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We don't receive terrestrial TV here. For years we've used Freesat. We do have gigabit broadband. Our LG smart TV is about 10 years old. We use Netflix and Prime.
I think our (at least 15 year old) satellite dish or LMB may be getting past it, or needs some fettling as we often struggle with certain channels not working (ITV quite a bit).
Given our good broadband I'd like to go to streaming and lose the dish. What we'd like is something that acts like a normal TV; ie you can watch BBC and ITV etc without going into iPlayer type apps etc. Happy to open Netflix and the like as apps.
Does the Fire stick work like this? The blurb is a bit vague on this detail . If not, does anything else do this? I'd consider a new telly if need be as ours is a bit laggy and shonky at times. Ideally not though...
Or could there be something with the dish (alignment ?) that could explain why some channels randomly stop working (I have rescanned etc).
Following. As tbh, I haven't really looked, and Ive not seen anything like that available for the Firestick, I always just go into the various Apps. Generally we'll look at an online TV Guide the just go where its being streamed
Easiest way is probably going in to the app (which I know you’ve said you don’t want to do) and selecting ‘watch live’.
A Fire Stick is exactly what you need, yes. Though you'll need to go into separate apps for different channels; BBC iPlayer, ITV X and so forth. You're not going to get a terrestrial-esque EPG (TV guide) without an aerial or a dish, to my knowledge.
Modern games consoles provide similar "app" access too, if that's something which appeals.
Does your satellite box not have a menu page where you can see the signal strength? It might be worth getting a man out to give it a spit & polish.
I think freeview play kind of does what you want. You pick the program, then it opens in it's native app
I know you said no apps,
Apologies, I missed that bit.
I found a reference somewhere that BBC and ITV won't play with integration as they are heavily invested in their own apps and the Freeview/Freesat.
I have wondered about Sky Stream - we don't have Sky but apparently you can migrate your Netflix account into it, so given current discounts that means the extra for Sky content is minimal.
Roku is possibly the nearest thing to what you want. However a new LNB can be had for peanuts. £50 for a satellite guy to come out, fit it and possibly renew the cables? Job jobbed.
Exactly what you are asking for is on the horizon via the recently announced Freely, which is basically Freeview over internet, but it' not here yet.
Sky Stream will give you all channels over internet but ££££.
Current best 'free' option are apps that show an EPG and then launch the required app for channel when you select what you want to watch. For example "TV Launcher" for the Apple TV. I would assume a Firestick has similar available (but maybe not if Cougar is correct).
if Cougar is correct
I wouldn't put too much faith in that in this particular case. 😁
My LG TV has an app which is some sort of aggregator, you can tell it what you want to watch and it'll send you in the right direction. Again though it's not quite what the OP is looking for.
The FireStick is ok for what it is (a cheap ad-laden device enabling access to streaming platforms via a walled garden of android apps and with murky data collection) but it doesn’t sound at all like the television experience replacement you’re looking for.
If you're LG TV has an IPTV app you could link it to this.
https://github.com/Free-TV/IPTV/blob/master/lists/uk.md
My LG TV has an app which is some sort of aggregator
Chromecast with Google TV does this too and it can be operated by the remote control without needing to use a phone app.
I know that you said that you wanted to get rid of freesat, but I recently bought their 4k box and the image quality of live broadcasts seems to be pretty good to me, strangely enough noticably better compared to my old Sky Q which was using the same LNB and dish, and also better compared to live streaming over the net.
EPG isn't brilliant but can also use EPG on my ipad and program recordings on it.
There is a way to do this with just a single app that does all the terrestrial channels plus a lot more.
But it's just like fight club...
There's long been an issue here and I think it's down to licence deals done with programme guide providers, and you need the guides to be able to browse, change channel, record.
Outside of terrestrial / sat / cable, there's no decent guide service that ties them all together.
On top of that there's no common system of streaming these. Each broadcaster has their own system and prefers you to use their apps, so it's hard for a single app to do them all.
Amazon have been trying to integrate broadcast channels into Fire stick, but it depends on the broadcasters providing the integration so they can show the listings and direct to the streaming channel. Few do. UK broadcasters I think it's only Channel 5 that does. Plus you need the corresponding app installed for it to work.
Freeview does or did an app, but it doesn't have the content, just launches the relevant app. Tried it but it didn't work well and missing a lot of content, and didn't do BBC I think.
I've tried Kodi but was a nightmare trying to get the thing set up and not all services work or broke. It was useless really.
I've got a similar issue with my dish possibly though it might be my freesat receiver in the TV.
