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Jessica Wade
I'm not entirely sure if Stack Overflow is the correct website to ask this question, but I have been thinking about it ever since a friend mentioned it to me a week ago. I know on a baseline level what hardware acceleration does: offloads certain workloads to other components in your computer (i.e. your GPU or sound card) to improve performance in various applications. I just would like to know what exactly is happening when hardware acceleration is on v/s off when streaming a Google Chrome window and why it makes a difference in a completely different application.
If you're unfamiliar with what I'm referencing in the title, here's a simple example of what I mean: Let's say you want to watch a Netflix show or sporting event with your friends on Discord, so you all hop in a call together on the app to watch you stream the video in a Chrome tab. However, when your friends join the stream, they can hear the audio of what you're streaming but the video feed is blacked out for those watching. Interestingly enough, one of the solutions people have found to this issue is disabling hardware acceleration in Google Chrome's settings which allows the video and audio to be streamed no problem.
It makes sense why this occurs: to prevent potential piracy and illegal redistribution of copywrited material, but why does disabling hardware acceleration re-enable this functionality? Does hardware acceleration allow data to be shared between apps? Does Discord set a flag saying a particular window/screen is being streamed and Chrome can only "see" that flag while hardware acceleration is enabled?
I guess the underlying question is: how does having hardware acceleration enabled allow Netflix, a TV provider or any other website for that matter to know their content is being streamed?
The hardware acceleration allows the HDCP content to remain encrypted all the way to the display. By disabling it, the video is decrypted in software usually at a reduced resolution and/or frame rate.
Think about your preferences for movies. If you love classics or blockbuster films certain platforms will offer more of what you want. Services like Vudu and Tubi have huge libraries, but you'll want to browse for newer releases, genres or kid-friendly titles.
Not every free streaming service has ads in their programming, and some have shorter ad loads than others. Decide whether you can tolerate commercials at all, and if not, aim for a paid subscription service or a platform like Hoopla.
You want to stream movies on an app that's easy to use on any of your devices with simple search and playback functions. Ideally, it should be easy to browse by genre or title, download, adjust parental settings or to create watch lists if the service offers it.
Home to thousands of free feature films, indie movies and originals, Tubi TV's streaming platform offers content from major studios including Lionsgate, Warner Bros. and Paramount. Among the titles you'll see right now are Birds of Prey, Friday, Die Hard and Inglourious Basterds.
The service lets you know which movies are leaving, newly added or are up-to-date releases. To help separate the wheat from the chaff, browse all the genres or check out categories like Highly Rated on Rotten Tomatoes or Trending Now. Tubi also has some live channels that air movies, but the slate is fairly light and you must navigate to the "Entertainment" tab in the live guide to find it.
Freevee is part Amazon's streaming business, which also includes Prime Video. Formerly known as IMDb TV, the ad-supported platform offers a strong catalog of on-demand movies and 24/7 live channels for film lovers for just about any genre. You can watch titles such as The Hitman's Bodyguard, Crazy Rich Asians, Old or Paddington 2, and viewers can also check out its lineup of originals like Puppy Love or Hotel for the Holidays. The service isn't limited to movies either; there are TV episodes available as well.
You don't need a Prime membership to access Freevee, and you can watch content via Prime Video, web browser or on the standalone Freevee app. It's available on most devices, including smart TVs, streaming devices, PCs, phones, game consoles and tablets. Freevee is accessible for viewers in the US, UK and Germany.
While you can rent or buy movies on YouTube, you can also watch an array of titles for free if you don't mind ads. The platform has a dedicated YouTube Movies & TV channel/storefront section where you can browse free shows and films. Currently, the lineup includes titles such as The Fifth Element, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Concussion, World War Z and Donnie Darko.
You can scroll through its genre rows, including documentaries, animated movies or crime thrillers. You'll need to log in to stream mature content, but anything rated PG-13 or under is accessible without needing to sign in to your account.
Pluto began life as a live streaming service that offered multiple "channels" of content. Although the Paramount-owned brand has expanded its live TV reach with a growing number of news, entertainment and sports channels, it's also home to plenty of on-demand free movies.
Right now, you can watch four Indiana Jones films, titles such as Mean Girls, Knives Out and Rush Hour, the Saw franchise, and more. The selection for kids is limited, however. Additionally, Pluto's watch list feature is available without an account.
Crackle is an ad-supported streaming service, one that offers both movies and TV shows -- including some original content and web series. It's available on a wide variety of devices and doesn't require you to set up an account to watch free movies online, though doing so enables you to save favorites, adjust parental controls, get recommendations and resume playback if you switch between devices.
If you love B-movies, you'll have a field day on Crackle, but you'll find content in just about every genre and era, including titles featuring some of your favorite Hollywood actors. Look out for movies starring Tom Hiddleston, Kirsten Dunst, Jet Li, Ray Liotta and even Beyonc.
Vudu has been consistently expanding its free, ad-supported section, which lets you choose from a generous selection of Hollywood movies (mostly older titles, alas) to watch at no charge. To watch free movies online, you'll need a Vudu account, but it's free to set one up. Word of advice: Use parental controls -- you're going to need them if you have kids.
Got a library card? Check to see if your library has partnered with Hoopla. This digital-media service allows you to check out all kinds of stuff -- including movies. When you "borrow" one, you have 72 hours in which to watch it. Your library determines the total number of movies you can borrow each month.
Surprisingly, Hoopla's mobile apps offer not only streaming but also a download option for offline viewing. You can explore its recommendation rows or search by genre, title or collection. There are mainstream titles such as My Cousin Vinny, Eagle Eye, The Imitation Game, The Joy Luck Club and Disney's Anastasia. Collections from MGM, Lifetime, Hallmark and other brands are also available.
If your library doesn't offer Hoopla, maybe it has Kanopy? This commercial-free (yay!) service, which began life in Australia, has made its way to thousands of college campuses worldwide and various US libraries. Check the website to see if your library has it -- and ask for it if it doesn't.
Kanopy offers some mainstream stuff but also a large selection of indie films and documentaries from the likes of PBS and The Great Courses. Its library also houses titles from the esteemed A24, including Everything Everywhere All at Once, Hereditary and Pearl. There's also a Kanopy Kids section with loads of family-friendly content. Other notable titles on the app include Moonlight, The Big Short and The Secret of Kells.
The Roku Channel isn't exclusively a free movie provider but also an aggregator of new and existing no-cost content. Thus, don't be surprised if there's some overlap with some of the free movies available on other services. You'll find movies from Roku partners such as Lionsgate, MGM, Sony and Warner, along with Roku originals and free content from existing Roku channels such as FilmRise and Popcornflix.
You may already be familiar with several major free streaming services that provide TV and movies on-demand, including a few FAST TV options. While there are multiple platforms out there on which you can stream movies live or on-demand for free, we kept several factors in mind for this list. We looked at catalog offerings, whether the service is easy to find/install, app design (i.e. ease of use across different TV and mobile platforms) and features (like search, mobile downloads, watch lists and parental controls).
Yes, for the most part. The trade-off for streaming free content is that you have to tolerate commercials. Whether you're watching a live channel or on-demand video, most of these services will run ads during your viewing experience. The only exceptions on this list are Kanopy and Hoopla.
These may also be options. You can stream a small amount of movies from your favorite networks on their dedicated apps, but we opted not to include them on this list as some (like ABC) require you to be registered with a cable/TV provider to watch. We'll note that The CW has a limited slate of feature films available on its app such as Looper, Men in Black and Shrek the Halls.
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