Net Video: Web sites for browsing and watching Internet video
These links help you browse a variety of Net video content; use these links to connect directly to video hosts, channels, guides, and search engines. From its origins in the early 1990's, Internet-delivered video has now become a major form of entertainment. Today, professionally and amateur-made films, television shows, clips, segments, news reports, documentaries, skits, comedy, slice-of-life reality, user-made videos, live streams--and more--are provided for viewing online.
Welcome
These links help you explore Net video; here, you'll find organized and annotated links to Web sites about Net Video.
- Edited by: You can contact the editor of this information with your ideas and corrections; there are different formats of this information.
- John December: editor of this information since 2012
- Suggestion?: please send a correction of any information you find here or your suggestion to johndecember@gmail.com via email with the subject line net-video
- Formats: You can view and link to this information in a variety of ways; find the level of detail that is right for your needs; pages are available for each section; you can link to and use the page that fits your needs.
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- Mobile users: use the index format.
- Net Video: index outline; shows sections of this information in outline form; links on the section names take you to a file showing all the entries and annotations for that section; put your cursor over section names or headings to see a popup description
- Net Video Links: a table showing all the links; shows all entries in a big table of rows and columns; useful to have all links on one page in a compact form; put your cursor over labels or section names to see a popup description; links on section names take you to a file showing all the entries and annotations for that section; useful if you are familiar with the information and want to get to the links quickly
- Net Video all: everything in one big file; shows all entries and all annotations; useful if you want to search for a text string in this information--use your Web browser's Find feature (Control/F in Microsoft Explorer); links on the section names go to a file showing entries and annotations for just that section
- Net Video mini: Compressed table; shows all entries and section names with short labels and no linebreaks; put your cursor over labels or section names to see a popup description; links on section names take you to a file showing all the entries and annotations for that section; useful if you are familiar with the information and want all the links in a smaller amount of space
Reference
Access information about video operations, technologies, and content; these pages or sites provide background or explanatory information about online video, video content, technology, or sites that evaluate or review movies,TV, and video
- Description: Look at sites or pages that describe online video or technology
- Online Video: Wikipedia Entry
- Video answers: answers.com entry
- Internet Television: wikipedia
- Software: a description of major streaming media software
- Content: Identify or evaluate video content with these sites; provide reference information, reviews, or industry coverage; look up information about movies,TV shows, or Web series
- IMDB: Internet Movie Database; encyclopedia-like hypertext database of movie, TV, and celebrity information; searchable, cross-referenced; useful to look up details on films and TV shows
- PDINFO: Public Domain Information Project; helps understand what works are in the public domain
- MISRG: Moving Image Source Research Guide; a gateway to online resources related to film, television, and digital media, from the Museum of the Moving Image, New York City
- Paley Ctr: Paley Center for Media; New York City museum; presents programs from the collection in screening rooms and theaters, exhibitions and screening series; formerly Museum of Television and Radio
- Museum.tv: Museum of Broadcast Communications; Chicago, Illinois museum; online archive of television and radio programs
- Metacritic: brings together movie and TV reviews from many critics; ranking number from 0 to 100 helps give you a sense of the critical reception of a film or TV show; links to full reviews
- Rotten Tomatoes: brings together movie reviews from many critics; freshness percent from 0% to 100% indicates critical reception of the movie; links to full reviews
- Tubefilter: reviews and discussion of online video; covers Web series, YouTube, branded entertainment, and celebrities
Hosts
Access Web sites providing video content; these sites store video online for access to the general public or subscribers; the content could come from many different producers of video content or it could be content by one production organization (e.g., a television network or movie studio)
Portals
Use portals for multi-purpose, multi-channel, multi-producer online video content; these sites serve a variety of purposes and host content aggregated from a wide variety of sources; have their own interfaces or guides to their content, but see the Search or Topics section for different ways to discover this content from multiple portals; see also the Mix section for sites that mash together hosted and unhosted content
- Major: View a large amount of video from a wide variety of production organizations with much free content; bring together diverse content in one interface; premium plan may be available--see premium section; see also search, user, channels , topics
- Hulu: multi-channel video host; provides movies,TV shows, clips, and Web-produced video from a variety of providers; free access to a wide range of content; subscription service called Hulu Plus allows access to more TV shows and movies
- You Tube: video host with wide-ranging content; provides video of a wide range of content, producer, and length, including user-supplied content; owned by Google; free access to much content; Movies section shows pay-per-view movies and free movies; site includes channels from diverse partners (e.g., C-SPAN, The White House); user-supplied content
- Google Video: multi-site video search and hosting; pre-dating Google's acquisition of You Tube in 2006, Google hosted many videos; this site now serves as a search engine and host to those videos as well as videos from YouTube as well as many other video hosts
