Digital TV
Here are a plethora of articles and links which I researched for the last time I did this session about 12 months ago.
Questions
What size of TV do you need?
What is Smart TV?
Do you need a Smart TV?
Freeview or FreeSat?
Is the built-in Smart TV provided the best way forward?
Do you need a TV at all, or could you just use your laptop/tablet instead?
What do you need, do you really, really need?
My notes from the last time I did this session …
You don’t need a Smart TV – OK
A couple of weeks ago I shared a link in our Flipboard magazine [NB you need a Flipboard account which you can create from this link – http://flip.it/3.ybs4] to a post which suggested that you don’t need Smart TVs …
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/buy-roku-not-smart-tv/
… and this article is even more troubled by Smart TVs and even suggests you should switch off their functionality because they might be spying on you …
https://www.howtogeek.com/176392/smart-tvs-are-stupid-why-you-dont-really-want-a-smart-tv/
In preparing this session, I came across this article from The Guardian from last year …
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2016/sep/08/can-i-still-buy-a-dumb-tv
… admittedly there are not many!! You can be assured however, if you go for one of these you won’t be buying something (Smart) that’s not better provided by a standalone set-top box from your Telecomms provider (Virgin, BT, etc etc), or the new range of add-on boxes which I’ll discuss later.
So we’ll start with the three Free-to-Air services
FreeView – https://www.freeview.co.uk/
FreeSat – https://freesat.co.uk/
YouView – https://www.youview.com/ – but not available from Virgin.
All of these offer multiple channels and for the first two you might find your TV already has a tuner which supports one, or the other, or even both! Since their original launch these services when bought with a set-top box have other services added including recording and playback, and streaming of Internet content, eg Netflix.
Streaming services
The new one on the block so-to-speak is NowTV which starts with the offer of streaming Sky Channels without the need for a subscription, but for only a little more in cost can also add the FreeView channels, and more.
Here’s a comparison of the NowTV offers – http://www.nowtv.com/best-tv-boxes – click through from Devices Tab to see their boxes rather than just sticks.
And it comes with some really attractive introductory offers (which I’ve taken advantage of)
But that’s not all, NowTV also comes as an app to add to other platforms as well, as we’ll see a little later, and just note that the Now TV devices are “powered by Roku” – that’s a name we’ll come back to!
What are the alternatives to a NowTV box?
Here are some reviews of media streamers that are worth reading …
http://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/gadgets-tech/tv-entertainment/best-tv-streaming-boxes-sticks-reviews-sky-sports-netflix-apple-amazon-fire-google-chromecast-a7185261.html
http://www.techradar.com/news/television/best-streaming-video-player-1275853
http://www.techadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/digital-home/16-best-media-streamers-2017-uk-best-media-streamers-you-can-buy-3580569/
… and then there is …
Amazon Firestick
Google Chromecast but maybe not the Chromecast Ultra ???
… and if you choose Apple TV (4th generation) you can load Apps onto it to tailor your viewing options, including the NoWTV app, which also allows you to watch on up to four devices …
… the list of devices supported by NowTV is quite impressive …
http://www.nowtv.com/devices
You want to record and playback as well as watch?
These reviews are a good place to start …
https://www.whathifi.com/best-buys/digital-tv-boxes/best-digital-tv-boxes
https://www.cordbusters.co.uk/best-freeview-boxes-recorders-tv-2017/
Ending with this …
http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/tvs-entertainment/1405950/best-freeview-box-2017-the-best-set-top-boxes-for-viewing-and-recording
… which bring us back to NowTV boxes again, which are built on the Roku platform …
https://www.roku.com/en-gb/index
… and which should benefit from everything Roku do in the future.
What other alternatives are there to watching streamed digital content on your TV?
Well the most obvious one is to use your PC/Mac as the TV and use software on the PC/Mac to record Free-to-Air content. You will need a digital tuner for the PC/Mac to get the content. The best known company in this area is Hauppage and you can see a list of their products here …
http://www.hauppauge.co.uk/site/products/prods.html
There are other companies in this field but I can only vouch for Hauppage. I once installed a card in my Windows PC, and I still use a USB Tuner with my MacBook Pro to watch TV.
Postscript. The DIY streaming solution – Plex server
I’ve known about Plex for quite a long time but have never done anything about it. I’ve used iTunes essentially as a media server built around a MacMini that sits under the TV with all content that I can record from Get iPlayer Automator and my media that I’ve digitised including my CD collection, as well as the streamed versions downloaded from iTunes/Amazon.
I hate iTunes with a vengeance. I spend countless hours sorting it out – admittedly I do have a rather complex way of sharing my iTunes media and libraries but I also just know there must be better way. Perhaps, now’s the time to try Plex.
So I set about a project to install Plex on the MacMini (which I’ve just upgraded with a new SSD drive, an extra 4Gb of RAM and an install of the latest MacOS – High Sierra. Here are a few links to show you my direction of travel.
Plex now lets you stream and record live TV—if you have an antenna and tuner
How it works
Working with my Apple TV and Sonos
And I’ve signed-up for a lifetime subscription to Premium services so that I can …
Record free-to-air content … I’ll let you know how it goes!!
I forgot to mention new display technologies from LG/Sony/Panasonic called OLED, and Samsung – QLED. This article explains what these are.
https://www.howtogeek.com/327047/whats-the-difference-between-oled-and-samsungs-qled-tvs/
I also didn’t touch upon curved screens, nor 3D. I’ll leave those up to you!
Other links (useful if you have an online Which? account)
http://www.which.co.uk/reviews/internet-tv-boxes/article/recommendations/which-best-buy-internet-tv-boxes
http://www.which.co.uk/reviews/pvrs-and-set-top-boxes/article/recommendations/which-best-buy-pvrs-and-set-top-boxes
Some more links to make you think and help your choices … maybe!
Best TVs of 2019 ????
Watching Sky TV without signing-up to a long-term subscription service
If you’ve got a Mac you can download programmes from ITV Hub and BBC iPlayer and keep them forever using Get iPlayer Automator
Then there’s TVCatchUp – watching TV “on the go”
OLED, QLED, 4K, Curve-screen and more – notes from the last time I did this topic, here and here (two different links).
Postscript …
And now (with a Roku device) you can also use Apple’s Airplay. as well as control it with your Amazon Echo (if you have one) …