UK TV legal but inexpensive.
Apr 16th 2019, 9:28 am
#16
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2011
Location: South Wales and abroad
Posts: 788
Re: UK TV legal but inexpensive.
These days there are 'catch up' channels which are free over the internet and should provide you with a glut of UK broadcasts. You will need a reasonable internet connection and to install a VPN, after that just go and fill your boots. Plug your laptop into your TV, or buy a used PC base unit/wireless keyboard and mouse and plug that in.
Apr 16th 2019, 9:47 am
#17
Banned
Joined: Aug 2018
Location: Sotogrande
Posts: 182
Re: UK TV legal but inexpensive.
Skycards.eu.......what a massive rip off. As has been said previously nothing to do with SKY .......
Apr 16th 2019, 1:03 pm
#18
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 5,622
Re: UK TV legal but inexpensive.
This is not bad for most UK channels live. Not the cleanest of interfaces but each channel generally has a number of links some require VPN some don't.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...=com.uktvradio
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...=com.uktvradio
Apr 16th 2019, 3:02 pm
#19
Joined: Jun 2006
Location: Granada Costa
Posts: 10,899
Re: UK TV legal but inexpensive.
NowTV is a good solution and is dirt cheap. Unless you want some of the Sky channels there is no charge. You do not need a VPN router, a Smart DNS subscription works fine on a basic router and that's about €3/mth.
There is now a NowTV stick which is much better to use than the old box and is WiFi. The basic box is not WiFi and is no longer available. You have to buy them in the UK though. Another excellent alternative is the Basic.Amazon TV Firestick. Available from Amazon Spain for €39.99. A better box is the 4K Fire TV stick which has voice controls and the ability to watch in 4K if appropriate. Not currently available in Spain, but cheap enough to get posted here. Its 49.99 GBP. I use all three boxes. There is also now a 4K NowTV stick that is equivalent to the FireTV 4K.
There is now a NowTV stick which is much better to use than the old box and is WiFi. The basic box is not WiFi and is no longer available. You have to buy them in the UK though. Another excellent alternative is the Basic.Amazon TV Firestick. Available from Amazon Spain for €39.99. A better box is the 4K Fire TV stick which has voice controls and the ability to watch in 4K if appropriate. Not currently available in Spain, but cheap enough to get posted here. Its 49.99 GBP. I use all three boxes. There is also now a 4K NowTV stick that is equivalent to the FireTV 4K.
Apr 16th 2019, 5:14 pm
#20
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 5,622
Re: UK TV legal but inexpensive.
NowTV is a good solution and is dirt cheap. Unless you want some of the Sky channels there is no charge. You do not need a VPN router, a Smart DNS subscription works fine on a basic router and that's about €3/mth.
There is now a NowTV stick which is much better to use than the old box and is WiFi. The basic box is not WiFi and is no longer available. You have to buy them in the UK though. Another excellent alternative is the Basic.Amazon TV Firestick. Available from Amazon Spain for €39.99. A better box is the 4K Fire TV stick which has voice controls and the ability to watch in 4K if appropriate. Not currently available in Spain, but cheap enough to get posted here. Its 49.99 GBP. I use all three boxes. There is also now a 4K NowTV stick that is equivalent to the FireTV 4K.
There is now a NowTV stick which is much better to use than the old box and is WiFi. The basic box is not WiFi and is no longer available. You have to buy them in the UK though. Another excellent alternative is the Basic.Amazon TV Firestick. Available from Amazon Spain for €39.99. A better box is the 4K Fire TV stick which has voice controls and the ability to watch in 4K if appropriate. Not currently available in Spain, but cheap enough to get posted here. Its 49.99 GBP. I use all three boxes. There is also now a 4K NowTV stick that is equivalent to the FireTV 4K.
Apr 17th 2019, 2:02 pm
#21
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 483
Re: UK TV legal but inexpensive.
NowTV is a good solution and is dirt cheap. Unless you want some of the Sky channels there is no charge. You do not need a VPN router, a Smart DNS subscription works fine on a basic router and that's about €3/mth.
