Hulu

It's no secret there's controversy over illegal Downloads of TV shows and movies, but Web TV sites such as Hulu and FanCast, along with major networks including CBS, ABC, NBC and FOX are offering a legal alternative by streaming full-length TV shows and movies for free.

All those networks have a massive library of content combined. A lot of it is available on DVD, but some might not want to own what they're watching. Hulu, FanCast and other sites like them, essentially give viewers the chance to watch without the need to pop in a disc or launch an application. True, there are some commercials, but they tend to only last 15-20 seconds at most.

What they're doing is old news, considering that Hulu has arguably become the hallmark site for watching full episodes of TV shows for over a year now. Since they aggregate content from networks willing to participate, the library they offer is continuing to grow. And the quality of the stream is pretty good, where it can sometimes be upgraded to high-definition.

The list of sites that offer full episodes and other interesting content is probably longer than this, but here are some that stand out:

Hulu
The premier site for full episodes from over 400 TV shows and up to 100 full-length movies. These are basically syndicated from networks like NBC, FOX and their subsidiaries. But other providers include The Comedy Network, USA Network, G4, Disney, Bravo and at least a dozen others. All of this is offered for free, of course, and some of it in 480p or 720p high-definition.

FanCast
Owned by Comcast, FanCast operates in much the same way Hulu does. It offers tons of full TV episodes, as well as over 100 movies, ranging from old classics to more contemporary features. Don't expect too many blockbusters here though. But it's all laid out nicely here and setup takes less than five minutes.

Joost
It was once an application you had to download, but Joost is now purely on your Web browser. Tons of content on here, with a mishmash of popular TV shows and movies, coupled with cool documentaries and specialty channels.

Sling.com
Sling Media is known more for its Slingbox products, but they have a beta up on Sling.com that offers a lot of the TV shows and movies the other sites already have. But there are extras like, video games, soap operas, how-to and politics.

AOL Video
There's a lot to choose from with AOL Video, though a lot of the content has been collected from other sites. The quality also seems to vary from show to show. Still, it's a pretty good option for watching all your favorites.

Veoh
Veoh is more user-generated than the others are, but it still has episodes of shows you might not find elsewhere. The quality is generally not as good as the others, but it does depend on who posted the content and what resolution it is. You will find some oddities among the list of movies and shows, though there are definitely some gems in there, too.

Babelgum
You won't really find much in terms of popular TV shows and movies here, but you will find some really cool documentaries and clips that cover sports, music, nature, history and a bunch of other things. You'll need to download the Babelgum Player to watch, but that process takes less than a few minutes. And you don't need to sign up for anything, either.

Throw in YouTube, Yahoo!, MySpace, MSN, VBS.TV and others, and there's no shortage of options for watching stuff on the Web. Of course, there's also the possibilities of rediscovering a show you used to love, or even finding new love in a show long since gone by.