How to watch TV on PC

Are you away from home, you don’t have a television at hand, but you absolutely don’t want to give up your favorite series? Turn on your PC. You may not know it, but many famous national television stations allow you to view their broadcasts on the Internet at no cost with a quality that has little to envy to that of digital terrestrial.

If you agree, now I would like to point out some of the best sites to watch TV on your PC, all legal and usable with any Internet connection, browser or operating system. The only constraint that must be respected to access these contents is to connect from Italy or in any case from Europe, in fact streaming is almost never allowed to foreign countries. Many of the sites that I am about to point out also allow you to watch on-demand programs, which means that you can not only see the direct streams of the various broadcasters but also watch the episodes of TV series, fiction and television shows at any time.

In addition, I will point out other solutions that may certainly be of interest to you, such as the use of specific software for IPTV or devices that you can buy and use on your PC to watch TV without using the Internet. So, what are you waiting for? I just have to wish you a good read and, above all, a good view!

Index

• How to watch TV on PC for free live
  • Rai
  • Mediaset Infinity
  • Sky
  • Discovery
  • Other TV broadcasters
• How to watch IPTV on PC
  • How to watch TV on PC with Kodi
  • How to watch TV on PC with VLC
• How to watch TV on PC without internet

How to watch TV on PC for free live

Want to know how to watch free live TV on PC? In this case, what I advise you to do is try the solutions I propose to you in the next chapters!

Rai

Among the first websites that I would recommend you to watch live online TV for free on your PC is RaiPlay. The State TV portal is constantly updated and allows both to view the channels of the Rai group live, and to view the best programs broadcast by Rai 1, Rai 2, Rai 3, etc. upon request, simply using the most popular web browsers.

To view a live channel, go to the official website, click on the ☰ button located at the top left, go to TV Channels> Direct and select one of the broadcasters on the page that opens. To access the on-demand content requires the creation of a free account, which can be easily done by selecting the Login> Register item from the main menu of the service. You can use your email address or a Google, Apple or HUAWEI account.

If, on the other hand, you prefer to view the on-demand programs, select one of the genres available on the home page (scrolling down the page) or click on the ☰ button located at the top left and choose the contents of your interest (e.g. programs, fiction, films or documentaries ) under On-demand, from the menu that opens.

Furthermore, I would like to point out that by going to the TV Channels> TV Guide / Replay section you can view the programs broadcast on the Rai digital terrestrial networks over the last week and view them in on-demand mode.

RaiPlay is also accessible from smartphones and tablets through the appropriate free app available for Android and iOS / iPadOS. More information on the Rai service in this tutorial of mine.

Mediaset Infinity

The free channels of the Mediaset group (Canale 5, Rete 4, Italia 1, Italia 2, La5, Mediaset Extra, etc.) are available in live streaming, but only upon free registration on the Mediaset Infinity website.

To create your free account, you must first click on the Login item located at the top right and then on the Register button. Then you have to fill in the form that is proposed to you and you have to verify your identity by clicking on the confirmation link that is sent to you by email. You can sign up with email, Google, Apple or Facebook accounts.

Once registration is complete, you will be able to see the live coverage of Mediaset channels by clicking on their logos on the main screen of Mediaset Infinity. If you want to access the on-demand content of the portal (fiction and TV programs), click on the Catalog item located at the top left and choose one of the categories of your interest.

Mediaset channels can also be used from tablets and smartphones, just install the official Mediaset Infinity app for Android and iPhone and iPad. If you want to know more about this Mediaset service, I recommend reading my guide on how to see Mediaset Infinity.

Sky

Sky is one of the most important broadcasters present in Italy and in many other countries around the world. Its offer includes a famous pay-TV service and a series of free-to-air channels on digital terrestrial, both also accessible from a PC. Let’s start with the free offer and the channels that make it up.

