Best Free Streaming Apps in Canada, May 2021
There is a large pool of video sources freely available on the Internet for movies and TV shows titles. They even include the original content created by paid streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, and Disney. The trick is how to find and access them. In the past, this was done by using various plugins added to a popular program called XBMC, which was later renamed KODI. For that reason, TV boxes used primarily for running KODI are often called KODI boxes. In recent years, as Google’s Android operating system matures and Android apps flourish, many standalone video streaming apps have emerged. And they have made streaming from free video sources on the Internet much easier to do.
For various reasons, most free streaming apps are not distributed on the official Google Play Store. They also seem to come and go more frequently, often getting rebranded, cloned, or morphed into new apps. So the landscape of what’s working and what’s good changes every year. Before we show you what the best streaming apps are in Canada this year, we will first go over some of the common considerations about these apps.
What Makes A Great Streaming App
Stream Quantity and Quality
Due to the lack of commercial guarantee, freely available video sources on the Internet don’t always play smoothly. Those hosted on servers with limited capacities will experience buffering (also known as stuttering or freezing). That’s when the playback pauses while waiting for new data to come in. Popular titles like newly released movies or TV show episodes typically have more sources and higher capacity sources available. That will result in better quality playback.
Free streaming apps vary greatly in their ability to find abundant sources and higher quality sources. If there is no source available, you can’t play the video. If the sources found are limited to only low-capacity servers, you will experience a lot of buffering during playback. A good streaming app has access to a lot of high-quality sources. So it will likely have smoother playbacks.
One way to reduce buffering is by switching to a source of lower resolution. And that’s because lower resolution means less data to put through. For instance, if a 1080p source has a lot of buffering, switching to a 720p or even 480p source may help. Of course with a lower resolution, you will get a fuzzier picture.
TV-Friendly User Interface
Some streaming apps have a TV-friendly user interface. They work well with the TV box remote control. Others may be designed primarily for touch screen devices (phones and tablets). They will require a pointing input device (such as a standard mouse, an air mouse remote control, or a touchpad keyboard) to operate.
Features
A number of convenience features can make your overall viewing experience more enjoyable:
- Viewing History: This feature automatically records the video titles you have watched in the past, allowing you to quickly access them again.
- Favorites: This feature allows you to manually add a video title to your list of favorites. For TV shows, some apps allow you to add both a single episode and the entire series.
- Resume: This feature allows you to play a video title from where you have left it off previously. Without the feature, the playback starts from the beginning every time you play it. And you will have to manually fast-forward to the spot you left off.
- Rewind/Fast-Forward: Most apps provide some mechanisms for rewinding and fast-forwarding during playback. However, how they are implemented can make them easier or harder to use with remote control.
- Subtitles: This feature shows subtitles during playback. The subtitles are typically found on public Internet sources such as opensubtitles.org and subscene.com. Some apps also let you switch subtitle files during playback.
- Switching Streams: This feature allows you to switch stream sources during playback. This is useful if the current stream is of poor quality, has the wrong language, or experiences too much buffering.
- Voice Search: Most apps will allow you to search video titles by name. However, entering the search phrase with the onscreen keyboard may be cumbersome. The voice search feature takes advantage of the speech recognition capability of Android and allows you to input the search phrase by talking to a microphone. The TV box itself doesn’t have a built-in microphone. But you can plug in a wireless air mouse with a built-in microphone (for example, see our G30 Voice Air Mouse with Gyroscope) and simply talk to the remote control.
Third-Party Integration
Integration with some third-party players and services can further enhance your streaming experience:
- External Players: In addition to the built-in video player in Android (called ExoPlayer), some apps also support playback using external player apps such as MX Player and VLC.
- Trakt.tv: This free service automatically tracks the movies and TV shows you are watching (and what episodes you have watched) across all your devices. It can also help you to create playlists and discover trending titles that you may like.
- Real-Debrid, AllDebrid & Premiumize: These are the three most popular paid premium stream services. A subscription to any one of the services will provide you with additional high-quality premium stream sources with very little buffering.
Ads
Just like other free apps in Android, streaming apps can contain ads as well. Ads are especially annoying on a TV box, because sometimes they can be difficult to dismiss even after they finish. Fortunately, for most streaming apps, there are modified ad-free versions available on the Internet.
Best Free Streaming Apps in Canada, May 2021
We have tested a number of free video streaming apps. And here are our top picks for Canadians this year:
NovaTV
One of the best performing clones of Terrarium TV. It has lots of quality stream sources. And it is being actively developed and frequently updated.
Distinctive feature: Can show video recommendations by relevance or similarity.
| Overall: | ★★★★★ |
|---|---|
| Sources: | 5.0 – a vast collection of sources, many good-quality sources |
| Interface: | 4.5 – well designed for TV, except for voice search requiring a mouse |
| Features: | 5.0 – top-notch playback features |
| Integration: | 5.0 – MX Player, VLC, Trakt.tv, Real-Debrid, AllDebrid, Premiumize |
| Ads: | 4.5 – ad-free version available |
BeeTV
Another one of the best performing clones of Terrarium TV, very similar NovaTV. It also has lots of quality stream sources. And it is also being actively developed and frequently updated.
Distinctive feature: Can show relevant videos by cast members.
| Overall: | ★★★★★ |
|---|---|
| Sources: | 5.0 – a vast collection of sources, many good-quality sources |
| Interface: | 4.5 – well designed for TV, except for voice search requiring a mouse |
| Features: | 5.0 – top-notch playback features |
| Integration: | 5.0 – MX Player, VLC, Trakt.tv, Real-Debrid, AllDebrid, Premiumize |
| Ads: | 4.5 – ad-free version available |
CucoTV
Newly rebranded from ZiniTevi. It has lots of quality stream sources.
Distinctive feature: One-click play (auto-select stream, auto-load subtitle, auto-play next episode), making it the best app for binge-watching TV series.
| Overall: | ★★★★★ |
|---|---|
| Sources: | 5.0 – a large collection of sources, many good-quality sources |
| Interface: | 4.5 – well designed for TV, except for voice search requiring a mouse |
| Features: | 5.0 – top-notch playback features and one-click-play design |
| Integration: | 4.5 – MX Player, VLC, Trakt.tv, Real-Debrid |
| Ads: | 5.0 – currently completely ad-free |
Cinema HD
A well-rounded streaming app with a long, stable history. It has good stream sources and makes a good backup app.
Distinctive feature: Been around for a long time, always works.
| Overall: | ★★★★ |
|---|---|
| Sources: | 4.5 – a large collection of sources |
| Interface: | 5.0 – well designed for TV |
| Features: | 4.5 – good playback features, can’t use the arrow button to rewind/fast-forward |
| Integration: | 5.0 – MX Player, VLC, Trakt.tv, Real-Debrid, AllDebrid, Premiumize |
| Ads: | 4.5 – ad-free version available |
CyberFlix TV
The most recognizable clone of Terrarium TV. It has some good stream sources and makes a good backup app.
Distinctive feature: Has always been completely ad-free.
| Overall: | ★★★ |
|---|---|
| Sources: | 4.0 – relatively small collection of sources |
| Interface: | 5.0 – well designed for TV |
| Features: | 4.0 – lacking some good playback features |
| Integration: | 4.5 – MX Player, VLC, Trakt.tv, Real-Debrid |
| Ads: | 5.0 – always completely ad-free |
Past Glories
The volatile world of free streaming apps often see them come and go. The following apps were one of the good ones at one time but no long work now:
Don’t Forget Privacy
Due to the copyright uncertainty of the free Internet video sources, it is highly recommended that you use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) service on the TV box to protect your own identity.
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