Streaming onto TV through the internet

[crodonilson]

The better half is starting to give me grief about the price of Sky as the prices go up again in September so I have been considering jacking it in and streaming the sport I want to watch through the internet.

So a few questions....

Anyone out there who does this and what are their opinions?

What sort of quality computer would I need?

What broadband speed would I need and who is best??

What sort of picture quality can I expect putting it on a 42 inch TV compared to Sky HD??

What websites are best to use and is it worth using one of the pay ones as opposed to the free streams?

 

[Mr Smggles]

The better half is starting to give me grief about the price of Sky as the prices go up again in September so I have been considering jacking it in and streaming the sport I want to watch through the internet.

So a few questions....

Anyone out there who does this and what are their opinions?

What sort of quality computer would I need?

What broadband speed would I need and who is best??

What sort of picture quality can I expect putting it on a 42 inch TV compared to Sky HD??

What websites are best to use and is it worth using one of the pay ones as opposed to the free streams?

You could look at a jailbroken appleTV box? I haven't got one but was looking into one a few months ago. It streams from the internet and right onto the TV. I'm not sure of picture quality though.

 

[thony]

You could look for a laptop with HDMI out and get either a longish HDMI cable or a wireless keyboard and mouse so that you can operate it from your armchair. I find that more reliable than trying to stream the video to my TV. If the video file you're playing is HD, the quality should be just about as good as the Sky Box. You may find that Dolby Digital is missing, though - for me, that's an important part of the HD broadcast.

 

[Razi]

I do exactly this - and didnt bother renewing my Sky contract as a result when I moved house. I use a subscription-based online footy player (which does more live sports than just football) - this shows way more football than Sky/ESPN etc, so includes all the 3pm kick-offs too. My laptop has an HDMI-out so I just use a simple HDMI cable to connect to my TV. Job done. The streams vary in quality depending on their source, but are very watchable. I use BT Infinity (so, fibre optic) for streaming and very rarely get any buffering or loss of quality at all.

 

[c0lz]

You not thought of a modded cable or sky box ?

 

[rool]

You not thought of a modded cable or sky box ?

Ok you got me

Do these still exist?

 

[c0lz]

Ok you got me

Do these still exist?

they do indeed

Blade Media Satellite/dreambox e,t,c

cable .. starview 7 needs to be connected to b.b

there's a few forums on them

 

[hillbilly]

I do exactly this - and didnt bother renewing my Sky contract as a result when I moved house. I use a subscription-based online footy player (which does more live sports than just football) - this shows way more football than Sky/ESPN etc, so includes all the 3pm kick-offs too. My laptop has an HDMI-out so I just use a simple HDMI cable to connect to my TV. Job done. The streams vary in quality depending on their source, but are very watchable. I use BT Infinity (so, fibre optic) for streaming and very rarely get any buffering or loss of quality at all.

Which subscription based online footy player do you use? Does it show Cricket as well? I am being greedy and want this as well as Sky & Sky Go!

 

[Charlies Shinpad]

I would get rid of your Missus far cheaper and you still keep Sky !!!

 

[gripper stebson]

Find a mate who has Sky Sports but does not use SkyGo. Then buy him a pint at The Amex every week in exchange for his log in details... hey presto - Sky Sports on your PC and phone for next to nothing.

That's what I do anyway!

Oh, and an HDMI cable to attach the laptop to the TV.