Alternatives to Satellite TV

[casita-bonita]

Seems that the time has come for the channel move and most of us will be waving BBC, ITV et al a sad farewell. Or maybe not if there is a suitable alternative.

The 'has anyone lost channels' thread has got rather large and I guess this is a little off topic hence the new thread.

As far as I can see the only practical alternative for a lot of us in Internet delivery of TV channels. Ideally I would like to replace what I have now with something equally easy to use. This is what I have found out so far :-

1. With a little jiggery pokery, i.e expatshield or similar the various players are available on your PC. This has it's limitations in that you are watching old programs and I don't want to watch TV on my PC. I could plug my netbook into the TV but there is still the inconvenience of operating it.

2. There are other streaming tv services like Filmon, but still have the inconvenience factor of the PC.

3. I have both a Humax and a PS3 both of which have the capability to watch iplayer. Problem here is that you cannot install expatshield or other VPC client on these boxes. The solution however is to get a router with VPN capability either by purchasing a suitable device or flah your existing router with VPN capable firmware such as DD-WRT freeware. Subscribe to a suitable VPN service, which I haven't looked at as yet so anybody's experience would be useful. All being well you should then have the various players available on your TV controlled by remote from the comfort of your armchair. A pretty reasonable alternative if you are happy watching 'player' tv

4. I tried using the PS3's browser to watch filmon but it doesn't appear to load the site in a watchable format. The PS3 is crap at so many things....

5. Right now I have live BBC playing on my TV downstairs courtesy of Filmon and one of those cool little Android PCs on a USB Stick. Google Rikomagic for details. This is working a treat and could well be the solution I adopt. £60 or so gets you the pc running android 4.x, and a wireless keyboard and airmouse.

6. I suppose a smart TV may have reasonable browsing capabilities but not having one I have no idea.

7. Stumbled across Telitec's set top internetTV box while browsing yesterday. 250 euros and a monthly subscription supposedly gets you the main UK channels along with epg. I like the sound of this as if it works as advertised then it is pretty much a drop in replacement for the humax/freesat Has anyone any actual experience of this solution?

So this is what I have found so far I'm sure there must be other alternatives, particularly in the set top internet box.

Personally the preference for me if it works would be 7. or something similar. Failing that then option 5 seems to be working satisfactorily.

[El Cid]

3. I have both a Humax and a PS3 both of which have the capability to watch iplayer. Problem here is that you cannot install expatshield or other VPC client on these boxes. The solution however is to get a router with VPN capability either by purchasing a suitable device or flah your existing router with VPN capable firmware such as DD-WRT freeware. Subscribe to a suitable VPN service, which I haven't looked at as yet so anybody's experience would be useful.

I have Astrill VPN which runs fine on the PCs and also the iPads but I have found an even better alternative called Smart DNS. It costs about €4/mth and you are give a special DNS which you can input into most devices that accept a manual DNS. It has the advantage that you can run it on multiple devices at the same time which most VPNs don't allow and also it could save you having to get a DD-WRT router.

Details at https://www.overplay.net/blog/overplay-smartdns

It says it supports PS3. I have read reports of it working on the Humax but I couldn't get it to work. Incidentally the Humax allows ITV Player without a VPN.

I think most of the set top boxes advertised are relatively poor quality as they have to work on fairly slow ASDL connection. I guess you will get Filmon quality. Filmon do offer higher quality but its expensive at €14/mth and I guess it will need a fast connection.

The iPad BBC iPlayer and ITV Player apps both allow live steaming but I have found that for decent quality it is better to download a past programme as there is a higher quality option which of course is not dependant on line speed - it just takes longer to download.

For Radio BBC Radio Player is not geo-limited and streams live audio.

Sid

[ajtg1952]

Sid, is there a way to download a programme from iplayer on the computer and then load it,via a USB stick, onto a Humax box in a playable format?

[El Cid]

I don't think so as all the downloads have DRM to stop them being copied and they have an expiry date. I will check that out but you cannot play video back on the Humax unless it was created on the Humax - it needs two special files to be present.

There is a program that will create them for normal video .TS files. Google dvd2hdr.

