[Closed] Netflix + freesat - viable alternative to sky?

I binned Sky years ago. To be honest aside from sport there is nothing I miss. We watch "world cinema" so that's better streamed from the web, plenty of mainstream movies too. Catchup TV like bbc iplayer. I use a combination of an Apple TV or via my computer which is connected direct to the tv. You can look at chromecast too.

I haven't got a Tv aerial up at the minute, so only use Netflix and iPlayer streamed to the TV using a Chromecast (£25)...it works well for me because I only put tv on watch something now, instead of it just being left on.
I see you mention multi-room - the cheapest Netflix HD package is £6.99, but it also includes the ability to watch on two different devices. I'm not sure what more expensive packages offer as it's ages since I signed up.

Was in the same boat as you about a year ago - sick of paying £50-odd quid a month for Sky. So we cancelled, bought a freesat HDR box and went with Netflix. Thinking of changing to Lovefilm now.

This website looks pretty up to date too:

http://netflix.maft.uk/

You can subscribe to Eurosport on the web for around £3-4 per month (depending on what deals they have) which will suit your fibre optic.

I've been using a complicated twin LNB system and 2 boxes to watch free German Eurosport and get the English language feed off Polish Eurosport at the same time - but that's because I have crap internet.

Any other sports you can see on Wiziwig.

The only advantage of Sky is its usability and hassle free recording.

we use Netflix and Freeview and digi recorder box, but to be fair we're 'pretty basic' users. On the Netfix £7 month cancel anytime contract.
Apparently with BT WiFi you get BT Sport free but I've never got round to that.

Suits us and I as a 'casual' I can cope with £7 month

Nowtv is good, essentially just streamed sky movies @ £9.99 a month. Up to date movies and a reasonable back catalogue too. They do tv series too, and sports but they're additional cost. I have Nowtv + amazon prime + freeview (prime is good for kids stuff)

Viable? Well that depends what you want!

We weren't watching sky at £60/m, now we watch Netflix for a few hours every night at a cost of £5/m. But that all depends on what you watch.

I have freesat, and use the iplayer on the telly.
Netflix? Lovefilm? Pay for TV?
There's more to life than the screen in the corner...

Is anyone saying there isn't?

I use freesat and netflix and dont want for anything else. I dont watch a lot of tv anyway so freesat is more just for background noise/stuff to watch if I cba with netflix/news. For a fiver netflix is brilliant.

For sport I said to myself that when we got rid of Sky I'd just get a Now TV day pass when there was something on I wanted to watch and had the time to do it.

I haven't done it once!

Netflix with 2 screens simultaneously is £5.99 inc HD and 4 screens is £8.99 inc ultra HD (whatever that is..)

I ditched sky years ago now have netflix and eurosport a few months of the year to follow the tours. Sky really riles me when you pay for it and still have to put up with all the advertising.

I have been running free sat and netflix for a year or so ....
And I have just moved back to Sky.

I had a human freest box and the menus and interface are very difficult to live with - the angle of the remote, the slowness of the system.
Just like sky there are a heap of rubbish channels - but more HD channels

Netflix - good for box sets and US style TV shows. Films - they tend to be limited and pretty old, But for a fiver a month, I will keep it running.

All that said , I have never used pay per view on Sky as I have only had it back fro 3 weeks

Re films on netflix - the selection is old and limited in terms of well known Hollywood. But this is a blessing in disguise because there's absolutely tons of more obscure, foreign or older stuff on there that you might not have heard of and is pretty good 🙂 The flat rate fee (unlike Amazon Instant Video non-Prime or Playstation Movies) means you've nothing to lose.

[coughs] putlocker [/coughs]

I live perfectly happily with Freeview and LoveFilm (discs only as my internet isn't up to streaming!), I just make a note of what my Sky-using friends say are the decent shows and add the boxsets to my list 😀

Mind you I hardly have the TV on unless there's something I want to watch on. All I've used it for this week was one film on Film4, Guy Martin's Speed and the F1 on BBC.

