PRACTICAL solutions to loss of TV Reception

[pickwick]

HI

There is a good cheap service available from Overplay (http://www.overplay.net) for Apple TV & iPad users (and anyone else via PCs etc) that want to watch UK TV, Netflix, LoveFilm, BBC i-Player, TV Player etc. Their service is called SmartDNS and costs only $4.95 US a month. What this does is give you new DNS settings to use (simple to set up on your Apple device or PC or router or Smart TV) and then you can access all UK sites and services usually denied to users outside the UK. The difference between a VPN and Smart DNS is that a VPN will slow down your connection by about 50% whereas using a SmartDNS has no effect on download speed.

With the new DNS settings applied you can try Netflix and LoveFilm free for 1 month (thousands of films. tv series etc.). If you have Apple TV this means you have films, catchup TV, BBC i-Player, Filmon, live TV etc all available on your TV for free for the first month and then low cost to keep the NetFlix and LoveFilm if you want to. You can also use a laptop or PC with HDMI out connection to connect to your TV.

This might be a good option for those that are waiting to see what happens or those that visit occasionally if you have a decent internet connection as the Apple TV box needed is tiny and you can use it back home too.

Pickwick

[steve]

Thanks for the info Pickwick. I contacted Overplay via the chat line on their web site and talked through the difference between the Smart DNS and the full VPN. I explained that I wanted to access ITV player and BBC Iplayer and they suggested that the Smart DNS service would do this. They even set up a week's free trial so that I could try it out. I have put this on my Ipad and my Windows 7 laptop and it gives me the access I wanted without any loss of internet speed. I previously used Expat Net as my VPN and while this worked well it did significantly reduce the speed of the connection to a UK site and it costs £7 a month versus the figure of $4.95 for Smart DNS

I feed the signal from my Ipad or Iphone through Apple TV to the TV. Using the Smart DNS and Filmon plus the catch up players I get a complete service. With the SkyGo app I can also stream all of my subscription Sky channels to a TV which is not connected to the Sky box.The obvious fly in the ointment before EMM appears with his statements of gloom is that it is dependent upon a sufficiently strong broadband signal but so far touch wood I have encountered little buffering. What has appeared is I think down to the complicated distribution system I have to get good Wifi coverage all over the house. With this system I can afford to sit tight and see what emerges over time.

The other method I have of getting TV and films is via XBMC - the xbox media centre. I have this on a jailbroken Android MX2 box which connects to a TV in the same way as an Apple TV box. The world is your oyster with the streams from this and you can view almost anything imaginable from across the globe or you can keep it simple and put Filmon on as an Android app. The downsides are that it takes a while for oldies like me to get used to operating the system and the box needs a good internet speed. A minimum of 8 mbps is recommended for HD streaming. I have also put xmbc on my Windows 7 laptop and this is a cost free means of access for anyone who wants to try it out.

I recently saw the service from a Roku (?) box from Marc Electronica.The service costs about €18 euros a month but seems to operate with a fairly low internet speed. The advantages it had were a very strong picture and simplicity of operation plus a good spread of TV channels and films.

I have spoken to people who have installed the box needed to get BBC and ITV signals via the military satellite. The feedback is that the signal gives a good but rather basic service with limited channels and no EPG. I am not pursuing this at the moment because I need my current dish for Sky channels and I dont want to put up a second dish.

It is a pity that there does not appear to be a cheap satellite internet system to guarantee that interent TV will work well as demand grows.

[shanagarry]

I'm losing the will to live - is there a 'plug 'n play' option without all this technical stuff

[Sheila]

SmartDNS sounds good. We have discovered we can connect my husbands Windows laptop to the TV via an HDMI cable so no need for an Apple TV or equivalent. The TV then shows whatever is on the laptop screen. I think we are sorted.

Worldtelecom say they can supply us with a 4G package for 26.4 + IVA which will give us unlimited traffic at speeds of up to 50mbps. They are running a promotion of 8.8 + IVA for the first 4 months.

We are hoping to move into our new house at the start of April, they have offered to come and run a test to confirm speeds before we decide. Will report back then.

[Mart]

Be aware that if you want to run the tv apps on a Samsung smart tv you will need a minimum of 10 mbps.( Its in the small print in the manual)
Luckily I can just get that on Meo, but its something I have not seen mentioned before.BBC iPlayer now has its own downloader so you can save
and watch later.Some of it in HD.

[steve]

Internet speed requirements need to watched but they are often in the small print. My Android box struggles at times on the signal strength I get but the info about required speeds was at the end of a very long blurb about the capabilities of the box and the company which did the jailbreaking. One thing which impressed me about the Roku box is that it runs well on about 2.5 Mbps.

[EMM]

Latest report from friends in Albufeiira who have the E150 box and monthly subscription is that they are experiencing picture and sound loss at busy times early evening in particular.
Their internet provider is world telecom.
They have been led to believe that this is not unexpected and could get worse as demand grows.
As we have all thought it is all about the quality of your internet service.

[LICY]

We have now purchased an IPad Air and Apple TV box. It makes me VERY happy that I have finally persuaded hubby to upgrade my generation 1 iPad. We have also bought the cable to link box to TV. We will get Mr techno man to do something to the iPad so nothing else can be downloaded. We are also going to ask for a £300 deposit, so hoping that works for us and our guests alike. I think the issue with the other Tv's using only one box means like the old days of SKY, you have to watch the same programme. Has anyone else ideas on this? Also our broadband receiver needs to be moved from where it is to be more central. Hopefully that means we can get it anywhere in the villa. mind you the added issue is should we provide 3 iPads, one for each TV.

