Alternatives for TV?

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PXW

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Quick question for the wise MB crew! I'm looking to change our internet provider away from Virgin - feel they are getting very expensive now and we have just had a competitor FTTP network installed in the area, which looks a lot better.

I'm happy to lose the land line, but wondered what to do about TV. I've got a TiVo box atm, which provides all the "main" channels plus sport etc. I now I can get much of this on iPlayer, All4, ITV Hub etc, and again a lot of our viewing is already via Netflix, Amazon and Disney, so there's not a lot I will be losing. I can still pick up key sports events with a Now TV pass - but I think there will still be the odd gaps for what we currently have - mainly in the area of live broadcasts, which I don't think all the OD apps necessarily cover.

The obvious thing is to use Freeview, I guess - but we don't have a suitable aerial and I'm reluctant to install one (seems a real backward step when everything is streamed nowadays). Does anyone know of a sensible alternative I could consider that would still give me access to live channels - I guess I'd really like a fire stick etc app for Freeview so I can just stream it...
 
There is a way to get freeview working on a firestick and Nvidia shield. But you will void warranty. Since jailbreaking and installing modded apps will be necessary. Minor chance of bricking the device as well. And not legal, in certain countries. I don't know about the laws regarding jailbreaking in UK. You can usually find technicians on Craigslist who will do this for you.
 
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I dont see that installing an aerial is a backward step. Freeview channels will be around for years to come and getting a firestick and modding it etc will probably cost more (especially if you brick it and have to buy another)

One aerial can feed many tvs whereas you would need a firestick etc for every tv
 
Why not buy a cheap indoor aerial to see if it gets a decent signal? You can get a basic one for about £10 from Argos - if it works in your location, then you could think about upgrading it - the more expensive ones are less unsightly.
 
I use freesat as an alternative to freeview.

Requires a satellite dish which are easily installed diy.

Also requires a freesat box or some TVs have it built in. I’ve used a Humax freesat box for years which has been very reliable.
 
We have been using Freeview with Amazon, Netflix and Disney apps.

Works for us
 
We use this in France for all our TV needs, every channel you can think of. Including all premium "pay" channels and also box office channels, all for the princely sum of £60 a year + a fire stick. Need reasonable internet of at least 10mb or you get a bit of buffering which can be a pain
There is also a free trial

kc
 
Go onto the Bay or Amazon, search digital indoor tv aerial.

ive got a couple in bedrooms, they are flat panels and can be unobtrusively mounted - behind the tv, behind a curtain on the wall, inside a wardrobe etc. (Had one taped on the back of a set of drawers!)
they are flat flexi panels about 200mm x 180mm maybe as thick as a credit card, they pull in loads of the freeview channels (inc all the main bbc/itv/4/5) surprisingly good. cheap too!
 
We use this in France for all our TV needs, every channel you can think of. Including all premium "pay" channels and also box office channels, all for the princely sum of £60 a year + a fire stick. Need reasonable internet of at least 10mb or you get a bit of buffering which can be a pain
There is also a free trial

kc
Link doesn’t work for me.
 
Link doesn’t work for me.
Works fine for me - maybe your security software blocking?

Sure you know, but the service can vanish at the drop of a hat as not strictly legal (?), so I'd stay away from yearly payment
 
Works fine for me - maybe your security software blocking?

Sure you know, but the service can vanish at the drop of a hat as not strictly legal (?), so I'd stay away from yearly payment
I’ll be honest by saying that if we’re in Greece for any length of time the last thing I want to do is watch tv.
 
You can go down the Netflix/Amazon prime/Disney plus/free view path or if you don’t mind the morally wrong (but very cheap) path you can use iptv. I’ve been using it in tandem with my sky subscription now for easily 10 years and at 45 quid a year it’s a no brainer.
 
