[TV] Recommendation please.

Uncle C · Dec 4, 2020

Can anyone recommend a gizmo (dongle) that I can plug into my TVs HDMI socket to use WiFi to stream catch up TV from my router.

I don't want anything other than catch up TV and I don't want to end up paying charges as happened with my free NOW TV box. I am happy with up front cost to buy the gizmo.

Thanks

keaton · Dec 4, 2020

Uncle C said:
Can anyone recommend a gizmo (dongle) that I can plug into my TVs HDMI socket to use WiFi to stream catch up TV from my router.

I don't want anything other than catch up TV and I don't want to end up paying charges as happened with my free NOW TV box. I am happy with up front cost to buy the gizmo.

Thanks

How are you being charged with your Now Box? If you don't have a pass your catch up should still work?

MJsGhost · Dec 4, 2020

I've got a Roku Streaming Stick (it was £40 or so). You can add the free TV catch-up players (iPlayer, ITVHub, All4 etc) as well as the paid streaming services (AppleTV, Netflix, Disney+ etc)

I got it in June and it was worked very well since

Icy Gull · Dec 4, 2020

MJsGhost said:
I've got a Roku Streaming Stick (it was £40 or so). You can add the free TV catch-up players (iPlayer, ITVHub, All4 etc) as well as the paid streaming services (AppleTV, Netflix, Disney+ etc)

I got it in June and it was worked very well since

Roku stick is brilliant

Stat Brother · Dec 4, 2020

Roku isn't a patch on an Amazon Fire Stick, with that you can get everything. :wink:

Dick Swiveller · Dec 4, 2020

keaton said:
How are you being charged with your Now Box? If you don't have a pass your catch up should still work?

They take your card details to start with and auto subscribe you without asking if you want the free stuff that comes with it. You need to unsubscribe straight away to stop them charging. But other than that, it should be free.

schmunk · Dec 4, 2020

Your NowTV box gives you access to most of the catch up services for free: https://help.nowtv.com/article/what-apps-are-available-on-now-tv-box-stick

A NowTV box/stick is actually a Roku box/stick with a couple of features turned off, but for your purposes it should be just the job.

If buying from new, I'd probably go for a Firestick before a Roku these days, but personally I have an Nvidia Shield because I am a FANCY DAN.

Icy Gull · Dec 4, 2020

Stat Brother said:
Roku isn't a patch on an Amazon Fire Stick, with that you can get everything.

Have both and prefer the Roku :shrug:

As per reviews the Firestick is more “cluttered” and that is spot on...imo

Brian Potter · Dec 4, 2020

I have had a Chromecast for years and it has never let me down. Can stream all the catch up stuff plus a load more (Netflix/Prime/Disney/Now TV etc) if you want to pay for other stuff. £30 and that is all you pay. I have never had a firestick or Roku so can't comment on them, but this has never let us down.

Stat Brother · Dec 4, 2020

Icy Gull said:
Have both and prefer the Roku

As per reviews the Firestick is more “cluttered” and that is spot on...imo

I to have both.
Starting with Roku then Amazon.

It felt like going from black and white TV to colour!!

But that said, as per Mr Potter above, neither have let me down.

There's some mad stuff on YouTube with people adding other tech to the FS eventually running something like 8 different devices from one £40 stick.

Too old for all that shite.

LlcoolJ · Dec 4, 2020

Can you pause, rewind, fast forward anything you're watching and can you record stuff on series link?

Even if you're on holiday and want to watch something (like England winning the Ashes) when you get home?

I'm always sightly tempted by these cheap options but they don't seem to do what I need them to.

Wardy's twin · Dec 4, 2020

I have both, had a sound syncing issue on iplayer on firestick but ROKU/Now TV did not have the same issue. Have never checked to see if issue has gone.

I only pay what i subscribe to on NOWTV never had anything charged which i had not asked for.

I don't tend to watch too much tele so the quality of the image is much less important to me than the quality of the content. The roku nowtv (10 years old) is good enough for me.

Stat Brother · Dec 4, 2020

These sort of tutorials are all over YouTube, naturally despite being somewhat evangelical about this cheap bit of kit I still only use about 10% of its potential.

Uncle C · Dec 4, 2020

keaton said:
How are you being charged with your Now Box? If you don't have a pass your catch up should still work?

I had two Now TV boxes and in the last month or two Sky turned both off then demanded money to open the connection again.

mothy · Dec 4, 2020

Is this Ben's grandad ?

BNthree · Dec 4, 2020

There are a lot of confused people in this thread.

Seasider78 · Dec 4, 2020

I am sure there is a way around it but one of the annoyances with the fire stick is not being able to load Now TV. I have tried some of the side loading solutions online and none of them work.

swindonseagull · Dec 4, 2020

mothy said:
Is this Ben's grandad ?

BG had a firestick and IPTV for a few weeks before he passed, he managed to set it up, with his limited technological knowledge so it cant be that hard to set up a firestick.

swindonseagull · Dec 4, 2020

Seasider78 said:
I am sure there is a way around it but one of the annoyances with the fire stick is not being able to load Now TV. I have tried some of the side loading solutions online and none of them work.

Use the downloader app and set developer options applications from unknown sources to ON then set up in the normal way it should then load no No problem

Shropshire Seagull · Dec 5, 2020

After being shafted by Sky and then Virgin [both inc BT Sports] for the last 3 years and finding out that BHA Vs WBA was on none of the UK broadcast channels, I decided to make some changes.
So, I've gone down the Amazon 4K Fire Stick / IPTV Smarters / IP Vanish route and converted to Freesat for my mainstream TV & recording

Dumped Virgin VIP [full package inc BB & multi-boxes] £133.50 pcm
now paying:
BB & Home phone anytime calls - £23 pcm
Fire Stick £50 - one-off purchase
IPTV subscription £60 per YEAR
IP Vanish subscription $35 per YEAR

Great that I can watch all Sky Sports, BT Sports etc + the overseas programs that screen every EPL game, but the downside is that I've yet to sort out trying to record to a HDD off the Fire Stick which means I have to watch the sports stuff live. Fine for BHA games but some of the other stuff I'd prefer to watch at my leisure.

To make the Fire Stick more useable I adopted these suggestions
- so now have a wired ethernet connection plus wireless keyboard/mouse attached for easy search / typing

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[TV] Recommendation please.

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