Watching catch-up TV

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moonjiver
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Watching catch-up TV

Postby moonjiver » Sun Jul 03, 2016 3:07 pm

Just answering Richard's post about catch-up TV - presumably meaning catching up with programmes or films via BBC I-player or the ITV version.

This has come up before and I'm still hazy about the best way to do it. I use BBC I-player on a Samsung smartphone for programnes I have missed but, if I download a two-hour film they broadcast a few days previously, it costs me a few pounds of mobile credit! I'm sure I could do it more cheaply but don't know enough about it. Presumably, if I did the same operation on a computer, downloading would use up a hefty chunk of my data allowance.

Richard, are you talking about catch-up on the TV itself? I'm sure it's simple if you know how ..

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Geoff
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Re: Watching catch-up TV

Postby Geoff » Sun Jul 03, 2016 4:26 pm

Catch-up TV (or on-demand TV) is available on an ever increasing array of devices. The best way to watch it has to be on your TV itself (big screen, proper sound and all that) and any modern Smart TV or Smart STB will have this feature built in, certainly for BBC iplayer and most likely ITV-player and 4-OD too (wonder why they didn't call it 4player? hehe).

All on-demand services will require an internet connection, no matter what device you use, so if you do have data caps then you should be aware that streaming video takes lots of bandwidth. If you intend watching on a mobile device (phone or tab) then connecting to your home wi-fi would obviously be far cheaper than streaming over 4G, not to mention more reliable and faster.

Another alternative if you don't have a Smart TV but still want to watch on the bigger screen would be to connect a laptop to the TV via HDMI cable. These can be had for as little as £5, but I have noticed the more you pay the more reliable the cables are. Up to a limit obviously.

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Richard
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Re: Watching catch-up TV

Postby Richard » Sun Jul 03, 2016 6:02 pm

I probably need a samsung TV wireless lan adapter or see if my router supports WPS (PBC)

Thanks for all the advice and the new thread.

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moonjiver
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Re: Watching catch-up TV

Postby moonjiver » Mon Jul 04, 2016 7:40 am

Brilliant, thanks Geoff. Clarifies my head a little.

I have no idea what WPS (PBC) is - sounds a bit like a US broadcasting company! Or why one needs a TV wireless Lan adaptor.

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Richard
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Re: Watching catch-up TV

Postby Richard » Mon Jul 04, 2016 10:32 am

tv wireless LAN adapter to connect remotely to the internet on tv
I think the answer is to try the Wi-Fi connection dongle and if there are problems use 'homeplugs' (wired networking using the mains cables as Cat cable).

The real permanent solution would be ethernet cables but they are messy and costly.

(this is all what I've read lately and since I am the wrong side of 60 I use that as an excuse for not knowing it like everyone else seems to).

not sure about the Cat!!! :)

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Richard
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Re: Watching catch-up TV

Postby Richard » Mon Jul 04, 2016 11:45 am

I have gone for the Amazon Fire Stick with voice control and will comment on it in due course.
I am a 'Prime' member so will hope to get the free movies as well as the standard i-player.
:)

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moonjiver
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Re: Watching catch-up TV

Postby moonjiver » Mon Jul 04, 2016 12:15 pm

Yes, report back please! I know nothing of the Amazon Fire Stick.

There is so much utter bilge on ordinary TV that I hardly ever watch it, need to explore ways of accessing good documentary progs and old films sometimes.

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Insomniac
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Re: Watching catch-up TV

Postby Insomniac » Mon Jul 04, 2016 2:19 pm

What's your data limit moonjiver? When I was still at home, I remember frequently going over our 10GB limit and that was just me watching stuff on Youtube and playing online games. I think the charge was £1 for each 1GB we (when I say we I mean me of course) went over. It might be worth paying a few quid extra for unlimited, if you want to stream content?

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moonjiver
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Re: Watching catch-up TV

Postby moonjiver » Mon Jul 04, 2016 7:06 pm

My data limit will shortly become "unlimited", so hopefully not too many problems there as I won't be doing games or streaming masses of stuff, just the odd YouTube video and occasional films.

£1 per GB sounds pretty reasonable - vastly cheaper than on my Samsung! But then once I go down this road. I'm likely to download much more data on a PC.

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Geoff
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Re: Watching catch-up TV

Postby Geoff » Mon Jul 04, 2016 7:38 pm

MJ - unlimited is the only sensible option if you are streaming on a regular basis. Data caps on home broadband is a worry you could do without.

Richard - forget the wireless if you have the option, wired connection is always going to be faster and less patchy. "Homeplugs" or "Powerline Adaptors" as I call them are a fantastic invention and much quicker than wireless. I use these for connecting my STB and AV receiver to the internet. A big recommend from me.

Leon (Insomniac) - £1 per extra gig is pretty good, but how many extra gigs would you need before you would have paid for an unlimited package anyway?

Everyone - watch out for something called a "fair use policy" which basically means something titled "Unlimited" will in fact be "Limited". It will be in the smallprint of your broadband contract. Basically meaning they have the right to throttle your bandwidth at peak times if they consider you are using too much. Getting clarification on what is high usage seems to be a bit of a grey area with the providers. I am with Plusnet and have had no problem with this. But back in the days of AOL and BT Internet I got stung a few times.

Hope that helps ;)


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