If you've heard all the buzz about internet TV, you've probably heard about catch up internet TV. Usually simply called catch up TV but sometimes called something else, it is one feature of IPTV you really want to know about if you're comparing features on internet TV set top boxes or internet-ready smart TVs.

What Is Catch Up TV?

If you have a DVR, you probably enjoy the freedom to record your favourite TV shows and watch them later at your leisure. In essence, that's exactly what catch up TV allows you to do, but instead of having to remember to program your DVR or start recording when your favourite show begins, the network does all of this for you and then gives you access to the programs via your internet TV.

The good news is that catch up TV is free. The bad news is that there are some catches to it:

• No major Australian network offers all of its programs on catch up TV.

• Which catch up TV networks you have access to may depend partly on who your service provider is. When overseas, you cannot watch Australian TV unless you can find a proxy server that has an Australian IP address. These are available for a small fee.

• Catch up TV programs are only available for a limited time after being aired.

• The catch up TV programs you watch will count towards your download limit if you have one.

• Because it is streaming video, you need high speed broadband or a fast and stable WiFi connection to watch catch up TV. A bandwidth speed of 1500kbps is recommended.

The bad news isn't all bad, though. While every series isn't available from every network, most of them offer their most popular shows and although they are only available for a limited time, they are usually available for weeks, not days. Some programs on some channels are even available for up to a year.

Some catch up TV channels offer free apps for smartphones that send you alerts about programs you regularly watch and can even allow you to use your smartphone as a remote when watching IPTV.

Here's the breakdown of catch up TV offerings in Australia:

PLUS7

Through its partnership with Yahoo!7, the Seven network offers a wide range of catch up TV on its PLUS7 online network. You will need to have Adobe Flash installed to view PLUS7 content, but this is easily and quickly downloaded if you don't already have it.

Most of the 7 network's most popular shows are available as catch up TV on PLUS7. These include Home and Away, Beauty and the Geek, the X Factor and many more. Also available on PLUS7 are cult classics and selected programs from NBC, such as popular episodes of Saturday Night Live. Catch up programming on PLUS7 is available anywhere from about a week after its initial airing to up to a year.

For more information, check out http://au.tv.yahoo.com/plus7/

Fixplay

NineMSN was a latecomer to catch up TV. Just launched in 2010, the Nine network has made up for lost time by including a range of classic British TV shows such as Doctor Who and Little Babylon along with a number of US and, of course, Australian series. Unlike PLUS7, Fixplay requires Microsoft's Silverlight streaming video platform. If you have an Xbox360, Silverlight will already be installed, but you may be prompted to install it on other devices.

Other Fixplay channels include TVFix, CelebrityFix, MovieFix, MusicFix, FixPlay and even SummerFix, which covers the Australian beach lifestyle.

For more about Fixplay, visit http://thefix.ninemsn.com.au/

Ten Video Player

Network 10, like the other major networks, offers both real-time and catch-up TV online directly through its Ten Video Player website. Most of Channel 10's most popular series, including Terra Nova, Ringer, Glee, Rush and Good News World are available for limited periods of time. In addition 10 offers news, sports, entertainment and lifestyle programming online or on your internet connected TV. You can download an app to your smartphone and use it as a remote or use your TV remote.

Learn more at http://ten.com.au/video-player.htm

ABC iView

Most viewers and reviewers agree that ABC's iView offers the largest and most comprehensive range of catch up and free streaming video as yet available. At any given time, virtually every program in the ABC line up is available for catch up viewing on iView, including ABC for Kids, documentaries, drama series, news, sports, indigenous and lifestyle series, feature length films and specials. Also available on iView are "iView Exclusives" such as Tropfest, Rage highlights and cutting edge documentaries. If you can't find anything on ABC iView, just go to ABC2 or ABC3 for even more selections.

Find out all that's available on iView at http://www.abc.net.au/iview/#

SBS On Demand

Not to be outdone by ABC, SBS On Demand has a full complement of SBS content for viewers. Lovers of international films love SBS because of the numbers of quality foreign films that air regularly on SBS TV. These, too, can be found on SBS On Demand and an extra feature found on their web portal is "My Videos", which allows you to bookmark your favourite videos for later viewing. If you don't know which film you want to watch, you can view trailers and read reviews before you decide.

SBS On Demand can be found at http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/