cut the cable?

velo11

hi All
Just wondering if anyone out there has decided to cut the cable? Ive just bought a smart tv and am thinking of working with streaming options only. Is there enough out there I can choose from? Ive been reading certain articles and it states that despite technological advances one should buy a streaming box as smart tv options arent that advanced? Ive seen netflix, Amazon Prime Instant video and Hulu Plus ( us only for the moment) as well as rte player. There must be equivalent Uk and european streaming channels available as well. Im sick of the restricted options that are available on cable. I would much prefer to actively choose what I view rather than be given a restricted choice of channels in a package most of which dont interest me. Can anyone advise me on this or had anyone gone down this route? Apologies if this has already been discussed. I havent browsed all the threads yet.

Thanks

kop-end

Nice post,
It is somthing I am wondering myself at the moment. Its all well and good taking the plunge into Smart TV's but if the media is not available/supported in Ireland at the moment then you wonder is there much point.

as it says in the bible "Man cannot live on Netflix alone....."

zg3409

I think the most versatile solution is to use a laptop or desktop PC with a HDMI output. In this way anything that can be viewed on a laptop screen can be watched on the TV.

For watching downloaded shows the software VLC can play 99.9% of movie types.

RTE player on a smart TV does not carry all the shows that are available on the RTE player via the RTE website. It's some rights issue, so smart TVs only show a subset.

RTE player does not carry all RTE shows. The quality is not great on the website, some say it is better via a smart TV.

AerTV does show live streams of RTE.
https://secure.aertv.ie/register/ but they charge for the "free" UK channels.

A laptop can also show TV3 player and other UK players if not regionally blocked.

A laptop can access Sky's "on demand" player and other TV streams and Netflix etc.

The main downside is another device, with no easy way to attach a remote control. I use a wireless mouse, which is fine for pausing.

The big issue with streaming is access to live TV and content.
Live streaming, for news, matches etc, and shows that are not on the players, is best via a normal TV setup.

Content: If a show you want is not on the players, or available elsewhere, you may need to pay a subscription TV service.

Finally you need very good broadband with no download limit. UPCs is typically 500GB, even if they say unlimited, and most providers charge extra for no limit.

velo11

Many thanks zg3409 for your reply. I actually looked at options for broadband last week (as I have recently moved) as recommended by another boards.ie forum and have gone with Magnet. They have no download limit so hopefully it should be fast enough. Unfortunately I'm in an area that doesn't support Magnet fibre broadband yet. Hopefully the 24 fatpipe option will suffice. They also provide aertv as an added extra for €2.99 a month so opted for it. It provides 20-30 stations including the obvious uk ones and irish ones. A good start anyway. I will see what German and French stations are out there as well. Looking forward to working with the smart tv for the first time. Unfortunately I dont think I have a hdmi output on my laptop. Time to buy a new one..

velo11

thanks kop-end. I'm sure things will move in this direction quickly. It makes sense but will probably take a while.

BenEadir

I'm in this boat two except I'm half in and half out :eek:

I invested in a couple of OUYA devices from Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/OUYA-OUYA1-Console-Electronic-Games/dp/B0050SZD18/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386868153&sr=8-1&keywords=ouya which run Android and with a little (and I mean just a little) bit of effort can run Netflix and (most importantly of all) XBMC which not only allows you to stream content you have downloaded to other devices but also allows you to stream live TV content. XBMCHUB is the easiest way to get XBMC installed and set up on your OUYA, see http://www.xbmchub.com/blog. Note: There is currently an issue with the official XBMC app for OUYA relating to codec licencing so for full functionality you need to sideload a nightly build of XBMC until the official app is back fully functional.

If you have a decent broadband connection, like toying around with settings etc and use your imagination you can use the OUYA to watch live sports, movies, regular TV etc etc. If you were to combine the OUYA with a FreeSat type solution so you still had easy free access to RTE, BBC etc you'd be flying.

I've an issue with my Broadband supplier so I'm still lashing out nearly €100 a month to UPC for their TV bundle but as soon as I have my Broadband sorted I'll be ditching them and going 100% OUYA or OUYA supplemented with a FreeSat service like this https://www.freesat.ie/pid-207-free_to_air.html - Please note I have no connection to them whatsoever, I just googled them for reference for this post.

Ben

deekster

I invested in a Mac Mini and little bluetooth keyboard about 4 years ago. The mini is hidden behind my TV. For the first few years I reached for the traditional UPC remote control I’d say 50% of the time.

In the last 12 months I find we are watching Internet sourced content via the Mac almost exclusively. This gave me great confidence to ring UPC a few months back to renegotiate by basic digital package. I think I pay around €45 per month now for 50MB and basic digital. We do use watch the occasional HD channel and a little RTE so this to me seems a fair price… for now.

This trend must give UPC nightmares. Disintermediation coupled with negative Horizon reviews means they are fast becoming what they must fear most: a dumb pipe.

parkman6551

I suppose this is not the subject matter that is being raised, but just out of interest, to get more channels would not putting up a dish and using free sat be an option to broadband tv ?

I know this suggestion doesn't use laptop technology but I get 50 odd channels [a bit like Bruce Springsteen] and not much on, but at least it is free and technically simple. Just my 2 cents worth.

parkman

BenEadir

parkman6551 wrote: »

I suppose this is not the subject matter that is being raised, but just out of interest, to get more channels would not putting up a dish and using free sat be an option to broadband tv ?

