SgtTroy

I have BBC & Sky on the list of my TV channels, but I do not watch them anyway. However I do miss Channel 4.
Any legit way to watch it in PT?

Alan PT

Semi-legit, All4 via VPN (we use Nord VPN, Express VPN is also pretty good). It's a bit fiddly to set it up on a TV directly, but easy to use on a laptop or tablet plugged into the TV

As long as your internet connection isn't totally useless (let's say at least a few MB/s sustained) it works well

macliam

Agreed. I'm not sure that evading geoblocking is "illegal" or if it is that there is any likelihood of action, nor am I overly concerned at the "morality" of accessing the same content as I could were I in the UK. To me, it is on the same level as the BBC blocking me from accessing content when I have already paid my license fee... The only thing I'd say is that I've found access via Android to be better than via the PC (I don't use Apple so can't comment there).

As for the bandwidth necessary, anything more than 5mbps will give you some access. I use Ivacy VPN, it's not as "big" as the others, but I got a good long-term deal and it is generally OK. I've not tried setting it up on my TV, but I know that's a bit fiddly so I tend to download anything I want on the "big screen" and play it back later over chromecast from my Android tablet (or phone) - you need to be on the same IP address on both the chromecast puck and the sourse to use it directly, also complicated to achieve. The latest possibility I've investigated is to use a tablet with HDMI out to feed the TV (I have just bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e to do just that).... so you run the VPN on the tablet, access the channel on the tablet and mirror the screen to the TV over HDMI. This seems to work just fine in the UK, so the proof will be when I try it in Portugal!

Good luck.

GrahamF

We use TransponderTV, about £6.50 per month for UK Freeview channels but not iPlayer. Can also record programs while watching another channel. IIRC it can be tried for short period free of charge.

macliam

https://transponder.tv/ is an option, but expensive for anything but a very basic service -

Annual upfront budget price £52 pa (reduced from £62) equivalent to £4.33 pcm for NO Recording, View on 1 Device only, SD Channels only, TV Guide, Now & Next
"Silver", £7.94pcm (£95.28 pa) for 4 Hours Recording a month, View on 1 Device only, SD Channels only, TV Guide, Now & Next (so, a big jump for a bit of recording).
"Gold", £12.14pcm (145.68pa) 40 Hrs Recording, View on 3 Devices, SD & some HD Channels, TV Guide, Now & Next, Recordings download, "Premium Support"

There are weekly and annual plans too.... the "Gold" is £3.82 a week or £133.54pa.

I can't say how good it is, but it's an option.....

GrahamF

Transponder.tv have obviously altered the plans and prices since we started 2-3 years ago.

SgtTroy

Thanks guys.

Alan PT

The broadcaster (eg Channel 4) will only have the rights to broadcast the material in the UK, so they have to take reasonable steps to block it outside the UK. I guess by evading the blocking you would be breaking something in their terms and conditions, but worst case scenario there seems to be cancelling the account. It's hard to see how it could be denying the copyright holder any revenue, as the programmes are generally not available on other services, so I completely agree - it's not something I personally would worry about morally or legally

Yes, HDMI should fore fine in most cases. You might get the occasional thing (Apple TV for instance) where it refuses (the device can detect when HDMI is connected, some apps will refuse to use it, since in theory you could output to a video recording device...). But almost everything is fine, including All4

You can get USB C to HDMI adaptors which work on most things with USB C - tested on a couple of chromebooks, ipad and macbook here (we also have a Windows laptop, but it has a dedicated HDMI out). We bought this one (a little more expensive than some you can get, but I find Anker stuff good) https://www.amazon.es/-/pt/dp/B07THJGZ9Z

We have had mixed results with Chromecast, it refuses to cast a tab so you need to cast full screen and it drops out from time to time. But maybe we just have too many devices and too busy a wifi environment

macliam

Be very, very careful - not all USB Type-C enabled kit can actually provide HDMI-compatible output. I found this out the hard way. For example, AFAIK the Samsung Galaxy A tablets don't have that capability - it's normally only on higher-end tablets.

Very sad as my old Blackberry Playbook had a dedicated mini-HDMI output socket.... but it's basically dead in the water for content these days, as is my old Samsung 7" tablet (with neither mini HDMI nor Type-C, with or without video output).

Alan PT

It claims to be operating by leasing you the use of a device in the UK similar to this: https://www.slingbox.com/ and is a company based in Australia, presumably in an attempt to evade EU law, which shut down a very similar service: https://www.theguardian.com/media/20...live-streaming

A little dodgy in my opinion, I'd prefer VPN

Alan PT

Yes, good point, it's a bit of a minefield for android tablets! I *think* Chromebooks are a safer bet (unless I've just been lucky to have three of them work fine, haven't researched in detail)

Also for anyone who isn't too computer literate, Chromebooks are great in terms of lack of fiddling required. We finally persuaded parents to buy them and now get a lot less "support calls"

wellinever

just get a sat dish (1mtr good enough in Algarve) plus decoder cheap £50 and hook up to satellite get BBC1/2/4 ITV and Chennal 4, channel 5 picture but no sound.

BillBullock

This is what I've been doing since we lost the Sky satellite reception years' ago. It's Intelsat 901 but used to be Intelsat 907. Most channels are in HD and we get sound with Channel 5; you might need to retune.

sam349

If you want easy TV (with no VPN), then TVmucho.com is good - they have apps for AndroidTV and I think AppleTV, and Android and iOS etc - it’s about £7/month for *all* UK freeview channels. They give 1 hour free every day if you want to try it out. The other ones I’ve had recommended to me (but i’ve not tried) are hoolatv.com, transponder.tv and streamlocator.com

If you want completely free (and legit) TV, then get a VPN and VPN into Switzerland.. And use an app called Teleboy (all UK freeviews channels are shown in Switzerland and as a result are on Teleboy, which is sort of the ‘go to’ app for TV for Swiss people). The interface is not as smooth as the other options, but good as a back-up. Zattoo is similar (Swiss, all channels).

One word of caution, if you're using a VPN, that slows down your speed, so you'll need at least 5-6 MB/second *with your VPN turned on* (i know when i turn our VPN on, we go from 20MB/s to around 12MB/s (which is still fine for TV, but I mention it in case you're internet speed isn't that fast)

Alan PT

It's a good point, but don't be too worried - the basic VPN overhead is only 10-15%. You many experience a greater drop if your VPN provider is throttling bandwidth (as a lot of them do). But you shouldn't be worried about using a VPN on a 7 or 8Mb connection (for instance), if you have a reasonable VPN then it should be fine

Ever on lower bandwidth connections, most apps will adjust by reducing the resolution and often that's hardly noticeable. I've streamed over 3-4Mb and it was usable, if not great.