Thank technology. Today, you don't need to own the good-old boob tube in order to view the latest television shows and movies. You just need to go online. Here are three nonconventional places where you can stay current on your stock knowledge of movie greats and flops.

• The Official Site of Your Favorite Channel or Show

It's not just the “official” moniker that sounds flashy. Rather, it's the conscience-friendly thought that when you visit the official site of your favorite channel or show, you're not doing anything illegal. You may not be able to watch your favorite show live or in real time, but if you're swamped with work, you'll be relieved that you can still watch online a clear recording of the series you missed.

Some channels display only their program schedule and offer video snippets of selected shows, while others offer you the full-course meal of everything that was aired. It will be a wise choice to double-check the official site of your favorite show, so you won't have to flounder through other programs that you're not interested in viewing. Stray from fan sites. Official sites give you better quality and legal choices that fan sites can't beat.

• Movie Download Sites for your Mobile Phone or MP3 Player

If you're thinking of YouTube, think again. Although the site is rich with content that you can rate and view, you're probably risking prosecution as video posting there is virtually unregulated. Stick to legit download sites recommended by your favorite channel, show producer or cable provider. Call them up if you're not sure. Nothing comes free though. Expect to pay a meager fee in exchange for the superb service of letting you download your favorite series or movie from a website straight to your internet-ready mobile phone or MP3 player.

The nice thing about legit movie download sites is that you are usually given the option to select only a particular movie one time (pay per use) or to subscribe weekly or monthly to your television series of choice. Just think of the bucks you're shelling out as fair payment for the convenience and DVD-quality downloads you're enjoying. Besides, you'll realize anyway that you're getting the better end of the deal. You may want to give Netflix a try. Netflix specializes in DVD rentals but offers legit movie streaming as a freebie service.

• File Sharing Networks

File-sharing networks allow users to exchange files with one another for free: movie clips, music videos, photos, games, documents and virtually anything stored in your machine. It's basically a free-for-all but there's a big catch. This option is rife with risks for prosecution, vulnerability to hacking, piracy attempts on your files and software, and a horde of malware and spyware attacks. So unless watching your favorite series is a matter between life and death and you have no other means to access the show but through peer-to-peer file sharing, you may want to use this option as a last resort or better yet, completely ditch it and stick to the first two.