Although the first mechanical televisions were invented in the late 1920s, it wasn't until a few decades later that TV became part of mainstream American living. Since then, TV has changed dramatically in terms of technology, price and almost universal availability. Perhaps one of the biggest ways in which TV has changed is that you don't have to watch TV anymore to see your favorite shows. Now you can watch them on your computer and even on your phone.

Hulu

Log on to hulu.com to see a wide variety of different shows on the website's home page. You can choose different clips from here, or you can look for a specific show by typing the title of it into the upper right-hand corner of the window. Search by genre, too, by hovering your cursor over the Channels button, which should reveal a drop-down menu. From here, you can select Sports, Comedy, Music or whatever you want. Many of these "shows" might just be clips from the show. Click the drop-down menu underneath Video Type after your search, and then select TV Full Episodes to reveal only full episodes. Note the length of the clip by observing the number in parentheses.

iTunes

Download full episodes of TV shows you can't watch on hulu at iTunes. Log onto apple.com/itunes to download the latest version of iTunes. Install it after it is finished downloading, then open it and click on the Store icon on the left-hand side of the iTunes window. Type whatever show you want to buy into the iTunes search bar in the upper right-hand corner of the window. Click Buy when you see the episode or season you want and wait for it to finish downloading. Now you can put it on your iPod or iPhone or just watch it on your computer.

Network's Website

Search on the website of whatever network airs the show you want to watch. NBC.com for instance, has many full episodes of the shows it airs on its network. Many other networks are doing the same thing. Just Google the name of the channel you're watching on TV, go to the official website, then search the site for the show you want to watch.

Source:

The History of TV

Blurt It! When Was the First Television Invented?