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CW Alternative?

1993 Views 29 Replies 19 Participants Last post by  pdhenry, 
photoshopgrl
Is there another site that has shows from the CW other than their channel or app? The commercials drive me nuts and I pay for a number of other streaming services. Thanks! :)
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SteveD
photoshopgrl said:
Is there another site that has shows from the CW other than their channel or app? The commercials drive me nuts and I pay for a number of other streaming services. Thanks! :)
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Netflix has had complete seasons of CW shows once the seasons finish airing. Not sure if this has continued, though, since HBO Max.
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moyekj
photoshopgrl said:
Is there another site that has shows from the CW other than their channel or app? The commercials drive me nuts and I pay for a number of other streaming services. Thanks! :)
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Even YouTube TV DVR "recordings" are VOD only for that channel which drives me nuts too.
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S
photoshopgrl said:
Is there another site that has shows from the CW other than their channel or app? The commercials drive me nuts and I pay for a number of other streaming services. Thanks! :)
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Netflix has a contract with the CW to stream their shows, but the CW didn't renew the deal, which expires this spring. So some of the new shows might end up on Netflix, while others might end up on the CBS/Paramount service. The exception, I think, is Batwoman, which is wholly owned by Warner Bros.
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A
Just use one of the many video downloader plugins for your browser. I use Video Downloader Plus.
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N
Shakhari said:
Netflix has a contract with the CW to stream their shows, but the CW didn't renew the deal, which expires this spring. So some of the new shows might end up on Netflix, while others might end up on the CBS/Paramount service. The exception, I think, is Batwoman, which is wholly owned by Warner Bros.
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What I read is that for those CW series that are already on Netflix (e.g. Riverdale), they may continue to remain there, with new seasons added going forward, although it's also possible that they end up leaving Netflix for a different service at some point now that the contract is expiring.

As for new series that launched on the CW within the past year, and going forward, it's been reported that they will mainly be heading to either HBO Max or Paramount+. The DC Comics shows, in particular, like Batwoman and Superman & Lois, I would expect to go to HBO Max. Although Nancy Drew is already on HBO Max too.
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photoshopgrl
Allanon said:
Just use one of the many video downloader plugins for your browser. I use Video Downloader Plus.
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I'm not watching on my computer. I'm watching via Firestick.
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photoshopgrl
moyekj said:
Even YouTube TV DVR "recordings" are VOD only for that channel which drives me nuts too.
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Yeah, past seasons are on Netflix but current running shows are not. I know Hulu has a bunch of them that I watch each week for NBC. I was hoping someone had the CW shows as well. I guess it's just one of those channels I have to deal with unless I want to watch on my computer via wizardy.
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osu1991
photoshopgrl said:
I'm not watching on my computer. I'm watching via Firestick.
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Use the browser plug-in to download the 1080p file from the CW webplayer. Then you can watch the file on your tv/fire stick with Plex or something similar. You may also be able to put the file on a thumb drive and plug it into the USB port of your tv and watch it directly that way, if your tv supports it
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Random User 7
Call me old school but I use an antenna and a TiVo :p
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realityboy
moyekj said:
Even YouTube TV DVR "recordings" are VOD only for that channel which drives me nuts too.
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Not that it helps, but this depends on your area and local CW. Mine are DVR recordings.
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E
Most CW shows are available for purchase on Amazon Prime. If it's a show that worth watching, I buy the complete season on Prime and watch it weekly.
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Random User 7 said:
Call me old school but I use an antenna and a TiVo :p
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Yeah until Spectrum wisens up and converts my old Time Warner plan $99/month for digital cable and 200mbps internet, it'll be Tivo powering my viewing, for the most part.
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Steveknj
My solution (since AT&T TV doesn't have the local CW channel) is a combination of Locast (if available in your area...$5 per month to get rid of the nag screens that pop up) and Channels DVR (where you bring in Locast and other services and record shows, and thus skip commercials) which is $8 a month. I think Channels has the best "cloud" DVR I've ever used, including one button tap commercial skip. It's not a true "cloud" DVR in that you create a server on a computer or NAS (I'm using WD's My Cloud drive where I have most of 4TB available).

Home - Locast

Channels - Channels DVR Server
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osu1991 said:
Use the browser plug-in to download the 1080p file from the CW webplayer. Then you can watch the file on your tv/fire stick with Plex or something similar. You may also be able to put the file on a thumb drive and plug it into the USB port of your tv and watch it directly that way, if your tv supports it
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I use pyTivo and transfer it to my Tivo.
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Dan203
Can you get CW via antenna in your area? If so and OTA DVR like Channels or Tablo would work well.

There is also a service called PlayOn which can record from streaming apps like the CW app and then you can watch while skipping the commercials.
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mr.unnatural
Dan203 said:
Can you get CW via antenna in your area? If so and OTA DVR like Channels or Tablo would work well.

There is also a service called PlayOn which can record from streaming apps like the CW app and then you can watch while skipping the commercials.
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PlayOn only records audio in 2-channel stereo.

I've been using Channels DVR for several months and I love it. It requires a SiliconDust HD HomeRun tuner connected to your network (I have a Prime, Quatro, and ATSC 3.0 Quatro). You can set up the DVR engine on just about any device and access the recordings as well as live TV on any compatible device. I have the DVR engine configured on a Windows 10 HTPC and I use Nvidia Shields to watch the recordings. I can also access them from my iPhone. I can also set up shows to record from any of the aforementioned devices. The only caveat is that it won't work with DRM content so if your provider flags a lot of channels as copy once it won't work with them. Works great with OTA and non-DRM content. It also has a feature called TV Everywhere that allows you to stream shows from your DVR to other devices across the internet. I've never actually used it but I hear it works quite well.
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Dan203
mr.unnatural said:
PlayOn only records audio in 2-channel stereo.

I've been using Channels DVR for several months and I love it. It requires a SiliconDust HD HomeRun tuner connected to your network (I have a Prime, Quatro, and ATSC 3.0 Quatro). You can set up the DVR engine on just about any device and access the recordings as well as live TV on any compatible device. I have the DVR engine configured on a Windows 10 HTPC and I use Nvidia Shields to watch the recordings. I can also access them from my iPhone. I can also set up shows to record from any of the aforementioned devices. The only caveat is that it won't work with DRM content so if your provider flags a lot of channels as copy once it won't work with them. Works great with OTA and non-DRM content. It also has a feature called TV Everywhere that allows you to stream shows from your DVR to other devices across the internet. I've never actually used it but I hear it works quite well.
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I have a Channels DVR as well. Mine is running on a Pi 4 with external drive. Was pretty easy to setup and works great. The UI isn't as nice as TiVo but it's good enough and commercial skip works on every show.
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SteveD
mr.unnatural said:
PlayOn only records audio in 2-channel stereo.
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I believe that CW streaming is only 2-channel stereo anyway, so PlayOn would work fine for those recordings.
Does Channels DVR record from streaming services or do you need a cable account to use it? If it does, it may be a good alternative to PlayOn.
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mr.unnatural said:
PlayOn only records audio in 2-channel stereo.
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The CW website videos are only 2-channel stereo so it's not a downgrade.
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