Last week, Megavideo was shut down by federal prosecutors for violation of the Stop Inline Piracy Act (SOPA). The 13th most popular website on the Internet, Megavideo received more than 50 million hits per day from people around the world seeking to watch their favorite movies and tv shows online.
Internet users are now scouring the internet trying to find other websites to satisfy their movie cravings. Here is a list of the top 10 similar sites to Megavideo with the best selection and quality on the web.
1. Metacafe
Metacafe is a top-3 video site in the US with more than 40 million worldwide monthly viewers. Covering movies, games and TV, the MetaCafe team pride themselves on delivering the most exclusive, original and curated premium video content than any other entertainment site on the web. The site is completely free but only offers snippets of short videos, such as TV show recaps and movie premieres instead of full feature films which is much harder to find.
2. Quicksilverscreen
An online video streaming service, Quicksilverscreen features videos that are uploaded by its community of users. The site showcases links to some of the best new-released movies as well as a wide array of TV shows. Although faced with the obstacle of dealing with the annoying ads, this site has plenty of links to watch your favorite movies free of charge. Definitely one of the best alternatives to Megavideo!
3. Dailymotion
Another solid site with videos uploaded by their users, Dailymotion attracts over 114 million unique monthly visitors. Their search function yields the best results but steer clear of browsing by category as the user experience is not the most engaging. The overall selection is not stellar but you can find some full length classics if you have the patience.
4. YouTube
You can’t deny that YouTube is and will probably always be a top player in the market. Although the content is not pirated, they still have a vast library of videos ranging from movie previews to music videos to custom user generated content. As the world’s 2nd largest search engine, this is a great place to start when looking for videos.
5. Veoh
With the recent acquisition by Qlipso and a huge focus on “social viewing”, Veoh has the potential to become a dominant player in the marketplace. Currently they offer a boatload of foreign films, ranging in quality, sizes and categories. The user experience is sub-par but expect that to change as the ease of uploading personalized videos grows – this may even lead to the increase of pirated material. For now it’s just an ok site, but keep this in your favorites.
6. Surfthechannel
Although peppered with ads from front to back, Surfthechannel is one of the best sources of movies, TV shows and videos of all kinds. Featuring a great video index that makes finding your favorite video easier than ever, this site has many links to the most popular movies. Yes, this site does require some patience when first trying to watch the video of your choice, but watching is almost always a definite. One of the best on the web right now!
7. Sidereel
What first appears as just a great website to categorize, track and research your favorite TV shows and movies, additional digging reveals the ability to watch on Sidereel. Easily search by category or title and read through the wealth of information from professional critiques to user generated feedback. Some videos only have links to paid sites showing, while clicking the “Search Links” button will reveal additional links to free sources. Although it requires some effort, the results and amount of information offered makes this a very strong alternative to Megavideo.
8. Hulu
Hulu continues to become one of the household names of watching videos online. It’s strength is in the TV sector, having a shared board of owners including NBC, ABC and other well known network powerhouses. The biggest downside of this site is its subscription factor. A free membership only gets you access to a few episodes and seasons while a premium membership allows you to watch scores of TV series and a handful of top movies. If you are ok with paying, this is the best site on the web in the TV sector.
9. Dpstream.net
A french site with a library of streaming videos, this site is not for beginners. If you know how to safely browse the web, then Dpstream can be used to find almost any recently-released movie. If you can put up with translating French and a not-so-fancy user experience, enjoy this amazing resource.
10. Movielab.tv
A newcomer to the web, Movielab.tv is another site with a ton of great links to hard-to-find content. Serving up a lot of ads, mysterious links and broken content, if you can finally find an active, free link, then you can forget about ever going to the movie theater again. The user experience is not great but the selection certainly is.
11. OVGuide
Ok, there’s always room for a #11. OVGuide is an index of links to watch TV shows, movies and anything else your heart desires. No more commentary needed…check it out and tell us what you think!
I know the list may be missing some of your own favorite sites, so I encourage you to leave comments and help our community of users find more great sites to watch TV shows and movies online. Cheers!
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10 Great Ways To Watch TV Shows and Movies Online (now that Megavideo is no more)