This is EXACTLY the setup I'm going for. From my experience to date I can get a lot of the content I want to watch via broadband and XBMCHUB but there is something nice about having some free to air channels (all the RTE's, BBC's etc) so you can do the traditional man thing of aimless channel surfing

Whilst I do think broadband will ultimately take over how we watch movies, international sport, TV series, documentaries etc there is a certain amount of news and local content that will remain easier to access via traditional TV channels most of which can be received free to air e.g. local news, chat shows, regional programming etc.

For a modest once off investment you can have the UK Freesat channels https://www.freesat.ie/cmspage.php?page_id=51 and Saorview channels http://www.saorview.ie/what-is-saorview/channels-services to all the TV's in your house with no bills EVER thereafter.

I think a combination of cheap broadband streaming boxes (I love the OUYA see why on the video below) and free to air channels is the best combination possible.

That's my tuppence worth.

Ben

parkman6551

Hi, when you connect a laptop to a tv how exactly do you use it to watch television ? I know that there seems to be a large number of foreign tv stations online but in general I have found that either the signal was poor and stuttery [even with a laptop using i7 and 16gb memory] or you had to have a subscription, particularly with english-speaking channels.

Also, is it not a bit of a bind if you have to keep using the laptop to find the next channel ? As Springsteen said -
"Well now home entertainment was my baby's wish
So I hopped into town for a satellite dish
I tied it to the top of my Japanese car
I came home and I pointed it out into the stars
A message came back from the great beyond
There's fifty-seven channels and nothin' on" - is generally pretty true of free sat tv, and terrestrial but at the moment it's all there is.

I am a bit old for setting up the likes of an Echostar and programming, and then reprogramming when the signal changes, a pic card just to watch tv. Perhaps these things are all in the past ?

I started, years and years ago, doing some work installing satellite tv when it first arrived in Ireland, and it was fairly simple at that stage. You could buy programmable card and use a programmer to recode the card when Sky changed the codes, which they used to do about once a month. The very first sat's didn't need a viewing card at all and if the signal changed you just reprogrammed the channels and you were back in business.

Later, of course, Sky got wise and the coding would change at all different times and periods, maybe three times a week or maybe once a fortnight. But even if you used a programmer in the house, which I did, it was a pain getting the laptop to search online for new codes and then using the pic programmer to recode the card, only for it to change again later the same night, or the next day.

In fairness we were pirating the channels, and you couldn't blame Sky for ensuring that their content was protected. I gave it up eventually and just went back to pipe tv which wasn't the worst at the time, there was channels such as eurosport and at one stage even a film channel free. Now, however, I tend to watch only BBC 2 and Channel 4 as most of the other channels show crap, either about "life stories" such as surviving cancer, or weight-loss nonsense, or ****e like x-factor and ice dancing.

I have a house in the UK as well as in Dublin and I use free to air, which uses the traditional aerial, and I get stuff like Film4 and a couple of other channels that I like such as Al Jezeera [way-hay, that's living on the edge], I think Film4 and the history channel.

However, I am looking at putting up a dish [again] and dropping UPC, as UPC costs around 3 or 400 euro's a year. I had a price for fitting a dish, an aerial for Saorview, a Humax decoder and installation for about 500 euro's. Which is two years subscription to UPC, and more channels. I cabled the whole house years ago from the attic and I have a tv point in every room but the only thing is that then I need a set top box in every room to watch tv independently if I have visitors.

Also if more than one set top box is used, a multi lmb dish is required which means maybe 6 or 8 cables coming from the dish into the attic to connect to the various rooms. It all becomes a bit complicated, and I, for one, would much prefer the old analogue system. Unless, of course, some-one has invented a decoder to switch the digital signal back to analogue when it comes into the attic.

Anyway, that's my view of it all, but I am still open to finding out how to best use the laptop to put tv on the tv, if you see what I mean.

parkman

velo11

Thanks very much Ben for this info. i'll have to look into the OUYA device you have referenced and in conjunction with AERTV which is really reasonable at the moment I think this will be a great start. Only just setup the smart tv recently as was away but very happy with my choice. A once off payment for the smart tv will payback quickly.

velo11

I'd love to Parkman but I'm restricted by the Management rules in the apartment block I'm living in. Cable only is their motto.

velo11

I think they are seeing the writing on the wall already. Some will opt out. When I got my broadband setup recently an Eircom engineer specified that 'one' major provider will not invest in Fibre technology which is just around the corner. It is due to hit some Wicklow areas (can only speak of my own area in the second quarter next year). After that they lose control of their relative monopoly to streaming. They know it..

campo

if you have XBMC you don't need FTV as you can get Filmon which has the UK FTV channels and AerTv for the Irish Ones on xbmc...

I have a android mini stick MK808b and I use, Netflix, 40d , xbmc on it so rarely now use my regular TV set up

parkman6551

I suppose tv streaming is going to be the be-all and end-all of tv transmission eventually. UPC and Sky offering tv through the broadband connection, we keep getting stuff from UPC in particular offering their service on fibre.

I wonder how long free sat will be maintained, and how much new content will be put on it. It seems to slowly being a home for all the older programs. When you scroll through the online menu on the set top box you begin to notice that there are a lot of channels offering mostly older programs such as Cagney and Lacey etc. etc. etc.

Oh well, I will just keep watching old BBC 2 and C4, and sometimes Discovery, until the repeats of x-factor and the other dim-witted singing programs take over

parkman