There is now a NowTV stick which is much better to use than the old box and is WiFi. The basic box is not WiFi and is no longer available. You have to buy them in the UK though. Another excellent alternative is the Basic.Amazon TV Firestick. Available from Amazon Spain for €39.99. A better box is the 4K Fire TV stick which has voice controls and the ability to watch in 4K if appropriate. Not currently available in Spain, but cheap enough to get posted here. Its 49.99 GBP. I use all three boxes. There is also now a 4K NowTV stick that is equivalent to the FireTV 4K.
There is now a NowTV stick which is much better to use than the old box and is WiFi. The basic box is not WiFi and is no longer available. You have to buy them in the UK though. Another excellent alternative is the Basic.Amazon TV Firestick. Available from Amazon Spain for €39.99. A better box is the 4K Fire TV stick which has voice controls and the ability to watch in 4K if appropriate. Not currently available in Spain, but cheap enough to get posted here. Its 49.99 GBP. I use all three boxes. There is also now a 4K NowTV stick that is equivalent to the FireTV 4K.
Apr 17th 2019, 6:25 pm
#22
Joined: Jun 2006
Location: Granada Costa
Posts: 10,899
Re: UK TV legal but inexpensive.
It’s sort of worked out that way over time. I started with an early NowTv box, then upgraded to the next one and now the stick as it is WiFi. The FireTv is the latest addition and that’s my favourite at the moment as it handles 4K and I can tell it what I want to watch - no more keying in details! I’ve even got an old Android IPTV box somewhere in my cupboard.
I also have an Apple TV box which is excellent as all my other stuff is Apple and I subscribe to Apple Music. Their new TV app brings all the options into one place.
Most of the time I watch UK TV in brilliant HD quality on my 55” 4K TV using the Intelsat 907 satellite. The receiver I use has a full EPG and I can record all the channels at the same time. I think that answers your question. You don’t get catchup on that, but hopefully you have recorded it anyway. You also get the UK radio channels which I listen to most of the day when at home. If I forget to record something then I use the other boxes for catchup.
Just to add even more options, I watch all the Sky channels on SkyGo using my daughters subscription in the UK (they allow you to watch on 6 devices, I just use 2 of them). They do not allow you to connect it to a TV so I watch it on my 27” iMac or my iPad Pro in bed.
So, I get everything I need in the best picture quality and do not pay a cent for it (apart from 3€ a month for a SmartDNS service) . I think that can be described as inexpensive!
I also have an Apple TV box which is excellent as all my other stuff is Apple and I subscribe to Apple Music. Their new TV app brings all the options into one place.
Most of the time I watch UK TV in brilliant HD quality on my 55” 4K TV using the Intelsat 907 satellite. The receiver I use has a full EPG and I can record all the channels at the same time. I think that answers your question. You don’t get catchup on that, but hopefully you have recorded it anyway. You also get the UK radio channels which I listen to most of the day when at home. If I forget to record something then I use the other boxes for catchup.
Just to add even more options, I watch all the Sky channels on SkyGo using my daughters subscription in the UK (they allow you to watch on 6 devices, I just use 2 of them). They do not allow you to connect it to a TV so I watch it on my 27” iMac or my iPad Pro in bed.
So, I get everything I need in the best picture quality and do not pay a cent for it (apart from 3€ a month for a SmartDNS service) . I think that can be described as inexpensive!
Last edited by Fred James; Apr 17th 2019 at 6:38 pm.
Apr 18th 2019, 9:54 am
#24
Joined: Jun 2006
Location: Granada Costa
Posts: 10,899
Re: UK TV legal but inexpensive.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amazon-Fire-TV-Stick-4K-Ultra-Hd-With-Alexa-Voice-Remote-Streaming-Media-Player/dp/B079QB9BD7/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=fire+tv+stick&qid=1555581233&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1
Apr 18th 2019, 10:17 am
#25
Banned
Joined: Aug 2018
Location: Sotogrande
Posts: 182
Re: UK TV legal but inexpensive.
That is an Amazon 4K Firestick which is not in any way shape or form a NOWTV 4K stick which you state is available....totally different product and company!!!!!!!!!
Apr 18th 2019, 10:42 am
#26
Joined: Jun 2006
Location: Granada Costa
Posts: 10,899
Re: UK TV legal but inexpensive.
Sorry, when I mentioned a NowTV 4K device I was actually referring to the new NowTv Smart Box which is 4K.
