RadioActive wrote:

Tubi or Not Tubi? That's not in question. 

I'm sure some here are already aware of Tubi, a free streaming service owned by Fox (aka Disney.) The site offers hundreds of TV shows and movies, all for free, and most of this U.S.-originated site is available in Canada without a VPN. That in itself makes it unique. 

But what Fox announced a few weeks ago is even more noteworthy. Instead of just buying the rights to various seasons of old TV shows (including The Flintstones, My Favorite Martian, Green Acres, The Dick van Dyke Show, Car 54 Where Are You, The Andy Griffith Show, ALF and too many more to list here) and older movies (like Braveheart, Minority Report, Batman Forever, Dumb and Dumber and others) they're actually going to produce at least 140 hours of original programming that you won't be able to see anywhere else. 

Among the newcomers will be documentaries on subjects ranging from True Crime, the Royals, and the Paranormal to the sinking of the Titanic. They're also promising new animated series and movies, including thrillers, horror, sci-fi, romance and westerns. 

All totaled, the service has more than 30,000 titles available for viewing for free, although there may be commercials in some of them. And keep in mind the shows allowed in Canada often differ from the ones in the U.S., so if you have a VPN, you may need to check out the browse menu at the top of the home page twice. (Most FOX TV shows are there, but only for American viewers.)

If you're curious to see what's on offer and have never looked at it, the site can be found here:

Tubitv.com

Tubi to expand programming slate with Fall 2021 launch of original content 

>> Tubi or No Tubi

Good one.
 

I’m positive that a lot of visitors here already knew about Tubi, but I’m not sure if they read about the original programming it’s promising. I think that’s a first for this kind of ad supported video on demand service. But while it’s actually spending money on new shows instead of just relying on classics, there are plenty of others with lots to offer.

Here are a few of my favourites, in case you haven’t tried them. (By the way, most don’t require you to sign up to watch anything, although you can if you want.) Click on the name to go to each site. 
 
PLUTO TV
(U.S. VPN Required)
 
Probably the second-best online freebie beyond Tubi (and YouTube, which is in a category all of its own), this service is owned by ViacomCBS, which means it has access to a host of classic shows. It has a large number of movies and TV greats available, and has “channels” that essentially present just one show, so you can be sure you can find what you want.
 
As an example, there’s an 007 channel, which features James Bond films. There are other categories of films from sci-fi to adventure, and of course, a ton of old TV shows, all on their own separate channels, including the Addams Family, Happy Days, Three’s Company, Johnny Carson, The Carol Burnett Show, Dr. Who, Mission: Impossible and Classic Cartoons, just to name a few. My favourite, though, is probably the Star Trek: The Next Generation station, which shows the Picard-led Enterprise crew non-stop, presumably where no site has gone before.
 
CRACKLE
(U.S. VPN Required)

More shows and movies, (like The Exorcist or Joe) and TV classics including 3rd Rock From The Sun, 21 Jump St., Barney Miller, Dobie Gillis, The Rifleman, T.J. Hooker, Starsky & Hutch and more.  
 
Popcorn Flix
(U.S. VPN Required)
 
Includes films like “Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell of Fear” and many other titles, including stand-up comedy specials. There’s a TV section there, too.
 
Xumo TV
(U.S. VPN Required)

This service is owned by cable giant Comcast, so there are lots of live TV feeds of specialty channels, including news, game shows, movies, sports and more.
 
PLEX
(Appears to work without a VPN)
 
These sites all have one thing in common – a list of movies and TV shows you can watch for free like the Lucy Show and an all Game Show channel, which features some British and American content. There are also 114 Live TV Channels to choose from. Films are here, too, but there are a lot of what I would call “B”-movies, not that you can't still enjoy them.  
 
Distro TV
(Does not appear to need a VPN, but you get more choices if you use one)

Combines live feeds and on demand for movies and old TV shows. Definitely some eclectic choices here.
 
Daily Motion
(No VPN required)

Not really a video site, per se, but a collection of the original Outer Limits is what got my attention.
  
It's Real Good TV
(No VPN required)
 
In addition to shows about cars (for gearheads), music, action and outdoor programming, there’s a section called Fun for the Whole Family that really made me take notice. Among the items ripe for the watching: the Soupy Sales show (although not the New York original from the 60s – most of those have been erased), the rare 3 Stooges cartoon show, the Red Skelton Show, Ozzie & Harriet, The Green Hornet and Dragnet, among others.
 
But my favourite find here has to be very rare kinescopes, including what may be the very first Howdy Doody episode from 1949, featuring “Rodeo Ray” instead of Buffalo Bob. Very surreal watching that one.
 
Shout Factory TV
(Requires U.S. VPN)
 
A great site, from a company that specializes in rescuing old TV shows. Among the things you can see here: the original “Secret Agent” with Patrick McGoohan (before he became “The Prisoner,” which is also here), Dennis The Menace, Supercar and Fireball X-L5 (from Britain's Gerry Anderson), The Dick Cavett Show, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, the Canadian-made Space: 1999, and Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts.
 
But my favourite of them all is one not everyone here will remember. There are very rare and obscure episodes of The Ernie Kovacs Show, a true and forgotten genius of the early medium, who did some amazing things visually with what was then very primitive equipment. He was killed in a car crash in the early 60s, or he might have completely revolutionized the industry with his incredibly original blackouts, short skits and most of all his early mastery of the visual medium.

He was lost too soon, but at least someone has found some of his vintage work. Laugh-In would later cover much of the same territory at times, but this was very early on in TV and when you consider when he did this, it makes it that much more amazing.
 
Popcorn Flix II
(No VPN required)

I’ve saved this one for last on purpose because even though it also calls itself “Popcorn Flix” I have a sneaking suspicion by its “.io” address that it’s not entirely legal. So be aware of that and proceed with caution.
 
That said, it sports an impressive array of top title movies, including The Godfather, The Wolf of Wall Street, Toy Story, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Dark Knight, Gladiator and more. Includes commercials, but it’s otherwise totally free. I don't support piracy, but since I can't seem to find any information on where this is from or who owns it, I'm including it here with that caveat. 

We have a three year old 50" HiSense and a 1 year old 65" Sharp (made by HiSense) and both have Tubi installed by default, along with Netflix, Prime, and YouTube. Both have Hisense's own VIDAA OS.

Some HiSense models have Android and some have ROKU. I can only speak to the VIDAA version when I say Tubi is natively installed out-of-the-box.