Hall of fame

What is this “Hall of Fame” section all about anyway?

Well, as you already know by now, here at Streaming Sites, I am dedicated to reviewing only the best of the best sites for streaming movies, TV shows, and more. Every single site that I feature on the other lists here – such as the Free Sports Streaming Sites and Best Movie Streaming Sites categories – must pass a rigorous quality test before they earn their place on one of these coveted lists.

Each streaming site that I review is evaluated on the basis of 5 main components: History and reputation, design and user experience, content and features, mobile friendliness, and pricings and plans. Based on how a given site performs, cumulatively, taking into account each aspect, I give it a rating out of 5. Every reviewed site that you will find elsewhere on Streaming Sites is a site that I have deemed to be one of the best streaming sites on the web … even those that have received a 1 out of 5 rating. A low score for one of the best streaming sites is still an extremely high score when put into the context of the full scope of TV and movie streaming sites that exist.

There is a good chance that you may have happened upon one of these bottom-of-the-barrel streaming sites yourself at one point or another. We’ve all been there. Maybe you are searching for a particularly obscure or rare movie or TV series and you cannot find it on any of your go-to streaming sites. Netflix doesn’t have it. Hulu isn’t helpful. Amazon Prime Video delivers pitiful returns. So, you are forced into a deep dive in search of the elusive movie.

The next thing you know, you are 20 tabs deep and your computer is a bedlam of popup ads (and probably viruses for all you know … a full computer scan is definitely in order later on). The majority of the sites that comprise your 20-something open tabs are not even legitimate sites. These are those sketchy “streaming sites” that ask you to register or to pay for a membership before you will have access to a seemingly endless library of HD movies and TV shows.

Never trust a streaming site that asks you to register or pay without first consulting my list of streaming site reviews. If it is not featured on this site. there is a good chance that it is a scam. You have to be careful out there, especially when you are looking for free streaming sites. There are some dangerous corners of the web … you wouldn’t want to get stuck in them.

Not every streaming site, though, exists on either extreme of the spectrum. In other words, there are sites that came very close to being featured on my list of the best streaming sites but missed the mark ever so slightly for one reason or another. This “Hall of Fame,” to finally answer your question directly, is here as a resource for you to browse those sites, those that were almost good enough to make the cut.

Consider it a section of “honorable mentions.” Although I do not feel comfortable calling these the best streaming sites in the world, I do feel comfortable letting you know of their existence. They are sites that you should know about, no doubt, especially if you are to become a movie and TV streaming expert.

If these sites are, like you just said, not the best, then why would I want to know about them in the first place?

This is a fair question. Why would you need a list of admittedly subpar sites? Well, sometimes you will be in a position where you cannot for the life of you seem to track down a certain movie or TV show on any of the premium or free streaming sites on my lists. Sometimes certain titles simply are that obscure.

That doesn’t change the fact that you want to watch the movie or TV show in question, right? Of course not … which is why it can be useful to have a list of sites that, although they may not be good enough to make the list of the best streaming sites, might be able to help you out, nonetheless. Can’t find the esoteric indie French film you want on Solar Movie or Ololo.to? Well, perhaps you can find what you are looking for on one of these Hall of Fame sites, such as Stream Dreams or that icon of free movie streaming, Putlocker.to!

It certainly can’t hurt to have a few extra streaming sites in your toolbox, right? The main purpose behind offering up this list of honorable mentions is to make sure that you have access to as many free streaming tools as possible.

As I often admit in my reviews, no singular streaming site is going to successfully yield the movie or TV show that you are looking for every time. There is no such thing, in other words, as a monolithic premium or free streaming service that can competently address every search. The smart streamer, however, has a long list of backup sites, of alternatives when his go-to streaming sites cannot seem to get the job done.

Are the streaming sites listed here even worth checking out? More importantly, are they safe?

Like I said, the free streaming sites listed here are the ones that were not quite good enough to make the final cut of the best streaming sites on the web. There is, therefore, bound to be a great deal of variability when it comes to the quality of all the sites that you will find here. Another thing that I have noticed is that a lot of these sites have a somewhat volatile nature – meaning that they can waver quite frequently in quality – one day they may be fine and dandy, the next they may be so riddled with ads that they are unusable.

So, I cannot, unfortunately, sit here and make a blanket statement regarding all of these free streaming sites. I will say this, though … I am not making this available on the basis of their merits. I am simply providing them as a means of helping you to expand your streaming horizons (should you wish to and should you require it). Personally, these are the sites that I consider visiting only ever as a last-ditch effort. If all else fails, maybe I’ll give one of these free streaming sites a go.

As for your concerns about safety, once again, stream at your own risk. In fact, allow me to take that further by saying, browse the internet at your own risk, period. If you are online, you are vulnerable. Which is why, whether you are visiting free streaming sites or premium streaming services like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, you should always be sure that you are protected and prepared.

There are certain armors that will help safeguard against viruses, ads, and privacy issues. No matter what you are doing online, if you are armed properly, you will have a much better experience. I highly recommend that you get yourself the following tools before proceeding to any streaming sites. Many of these can be found on my Useful Software list.

First, get a good ad-blocker. The main issue when it comes to free streaming sites tends to be malicious ads. Even if they are benign, they can still ruin a streaming experience. I recommend uBlock Origin or something similar.

Next, invest in a solid Virtual Private Network (VPN). I cannot stress this enough. If you value your privacy online, a VPN is the only viable way of ensuring that you won’t be tracked and that your online activity cannot be monitored. This will not only protect you against hackers, but it will also give you some peace of mind that nobody (not your ISP, not your government) will be able to see what you do online. Note: this is not foolproof, but it will make it a lot harder for your online activity to be viewed.

So, there you have it. As long as you are properly protected, you should be safe against any free streaming site on the web. That being said, happy streaming! I hope that you continue to find all of my lists and reviews helpful.