Apr 18th 2019, 10:55 am
#27
Banned
Joined: Aug 2018
Location: Sotogrande
Posts: 182
Re: UK TV legal but inexpensive.
Yes I have both the NowTV 4K box along with the Amazon Firestick 4K. So when you posted that NowTV were supplying a 4K Stick I knew that this wasn't the case. Personally I much prefer the Amazon 4K Stick and only use the NowTV for a few Sky progs such as Billions and the occasional Sports event. I find BBC Iplayer far quicker to load similarly ITV hub plus many more options with the Amazon product for apps and sideloading etc.
Apr 18th 2019, 1:26 pm
#28
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 5,622
Re: UK TV legal but inexpensive.
Tvcatchup was quite a good app for standard UK channels but it has been down for some weeks and it would appear that this will be permanent.
Apr 18th 2019, 4:02 pm
#29
Joined: Jun 2006
Location: Granada Costa
Posts: 10,899
Re: UK TV legal but inexpensive.
Yes I have both the NowTV 4K box along with the Amazon Firestick 4K. So when you posted that NowTV were supplying a 4K Stick I knew that this wasn't the case. Personally I much prefer the Amazon 4K Stick and only use the NowTV for a few Sky progs such as Billions and the occasional Sports event. I find BBC Iplayer far quicker to load similarly ITV hub plus many more options with the Amazon product for apps and sideloading etc.
Yes, the main advantage of NowTv over the others is access to Sky TV if that’s what you want. It could be useful for temporary viewing such as F1 on Sky sports or the occasional Golf or cricket. SkyGo is good but it won’t let you stream to a tv. I have tried it on my iMac and that can, in theory, let you use AirPlay to stream it to an Apple TV and thence onto the TV but I found there were audio problems with doing this.
I haven’t got into side loading the Firestick but I have heard it works well. Yes, it does seem to load iPlayer faster, but I think that the processors in the TVs are very slow. It’s the same with the Network/WiFi adaptors in the TV. I have just got 600mb/s fibre and the best I can get on the TV with a direct connection is about 50mb/s. More than adequate, but I would have expected a much faster connection.
Another option which I have which I haven’t mentioned is Movistar TV +. This came with the fibre connection and gives all the Spanish channels plus a few more. They have a huge range of chargeable options which can put the monthly fee up to €150/mth. I got a free 4 month sub to all the football channels, some in 4K, but I’m not into Spanish TV or football so I will cancel it after the trial. Very good quality though and a good interface.
Getting back to the original question, I have far more free, high picture quality, TV than I have time to watch, and none of requires a subscription and the hardware to do it is very cheap.
Apr 18th 2019, 8:24 pm
#30
Banned
Joined: Aug 2018
Location: Sotogrande
Posts: 182
Re: UK TV legal but inexpensive.
I expect there will be a 4K Nowtv stick soon as their 4K box is a Roku box and they do a stick version as far as I know.
Yes, the main advantage of NowTv over the others is access to Sky TV if that’s what you want. It could be useful for temporary viewing such as F1 on Sky sports or the occasional Golf or cricket. SkyGo is good but it won’t let you stream to a tv. I have tried it on my iMac and that can, in theory, let you use AirPlay to stream it to an Apple TV and thence onto the TV but I found there were audio problems with doing this.
I haven’t got into side loading the Firestick but I have heard it works well. Yes, it does seem to load iPlayer faster, but I think that the processors in the TVs are very slow. It’s the same with the Network/WiFi adaptors in the TV. I have just got 600mb/s fibre and the best I can get on the TV with a direct connection is about 50mb/s. More than adequate, but I would have expected a much faster connection.
Another option which I have which I haven’t mentioned is Movistar TV +. This came with the fibre connection and gives all the Spanish channels plus a few more. They have a huge range of chargeable options which can put the monthly fee up to €150/mth. I got a free 4 month sub to all the football channels, some in 4K, but I’m not into Spanish TV or football so I will cancel it after the trial. Very good quality though and a good interface.
Getting back to the original question, I have far more free, high picture quality, TV than I have time to watch, and none of requires a subscription and the hardware to do it is very cheap.
Last edited by thegolfer; Apr 18th 2019 at 8:37 pm.