Exactly what you are asking for is on the horizon via the recently announced Freely, which is basically Freeview over internet, but it’ not here yet.
Could be the answer, but might only be BBC, ITV, C4, C5? Just the main public broadcasters, no Dave, Gold and all those lesser channels?
To be honest though, there's barely anything on terrestrial TV I watch, and those I do are available on-demand streaming anyway.
If you have channels missing on freesat it can be any number of things.
Most common I find is the plastic white cover on the lnb has perished and it lets water in. Tap the end gently and your finger will go through the plastic. New LNB needed
The dish or bracket has rotted and has dropped slightly losing signal. New dish
The F connectors on the lnb need replacing as they have got weathered. New F connectors needed
The dish wasn’t tightened up enough when fitted and is very slightly out of alignment.
HTH
Sky stream does
what you want
Oo, that went weird
Thanks for the advice folks. It sounds like Freely will be the answer (at some point) and for now I might get a dish fixer in to fettle the wok on the wall.
Useful info all round - I work for my ISP and a question I'm often asked is about streaming TV - Sky is now easy to answer, BT Sports is the other biggie as apparently BT make it less than intuitive how to keep it if you leave BT broadband.
In years to come I guess broadcast will be retired in favour of streaming, but only when enough properties have fast enough broadband to deliver it...
BT Sports is the other biggie as apparently BT make it less than intuitive how to keep it if you leave BT broadband.
BT Sports doesn't even exist any more!
BT Sports doesn’t even exist any more!
I suspect that to most people TNT Sports (the new name for BT Sports apparently), is just regarded as the sports thing BT does...
From now on when someone asks if they can still get BT Sports if they leave BT as their ISP I'll reply that no one can get BT Sports even if they stay with BT Internet...
I guess all those orange vans you see are delivering the TNT Sports content on CD-ROM?
Kangaroo (I think it was called that) was supposed to do this for us years ago, but Sky got their way and it was quashed for “competition” reasons… leaving them with a monopoly with this kind of service. Nice.
Anyway, we were on Freesat, someone gave us an old AppleTV box, and we’ve never gone back. Have to go into apps to access live channels though. No way of avoiding this because of the Sky/Kangaroo nonsense.
You’re not going to get a terrestrial-esque EPG (TV guide) without an aerial or a dish, to my knowledge.
You can get this, it's how BT deliver their TV these days if you don't have an antenna, including terrestrial (but you need their service, and have to use one of their TV boxes and router, you can't swap for a 3rd party one).
The GitHub link above has the streams though if you've an app or whatever that'll parse the playlist/page.
I was looking for this many years ago, ended up with fire sticks on each TV and browsed what's on by using the Freeview app on my phone to see what's on. Kinda like thumbing through the radio times.
I miss channel surfing, but there's little that offers the old way..
I suspect that to most people TNT Sports (the new name for BT Sports apparently), is just regarded as the sports thing BT does…
It's merged into Discovery+ as TNT Sports.
I've ended up with a good deal on my ancient EE mobile plan I've kept hold of. Had BT Sports and used to be only via the phone, but now it's moved to Discovery+, turns out I can watch it anywhere on a D+ app or web, and seems I've got Discover+ Premium, and works out far less than a standalone sub. Though I'm not that fussed about sports TV.<br /><br />All the BT TV stuff is becoming EE TV also.
Have recently been in this exact situation as our disc rusted out. I also can’t be arsed going in and out of various apps. Subsequently watch next to no tv anymore!
If you’re LG TV has an IPTV app you could link it to this.
https://github.com/Free-TV/IPTV/blob/master/lists/uk.md/blockquote >
This looks useful. I've got a Firestick that I watch TV through. I've had a Google for Firestick IPTV and get a load of '15 best IPTV services' type links. Can anyone here recommend one to install?
Exactly what you are asking for is on the horizon via the recently announced Freely, which is basically Freeview over internet, but it’ not here yet.
Looks like it is almost here... https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7140639071462150145/
Or could there be something with the dish (alignment ?) that could explain why some channels randomly stop working (I have rescanned etc
I think they also move the channels round the satellites and the foot print of the satellite it’s on may not be as good for your location.
Channels are spread accross transponders and may not even come from the same satellite. Slight misalignment or fault in LNBs can cause some transponder signals to be poorly received or not at all, and others seem fine, and yeah they can move about.
With Freesat the channel guide is on one particular transponder and if that's not being received it can knock everything out as can't browse the channels, yet a manual tune may get them.