TV - Satellite - Internet ?
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Discussion

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

77 months

Tuesday 4th August 2020
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Hi all, I'm outdated with regards my household viewing and need some advice of which way is forward. . . .

I'm in a bungalow with a traditional tv aerial on the chimney in one room with freesat built into tv and have 2 old Sky+ boxes in other rooms playing without subs so only get a few channels.

I'm in a low lying semi-rural area so tv reception is poor and the satellite dish and wiring are about 5-ish years old from the previous owners and when they weather is poor so is the quality of viewing.

I'm up for renewing either tv's, dish, aerial, wiring or everything but if there is a more straightforward solution maybe via the internet?

Please give me your thoughts and advice; cheers all

Troubleatmill

10,210 posts

182 months

Tuesday 4th August 2020
quotequote all
mgsontour said:
Hi all, I'm outdated with regards my household viewing and need some advice of which way is forward. . . .

I'm in a bungalow with a traditional tv aerial on the chimney in one room with freesat built into tv and have 2 old Sky+ boxes in other rooms playing without subs so only get a few channels.

I'm in a low lying semi-rural area so tv reception is poor and the satellite dish and wiring are about 5-ish years old from the previous owners and when they weather is poor so is the quality of viewing.

I'm up for renewing either tv's, dish, aerial, wiring or everything but if there is a more straightforward solution maybe via the internet?

Please give me your thoughts and advice; cheers all
How fast is the broadband you have?
Blended soln using both internet and Satelitte.

If weather is really bad - just watch on internet. BBC iplayer, ITV hub, Channel 4 etc, Britbox, Netflix, Amazon etc




anonymous-user

Original Poster:

77 months

Wednesday 5th August 2020
quotequote all
Troubleatmill said:
How fast is the broadband you have?
Blended soln using both internet and Satelitte.

If weather is really bad - just watch on internet. BBC iplayer, ITV hub, Channel 4 etc, Britbox, Netflix, Amazon etc
Thanks for your advice pal, answers below:

  • Just ran speedtest at 74.4
  • Are there not a lot of buffering problems watching internet tv programs and movies?

StevieBee

14,851 posts

278 months

Wednesday 5th August 2020
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mgsontour said:
  • Are there not a lot of buffering problems watching internet tv programs and movies?
Very rarely. Quite often we'll have an Xbox going, a TV in one room and someone on the internet in another and I can quite happily watch anything online without an issue.

Netflix do something with the compression of their content that makes it accessible pretty much anywhere. I often work in parts of the world where the internet runs on coal yet I can sit in my hotel and watch Netflix via a VPN without a problem.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

77 months

Wednesday 5th August 2020
quotequote all
StevieBee said:
Very rarely. Quite often we'll have an Xbox going, a TV in one room and someone on the internet in another and I can quite happily watch anything online without an issue.

Netflix do something with the compression of their content that makes it accessible pretty much anywhere. I often work in parts of the world where the internet runs on coal yet I can sit in my hotel and watch Netflix via a VPN without a problem.
Thanks for your help and may I ask which bit of kit you use to plug into a hotel tv abroad?

Mr Pointy

12,828 posts

182 months

Wednesday 5th August 2020
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OP: what do you want to watch? Are the free channels on Freesat adequate or do you want to sign up for streaming channels like Netflix, Amazon Prime etc? Would Freeview be enough if reception could be improved?

Troubleatmill

10,210 posts

182 months

Wednesday 5th August 2020
quotequote all
mgsontour said:
Thanks for your help and may I ask which bit of kit you use to plug into a hotel tv abroad?
Laptop probably. And use a good quality VPN back to the UK.
Set Netflix quality settings to Low/ Std. It uses very little data. ( Looks like Std quality TV )

As someone who spends a lot of my life in hotels worldwide- it is what I use.


Re buffering.... Your download speed is faster than mine- and I can't recall the last time I had any buffering.

Troubleatmill

10,210 posts

182 months

Wednesday 5th August 2020
quotequote all
For watching TV via my Mac Mini I use this as a skin. ( There is a PC version. )

https://pcmacstore.com/en/app/553245401/friendly-s...

I just setup an icon for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Disney, Netflix, Amazon etc. - and use a mouse as my "remote control"


LukeBrown66

4,479 posts

69 months

Wednesday 5th August 2020
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Purely internet, have a Sky Go login from a mate, use it to watch sport mainly and the odd film, nothing else.

Don't even pay licence fee after some lengthy disputes and finding clarity on the legal side of it.

Listen to a lot of radio in car, and watch anything I can't find on main channels via dodgy streams, Not great but I simply cannot justify the costs of things like Netflix, Amazon (haven't used them in a decade proudly) and other services, over other costs sch as rent, broadband, car etc. Something has to give and that is how I do it.

If I was unable to access things that way I would simply not watch them. While the avenue is there people like me will find a way.

Foliage

3,861 posts

145 months

Wednesday 5th August 2020
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Just get yaself a roku

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

77 months

Wednesday 5th August 2020
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Foliage said:
Just get yaself a roku
Cheers but are they not the same as Amazon firestick?

fred flange

478 posts

244 months

Wednesday 5th August 2020
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I moved to where I am now 18 months ago and the internet is dire(proper in the middle of nowhere in Cornwall). At the same time I cancelled sky as was sick to death of Rigby and Bolton!but I have full 4g signal on EE,so now I’m in unlimited data. All I’ve purchased was a fire stick and was given a nowtv stick for Christmas, and the 4g signal is more than enough to allow me to watch everything in 4K and now my monthly costs have gone from roughly £125 for sky and internet and Netflix to around £35 and maybe the odd tenner to watch a f1 race.

StevieBee

14,851 posts

278 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
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mgsontour said:
StevieBee said:
Very rarely. Quite often we'll have an Xbox going, a TV in one room and someone on the internet in another and I can quite happily watch anything online without an issue.

Netflix do something with the compression of their content that makes it accessible pretty much anywhere. I often work in parts of the world where the internet runs on coal yet I can sit in my hotel and watch Netflix via a VPN without a problem.
Thanks for your help and may I ask which bit of kit you use to plug into a hotel tv abroad?
Nothing really, just connect to the hotel WiFi and access Netflix / Amazon / iPlayer / Sky Go through the web browser as normal. You need to use a VPN (Virtual Proxy Network) which is a bit of software that makes it seem like you're in the UK even if you're not. There are free ones but the ones you buy are best - not expensive, £20 / £30 or so. I use a MacBook Pro but works the same on a PC. I do sometimes take a HDMi lead so I can plumb the lap top into the hotel telly to get the bigger screen but most of the hotels I stay in still have those big fat-back TVs!