Top 5 Ways Parents Use PlayOn and PlayLater

August 28, 2013 | Tracy's Blog

In the spirit of PlayLater winning a Mom’s Choice Award, we dedicated the entirety of last week to all of you parents who use PlayOn and PlayLater. We asked you to share stories of how your family gets the most out of PlayOn and PlayLater. We loved hearing what you had to say, so we thought we’d pass along your parental wisdom and share the top five ways parents use our software:

  1. You love using PlayLater to record your kids’ favorite TV shows before they expire online.
    You can find a ton of awesome streaming content online, but there’s usually a catch: it expires. Instead of letting your favorite TV shows and movies disappear forever, PlayLater lets you record and you're your family’s favorite media on hand and ready to watch.
  2. You use PlayOn to watch home videos directly from your PC to your TV.
    There’s nothing better than curling up with your family to watch home videos. The best thing about using PlayOn to watch home media is that there are no messy – or confusing – cords preventing you from watching your favorite memories. PlayOn makes streaming home videos from your PC to your TV wireless, easy and instant.
  3. You use PlayLater to watch TV and movies while traveling – even with zero Internet connection.
    Traveling with kids can be stressful. Whether your family is taking a road trip or hopping on a plane for your annual vacation, PlayLater allows you to pre-record TV shows or movies to watch on the go. The best thing is: you don’t have to connect to the Internet when using PlayLater. If the show is recorded, you can watch it anywhere. Plus, PlayLater is much cheaper than buying a new movie or swiping your credit card to watch a featured film on a plane trip. Not bad!
  4. You access free Hulu content on TV, without Hulu Plus.
    Hulu is one of the most popular streaming media channels on the planet as it has the latest and greatest TV shows – and a ton of great ones for kids and families. Typically you need Hulu Plus to watch Hulu’s content on your TV, but PlayOn makes it possible to stream directly from your PC to your TV – no Hulu Plus account needed! That saves you an extra $8.99 per month.
  5. You like to schedule little “me” time.
    Whether you use PlayLater to record your favorite show to watch after the kids go to sleep, or you put your kid’s favorite movie on PlayOn to get a little peace and quiet, PlayOn and PlayLater give you a little “me” time!

How does your family use PlayOn and PlayLater? You can share your story with us on Facebook and Twitter, or by email.


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Mom’s Choice Award Win

August 20, 2013 | Tracy's Blog

We’re thrilled to announce that PlayLater has received a Mom’s Choice Silver Award. The Mom’s Choice Awards recognize the best family-friendly products, media and services— and this year they recognized PlayLater for its ability to bring households fantastic, family-oriented TV at an affordable price.

PlayOn and PlayLater have become staple names in our own households. Many of us PlayOn staffers have kids of our own, and instead of hearing our kids ask “Can I watch TV? ” we love hearing them say, “Mom, can I watch PlayLater?”

In honor of the award win, and because we want to thank and recognize all of the awesome families using PlayOn and PlayLater in their homes, we want to dedicate this week to parents! Moms and dads, you are the ones who are committed to keeping cable costs low for your family while still providing great TV options for everyone to enjoy. And you are the reason why your children have their favorite TV shows and movies recorded with PlayLater. Basically, you rock. We want to recognize that this week. Look for fun posts on Facebook and Twitter this week earmarked for the moms and dads of PlayOn.

Oh, and one more thing: since we consider you guys part of the PlayOn family, we want to get to know your family a little better. How has PlayOn and PlayLater impacted your lives as parents? How does your family use PlayOn and PlayLater? Share with us on Facebook and Twitter and we'll share your stories on our blog next week.


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Can’t Live Without It

August 7, 2013 | Tracy's Blog

We recently found ourselves reminiscing about a number of great shows that aren’t on TV anymore, like Gilligan’s Island, Flipper and Wonder Woman, and we realized – we can’t live without them! And then it occurred to us – all of you are probably thinking the same.

