IPTV Noob ...

by Pheew84

Okay so let's begin with explaining what I'm looking for. I live in a flat which has no TV aerial, I have sky boxes in the living room and bedroom which only provide freeview channels (due to downgrading sky and subscribing to Netflix and Amazon video). The sky boxes are ugly as sin and just gather dust and I hate cables everywhere.

I'm looking to replace the sky boxes all together and use either an app on my phone which I could then cast to either TV or an app on the TV itself Ideally both TVs could be used at the same time by different users. At minimum I just want the freeview channels anything over and above that is a bonus. Also looking for a stable and legal solution.

Can anyone offer any advice as to how I can achieve this?

ashwinbsn

You can get a amazon firetv or a mibox which can run Netflix and amazon video. For a legal iptv solution you can look up SlingTv or PSVue, YouTube TV , etc. I am sure you probably have more options there in the UK. But that's going to be the best bet.

If you want a good IPTV that supports 5 devices, I can connect you with some providers.

LJAM96

Id suggest getting something like a MiBox, has the likes of Netflix, Amazon Video, Spotify etc...

When it comes to IPTV I use the app TVirl, best IPTV interface imo but when it comes to the IPTV service, I don't think there are really any legal options except maybe getting a Sky subscription and using Sky Go

blondedre3000

Here's your options:

1 - You can get a TV that has the apps built in - Samsung, LG, Sony are all pretty good. Sony actually runs Android TV so really good selection there. Super clean and you have everything built in.

Downsides:

  • The TV will stop getting updates at some point, so you've got to either then add an external box or keep using it or upgrade your entire TV.

  • The OS might not be the one you want or might not have the apps you want.

2 - You can get a FireTV stick that plugs in the HDMI port of your TV and gets power from one of the USB ports.

Downsides

  • Not everybody likes the FireTV interface.

  • You'll have to sideload more things than you would with a normal box.

  • Sluggish and not as full features as a regular box.

3 - You can get a media box and mount it on the wall behind the TV. AppleTV 4 or 4K work great as do Shield or even a Mi Box. Recommend the Apple TV out of this lot unless you really want Kodi or Terrium or something. You can even get wall mount holders for them.

Downsides

  • It's an extra device that hangs on the wall. Have to get power and cables to it.

  • Not quite as easy as a dedicated box for just watching TV.

4 - You can get a dedicated MAG/Formuler/Dreamlink IPTV box and mount it behind the TV. Same caveats as far as cabling, but much easier for just TV watching. Recommend the Formuler/Dreamlink as it's Android based and you can get most of the apps you'd want on there.

Downsides

  • Not as full featured when it comes to other apps - Netflix, Prime, etc. Not sure about the latest dreamlink but often if they do have the apps they're the android tablet versions and require a keyboard/wireless mouse for a good chunk of them.

5 - One more option since you're in the UK - I believe you can get a freeview box that lets you stream any of the broadcast services for free over IP? Or maybe they require an antenna? You can do it with dedicated apps for all the various services on any of the other devices, but it's a real pain in the ass if you just want to watch live. Supposedly AppleTV is working on some sort of unified grid guide for all your apps with live streaming, but it's going to be awhile.

Pheew84

Thanks for all the recommendations everyone, I'm going to have a look at the 'TVPlayer' app recommended by alegeek and see how I get on. I have a chromecast (which I forgot to mention earlier) so I should be able to cast from my phone to the TV - seems like a low cost solution.

From memory Sky Go was limited in terms of content, it may have changed but not worth subscribing to find out. I have a firestick but found it to be quite slow in terms of boot up time (as its powered by a usb port plugged into the TV to avoid having to plug into the wall socket) also, I agree with blondedre3000, the interface lags when navigating through menus etc which is very annoying, often it causes the wrong movie to play/app to start etc. I thought about purchasing a half decent media box, I had a cheap and nasty one for all of two days before I chucked it in the bin, it really was rubbish. If I was to go down the media box route, I'd need one for each room which I imagine could end up being quite expensive.

I'll see how I get on with TVPlayer, but in the meantime if anyone has any other suggestions I would be most grateful :)

alegeek

TVPlayer is probably your best bet, it's got Freeview and also has some premium channels you can addon for about a fiver month.