- Crackle: TV shows and movies; full-length, free, and on-demand viewing of movies and TV shows; genres include action, sci-fi, horror, crime, and comedy
- Locast: Local Broadcast TV; free digital access to broadcast television stations in selected markets
- Like Television: classic TV and movies, cartoons, and classic commercials
- Internet Archive: Moving Image Archive; a library of free movies, films, and videos; thousands of digital movies; classic full-length films, daily alternative news broadcasts, cartoons, concerts, and more; part of the Internet Archive, an Internet library offering permanent access for researchers, historians, scholars, people with disabilities, and the general public to historical collections that exist in digital form; subsections include animation, arts, community video, computers, ephemeral films, news, public affairs, Prelinger Archives, spirituality, sports, television, video games, and vlogs
- Pluto TV: free streaming video; includes live tv, on demand, television, movies
- Popcornflix: movies and documentaries; from Screen Media Ventures, LLC, one of the leading motion picture distributors of theatrical, home video, digital and television both in the U.S. and internationally; over 1500 movies
- TV Index: Television stations; many have live feeds of their broadcast
- TV Streema: Web-based tv stations; from streema.com
- User: View a variety of user-supplied content; these sites are either primarily focused on or offer a significant amount of user-supplied content
- Premium: Pay by subscription or pay-per-view plans to view movies and TV; these hosts present a variety of content accessible by people paying for a subscription plan or pay-per-view session; in some cases these premium plans are add-ons to free offerings on the site; in other cases, the sites are entirely based on paying to view; see the Search section for ways to quickly browse for content on these sites and compare prices
- Amazon Prime: subscription plan for streaming movies and TV shows
- Amazon Instant: pay-per-view streaming movies or TV shows
- Apple TV: stream original series and others
- CBS: All Access
- CinemaNow: rentals on demand
- CuriosityStream: on demand; science, technology, civilization and the human spirit
- Disney+: Disney Pixar Marvel Star Wars National Geographic
- Google Play: Buy movies or tv shows to stream
- Hulu Plus: premium service of video host; provides movies,TV shows, clips, and Web-produced video from a variety of providers; free access to a wide range of content; subscription service called Hulu Plus allows access to more TV shows and movies
- iTunes: multimedia store of Apple
- HBO Now: streaming access to HBO; includes original programming and to movies that are offered on the traditional HBO channels
- HBO Max: stream HBO
- MUBI: presents subscription-based access to cinema; offers art-house style films; some free content
- Netflix: subscription-based streaming media service; access to a range of movies,TV shows, and Web-produced content; the interface is designed poorly for navigating and choosing content; for a somewhat competent way to navigate this, see instantwatcher.com search site for Netflix content
- Peacock: free and premium content from NBCUniversal
- Quibi: phone-oriented media
- vudu: pay-per-view streaming media
- WB Instant: subscription-based streaming media service; shows archives of Warner Brothers archives including tv and film, including Warner Bros., MGM, RKO, New Line, Monogram, Allied Artists, Lorimar and more
- YouTube Movies: Pay-per-view movies available; some free movies
- YouTube Red: Pay for ad-free videos, saving offline, and background play on YouTube
Channels
View videos organized around content from a network or production brand; includes sites grown out of television networks, cable channels, public-service media networks, or web-based producers; site may include a variety of shows or sub-channels; sites may contain clips or full episodes of programs
- A&E: Arts and Entertainment
- ABC: television network
- AMC: shows and movies from American Movie Classics
- BET: Black Entertainment Television
- Bloomberg: business news
- Bravo: television
- CBS: television Network
- CC: Comedy Central
- CN: Cartoon Network
- CNBC: business and financial news
- CNN: Cable News Network
- Comet: Science Fiction
- CSPAN: Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network; created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a public service; public access to video of political events--including congressional sessions, meetings
- CW: Television Network; some full episodes
- Discovery: Television Channel; some full episodes
- Disney: movies, shows, collections; some also available through youtube link
- ESPN: Sports
- explore: original films on environmental, education and other topics
- Food: Network
- Fora: conference and live event video
- FOX: Broadcasting
- FX: shows and movies from FX Networks
- HGTV: Home and Garden Television
- History: historical documentaries and video
- IFC: Independent Film Channel
- linkTV: news, documentaries
- Lifetime: videos featuring support for women and families
- LiveScience: science, health and technology news
- MTV: reality-shows, celebrities, entertainment
- NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration; space exploration; historic manned missions
- NatGeo: National Geographic video
- NBC: Television Network
- NFB: National Film Board of Canada
- Nick: childrens programs
- Onion: satire
- Ora.tv: personality-driven shows
- PBS: Public Broadcasting System
- Research: a consortium of leading research and academic institutions that share research work; cover a range of topics: arts, science, education, health, and medicine; subsection of YouTube
- Reuters: news video
- SchoolsWorld: educational content; from Teachers TV; videos, interactive games, work sheets, fact sheets, information and education news
- Showtime: cable television channel; some full episodes
- ShoutFactory: TV; streaming shows; Johnny Carson to MST3k to classic tv
- Space: space, aeronautics, exploration; covers space flight, astronomy, skywatching, technology, robots
- Sundance: TV
- Syfy: imagination-based entertainment; formerly SciFi, now offers broader programming that includes things like paranomal and fantasy subjects; some full episodes
- TBS: Turner Broadcasting System; some full episodes
- TLC: The Learning Channel
- TNT: Turner Network Television
- Travel: travel-related
