A few days ago, I came across a program which allows one to watch various streaming TV channels from around the world. Unfortunately, this program is ugly and obtrusive.

So, I decided to make a better version. Watch TV does precisely the same thing as this other program does, that is access the live streaming video from various TV stations and display them in a WMP object. What Watch TV DOESN'T do is phone home about it every time the users watches a channel, and its interface is a lot less spammy (IMHO)..

Download|GPG Sig (?)

License:Boredom Software Freeware LicenseLanguage: Compiled Binary
Platform(s): Win32 (2000+)

Webmasters: Please Link To This Page, Not To The File Itself.




Current Version

The most current version of Watch TV is 0.71 Beta

Files Included In The Download

  • WatchTV.exe - Main program executable
  • TV.list - List of channels
  • settings.dat - Plain text settings file
  • ReadMe.txt - ReadMe File
  • license.txt - Boredom Software Freeware License
  • checksums.md5 - MD5Sums of selected files in the download
  • changelog.txt - Log of changes between versions
  • todo.txt - List of planned upgrades, features, and fixes
  • WatchTV Libs - DLL files used by the program
    • Shell.dll
    • Internet Encodings.dll
    • Appearance Pak.dll

Installation

Watch TV does not require installation. This means that you can use it as a portable app on a USB flash drive and that you don't need administrator rights to use it. Watch TV has been tested and works even on the Windows XP "Guest" account settings. To use Watch TV, simply extract the all files to the same folder and double click the WatchTV.exe file.

Use

Double click on the "WatchTV.exe" file. This will launch the viewer app. Choose a channel from the popup menu and click "Watch." Be patient if the video doesn't start up right away, especially if you have a slow internet connection. AN INTERNET CONNECTION IS REQUIRED, and this may not work right on dial-up.

Issues

  • Problem: you receive a Runtime Error referring to "..\..\..\..\Common\plugin.cpp 7300"
    • Solution: make sure that the WatchTV Libs directory is in the same directory as the WatchTV.exe file.
  • Problem: Some channels won't load, the viewer only says "buffering"
    • Solution: Check your internet connection. Note: channels may go on or off the air depending on network conditions, host status, or other reasons. Also, the owner of the channel may discontinue or change the parameters of the channel which will break Watch TV's ability to connect to that channel.
  • Problem: Windows Vista and Windows 7 users may need to manually extract the self-extracting archive in order to access the program files contained therein.
    • No solution at this time. I am aware of this issue and am working on a fix.

Advanced Usage

Command Line Parameters

Parameter: /d

Effect: Opens the debug window on launch.

Settings.dat file

  • Line: MajVer=X.XX
    • Explanation: Executable file version
  • Line: MinVer=X.XX
    • Explanation: Channel list version
  • Line: LastChan=X
    • Explanation: Last selected channel
  • Line: UpdPref=X
    • Explanation: Preferred update method
  • Line: UpdVerCHSM=X
    • Explanation: Not Implemented
  • Line: AutoUpd=X
    • Explanation: Not Implemented
  • Line: AutoUpdTO=X
    • Explanation: Not Implemented
  • Line: LastAutoUpd=X/X/XXXX
    • Explanation: Not Implemented
  • Line: Awesome=X
    • Explanation: Base awesomeness level
  • Line: debug=X
    • Explanation: Default = 0; if equal to 1 then same as the /d parameter.