[EMM]

When we have the tablet on watching BBC the laptop definetly slows down. I have just had to re boot the tablet as it the TV signal froze.
At Christmas at times we had 5 devices using the internet ( not TV ) , try telling a 13 year old that he could not use his I player because the adults needed the available capacity to work.
3 ipads watching TV at the same time could be a bit ambitious.

[widge]

When we have the tablet on watching BBC the laptop definetly slows down. I have just had to re boot the tablet as it the TV signal froze.
At Christmas at times we had 5 devices using the internet ( not TV ) , try telling a 13 year old that he could not use his I player because the adults needed the available capacity to work.
3 ipads watching TV at the same time could be a bit ambitious.

We are in Boavista upgraded to the Cabo 1 box system end of last year.
My wireless speed as I type is 54mps. Cable to the house.
We have done a test with a Hudl and can watch internet TV albeit quality is nowhere as good as the Cabo channels

If you get 54mbps on wireless & your tablet still freezes then I can't see that any internet based solution will be satisfactory ?

I have purchased the Projection Dreams solution & am awaiting installation of Cabo Visao 1 box with fibre optic internet speed, all this should be installed on 3rd April. Will let you know what happens.

[pickwick]

Hi Licy

There is a cheaper solution to be able to watch two different TV programmes on two TVs. You just need a second Apple TV box for the second TV (you can then name each Apple TV so as not to confuse). You can then watch any TV programme on TV 1 using Filmon (AirPlay to box 1) and on the second TV watch another using BBC i-Player, 4 On Demand, ITV Player or TV Player etc. (Airplay to Box 2). To acieve this you will need the subscription to OverPlay (see my post above - only $60 US per annum) and of course enough bandwidth to stream 2 feeds at one time.

Pickwick

[EMM]

When we have the tablet on watching BBC the laptop definetly slows down. I have just had to re boot the tablet as it the TV signal froze.
At Christmas at times we had 5 devices using the internet ( not TV ) , try telling a 13 year old that he could not use his I player because the adults needed the available capacity to work.
3 ipads watching TV at the same time could be a bit ambitious.

We are in Boavista upgraded to the Cabo 1 box system end of last year.
My wireless speed as I type is 54mps. Cable to the house.
We have done a test with a Hudl and can watch internet TV albeit quality is nowhere as good as the Cabo channels

If you get 54mbps on wireless & your tablet still freezes then I can't see that any internet based solution will be satisfactory ?

I have purchased the Projection Dreams solution & am awaiting installation of Cabo Visao 1 box with fibre optic internet speed, all this should be installed on 3rd April. Will let you know what happens.

Upgrading our internet was nothing to do with TV access but the priority is for work when here.
TV is an extra.
As I posted yesterday a friend with the box and monthly subscription is getting freezing and interuptions during busy periods ,usually when their favourite soaps are on.
Apart from the News we usually use BBC I player to catch up on anything we want to watch which is fine as I am not using the lapttop then.

[maccasa]

We have now purchased an IPad Air and Apple TV box. It makes me VERY happy that I have finally persuaded hubby to upgrade my generation 1 iPad. We have also bought the cable to link box to TV. We will get Mr techno man to do something to the iPad so nothing else can be downloaded. We are also going to ask for a £300 deposit, so hoping that works for us and our guests alike. I think the issue with the other Tv's using only one box means like the old days of SKY, you have to watch the same programme. Has anyone else ideas on this? Also our broadband receiver needs to be moved from where it is to be more central. Hopefully that means we can get it anywhere in the villa. mind you the added issue is should we provide 3 iPads, one for each TV.

I reckon your best position would be on the roof - I should be able to get a connection from there

[LICY]

Hi Licy

There is a cheaper solution to be able to watch two different TV programmes on two TVs. You just need a second Apple TV box for the second TV (you can then name each Apple TV so as not to confuse). You can then watch any TV programme on TV 1 using Filmon (AirPlay to box 1) and on the second TV watch another using BBC i-Player, 4 On Demand, ITV Player or TV Player etc. (Airplay to Box 2). To acieve this you will need the subscription to OverPlay (see my post above - only $60 US per annum) and of course enough bandwidth to stream 2 feeds at one time.

Pickwick

OK. Think we may have to wait until the early May trip. Will have to go to Lagoa shop to sort the iPad out. So 3 boxes for 3 TV's???

[LICY]

We have now purchased an IPad Air and Apple TV box. It makes me VERY happy that I have finally persuaded hubby to upgrade my generation 1 iPad. We have also bought the cable to link box to TV. We will get Mr techno man to do something to the iPad so nothing else can be downloaded. We are also going to ask for a £300 deposit, so hoping that works for us and our guests alike. I think the issue with the other Tv's using only one box means like the old days of SKY, you have to watch the same programme. Has anyone else ideas on this? Also our broadband receiver needs to be moved from where it is to be more central. Hopefully that means we can get it anywhere in the villa. mind you the added issue is should we provide 3 iPads, one for each TV.

I reckon your best position would be on the roof - I should be able to get a connection from there

Thought you wanted me on the roof.