Sid

[casita-bonita]

I have Astrill VPN which runs fine on the PCs and also the iPads but I have found an even better alternative called Smart DNS. It costs about €4/mth and you are give a special DNS which you can input into most devices that accept a manual DNS. It has the advantage that you can run it on multiple devices at the same time which most VPNs don't allow and also it could save you having to get a DD-WRT router.

Details at https://www.overplay.net/blog/overplay-smartdns

It says it supports PS3. I have read reports of it working on the Humax but I couldn't get it to work. Incidentally the Humax allows ITV Player without a VPN.

I think most of the set top boxes advertised are relatively poor quality as they have to work on fairly slow ASDL connection. I guess you will get Filmon quality. Filmon do offer higher quality but its expensive at €14/mth and I guess it will need a fast connection.

The iPad BBC iPlayer and ITV Player apps both allow live steaming but I have found that for decent quality it is better to download a past programme as there is a higher quality option which of course is not dependant on line speed - it just takes longer to download.

For Radio BBC Radio Player is not geo-limited and streams live audio.

Sid

From a purely personal perspective:-

I'm not that overly fussed about HD as our winter TV is 26" and our summer TV 32". Although both HD capable at that screen size it makes very little difference.

The idea of downloading TV programs from iplayer is just way too much hassle and you are still restricted to watching from a PC. Although I read somewhere that there is a way to convert them to play from the Humax, which is even more hassle.

I already have a DD-WRT flashed router. If you own a compatible router then the firmware is free. However I appreciate that not everybody may be capable of doing this.

Smart DNS looks intriguing and may warrant further investigation as VPN adds quite an overhead to the traffic on what for some could be marginal broadband speed. If all they require is that you point your DNS at their servers (what they say on their website) then any device with the ability to manually configure IP settings should work. Just found an alternative to this http://www.unblock-us.com/ and they have a 7 day free trial. Gotta be worth looking at.



My MK802 has been streaming BBC via filmon all morning without so much as a glitch. Picture quality on our 26" Samsung looks acceptable to me. Now I need to find a TV guide to accompany it.

[Acen]

I think the only true alternative would be a rebroadcast service. like back in the old days.

TV via the internet is really for pre recorded shows, its not for live news etc.

I personally think its too much hassle, and not convient enough for the average family with small children.

they are playing into the hands of of the cowboys and sharks.

if all we are left with is qvc and god channels then the future is very grim.

this situtation is directly linked to greedy footballers and the bloody champions league. Sky and Fifa have alot to asnswer to.

[markwilding]

English football and the Champions league isn't a problem in Spain as it's available with a subscription through Canal plus.

WiDi is another way of getting content from your PC to the TV. It works well and mirrors exactly what you have on your desktop

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ ... splay.html

Apart from the PC or laptop specs a decent internet speed is required plus a VPN. I use expat shield for free but I might have a look a Sid's suggestions as well

[olive]

I think you will need a reliable 3Meg broadband maybe 2 at a push and of course unlimited.

That rules out most copperless solutions for us campo dwellers.

[Acen]

English football and the Champions league isn't a problem in Spain as it's available with a subscription through Canal plus.

WiDi is another way of getting content from your PC to the TV. It works well and mirrors exactly what you have on your desktop

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ ... splay.html

Apart from the PC or laptop specs a decent internet speed is required plus a VPN. I use expat shield for free but I might have a look a Sid's suggestions as well

no ones going to subscribe to canal plus in this economic climate especial the english.

[markwilding]

I'm only talking about like for like. If someone is alreading subscibing to Sky,then the costs for changing would not be high because of the introductory offers. Not as good as Sky because the commentary is in Spanish, However I've heard that its possible to change it into English with some suppliers namely Gol TV and movistar.

I love my WiDi. Where did I find out about it? On this forum.If Sid had decided not to mention it in a post, I might never have found out about it.

All I can say is what is possible whether or not you take it up is your decision

[HKM]

I have said before I am not very good at understanding anything technical so... I think we will go down the filmon route, also the iplayers but how do I get them on my iPad? Do you pay a subscription? can I send Filmon direct from my apple tv? We live inland in a Townhouse so 2-3m dish is just impossible but we are lucky to have a good broadband with Movistar (just changed to the fusion)... Sorry!

