nectarine Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Well Xmas Day is approaching fast and I'm out all day. My DVD recorder is linked to my sky box and I can only record one channel at a time .... so with Downton Abbey, Absolutely Fabulous, etc., all on and some cracking programmes on the day I shall be missing them all!So I'm looking at watching the programmes online instead a few days later. ExpatShield seems complicated ... any reviews? And someone mentioned Brit TV but their website looks really amateur but does it work?Any advise plese on ways to safely watch UK tv online. I don't mind paying, naturally the cheaper the better, but I'd like tried and tested suppliers so I know I'm in safe hands.thanks all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugsy Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 www.hidemyass.com Is what I use and its faultless. You do have to pay for it but in return you get no annoying adverts that most of the 'free' ones bombard you with... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nectarine Posted December 21, 2011 Author Share Posted December 21, 2011 Thanks Bugsy, and do you get access to the catch-up channels from BBC, Channel 4 etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugsy Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Its simple, select a UK-based location and when its connected you can watchBBC iPlayerITVDemand 5You may have to download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player for some of the above programmes. (its free). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nectarine Posted December 21, 2011 Author Share Posted December 21, 2011 Bugsy, you're a star. Big thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sid Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Bugsy, what internet download speed do you have? I'm nearly at the "end of the line" out here in the sticks, over 3kms from the exchange; I get 2mega on a good day, but in the evenings, just when I'm likely to want to watch TV, all the other local users come on line and my internet speed drops, sometimes to below 1mega. On top of that we also get service interruptions, as for example in the high winds and rain last week (we lost the phone too). I've been reluctant to fork out for a service which may be unwatchable.I watch football on my pc via streaming sites, but the quality is poor and I'm only able to see a good picture on a small window, not full screen. I only put up with it because it would be that or nothing. I wouldn't want my main TV watching to be like that. Are you hooked up to your TV.... and is it HD?I can't find any details about minimum service requirements on the site you linked to. The cost, which equates to around 38GPB is not bad for 12 months viewing if it's usable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyA Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Nearly at the end of the line, Sid? You should try 6.7km and 512k! I really think I shall have to get serious about satellite soon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugsy Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 [quote user="sid"]Bugsy, what internet download speed do you have? I'm nearly at the "end of the line" out here in the sticks, over 3kms from the exchange; I get 2mega on a good day, but in the evenings, just when I'm likely to want to watch TV, all the other local users come on line and my internet speed drops, sometimes to below 1mega. On top of that we also get service interruptions, as for example in the high winds and rain last week (we lost the phone too). I've been reluctant to fork out for a service which may be unwatchable.I watch football on my pc via streaming sites, but the quality is poor and I'm only able to see a good picture on a small window, not full screen. I only put up with it because it would be that or nothing. I wouldn't want my main TV watching to be like that. Are you hooked up to your TV.... and is it HD?I can't find any details about minimum service requirements on the site you linked to. The cost, which equates to around 38GPB is not bad for 12 months viewing if it's usable.[/quote]We are pretty similar to you Sid. I've found that it is sometimes necessary to use a lower broadband width with iPlayer, but not always.iPlayer can take a short while to 'kick-in' but once it starts streaming its fine. I use it in HD on my 24" iMac when the stream allows and the picture quality is superb.I haven't tried connecting to a TV yet.Probably best to buy a month first to check it out.Gary.edit: One thing I have discovered is that I have problems forwarding emails when using another IP address. Pretty easy to solve, I just disconnect [:D]. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 I too have Sid's problem. Most TV from the computer is full of hiccups and thus very irritatingl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sid Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Bugsy, the reason I ask is that I tried linking my Humax through the internet router in order to connect to the iplayers on BBC and ITV. It brings up the menus but recognises that I'm not in the UK and doesn't allow any of the programmes to be viewed. A VPN service would get around that, but I can't tell how good the picture would be (probably good enough for something that I had otherwise missed altogether). As you say, a short trial period would allow me to try it out. The other question is whether I'd make enough use of it; I already record all of my favourite programmes on the Humax, so there's not a huge need for the iplayer. The VPN could be useful at other times though, as the website says, to "hidemyass" !What's the chances of Orange or other ISPs clamping down on these streaming services I wonder? I guess we just continue until things change... and then find yet another way around it!As Coops says, the programmes I watch via the internet (streamed) are generally poor resolution and often pause for several seconds, or worse still dropout altogether. When I manage to reconnect I've usually missed a goal, (not on Downton though) how do they do that!!??I should have said... thanks for the link Bugsy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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