Access to British tv

Dear.all, does anyone know of a way to access British TV (preferably on our tv rather than computer) without installing a satellite dish? We live in the south west. Thanks.

I've just received and set up a

https://www.amazon.fr/JusquĂ -configuration-Android-Amlogic-abonnement/dp/B01AFEJ7V8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1481034180&sr=8-1&keywords=cs918g&linkCode=ll1&tag=survfrannetw-21&linkId=aee33b57ecf510133b73f3b24043db0d

which cost me ~ÂŁ30. It comes pre-installed with Kodi and FilmOn add-on.

It's now in my gite and I've just been 'enjoying' BBC One, via my 3.5Mbit ADSL - provided to the gite over 50m from house via Wifi 802.11g.

We're due to move permanently to our house in the Creuse, dept 23 in Nov, we already have a Panasonic freeview dvd recorder that we use here in the UK, via an aerial. We have a satellite dish on our house in France for freesat. Does anyone know if there is a way of connecting the box to the dish to save buying a new piece of kit to be able continue recording and copying to dvds? Thanks

Hi Andrew, let me know please. stephenclary60@gmail.com Thanks

Excellent!! I think I found you 'inenglish' nod nod wink wink! Will take a look at this. :-)

Hi would be interested in knowing more.
Contact me hmakins@hotmail.com

If you choose to setup DNS on the router all your devices will work while at home, if you choose to setup VPN on the device it will work from anywhere. The two downsides for smartDNS are that you will only get the UK channels that are supported “All the major ones last time I checked” and only the relevant part of your traffic is piped to the UK which speeds up the connection but does not encrypt all your traffic and thus your privacy is not ensured. If your ISP does apply DNS Hijacking or Transparent proxies then you will need to use VPN as Smart DNS proxies wont work for you.

Patrick - you're misinformed. SmartDNS involves a simple change of DNS server address - no web based app's or otherwise, nothing to do with IP addresses. In any case, you just carry on doing whatever you feel comfortable with - just like me :-)

Well, strictly speaking perhaps you don't need full-blown vpn but they all need to spoof the BBC and other sites into thinking you are in the UK one way or another. Not having the software "downloaded to your pc" just means you have to run through a web based app anyway so it might make you feel more secure I guess, not sure if it is any better though. Also I want privacy too and VPN with HMA gives me that at the same price as just smartDNS on overplay and most others. Plus BBC gets wise to certain IP addresses and the ability to change to a different UK based one is useful (though I am sure overplay and other smartDNS will enable the same functionality). It all still comes down to bandwidth in the end though, if you ain't got it, it ain't gonna be a pleasant experience.

UnoTelly is cheaper.

Amazon aren't the only place to buy these. Amazon.fr also sell a android based HDMI stick http://www.amazon.fr/Android-1-8GHz-RK3188-Dongle-Bluetooth/dp/B00DGPG532/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1441888572&sr=8-2&keywords=hdmi+android

These or similar are easy to use so long as you know how to use a smartphone and have an HDMI slot on your tv. Install Kodi (as specified above) and you then have apps such as FilmOn or NotFilmOn and also access to box sets of pretty much anything you want to watch without any additional subscriptions.

No Patrick you do NOT need a VPN to 'fool the BBC into thinking you're in the UK'. A simple SMART DNS service works just fine and doesn't involve any software being downloaded onto your PC, SmartTV, Phone, Tablet etc. Does not affect your internet speed at all.

Try http://www,overplay.net (there are others of course)

I went through all the options, internet speed even at 6mb was not good enough for streaming when using a vpn (internet via a uk server... which you would do one way or another to "fool" the bbc into thinking you're in the uk).

In short I just installed an 80cm satellite dish, pointed it in the right direction and connected a freesat box - total cost about €250. And no monthly charges.

I find nPerf from Degrouptest the most comprehensive speed test. It not only tests taw speed but browsing and streaming rates as well. I run it as an app on my iPad but it wil run on an iPhone or an iPod touch as well. Probably Android too.

Hi

http://www.uktvfrance.net/product/new-mag-254-set-top-box/

Full Sky package for under 30€ per month

I bought one of these. Arrived in France in a couple of days. Paid 58 pound plus postage. Gives access to all live tv including sky channels in standard or high definition without the need to subscribe. Also allows you to surf the web, email, create and print documents.If you want to subscribe to expat tv you can but there are plenty of alternatives that are free which areavailable on this system. If you can use a smart phone this is should be quite simple to use. If you need to expand on what is preloaded there are plenty of video tutorials out there showing step by step guides.

We have used internet for TV since we came to SW France in 2008 and it has generally worked well. We do get occasional buffering pauses and the picture quality goes off sometimes but it is OK. We use the same in Cyprus. Tested speeds seem to be good but I suspect actual speeds vary much more than the test shows otherwise we would not have the problems with buffering etc as our tested speeds here ate better than 12Mb/sec down and 0.8 up.

I currently use an iPAD Mini via Apple TV sing BBC iPlayer (which we also use via our main PC for Radio 4 almost faultlessly) and we have a subscription proxy using UnoTelly (US$49 a year). The Radio is distributed around the house via a wired network to several PC speakers in different rooms and works really well. TV is standalone via the iPAD with one Apple TV on a TV. I have tried to use the Now TV box here but it won't work with the proxy as I can't configure the Orange Livebox with the necessary DNS servers. RikkoMagic was too flaky so I gave it up. The Apple wired adapter for iPAD to HDMI works well but its a pain to have to work it close to the TV and the Apple TV with Airplay is much more convenient once you get used to its little quirks.

Dear Stephen, not sure what the problem with a satellite dish is? When we moved into our apartment we were told no satellite dishes – but in reality what this means is no satellite dish that is visible, so we put one on a balcony (almost at floor level) attached to a parasol stand. We use a FreeSat box and get all UK free view channels (plus we can record/pause programmes). We are a bit further north than you (near Lyon) but 99% of the time you wouldn’t know you weren’t in the UK (from a TV stance). Just thought I would share this.

Yes, check this: https://www.uktvfrance.net We have been using it eversince the BBC changed their signal setup and as we are constantly moving (as we are house and pets sitters), and it works perfectly anywhere we go, even in Australia where we are it the moment. No dish needed, just a good Internet connection and a TV screen, which everybody has.

Hope this helps,

Kate and John