Need options for TV access

iMacMart

iMacMart

iMacMart

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Joined
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Location
Hertfordshire
Hi Guys

We have an extention that has a sofa bed in it with a 19" flat screen TV mounted on the wall, it's a spare room come kids playroom, rather than running cables to Sky what wireless options do I have for TV access?

Amazon Fire TV (Has HDMI on the TV)
Chrome

I just want standard TV access (or catchup) if this had wireless access built in I could stream from my NAS

Not looking to spend lots or subscriptions really

Many thanks
 
If you're really wanting to keep things cheap then then NowTV (£10) has lots of the catchup options and can be side loaded with Plex (if you've got that set up already elsewhere).

Failing that the Amazon Fire TV gets my vote. Saying that you need to have a prime subscription to make the most of it.

Another alternative is (if you have NO plans on getting an Amazon Prime subscription) is the Roku3. Another great bit of kit and a lot faster than the NowTV with more apps and less restricted.
 
There are live streaming web sites such as tvplayer.com and time4tv.com so if you can get a PC signal to the TV then they are an option. The catch is the quality and the fact that there's advertising. Some of these sites have the TV windowed down and surrounded by ads and other onscreen junk. You might also find with some of these services that you're watching London TV region rather than your own.

Chromecast and others that access catchup TV is an option. However, the services are focused on catchup rather than live. The channel range is limited to just those stations with a catchup service, and the quality of most except BBC iPlayer is a bit ropey. You'd get away with it on a small TV though.

Personally I'd go for an aerial feed from Sky's RF2 out. That would give all the Freeview channels for your area and a window on to whatever the Sky box is seeing in the main lounge. Add a magic eye with an extra Sky remote and it would be possible to control the Sky box too. All the play/pause/rew and playback features then become available in the remote location. The TV signal for the Sky feed is only standard def via TV coax, but on a small TV it will still look pretty decent. You'll still be able to watch the Hi-Def channels too, but not in full resolution.

Running coax and adding a Sky eye won't be as cheap as a Chromecast. However, you will get access to a full range of TV channels plus all from your Sky box including your own recordings for little more than the cost of adding a TV signal feed.
 
That's a point. For live TV the Amazon Fire TV has the "TV Player" app that works well.

Likely available on other devices but not tried it personally.

In addition you could use the mirroring aspect to let you run TVCatchup from your phone (which, despite the name actually lets you watch live TV) and mirror it to your AFTV from iPhone or Android.

This would also be possible with a Chromecast.
 
Thanks Matey

Just been reading up on Now TV, Happy to pay the one off fee but as it won't be used a great deal I don't want to be in a subscription setup and just use the basics (whatever that might be)

Mart
 
iMacMart said:
Thanks Matey

Just been reading up on Now TV, Happy to pay the one off fee but as it won't be used a great deal I don't want to be in a subscription setup and just use the basics (whatever that might be)

Mart
Click to expand...

This is the complete list of apps available for the NowTV. Some other apps (like Plex) need to be "side-loaded". I don't know what apps work well (other than Plex) but I do believe only one additional app can be side-loaded at a time.

http://images.now.nowtv.com/Web/BSK...e-8a25da387bb5}_available_apps_30July2014.pdf

Please note that the "trick" with the NowTV is that it requires an account to use it and to create the account your NEED to sign up for the 30 day free trial. Simply remember to cancel your trials before you get charged. The box will still function perfectly.

Also, I don't think there's any way of watching live TV on the NowTV box other than the channels available to you if you have a NowTV / Sky subscription.
 
Depends. Don't spend a penny more than £10 for the NOWTV box itself. But if you plan on using any of the subscription services then the bundled subscriptions with it MIGHT work out cheaper but you should check.
 
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