- tubi: free movies and tv shows
- TVland: classic television shows
- UN: United Nations Web TV; see selective live events and pre-recorded programming
- USA: television network
- VH1: music videos
- WB: Warner Brothers Television
- YouTube: Partners directory; these are sets of content on YouTube that are managed by one organization; for example, ABC News, The White House
Guides
Use descriptions and links to locate videos on a variety of hosting sites; these sites do not host videos, but link to online sources where the videos are hosted through a directory, index, and/or a search feature; these guide sites often provide a clear, coherent, simple, easy-to-use, easy-to-understand way to find videos from multiple sites; the videos can presented as links or embedded in the Web pages of the guides
Search
Locate videos of all kinds from many sources; some present premium site results, have price comparisons, or have the option to search for free content only
- Reelgood: streaming service search engine; documentaries, movies, and TV shows; allows users a personalized view where they can see all of the shows available to them from different streaming services in one place
- Yidio: Find video available online from multiple sources; including pay services; or free movies or free tv shows
- Google Search: multi-site video search; pre-dating Google's acquisition of You Tube in 2006, Google hosted many videos; this site serves as a search engine to those videos and videos from YouTube as well as content from other sites
- Instant Watcher: search Netflix content; searches videos available on Netflix (subscription required to view these) by a variety of means including release year, Rotten Tomatoes rating, user ratings, and other criteria
- JustWatch: find video availability across sites; search and compare different streaming providers like Netflix, HBO Now, Hulu; see what's new on Netflix, HBO Now and other providers
- OVGuide: guide to multiple video sites; browse a general guide to Web video or search for specific video content
Topics
Encounter videos related to a particular topic at many different sites; can be in the form of annotated directories, lists, or a combination with search features; sites might link to videos or embed them on Web pages
- Entertainment: Find entertainment videos; access videos generally oriented around fictional films, movies, and TV shows; see also picks and live sections
- EW: Stream service guide
- YouTube Browse: subject directory-oriented view into YouTube; directly on the YouTube site
- Archive Features: Feature Film archive; films, shorts, silent films and trailers; part of the Internet Archive, an Internet library offering permanent access for researchers, historians, scholars, people with disabilities, and the general public to historical collections that exist in digital form; subsections include Comedy Films, Film Noir, German Cinema from Luz Mommartz, Sci-Fi/Horror, and the Video Cellar; browsable by collection or subject/keywords
- TV Guide: TV episodes and streaming
- ShoutFactory: cult favorites to pop culture fans
- Education: See video focusing primarily on linking to educational videos; provide a range of instruction or information about many subjects; see also SchoolsWorld.tv and documentary section
- WatchKnowLearn: search for educational videos at many sites; directory of tens of thousands of educational videos in thousands of categories
- Academic Earth: links to online classes and learning tools; associated universities include Yale, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, MIT, UC Berkeley, Dartmouth College, and more
- Public Libraries: lend or stream video; some library web sites stream videos for members; many public libraries include videos members can borrow as part of their circulating items
- Classics: Find old TV and film; present annotated links to old videos; see also the portals section which lists the host sites many of these guides link to; these sites might provide a link to the hosting site or embed the move from the hosting site on their pages
- Classic Cinema Online: directory of old films; covers silent movies, feature films from the mid-20th century, and shorts and newsreels; special subsections like Film Noir
- Classic TV and Movies: categorized links to oldTV and movies; UECTV Uncle Earl's Classic Television Channel
- B&W Movies: Old Movies, Black and White Movies, Classic Movies
- Picks: See lists or directories that provide specialized links to videos; describe and link to videos available on specific genres or topic
- MISRG Online: directory of full-length and short films online; from Moving Image Source Research Guide, from the Museum of the Moving Image, New York City
- Open Culture: Free Movies Online; an interesting list of Great Classics, Indies, Noir, Westerns, etc., that you can watch online
- Documentary: See non-fiction videos; topics are generally informational, news, historical, or educational content; see also education section
- Thought Maybe: films exploring society and culture; a collection of films about topics relevant to modern society, industrial civilisation and globalised dominant culture
- Top: Top Documentary Films
- Documentary Tube: links to a variety of documentary videos in a range of topic areas
- Documentary Heaven: links to a variety of documentary videos in a range of topic areas
- Live: Access live, streaming content; includes some television stations, channels, networks, or other live events
- UStream: live streaming TV channels and user content; from a variety of providers
- livestream: live events; includes feeds of some news stations
- YouTube Live: live events and features
- EarthCam: live weather, traffic, and tourist cameras; world-wide directory
- TV Stations: World directory of TV stations; find stations based on region or country (Canada, USA, World) or Network or Cable categories; access a list of stations and links to Web sites or online video collections
- Streema: radio and tv stations on the web
- Squid TV: links to live streaming media worldwide; organized by country; locate Web sites and live streams on TV stations worldwide
Mix
Sort through a wide range of popular videos from many sources; usually organized as a mish-mash of clips, user-contributed videos, previews, commercials, trailers, viral videos, gossip, music videos, celebrity news, home videos, advertisements, promotions for movies or TV shows; usually characterized by a loose organization