And that’s how we came up with the “Can’t Live Without It Challenge.”

We grabbed Skip, our channel master here at PlayOn, and challenged you to tell Skip your favorite shows that aren’t on TV anymore, the shows that are keeping you from cutting the cable, and even movies and TV you wish you could stream online. For the past few days, Skip has been at your beck and call, scouring the PlayOn databases to find exactly how and where you can use PlayOn to watch those programs. After all, that’s what we’re here for!

And so far, Skip has been a rock star. He has found hundreds of TV shows – including some favorites like I Love Lucy, The Carol Burnett Show and Three’s Company.

Have a show you just can’t live without, and want to know how you can watch it with PlayOn? Head to our Facebook page this week and challenge Skip – he’ll be available through this Friday, August 8. And keep an eye out for some additions to our website this month – we think you’ll like them!

Channel Master Skip


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Got a case of the CBS vs. TWC blues?

August 6, 2013 | Skip's Blog

We do.  
 
Once again a contract dispute leaves paying customers caught in the middle. How many of you out there are Time Warner Customers that can't watch CBS online or on TV now? The arguments for PlayOn keep getting better and better.
 
Unfortunately, CBS has also blocked streaming online at CBS.com for those with Time Warner as their ISP whether you are in one of the impacted cable markets or not.  
 
Where's the love?
 
Here at PlayOn, we are all about solutions.  If you are in one of the impacted markets and you have an OTA antenna, then you are all set.  You can just tune in to your local CBS station.  
 
But if you have Time Warner as your ISP and don't have an OTA antenna (or can't pick up a signal) then you still have options.  
 
Browse on over to Aereo.com and check to see if you are in one of their coverage areas: https://aereo.com/coverage
 
If you are, then you're in luck.  Just sign up for a free trial, enter your credentials in PlayOn Settings on your PC and you can be streaming live CBS programming in minutes.
 
Not in an Aereo coverage area?   Do you have a laptop and PlayLater?   Go to a coffee shop or a friend's house, relax, record your CBS programming with PlayLater, and then watch at your leisure.


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Watching Under the Dome with PlayOn!

July 26, 2013 | Skip's Blog

Under the Dome has become a very popular show and we understand how frustrating it has been for folks to find a way to watch it using PlayOn.
 
For those with an Amazon Prime subscription, it's easy -  All episodes are immediately available as part of the Amazon Prime Instant Streaming Library.  
 
For those without Amazon Prime, the experience has been less than ideal.  When browsing to the CBS website and trying to play a full episode of Under the Dome it appears as though you need either an Amazon Prime subscription or Xfinity cable subscription.  With the exception of the most recent episode, none of the full episodes are hosted/played on the CBS.com website.
 
Here's the thing, though...Full episodes of Under the Dome are available free without any kind of subscription...and here are steps you can use to play via PlayOn on your TV and mobile devices.
 
Before following these steps, be sure you are running the most recent version of PlayOn and that you have installed the PlayMark extension for Internet Explorer.
 
1. Using IE, browse to the Under the Dome full episodes via CBS.com using this link:
http://www.cbs.com/shows/under-the-dome/video/
2. Roll your mouse over one of the full episodes and select the Xfinity link (make sure you have pop-up blocking disabled)...don't worry, you won't need to log in.
3. You will see a message indicating the video is rated PG-13 with a prompt to manage parental controls.
4. Ignore that message and just wait a few moments (should be about 30 seconds)
5. An ad will begin to play (in a smaller window).  Let the ad finish and wait for the actual episode to start playing.
6. Click the PlayMark button. Crop and size the video as you wish (again waiting for that 1st ad to end and the episode to start so that you are cropping properly). Save the video (or save and send to a compatible device).  
 
You should now be able to play the full episode using PlayOn's PlayMark channel at your TV or mobile device.
Please note - If you have any trouble using the Xfinity link, the AT&T Uverse link works well too (and the instructions are essentially the same)
 
Enjoy!
 
 


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