It is a delight to watch on-demand video on the iPhone or iPad or any smartphone. However, video streaming apps are now so prevalent that users may suffer from content overload. Tastes also vary, so that not every app will fit the needs of every user. This AppList takes a birds-eye look at the video streaming category and identifies a variety of apps which help provide a complete video watching experience.
So here is the list of 10 best and all time free apps. Choose any app to watch VOD [Video On-Demand] on your Smartphone.
1.Netflix by Netflix, Inc.
- When it comes to streaming video for the iPad, Netflix is often the first app that comes to mind. There is good reason for that. It boasts a large library of quality programming, organized for user convenience. Of course, you have to pay for that privilege, but its cost is reasonable for what you’re getting. Although the Netflix company has made some questionable decisions in the past, its app is still one of the best, at least for the purposes of this AppList.
2.Hulu Plus by Hulu, LLC
- Generally speaking, you go to Netflix for movies and Hulu Plus for television. Netflix does have an extensive collection of television shows, but they’re mostly from past seasons. If you want to watch the latest episodes of your favorite shows, Hulu Plus is likely the way to go, as it has agreements with most of the major networks. Note that at the time of writing, CBS is the only major network which does not distribute its content through Hulu in the United States.
3.Crackle – Movies & TV by Crackle, Inc.
- Crackle is an excellent free alternative to Netflix and Hulu Plus, although it lacks their selection and quality. You also have to deal with ads. But for the cost of nothing, it has some great titles and will provide hours of entertainment.
4.iTunes Movie Trailers by Apple
- Instead of movies, some may prefer to watch movie trailers. Apple’s own iTunes Movie Trailers is the app for that. Like most things that Apple produces, the design is simple and elegant, yet the quality is high. The app almost makes it more engrossing to watch a string of HD trailers than a show or movie.
5.VEVO HD by VEVO
- Like movie trailers, music videos are a natural fit for mobile video streaming. Vevo HD delivers an excellent experience for this purpose. It has a library of more than 45,000 videos, covering over 11,000 artists. In addition to music videos, it also has live performances and some exclusive coverage.
6.TED by TED Conferences
- If you’re looking for something educational, TED is the app for you. The idea of TED is to share “ideas worth spreading,” through talks by some of the foremost experts in their fields. The talks are limited to 18 minutes in length, so that listeners can be challenged and inspired without a hefty time commitment.
7.SnagFilms by SnagFilms
- Also educational are the documentaries featured on SnagFilms, a brainchild of Internet pioneer Ted Leonsis. The app features more than 150 documentaries, which is only a small fraction of the thousands of videos available on SnagFilms.com. Despite that, the SnagFilms app is designed well and contains many hours of quality content. You can also watch the films on your television through Airplay and Apple TV. It is a worthy app to carry in your video app collection.
8. Crunchyroll – Watch Anime & Drama Now!by Crunchyroll, Inc.
- A personal favorite of mine is the Crunchyroll app, which specializes in anime and Asian dramas. Although Crunchyroll once hosted a lot of illegal content, it has now secured legal distribution agreements with companies and is committed to removing all copyright infringing content from its site. Crunchyroll does charge for a premium membership, but offers a lot of content for free, including almost up-to-date episodes for popular anime, such as Naruto Shippuden and Bleach (without a premium membership, you watch episodes a week behind schedule). More importantly to anime purists, most of the content is in its original language, with subtitles and not dubs.
9.Frequency™ by Frequency
- Instead of visiting individual sources for their video needs, users can download a single app which collects video from many different sources (including YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook). There are many personal video aggregator apps available. Frequency is my favorite because of its plethora of interesting channels and its clean organized interface.
10.Vimeo by Vimeo, LLC
- Finally, the obvious app that hasn’t been included on this list is YouTube. However, YouTube is a native app for the iDevice, so we’ll mention YouTube’s competitor Vimeo instead. Vimeo’s app allows you to upload, edit, manage, and watch your videos straight from your iPhone. It lacks the library of YouTube, but many of its videos are of much higher quality. Some of the videos look absolutely stunning on the iPhone 4S’ retina screen. The app has gotten some poor reviews in the App Store for crash issues, although I only experienced minor problems myself. The app does need some work, but is a decent alternative to YouTube.
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