I know this was thoroughly discussed last year when we lost all terrestrial channels but It is now a year later and I would like to try and sort out what would be the best for us. It is clear that we aren't happy to watch the americanised dross we get with our Freesat aerial. Secondly we know nothing much about technology - we don't have X boxes, Sky or anything like that at home. Here's our position: we have an apartment that we only manage to get out to for about 6-8 weeks a year. Our children and my brother add another couple of weeks. So we have held off getting the Internet installed due to the cost and the fact that nearly all the restaurants and bars we use offer free WIFI. So all was good in the past. Now we accept it is the TV driving this decision. The fact is however that even if we get the Internet installed we don't want to be fiddling with connections from an IPad to our increasingly old style TV to get a specific TV channel. What do we need to simplify this? In an ideal world we would want an Internet connection we could turn on and off. As it is IF we need a new aerial it will require us to get on our apartment roof which belongs to someone else. So all complicated. Can someone tell us exactly what we need to do in a very simple non techie way to get the English channels and the Internet. For now forget about the cost. Many thanks.

If you already have an iPad then just going to FILMON TV FREE LIVE TV MOVIES AND SOCIAL TELEVISION will give you UKTV on the device itself whenever you want.

If that's a bit small for comfortable viewing then you need a new telly with an HDMI socket and an Apple Air device to link the two.

If you want more then an Ebay search for 'IPTV' will bring up a list of devices that will do the job but all of them depend on having reasonable quality internet at your viewing location.

Thanks for this. I have got as far as downloading BBC programmes in the UK onto my IPad and using a physical connection I have been able to play them on my TV which does have a couple of HDMI points but only one scart point. Am I correct in thinking Apple Airplay only works with Apple products? Is perhaps using Chromecast possible? I have never used one but have been told that might work. At the end of the day it seems I have no choice but to connect in some way to a computer? I had thought there was some sort of box of tricks I could buy that replaced the need for a computer if I had the internet connected?

You can use an IPTV box connected to the internet and then into your TV but what ever you use relies on the quality of your internet.
The other option if you are only in Portugal for limited periods is to try one of the Meo or Vodaphone dongles connected to your laptop
This is not by any means an economic way of watching TV but it is a start.
How much TV do you actually watch.?
My OH has watched wimbledon on her tablet via an cable into the TV.
Not perfect by any means but it worked.
Ask your neighbours what set ups and systems they use.
Ask to watch their TV so that you can judge the quality for your self .
What works for one of us in our locality may not work for you.

If you are connected to the Internet you can buy an android box on eBay or Amazon and use that. Not always reliable but pretty good if it works very tedious if not but the one I have you can email the seller for help. Mainly use film on on it but there is a lot more

I watch a fair bit of TV when I go out on my own as I don't go out as much in the evening - also more in the winter. I don't think a dongle will work for me and I don't want to watch on my IPad. I have just looked in Ebay and seen there are lots of the 'boxes'. Do they all work abroad and I note some of them are subscription. With deciding to go for the Internet I don't want to spend much more. How powerful does the Internet need to be?
Only a couple in my block have the Internet - I will ask them when I see them next but only one lives there permanently.

I haven't had time to try it yet but am told that if you have an android device such as Ipad or Iphone then mobdro.com gives you quite a lot of UK TV.

CarolElizabeth, sounds like you are feeling your way on this.

In reality, unless someone in your block already has 24/7 permanently on adsl broadband internet with at least a 2mbps download AND you can receive their signal strongly enough via wifi or ethernet cable, AND they are willing to share with you (Note: Professionally, I would never recommend this to people for legal and anti-piracy reasons), you are shooting in the dark.

Unfortunately, in Portugal there are no turn-on/turn-off internet services. There are pay as you go services but these usually require a minimum payment every three months otherwise they die. Services such as the NOS Internet Pack will work with android boxes but if anything goes wrong you have to hope you will still be able to get hold of the supplier of the box or you have to be IT savvy. I have one client in Silves who has a setup like this and he is frequently on the phone to the guy who "provided" the box and when he doesn't respond, to me.

My advice is simple. If you want quality UK TV here over the Internet be prepared to pay! Install a MEO or NOS 12 month account package and then contact one of the outlets that advertise in the local expat press for advice on what box/service to install.

Once you get a good internet connection then these people are I believe based near to you and will do home installation and 'tuition' for British users:-
http://easyuktv.com/ Once you have bought the box I am told it's possible to pay by the month for only the months you actually want the service

MrBife

Gotta say I wouldn't trust that UKTV website any further than I could throw it.

The site looks like it was made by a 5 year old and there's absolutely no info about what channels are available on what packages.

It could be they have a good product but that site isn't doing them any favours and if they do want to sell their product, they need to sack their webmaster and find someone who knows what they're doing.

Seems very expensive and I really don't want monthly payments after installation. There seems to be plenty of boxes with one off payments but the question is I suppose will they work in Portugal? Can they be that difficult to install?

It is not the box that should your first concern but the available internet speed you can get.
You cannot avoid a monthly charge for the internet supply.
We have friends who are now on their 3rd IPTV product in an attempt to find one that will give them what they want taking into account the speed they can get.
Does your development have cable installed ?
If so be it Meo or Cabo Visao you will be able to buy a packge that will give you a range even a very large range of Englsih language channels.
Plus internet but again check the internet speed.
You may be one of the lucky nes and be in an area where Meo has installed fibra and therefore able to access a much better internet service.

I bet you wished you had not asked the question.

If you have some nerdish capacity and understand routers and Dynamic or Statics DNS configuration and the box interface is not written in Redmond or Shenzen technical English, you may be able to do it yourself.

Just don't ask for more "free" advice on forums when it doesn't work!

I am sick of seeing people trying to configure and fix computers, internet routers , networks routers, android boxes when they have no basic IT technical knowledge! I am also tired of seeing people trying to do these type of things "on the cheap"! One then gets called in to sort it out and people want to pay peanuts!

If one wants good quality UK TV reception on one's TV in the Algarve one has to face facts that it now costs, even if one is down here for only a couple of months a year.

PAY and get someone in who will give professional advice and do a proper job configuring the setup.

Hi All

If you do go the route of having a fixed internet line then i would just connect a laptop to your TV and use Camposat, easy to find on Google. This gives you 37 channels to use and no charge but to record you have to pay a subscription. Should you use a dongle then there is a limit even though they say it's unlimited also the limit i am told is only 15gb.

For what it's worth my internet speed is only 0.75mbps and i can have TV on and use heinernet as i am doing while replying to this post.

Peter

Camposat.Tv

Glad to see someone has a worse internet speed than I get at home! Just checked speed here in our office though and it's 62.02mbps!! (Tv Cabo fibre optics)