but compressed between 850 Kbps and 2 Mbps. As Multichannel News points out, the HD you get at home via cable and satellite providers is typically compressed at 12-19 Mbps in MPEG-2, with the new and more efficient MPEG-4 standard (which uses the H.264 codec) requiring at least 5 Mbps.

Unless there is some serious other video voodoo going on here, compressing shows to files sizes that are less than half the required specs could backfire on ABC's first foray into online HD content. There's a fine line between doing things efficiently and doing things right, and when it comes to providing video content to consumers who are specifically looking for high quality content, quality is one of the few things you can't sacrifice. Subaru might as well introduce a lineup of "rally-tuned" sports cars but check the all-wheel drive at the factory in the name of shaving budget costs; it just isn't right.

Ok, so it may not exactly be HD quality video but as compared to what video on ABC.com used to look like, it's pretty darn close. ABC recently re-launched the video player on their website giving the video overall a much better look and getting rid on that nasty freezing and jerking feature that used to be present when you tried to watch full-length programming on the site.The new player has two different sizes for your viewing pleasure. One full-screen option (a first for a network site) and then another "mini" 240x136 pixel screen.

Unlike other network sites where the video is Flash based ABC has decided to use technology from Move Networks. While Flash is encoded at one bit rate, Move video is encoded at multipe bit rates at the same time. Broadcasting and Cable explains the difference by saying "While Flash streams video at a constant rate using the proprietary Flash Media Server, Move Networks streams its videos at an adaptive rate off commodity components on standard HTTP servers." The video quality you see is dependent on your CPU and available bandwidth allowing some computers to approach HD quality with their video. End result? Much better video quality and consistency for watching that Lost episode you missed.

[Via Broadcasting and Cable]

It's two-for-one day on videos about Google. First is a Vlog from ABC's Bob Woodruff in which he tours the Google campus with a sort of breathless bewilderment. It's seven minutes of fluff, but a fun peep inside the company. Second is a half-hour feature from BBC News full of interviews with Google execs and staff plus industry insiders. It gives a high-level view of Google's history and future, but doesn't contain much new material for those who keep up with Google's exploits.

[Via Digg]