Hello, John
Some useful thoughts here, but if you are still confused, here’s how you can watch the widest range of English and French channels and a back catalogue of films and TV series.
1 - Order the “TV décodeur” [box[ from Orange if you want French channels
2 - Upgrade your current Orange subscription to include TV
3 - Upgrade Orange internet to the fastest for your area - fibre if you are not too rural
[These are effectively combined if you visit an Orange shop]
4 - Sign up for an internet TV service [which streams UK channels by internet] – and the “black box” which connects and controls it. This is known as IPTV [internet protocol Tv}
- Some IPTV firms bundle the box and service. Most of them use a gadget called a MAG box. If they don’t supply it, Amazon sells them - the service provider will tell you which model to buy.
- When we arrived in France three years ago we tried a couple of different IPTV firms but for the last two years have been with Expat Vision.
- The onscreen instructions / programme selector are easy to follow, the service is very reliable and they have an online chat facility at https://www.expatvision.tv. Ignore the ‘rebranding’ msg, go straight to chat.
5 - Once you have the Orange and IPTV subscriptions, the décodeur [if wanted] and MAG box, connections are straightforward:
- Livebox to décodeur = ethernet
- Livebox to MAG = ethernet
- décodeur to TV = HDMI
- MAG to TV = HDMI
- note wired connections faster / more robust than wifi
- the chat service at Expatvision are very helpful but not sure if they are UK office hours
I’m definitely NOT a techie, but I’ve been around this sort of stuff for a while, so if you need more, just ask – and there are other folk here who know far more than I do, particularly about the technology.
HTH
Ken