I've used freeview for years , shouldn't cost a lot for aerial
I only pay for Netflix and use now tv of which is payed for by my son .
Not big on sport and only watch rugby and f1 thats shown on freeview
 
Don't ditch your landline and old fashioned corded phone totally. We recently had a major power outage that not only took out our electricity - thus also broadband - but also took out the mobile phone masts. I still have one very old corded phone (as well as 5 cordless phones), the corded one gets a power supply from the phone line so still worked, so I was able to keep up to date with UK Power Networks about progress to get our power back, keep in touch with family (who were not affected by power cuts) etc etc!! Since then I have also bought a power bank that, from fully charged, will recharge our phones at least 3 times each. We already had 2 camping gaz burners so we could heat soup etc., but I'm contemplating £60ish for a 2 burner stove that uses the same small cylinders. Joys of village life!!

IMHO BT's idea to ditch landlines and put everyone onto VOIP phones is ludicrous - they recently sent me one of their new VOIP phones, I gave it to my SIL as no way would I ever use it.
 
Don't ditch your landline and old fashioned corded phone totally. We recently had a major power outage that not only took out our electricity - thus also broadband - but also took out the mobile phone masts. I still have one very old corded phone (as well as 5 cordless phones), the corded one gets a power supply from the phone line so still worked, so I was able to keep up to date with UK Power Networks about progress to get our power back, keep in touch with family (who were not affected by power cuts) etc etc!! Since then I have also bought a power bank that, from fully charged, will recharge our phones at least 3 times each. We already had 2 camping gaz burners so we could heat soup etc., but I'm contemplating £60ish for a 2 burner stove that uses the same small cylinders. Joys of village life!!

We're similarly out in the sticks and have lost power a few times in the 6 months we've been here. Worst case we'd move into the caravan, which has all mod cons on 12V / solar and bottled gas! But we've survived with torches and a Camping Gaz lantern, plus a wood burner to keep the lounge warm. We are on mains gas and have a hob that can be lit 'manually' if necessary ... the Rayburn needs electricity to run. I also have an old corded phone in a drawer, just in case.

Anyway ... we use Freeview through a DVR box, broadband connection into that gives Netflix and all the OD services.
 
We use freeview thru a Humax box.
OK - There's a fair amount of rubbish on it, but there are some recent new channels available, and it's not difficult to find enough to keep everyone happy.
Re. power cuts - I've got a spare battery fully-charged in the cellar and a 230 volt ac inverter - - - enough to keep the central heating and the freezer going for some time.
Then there's batteries in both cars to use.
 
We use freeview thru a Humax box.
OK - There's a fair amount of rubbish on it, but there are some recent new channels available, and it's not difficult to find enough to keep everyone happy.
Re. power cuts - I've got a spare battery fully-charged in the cellar and a 230 volt ac inverter - - - enough to keep the central heating and the freezer going for some time.
Then there's batteries in both cars to use.

Yes we have a Humax (with YouView) - I got it via a special offer on a year's BT TV, which cost a lot less than buying just the box :) Handy for recording series on everything apart from BBC as you can then skip forward through the ads when watching (not possible on catch up). I also use it for recording films, which are typically not available on catch up.

Hmm ... interesting idea on the inverter. I have four spare batteries which I keep fully charged, including a pair of 120 Ah ones. And in the worst case I could connect an inverter to the tractor and use that as a diesel generator :D We have solar electricity and hot water during the day, but both require a small amount of mains power to function (as does the gas boiler of course).
 
Yes we have a Humax (with YouView) - I got it via a special offer on a year's BT TV, which cost a lot less than buying just the box :) Handy for recording series on everything apart from BBC as you can then skip forward through the ads when watching (not possible on catch up). I also use it for recording films, which are typically not available on catch up.

Hmm ... interesting idea on the inverter. I have four spare batteries which I keep fully charged, including a pair of 120 Ah ones. And in the worst case I could connect an inverter to the tractor and use that as a diesel generator :D We have solar electricity and hot water during the day, but both require a small amount of mains power to function (as does the gas boiler of course).
Survivalists :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:
 

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