The 11 Best Free iPad Video Apps: Showyou, ABC Player And More

The ever-popular Apple iPad, with its wide, high-resolution screen, is a great device for watching video (better than the tiny iPhone, anyway); and yet the options for video discovery are surprisingly limited, given how tailor-made the iPad seems to be for media consumption of all kinds.

Sure, you've got YouTube for your standard viral video-viewing pleasure, iTunes for individual purchases and rentals, and Netflix and Hulu Plus for those with subscriptions. But what about for us freeloaders?

Here are eleven zero-dollar apps we found that can be quite useful both for finding new videos online and for watching them full-screen on your iPad, or hooked up to your wide-screen television at home. Just be sure you plan ahead: you'll need an Internet connection to stream the clips, as the free apps don't allow for downloads.

Enjoy, and get watching. What others should we add to our list? Send us suggestions by clicking "Add a slide" below.

 

What other free video apps for the iPad should we add? Let us know!

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ABC Player

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ABC wins the award for best iPad app among the television networks, mainly because it is the only one of the Big 4 networks that allows you to watch full episodes on your Apple tablet. Sure, you have to wait through ads, but the fact that ABC is willing to let users stream full episodes of Secret Millionaire, Primetime and (personal favorite braindead show) Wipeout onto your iPad is a huge plus for the network and a good way to make fans. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find out what Cougar Town is.

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ABC wins the award for best iPad app among the television networks, mainly because it is the only one of the Big 4 networks that allows you to watch full episodes on your Apple tablet.

Sure, you have to wait through ads, but the fact that ABC is willing to let users stream full episodes of Secret Millionaire, Primetime and (personal favorite braindead show) Wipeout onto your iPad is a huge plus for the network and a good way to make fans.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find out what Cougar Town is.

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Comments

[rahulsans]

11:16 PM on 10/06/2011

Try the Video app called VideoPind http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/videopind-hd/id467335323?mt=8

[Hawkwolf]

12:21 PM on 08/23/2011

I got few iPad video apps but no closed caption!! Huh??

[MichaelMC]

11:34 AM on 08/23/2011

HBOGO is great, if you're a subscriber.

[Christmas Tree]

09:43 AM on 08/23/2011

What frustrates me not being able to watch an entire series. It may be just a licensing issue, but excellent shows like "Waking the Dead" only have the first few seasons available. And "Dr. Who" only has a pitiful few episodes of the old series. Anybody know where I can find ONE legal site that has this stuff?

[jgeurian21]

03:02 PM on 08/23/2011

Nope and you can thank A&E for that. I just gave up and bought a $60 TV turner card for my PC. From there I downloaded Orb Live that streams my saved content, like recorded TV shows, to my iPhone, iPad (Orb has an iOS app) or any other PC. Granted you also need storage space, but a 30 minute SD recording is about 3GB and 1TB+ drives are cheap.

[jgeurian21]

03:02 PM on 08/23/2011

Opps I meant that a 60 minute recording is about 3GB.

[FidellaFaulds]

09:04 AM on 08/23/2011

HBO Go and Max Go are also there for those who are subscribers through their satellite/cable provider. Awesome apps.

[Wayne Caswell]

09:02 AM on 08/23/2011

Can you spell EASY? The typical lean-back TV experience must be Easy! With the Internet streaming options, it's not. Yes, there's a market, such as watching on a PC, tablet or smartphone, or for saving money by cutting the subscription service and supplementing free off-air broadcasting, but what you give up is Easy. My son canceled Comcast and now uses a Roku box. He's saving $ but the user experience is horrible. Channel surfing to find interesting programs is especially bad.

[CaptainObvvious]

09:38 AM on 08/23/2011

That doesn't speak to everyone though.

I gave up my cable years ago... I watch a TON of TV and never pay a dime for it now.

Between Hulu and network websites and "other means' I am missing nothing and in fact am having a better experience now that I can watch whatever I want whenever I want.

[jgeurian21]

03:05 PM on 08/23/2011

"other means"

You mean stealing right? I wonder if your better experience is worth the fact that you are stealing?

[fdestin]

08:37 PM on 08/29/2011

That's why I have become a big fan of Plizy, it's the only one that has that "click-watch" instant experience and it's very lean back.

[greymom]

08:51 AM on 08/23/2011

I love my iPad. I spend weekends on my sailboat and appreciate it's portability. I am thinking of getting the iPad2 because I am an idiot when it comes to managing my photos. Wish it had Flash but some people are successful with other aps to get Flash related content.