• Cielo– Sky Italia’s first free-to-air general channel. It broadcasts American movies, reality shows and other very interesting programs. To watch it in streaming just visit its official website and click on the Streaming item located at the top right. Read more here.
• TV8– another Sky Italia generalist channel. Its schedule consists of films, TV series, television shows and sporting events, such as the MotoGP races and the matches of the Italian teams in the Europa League. To view it in streaming on your PC, just connect to its official website and click on the Streaming item located at the top right. Read more here.
• SKY TG24– is a well-known channel dedicated to news and can also be viewed in live streaming without any restrictions. To start the live broadcast, all you have to do is connect to the broadcaster’s site and view the live broadcast in the player being played. I told you about it in my Sky Live tutorial.

As for paid channels, satellite pay-TV subscribers can watch Sky channels in streaming using the Sky Go service (I told you about it in more detail in my tutorial on how to activate Sky Go ).

All the others can turn to NOW, a Sky service without contractual obligations that allows you to watch some channels of this broadcaster both live and in on-demand mode, through an offer based on thematic packages ( Cinema, Entertainment and Sport ).

NOW can be used on a wide range of devices and is accessible by subscribing to a subscription of € 14.99 / month (€ 3 in promotion for the first month) to watch the channels of the Cinema and Entertainment pass. To find out more, read my post on how NOW works.

Discovery

The Discovery group broadcasters can count on a vast gallery of on-demand content through which to review the best shows broadcast by Real Time, DMAX, NINE, K2, Giallo and more. You can watch a selection of content for free or sign up for a paid subscription (from € 3.99 / month ) to access all channels and content.

To access the on-demand content, you must connect to the Discovery + website and select the content of your interest. Going to the Programs tab you can “browse” all Discovery programs based on their name or their degree of popularity.

In the Channels tab, on the other hand, you can access the channels of the group, while in Live you can see the TV guide and access the streaming playback of the various channels (those marked with the words Watch if you don’t have a subscription, which you can also find in the Free tab ) .

Discovery + is also available as an app for Android and iPhone / iPad devices. Its contents are the same as those found on the web version of the service. For more information, you can consult my tutorial dedicated to this service.

Other TV broadcasters

Finally, here is a list of Italian broadcasters that allow you to watch their broadcasts in live streaming and/or in on-demand mode. There really is something for everyone.

• La7– the La7 website allows you to watch the channel in live streaming (even if some broadcasts are blocked) and the main programs in on-demand mode.
• Paramount Channel– a free-to-air channel that broadcasts tons of American movies and TV series. It can be watched in live streaming and allows you to watch different movies in on-demand mode.
• Marcopolo– broadcaster of the Al.ma group focused on travel and the discovery of cultures from all over the world. It can be watched for free in streaming and some of its programs can be viewed in on-demand mode.
• TV2000– the broadcaster of the Italian Episcopal Conference. It broadcasts not only religious-themed programs but also films, TV series and programs of various kinds.

In addition, I recommend that you bookmark the TVDream website which collects links to quickly stream many regional ( Regions section ) and international ( Countries section ) TV stations. TVDream does not require registration to be used and is compatible with all web browsers. From mobile, however, you can count on the SuperGuidaTV app to the app Android and iOS / iPadOS.

If you are overseas and can’t access some of the services mentioned, you can turn to a VPN like NordVPN (which I told you about in depth here ) and Surfshark (which I talked about here ), which at very affordable prices allow to secure the connection and easily bypass censorship and regional restrictions.

How to watch IPTV on PC

In case you don’t know, you can watch TV on your PC via the Internet using the IPTV service. It is a system that allows you to watch national and international channels in the clear using the TCP / IP protocol of an Internet connection and using a simple software.

All you need is a list M3U or other formats supported by the software that you decide to use for IPTV, which you can easily find from the Web. I warn you to use only reliable IPTV lists that do not contain Pay TV channels: otherwise you incur large penalties.

