Make old TV Smart
Discussion
Got a small 'good enough' LCD TV for kitchen, but have no aerial available there. Tried a couple of indoor ones but no good. So, something like a Fire Stick - will this give live TV as well as streaming services?
(I could by another TV, but then 1 of the children would get the outgoing TV, then there are 2 other kids.... £££)
(I could by another TV, but then 1 of the children would get the outgoing TV, then there are 2 other kids.... £££)
Up until very recently I would have recommended the fire TV/Stick for this purpose. I have been with them from the start and have several around the house. I have used them instead of using the native smart functions so there is a consistent feel even with my projector.
The criticism was always that you had to be fully signed up to Amazon otherwise it felt like they may be pushing content you had to pay for. I did not mind this as I have a Prime subscription. I also have the fireTV recast which provides over the air TV and a dvr
But...….
After a recent update they have made the interface absolutely terrible. It is now difficult to find items you have already paid for as it is 100% pushing paid services. In some case, I have searched for a film and it came up with the $10 option. When I click the "more ways to watch" it will then give me the link to HBO where I can watch it free.
I have gone from being all in to telling people to avoid like the plague.
The criticism was always that you had to be fully signed up to Amazon otherwise it felt like they may be pushing content you had to pay for. I did not mind this as I have a Prime subscription. I also have the fireTV recast which provides over the air TV and a dvr
But...….
After a recent update they have made the interface absolutely terrible. It is now difficult to find items you have already paid for as it is 100% pushing paid services. In some case, I have searched for a film and it came up with the $10 option. When I click the "more ways to watch" it will then give me the link to HBO where I can watch it free.
I have gone from being all in to telling people to avoid like the plague.
40 quid on an android TV box would be my choice. Make sure it's got at least 4gb ram and recent version of android and jobs a good un.
I've got this one and it does everything I need.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Android-Quad-Core-Allwinn...
I recommend getting this remote to go with it as it makes using most apps a lot easier.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114354341273
I've got this one and it does everything I need.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Android-Quad-Core-Allwinn...
I recommend getting this remote to go with it as it makes using most apps a lot easier.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114354341273
The 'Chromecast with Google TV' is a pretty nice, relatively cheap dongle. Powers from USB (USB C connector).
Clearly meant to compete with the Fire TV sticks ... it's a pretty good version of 'Android TV' with a slightly customised launcher. Does just about all you would want to do with video (or even game) streaming just fine. Really, for 95% of what I use it for it's just as good as my Shield TV box.
Clearly meant to compete with the Fire TV sticks ... it's a pretty good version of 'Android TV' with a slightly customised launcher. Does just about all you would want to do with video (or even game) streaming just fine. Really, for 95% of what I use it for it's just as good as my Shield TV box.
EdT said:
Is there a way to run it without latest update?
Not that I know of. What I find amazing is the reviews are all 100% positive and are a cut and paste of each other. They all mention a more "personalised experience" and "making it easier to discover content". What that means is they have profiles that they have targeted marketing for.Everyone seems to be ignoring the "i want to watch live TV" aspect of the OP's request.
A Firestick lets you see many channels "live" but not all the ones you will get on Freeview/Freesat. It's also a lot clunkier - BBC to ITV means you have to close app, open app, select channel, select live view etc etc. rather than a couple of clicks on a remote.
A Firestick lets you see many channels "live" but not all the ones you will get on Freeview/Freesat. It's also a lot clunkier - BBC to ITV means you have to close app, open app, select channel, select live view etc etc. rather than a couple of clicks on a remote.
Another vote for the Chromecast with Google TV. Use ours for iPlayer, Prime, youtube, and streaming stuff from NAS with Plex. You can watch live TV on it via the iPlayer or similar apps. Voice search on it works surprisingly well, or you can find content on you phone or PC and cast it to the TV instead.
Way better than the Firesticks I had before.
Way better than the Firesticks I had before.
boyse7en said:
Everyone seems to be ignoring the "i want to watch live TV" aspect of the OP's request.
A Firestick lets you see many channels "live" but not all the ones you will get on Freeview/Freesat. It's also a lot clunkier - BBC to ITV means you have to close app, open app, select channel, select live view etc etc. rather than a couple of clicks on a remote.
Do you have the fireTV recast? I’m in the US so it may not be in your market. The recast does have an aerial plugged in, but can be anywhere in the house. It provides many free channels (about 40) and also combines several other provides, like Pluto, into one channel guide. It is excellent. I can watch Bond 24 hours a day, or This old house all day as well. A Firestick lets you see many channels "live" but not all the ones you will get on Freeview/Freesat. It's also a lot clunkier - BBC to ITV means you have to close app, open app, select channel, select live view etc etc. rather than a couple of clicks on a remote.
boyse7en said:
Everyone seems to be ignoring the "i want to watch live TV" aspect of the OP's request.
A Firestick lets you see many channels "live" but not all the ones you will get on Freeview/Freesat. It's also a lot clunkier - BBC to ITV means you have to close app, open app, select channel, select live view etc etc. rather than a couple of clicks on a remote.
As long as there's an aerial available somewhere you can plug in a HDHomerun tuner and connect to ethernet .... that will give full Freeview reception on just about any digital device connected to your home network (there are apps for google, amazon, iOS, Windows, MacOS and it can act like a uPnP server so even a lot of devices for which there is no app can connect to it).A Firestick lets you see many channels "live" but not all the ones you will get on Freeview/Freesat. It's also a lot clunkier - BBC to ITV means you have to close app, open app, select channel, select live view etc etc. rather than a couple of clicks on a remote.
Basic model has two tuners but there is also a four tuner version.
I use a Chromecast on our Kitchen tv where there is no aerial point. Works great except you can’t stream live ITV or Channel 4 programmes from their apps for some reason. Which makes no sense as you can watch live on their apps on a tablet or phone, but that’s the way it is. You usually don’t have to wait long for it to be on catchup anyway, so not a big deal.
You can stream live tv to Chromecast from BBC, Now TV (Sky) and BT Sport fine.
You can stream live tv to Chromecast from BBC, Now TV (Sky) and BT Sport fine.
The experience using all these apps is a bit clunky compared to terrestrial tv . Im amazed how people think binge watching a tv show or films is the only use for a TV now.
This is the message peddled by the streaming giants and its obviously easily sunk into the impressionable minds of many.
This is the message peddled by the streaming giants and its obviously easily sunk into the impressionable minds of many.
We have this app on my son's Roku stick which seems to work fine and gives all the free to air channels with a channel guide like that built into TVs. Works on all devices I think.
https://tvplayer.com/uk/watch/
https://tvplayer.com/uk/watch/
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