Free satellite television seems like such a novel concept. Yet it's reality. Online TV stations are now offering computer noobies and gurus a chance to watch their favorite TV programming online. The idea is called Free To Air Satellite TV broadcast that streams through your Internet right onto your desktop. This means users are able to watch the unencrypted video without legal ramifications.

With a high speed Internet connection, watching satellite TV compares closely with regular TV broadcasting except it's with a click of a mouse button. Dial-up will stutter and stall when video plays. It just doesn't have the bandwidth it takes to play a live or recorded broadcast.

To enjoy the favorites the Internet has to offer, all you need is a system compatible to the streaming technology. A computer system running any Windows Operating Software including but not limited to XP, ME, Win 95 and 98 will do. The computer should have a processing speed of, nothing less than, a Pentium III 333, a high-end graphics card, a sound card along with external speakers and a large LCD screen.

Some station websites will demand software that is capable of playing their videos. The software is downloadable and easy to install. It's available at several online retailers and from payment to installation; the whole process should be no more than an hour.

Online satellite stations do not mind the traffic their website gets... the more, the better. However, occasionally the website may get a user who constantly floods them with unwanted signals. Unless your computer is one of them, have fun searching the sites.

If you don't know where to go for some of the interesting videos, conduct a search with Yahoo or Google. Type in combinations of "satellite free TV" or "international TV sites". Into the news, CNN.com and ABCNews.com also have stories available for browsing.

With cartoons, music videos, movies, news stories, live games, educational sites and radio stations for free, everyone in the household will get use out of the streaming technology available on the computer. The best thing of all...it's all free!