Very few people have the luxury of being always available to watch a favorite TV show with a designated time slot. This is true to most professionals who have to attend to work matters on a daily basis. Fortunately, there are two legal options available to certified TV buffs.
One option is downloading TV shows on your hard drive. This allows you to view the shows on a later time that is convenient to you. Questions of legality may arise from downloading shows over the Internet thus a network’s official website is always a safe bet. TV downloads provided for free by networks are usually given for the purpose of promotion such as for upcoming series or a special episode.Â
TV networks view this type of download as perfectly legal since they, as the creators and copyright holders are the ones making the offer. While it is often presumed that downloads of TV programs used exclusively for private viewing is legal since there is no intention to share, sell, distribute, or profit from it, there is an ongoing debate about this since the act still involves an intellectual property.Â
There are many sites that offer legal downloads of missed episodes of TV show series but these are always based on a specific time of usage. It is not a perpetual or an unlimited proposition but merely a chance to catch up on a missed show while it is legitimately offered. It is also not intended to be copied and saved for long-term use or sent to another person’s computer.
Since many syndicated TV shows are not being offered for legal downloading, viewers can opt for the streaming video option. Streaming however is only as good as the speed of the Internet connection. A pleasant viewing experience is not possible with a slow connection as manifested by skips and slowdowns.  With the absence of advertising most often forced upon TV viewers, online TV watching may be just perfect.