Your DVR can record TV shows perfectly at home, but you might want to watch some of the same shows while you’re away. With a laptop, smartphone, or tablet, it’s never been easier to watch your favorite TV shows while on the go.
As long as your home system lets you, you can watch your shows while you’re not there. Here’s how to watch cable TV from anywhere.
Your Cable Company’s Streaming Service
A lot of cable companies now have a service that lets customers watch TV shows and films on their computers and phones.
A lot of cable companies offer a service called TV Everywhere that has a lot of the most popular cable stations. Most of the time, this comes with a cable plan. The big cable companies have their streaming apps that can be used instead of or along with TV Everywhere. Time Warner Cable has the TV Everywhere app and the TWC TV app, while Comcast has the Xfinity TV app.
Cable companies are adding more and more services like these, and most of the time, you don’t have to pay extra for them.
One of the best things about this option is that you can usually watch cable TV on the go while everyone else at home watches TV without any interruptions. Your cable login information can also be used on streaming sticks and Rokus.
Get a Streaming Stick
You can take a streaming service like Roku or Amazon Fire with you when you travel if you don’t have cable. The Amazon Fire Stick and the Roku Stick are two of the best streaming gadgets for trips. They’re small enough to fit in your bag. The best part is that you won’t lose your favorite shows or movies when you unplug them from your TV.
Both gadgets need an HDMI port, which is found on most TVs in hotel rooms. It will be like watching TV at home if the place you’re staying has WiFi. You can even use your phone or computer instead of the remote, leaving the remote at home.
Related: How to Choose the Best Streaming Device for You
Get a Slingbox
With Slingbox, it’s easy to watch TV shows when you’re not at home. Anyone with an internet connection can connect a Slingbox to their cable or satellite DVR box and set it up. After that, they can control their Slingbox from anywhere with an internet link.
One good thing about Slingbox is that you have full power over the DVR. You can change the menu settings, schedule recordings, and delete them. You can also stream live and taped TV to PCs and mobile phones, as long as both sets of internet connections can handle it.
There is one bad thing about Slingbox. People inside your home have to watch the same show if you choose to watch live TV from outside. Some people may have trouble with this if they have one traveling family member. Some people connect the Slingbox to a second TV box to get around this.
Sign Up for Plex
Plex is a service in the cloud that lets you reach your video files and stream them from any device that is connected. Many people choose this choice because it works well and quickly.
The basic account is free, but if you find it useful, you can pay for an account with more features. You should try Plex because it’s a great way to control your whole media library from anywhere.
Use Windows Media Player
If you already use Windows Media Centre, you can use the streaming features that come with Windows Media Player (WMP).
Before you do anything else, make sure that your PC has the most recent version of WMP. Once you’ve done that, all that’s left to do is set up your streaming choices. As long as you’ve set up your Recorded TV library correctly, Windows Media Player and Media Centre will be able to use the same books.
It’s not even close to being the same as streaming from Windows Media Player to a device like Slingbox. Slingbox lets you handle your DVR from afar, but WMP only lets you see the files in your library.
You can get to music, videos, pictures, and other media, like recorded TV, with this choice. You can’t watch live TV with it, though, and you won’t be able to stream blocked records either.
You can watch any open records, which at least lets you watch most network shows. There are some problems with this method, but it can help you watch your favorite CBS show while you are traveling.
It can also be helpful to be able to view your music, photos, and videos.
Important Data Usage Reminder
When you watch on the go, you have to use your phone’s network, which could affect your data plan. Streaming media takes up a lot more data than easy things like checking your email or social media on your phone or tablet.
When you’re out and about, connect your device to a safe and reliable Wi-Fi network whenever you can. You can get free or cheap Wi-Fi at a lot of places. This will keep you from getting stupid overage charges. You could also get a data plan that gives you endless use.
Just remember your facts in either case. Streaming TV is great, but if you’re not careful, it can cost more than you thought.