[jgeurian21]

03:08 PM on 08/23/2011

Just to say: I have multiple iPads, they are great and I love them.

With that said, imagine taking a photo with a 10inch wide piece of glass? Not only is it just big, but keeping it steady for decent shots is hard. My family and I just got back from a vacation from the beach where my wife said she would just bring the iPad2 for photos. After about 10 minutes she comes back and says "where is my phone?" If anything wait for the new iPhone 5 that will probably have a decent camera and then with iCloud you can share photos to your iPad that you take.

[Dietcokefreak]

08:35 AM on 08/23/2011

I gave my nephew my Netflix log in to stream on his iPad until I cancel the account and saw the horrible picture quality. Is it normal for it to be that bad on an iPad?

[jgeurian21]

09:24 AM on 08/23/2011

Yes. Netflix uses a dynamic streaming system that will downgrade the video in an effort to have gapless playback. I have owned an iPad since Day 1 and honestly with everything that is great about it the one compliant I have is the wonky wifi. I should have known since the very first patch for the iPad was to fix wifi problems. But anyway, I have sat right next to my router and only managed to get an average SD signal whereas my wired PCs and 360s have HD. But my girls watch it most of the time and it doesn't bother them.

[Dietcokefreak]

11:18 AM on 08/23/2011

That's pretty sad for a $700 device. It didn't bother my nephew either.

[7tsgirl]

02:38 AM on 08/23/2011

I am fond of the app Crackle. free movies and television shows and every Friday they offer special movies but they are still free!!! I have watched Sanford and Son, Bewitched and even Seinfeld. it's great and yes there are few commercials. u can share the videos too

[fdestin]

08:44 PM on 08/29/2011

Given the awesome content that these guys have got, Crackle is the one that really disappointed from a product standpoint. Hard to find content that you can fully watch, painful content discovery experience, not a pleasure to use.

[marperl]

10:51 PM on 08/22/2011

I guess this whimsical blog posting I did a couple of months ago is still valid:

Presenting the latest apps and hardware to tie in with the release the iPad 2, model 3r2d2:

1. AttachMe

It's a special iPad attachment that hooks right onto your chest hairs for easy portability at the beach.

2. BonMots

How many times do you fervently wish you'd had a clever comeback or repartee when you needed it? BonMots supplies you with the wit you lack.

3. CosmicCounter

Now you can get a readout of how many cosmic rays, those pesky atomic particles that rain down on us from space, are shooting through your body. (Hint: A LOT)

4. SpouseGrouse

Before your spouse initiates divorce proceedings because you're on your iPad 22 hours a day, this app detects his or her frustration level and emits a warning chime indicating mild, moderate and "too late" levels.

From Thinking Out Loud, March 6, 2011, http://marperl.blogspot.com/

[Jacob Floyd]

10:42 PM on 08/22/2011

How do you forget to mention the HBO Go app?

[amanandamouse]

09:16 AM on 08/23/2011

My guess is although it's a free app, you need to pay for content. It is a good one though if you already pay for HBO.

[Jason O Gilbert]

02:47 PM on 08/23/2011

Bingo. HBO Go and Max Go are both terrific, though.

[wonderYrednow]

08:14 PM on 08/22/2011

I just started using the HBO app to watch Bill Maher, it works pretty well !

[blyan]

05:58 PM on 08/22/2011

Apple haters everywhere haha.

Also, not clicking through another one of your asinine slideshows for content that could have easily fit on a single page. Steal ad-revenue and page-clicks from someone a little less gullible.

[wonderYrednow]

08:15 PM on 08/22/2011

sliding mouser over the pics tells the gory story....

[blackreign]

04:43 PM on 08/22/2011

HP must be getting major advertising revenue from Apple!

If not, it would be nice if HP would show a crumb of journalistic integrity and cover Android devices as well.

[Highball]

06:24 PM on 08/22/2011

I never see ads on the web. Do you see a lot of Apple ads?

[blyan]

06:32 PM on 08/22/2011

Oh you mean for all the people who own Android tablets?

All 4 of them?

[wonderYrednow]

08:16 PM on 08/22/2011

SMACK !

[omeo2013]

04:25 PM on 08/22/2011

Does anyone know if any of these apps work outside the U.S.? I'm going to be moving back to South Korea soon and, as I recall, I couldn't stream Nextflix there.

[wonderYrednow]

08:17 PM on 08/22/2011

When I'm in EU, I use my USA based email to login to any US based sites and it works most of the time.....