Why don't you write down your viewing for a month, in a months time look at what you've watched and decide based on that?

Personally pretty happy with freeview, netflix and [s]torrents[/s] Google Play to Chromecast stuff.

FYI if you go into (Google) Play movies and TV there might be a free copy of Gravity in there, there was in mine last week.

If anyone is looking for a Netflix device I can recommend the Roku Streaming Stick

[url= https://www.roku.com/products/streaming-stick ]Roku[/url]

It is about the same size as a Chromecast but has a proper remote (easier for kids) and does all the Uk catch up services plus NowTV and can also play back via DLNA and Plex.

If your TV has a USB port the stick can be powered from that.

I have used quite a few streaming devices (Raspberry PI with XMBC, Apple TV, WD streamer, Chromecast, PS3) and the Roku is the best so far and good value for £40

Why don't you write down your viewing for a month, in a months time look at what you've watched and decide based on that?

Or just sign up for a free trial.

[url= http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/817d0758-47f6-11e4-ac9f-00144feab7de.html#axzz3I13t7Gon ]Netflix in deal with BT-backed YouView[/url]

Sorry fpr hijacking the thread. We are currently paying Sky £65 a month for TV/Phone/and Broadband.

The big decision is what to do next!

I need to go Fibre as our Broadband is shockingly slow ie you cant do iplayer etc.

But I still cant get away from the fact that if you want convenience you pay the premium for Sky, or sufffer with more faff, or plugging a PC in to your TV to get streamed stuff?

We did exactly that. Humax box, Netflix & Chromecast. We don't miss Sky although we were only on the basic Sky package.

Funkydunc - there's no need to plug a PC into your Tv. I stream everything from my phone...choosing what I want to watch and then playing it takes a few seconds. I have a few options to control it but my phone is the most convenient.

Edit: even if you had to buy a cheap tablet to use as a remote instead. It would still be a nice interface to use and way cheaper than Sky.

I stream everything from my phone...

Ok I am not a technophobe, but how do you stream from a Windows Phone to a Panasonic TV with a wireless dongle??

There is a Nokia app that allows to stream videos and pictures captured on the phone to the TV buts its very very slow.

Certainly no way (that I can see) to stream iplayer from my phone to the TV....

Certainly no way (that I can see) to stream iplayer from my phone to the TV....

Try Google Chromecast, dongle fits in the HDMI socket, synchs with your wireless connection and is controlled by your laptop/tablet (not kindle, Amazon probably bringing their own version out) or smartphone.

I say try because I was using one once and for some reason known only to Google it stopped working, changed the unit three times with no luck.

P-Jay - Member

We NEED Sky+, okay, not like we need food and water, but with a little baby in the house our quiet time is incredibly limited and I'll be damned if I'm going to settle for watching whatever's on at the time - I know I can buy a really good Freesat PVR - but it'll cost a years worth of Sky subscription.

No it doesn't.
Basic Sky package = £250 a year
Humax HD Freeview box with PVR and YouView (YouTube, IPlayer, Netflix etc compatible) = £170 from Richer Sounds.
I got mine for £99 refurbished directly from Humax about 2 months ago.

Hi guys

Forgive the thread hijack but I'm literally in the process of trying to work out what to do with sky and our tv. My q for those above is how have you plugged you freesat boxes in, do they just connect to the old satellite dish feed? The reason for asking is we don't have an aerial (long story) and if I went down the route of getting a new aerial fitted and bought a free view box I may as we'll stay with sky on the basic package.

Thing is sky's shite we barely watch anything that's not on the main channels so ditching it would be great. Other issue is our broadband is terrible and there's no option of fibre (living outside London's remote you know) so can't don't rely want to rely on it for streaming.

Cheers

We very rarely watch live telly these days, we always have a series or 2 on the go on Netflix and if we do feel like watching something else it is iplayer, 4od etc on the chromecast.

My q for those above is how have you plugged you freesat boxes in, do they just connect to the old satellite dish feed?