Going full on streaming

danlightbulb

danlightbulb

danlightbulb

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Joined
14 Jul 2005
Posts
9,114
Location
Birmingham
Hi all.

I am thinking of ditching virgin media. Its costing over £50 a month for the basic package now. I can get standalone broadband for £20 a month plus a streaming service like netflix for £9 a month.

Im unsure of the following things though:

1. what happens to normal terrestrial channels (bbc1, bbc2 etc). do you stream these instead of having an aerial?

2. can you get channels like ukgold, dave, discovery etc, or do you lose these?

3. is the complete film library free on netflix when you subscribe? does any stuff cost extra?

4. what hardware do you need? if a smart tv has the netflix app built in, is this sufficient or do you need an extra firestick type device?

5. is firestick, fire tv, and netflix the same thing?

6. what resolution content do you get compared to virgin tv?

Anything else ive missed about switching away from virgin media?

Thanks.
 
Can't you just use freeview or freesat for regular channels? It's what we do, coupled with Netflix, Prime, NowTV (just the entertainment option, and only heavily discounted: It's not worth full price).

Smart TV with the app has you covered for Netflix. All the films and series are included. The films come and go from the service. It's full-hd or 4k depending which subscription price level you go for.
 
I was concerned that by using freeview with a large UHD tv, it would look poor. So was thinking it would be better to stream those channels instead.

Also i didnt want to subscribe to multiple services or I wouldnt be saving much. Is it possible to just pick one service out of now tv, netflix and prime, and get everything i would need?
 
Why not get a free trial for the various streaming services and plug in an aerial for Freeview HD and see what meets your needs? Should be easy enough if you have a smart tv and a pc or games console already.
 
Firestick mostly just makes a dumb TV into a smart TV. No need for it if your TV is already smart. You should already be able to get iPlayer, and the other channels' streaming apps
 
All i watch is bbc, gold, quest, dave, and my collections of downloaded movies and tv series.

If im buying a 55"/65" tv (current 32") then it needs to be worth it. I dont think my current virgin use gives me much in that regard.
 
danlightbulb said:
All i watch is bbc, gold, quest, dave, and my collections of downloaded movies and tv series.

If im buying a 55"/65" tv (current 32") then it needs to be worth it. I dont think my current virgin use gives me much in that regard.
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Just get freeview and forget about Netflix then. No need to pay anything beyond a TV license
 
cheesyboy said:
Take a free Netflix trial and check it out. Or browse here:

https://www.justwatch.com/uk/provider/netflix
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Is 'just watch' another one? All the different services available and different apps are so confusing. Its probably why I've stuck with Virgin for so long.


Just seeing what broadband only options are available. Virgin really annoys me, its £42/mnth for 100 Mbs broadband only, but only £33 if you have it with a phone line and also £33 a month to have broadband+phone+basic tv! I know I could just not put a phone in but for some reason it really frustrates me that I'm forced to have the bloody landline fitted.

Compared to about £20 per month for something like Vodafone superfast 2 (63 Mbs) over landline.
 
danlightbulb said:
Is 'just watch' another one?
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No, it's just a website that you can search all the services for what content is on there. I mostly use it to keep an eye on new stuff appearing on Netflix etc, but occasionally to search for a specific thing to find out which service it's on.
 
cheesyboy said:
Firestick mostly just makes a dumb TV into a smart TV. No need for it if your TV is already smart. You should already be able to get iPlayer, and the other channels' streaming apps
Click to expand...

Ours does but the UI is so laggy. Firestick 4k is buttery smooth.
 
danlightbulb said:
@cheesyboy what's your home media setup like? I have another post here that I'd like some input on too.

https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/t...iguring-home-tv-nas-pc-and-internet.18878338/
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I'm a total casual when it comes to TV, tbh. Until I started subscribing to streaming services about 5 years ago I had pretty much not watched any TV for about 3 years, and very little for the preceeding 4 or 5.

I just have a main smart TV hooked up to freesat (the house came with a dish already in place) and with the apps for Netflix, Prime, NowTV and some of the broadcast channels' apps. And a TV in the kids' playroom in the attic which has a firestick, which the kids mostly use for Netflix.
 
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