Are these "boxes" that are being advertised everywhere that say you can get all the channels on really any different from using any of the above?

[markwilding]

There is a filmon app for the Ipad
The instructions explaining how to mirror what's on your ipad here
http://www.techhive.com/article/258802/ ... _hdtv.html

You can also use this with the latest versions of the Iphone Ipod touch etc

There is also an Iplayer app, which allows you to watch selective stuff free or it's possible to subscribe...about 50 euros per year to have access to more...and it isn't limited to the BBC as content from other channels can be viewed as well

[El Cid]

There is a filmon app for the Ipad
The instructions explaining how to mirror what's on your ipad here
http://www.techhive.com/article/258802/ ... _hdtv.html

You can also use this with the latest versions of the Iphone Ipod touch etc

I didn't know about the app. I tried it and its good and is also set up for streaming using Airplay on the Apple TV. It seems to be better quality than using it via the browser which I found only just acceptable. The app is OK so long as you keep a reasonable distance from the screen.

Thanks for that.

Sid

[olive]

How many Gig, out of interest, would a one hour TV programme(e.g. via iPlayer) consume if watched via the Internet please?

[Enrique]

Hi olive,
An hour program to download about 680Mb.......about a CD's worth...........

If you pull up iPlayer desktop and go to download your program of choice it will tell you how big it is...........

[Dr1Gonzo]

Use proxyplayer.co.uk and connect an old laptop via a digital cable to your TV.

Alternatively, work out how to use a program like sickbeard to record films and tv.

[markwilding]

Tunerfree is another helpful little program for those who would like to use the Iplayer ITV player etc on their TV.

This little program is really useful if your laptop has a remote control, so you can control the Iplayer even from the sofa when the laptop is close to the TV.

It works as an extension to windows media centre so when it's installed it can be found in the add on section or directly on the desktop in Windows 8.

You will still need to use a VPN such as Expat shield

http://www.tunerfree.tv/

For windows 8 you get it from the store

The remotes are pretty cheap as well from Amazon

[Martin Page]

I've been having a look at VPN's... The 'free' ones you can forget! they have a down load speed that so bad they cant run BBC iPlayer even at the lowest resolution!.
Other 'tunnels' have the speed for standard resoultion (which is no where near broadcast quility.)
Can anyone suggest, from experience, a VPN or Proxy, that will run Five on demand at HD (close to broadcast quality) at 6:00 PM without stopages ?

I would love it if some 'white hat' could simply suggest a way of flashing the router rather than device. - Then at least we could use the 'boxes' (sky, humax, etc )for the on demand option.
A challenge - anyone ?

[satandpcguy]

I've been having a look at VPN's... The 'free' ones you can forget! they have a down load speed that so bad they cant run BBC iPlayer even at the lowest resolution!.
Other 'tunnels' have the speed for standard resoultion (which is no where near broadcast quility.)
Can anyone suggest, from experience, a VPN or Proxy, that will run Five on demand at HD (close to broadcast quality) at 6:00 PM without stopages ?

I would love it if some 'white hat' could simply suggest a way of flashing the router rather than device. - Then at least we could use the 'boxes' (sky, humax, etc )for the on demand option.
A challenge - anyone ?

Two options:
a smart DNS service that i undertsand (but have not tried myself) does work on Sky and Humax boxes.
Simply input the smart dns setting into your boxes network configuration.

or find a router to flash with ddwrt and openVPN to configure for your VPN service.
Rather than touching the modem, I have a seperate router connected for all VPN stuff I wish to do.
I use Astrill, which, one you have ddwrt on oyur router, will automatcially sort out the openvpn settings for you.
It works fine with Sky and Freesat boxes.

However, as ii understand it to use the BBC IPlayer on a Freesat box, you still need some signal from a BBC channel for it to work.

[El Cid]

I have tried Smart DNS. You can install it on most devices so you don't need to flash the router.

I have also tried Astrill VPN which is fine but Smart DNS doesn't slow down the connection.

Its here https://www.overplay.net/blog/overplay-smartdns and you can sign up and cancel after a month if you want for less than €4

It's fine on the PCs and iPads but the Humax doesn't seem to like it for BBC iPlayer.

Sid