If you want to know more about what IPTV service is, I invite you to read this tutorial of mine. If you already know the subject and just want to know some software that can help you access IPTV, I suggest you continue reading the next chapters.

How to watch TV on PC with Kodi

To watch TV broadcasts with IPTV, I recommend using Kodi. In case you have never heard of it, this is an excellent free and open source media center compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Raspberry and iOS (only on jailbreak devices ).

Using it, you can watch Internet TV, play locally stored content (on hard drives, flash drives, memory cards or network devices) and you can watch a lot of content in on-demand mode, including movies, TV series, documentaries and Japanese anime.

The beauty of Kodi lies in its compatibility with a wide range of different devices and operating systems – as just mentioned, it can be installed on almost all computers, smartphones, tablets and TV Boxes – and above all in its support for add-ons. After downloading Kodi on your computer, in fact, you can customize it and expand its functionality thanks to some add-ons that can be downloaded at no cost from the Internet.

If you are interested in installing this software, you need to go to the official website or, if you are using Windows 10 or later, download it from the Microsoft Store. To learn more about its installation, I recommend reading this tutorial of mine. After installing it, you can proceed to its configuration: I told you about it in my guide on how to configure Kodi.

At first glance, Kodi does not seem very easy to use but I assure you that it only takes a little practice to learn how to make the most of it. For example, to activate the PVR IPTV Simple Client add-on that allows you to watch TV online through IPTV lists, all you have to do is go to the Add-on menu > Download> Kodi PVR client, select PVR IPTV Simple Client from the list of available add-ons and press the Install button and then the OK button.

Next, you have to press the Configure button of PVR IPTV Simple Client, insert in it the link of the IPTV list containing the channels of the Italian TV and that’s it! Once the operation is complete, you can watch TV on your PC with Kodi by going to the TV menu and selecting a channel to stream.

PVR IPTV Simple Client is just one of the many add-ons available for Kodi. There really are galore, not just for streaming TV but for on-demand content as well. It is up to you to “find” them on the Internet and install them by following the many tutorials available on the Net. It is also integrated among the add-ons one that allows you to see the RaiPlay channels (you can find it in the Add-on Video category ).

Another important thing to point out is that Kodi allows you to bypass the regional restrictions imposed by the official sites of television broadcasters. This means that it allows you to watch streaming TV even from abroad without resorting to VPNs or other “tricks”.

Warning! The add-ons I told you about in this tutorial were developed by third parties. Neither I nor the developers of Kodi take responsibility for any copyright infringement or problems caused by the malfunction of such add-ons.

How to watch TV on PC with VLC

VLC is another player that you can install on Windows, macOS and Linux (the app for smartphones and tablets is also available) that allows you to play the most popular (and not only) multimedia file formats. Also, you can add IPTV lists to watch TV on PC with VLC easily.

First, if you don’t already have VLC on your PC, you can proceed to download it via the official website. To be able to install it correctly, in case you encounter any problems, you can consult in detail my tutorial dedicated to VLC.

Now we come to the heart of the matter, how to use this media player to watch TV. First of all, as I anticipated in the introduction and in the chapter dedicated to Kodi, you must get the source URL of the television channel or an M3U list: you can do a search on the Web in this sense, taking care to take only those that contain channels in clear.

Once this is done, start VLC and select the Media> Open Network Stream items that you find in the top menu. On the Network tab, type the URL in the Enter a network URL text box and press the Play button. If everything went well, the first channel on the list will be played. You can select a different one by right-clicking on the player and highlighting the Playlist item, to access the channel list.

How to watch TV on PC without the internet

If you do not want to keep the Internet connection constantly “busy” by streaming TV channels, you can buy a USB digital terrestrial tuner and watch TV on your PC by directly capturing the standard television signal by connecting the antenna cable or using the integrated one.

Below you will find examples of USB digital terrestrial tuner for Windows and macOS. Before buying one, make sure that its drivers are compatible with the operating system installed on your computer and that the antenna provided is powerful enough.