Streaming channel advice please

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DamageInc

528 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#171643 26-Apr-2015 12:22

Afternoon all,

Can I please get some advice on which channels to go for. We ditched Sky TV ages ago but when we had it we liked the following:

The Food Channel
Discovery
National Geographic
Living Channel
Crime Channel
Etc

For any other series we follow I usually download, access it via the hdd connected to the TV or via the Plex app.

So in terms of streaming are there any channels or providers that can cover the above please?

Many thanks for any help.

Pop! OS

marlinz

441 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1291740 26-Apr-2015 14:19

Correct me if i am wrong , but Sky doesn't stream the channels you have listed

I use Netflix (USA) and Hulu Plus , I find lots of intresting things on those two optons for me Crime , Documentarys etc

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littleheaven

2120 posts

Uber Geek

#1291749 26-Apr-2015 15:22

If you geo-unblock then you can get UK channel 4 on demand app on an iPad or Playstation. That has all the good property shows that are often on the Living Channel like Grand Designs, Location Location and such. Also BBC iPlayer which has a good range of on demand shows.

There's Now TV which is Sky UK's subscription streaming service offering 13 channels including Discovery. Also US Sling TV which is live stream only and has a base 20 channels (ESPN, ESPN2, AMC, TNT, TBS, CNN, A&E, Lifetime, History, Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, Disney Channel, ABC Family, etc). You can add extras to both for additional cost. These both assume you have DNS unblocking or VPN access and a credit card that is accepted overseas (I use my OneSmart travel card).

The big challenge is finding a way to get as many of these as you can through one device. I currently spread my streaming across AppleTV, PS3 and iPad to access everything I want.

Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.

DamageInc

528 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1291798 26-Apr-2015 17:37

littleheaven: If you geo-unblock then you can get UK channel 4 on demand app on an iPad or Playstation. That has all the good property shows that are often on the Living Channel like Grand Designs, Location Location and such. Also BBC iPlayer which has a good range of on demand shows.

There's Now TV which is Sky UK's subscription streaming service offering 13 channels including Discovery. Also US Sling TV which is live stream only and has a base 20 channels (ESPN, ESPN2, AMC, TNT, TBS, CNN, A&E, Lifetime, History, Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, Disney Channel, ABC Family, etc). You can add extras to both for additional cost. These both assume you have DNS unblocking or VPN access and a credit card that is accepted overseas (I use my OneSmart travel card).

The big challenge is finding a way to get as many of these as you can through one device. I currently spread my streaming across AppleTV, PS3 and iPad to access everything I want.

They both look like good options, I'll look into them thank you. Yes that's my challenge - one device (minimum 2) to cover it all. Just got a Samsung smart tv so hoping to do it via apps.
Change the app store region, sign up with unotelly (via Geekzone) and go from there - UK or US.

I seem to read more people consider streaming from the UK than US, anyone have thoughts on this?

Pop! OS

littleheaven

2120 posts

Uber Geek

#1291825 26-Apr-2015 18:47

The One Device To Rule Them All is probably the Playstation, if you have one. All you need to create different region Playstation Network accounts is physical addresses in those countries. I just use my YouShop ones. Then you can log into each account, download the apps for the streaming services in those regions, then log back into your NZ account and all the other region apps are still there and they still work. The drawback is that there's an extra workaround needed for Netflix with Unotelly so I tend to use my Apple TV for that. Because Playstation has been around so long, just about everyone has developed an app for it.

Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.

SepticSceptic

2153 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1293763 29-Apr-2015 17:25

For the food / home and living, ChoiceTV is the FTA / Streaming channel.

I do miss the discovery and Nat geo, but with so many repeats and promos, just wasn't worth it. There are other means to access that content..

littleheaven

2120 posts

Uber Geek

#1293867 29-Apr-2015 20:50

SepticSceptic: For the food / home and living, ChoiceTV is the FTA / Streaming channel.

I do miss the discovery and Nat geo, but with so many repeats and promos, just wasn't worth it. There are other means to access that content..

Yes, Choice is an excellent replacement for both Living and Food channels. Most of my viewing comes from there.

Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.

Apsattv

2354 posts

Uber Geek

#1293965 30-Apr-2015 01:38

See how you go with these, they are from a legit U.K TV source, just not geo blocked! Install Servio and add them as streams and you can pipe them to any dlna compatible display device.

Food Network (UK)

http://llnw.live.simplestream.com/coder2/coder.channels.channel2/hls/3/playlist.m3u8

Food Network +1 (UK)

http://llnw.live.simplestream.com/coder2/coder.channels.channel8/hls/3/playlist.m3u8

DamageInc

528 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1293984 30-Apr-2015 07:13

littleheaven: The One Device To Rule Them All is probably the Playstation, if you have one. All you need to create different region Playstation Network accounts is physical addresses in those countries. I just use my YouShop ones. Then you can log into each account, download the apps for the streaming services in those regions, then log back into your NZ account and all the other region apps are still there and they still work. The drawback is that there's an extra workaround needed for Netflix with Unotelly so I tend to use my Apple TV for that. Because Playstation has been around so long, just about everyone has developed an app for it.

Thanks but trying to steer clear of a gaming console on the main tv, don't need it overrun by that. Was hoping to solely use the smart TV, how wrong was I.
Changed regions which brought the TV to a crawl, apps were very slow almost unusable.

Pop! OS

DamageInc

528 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1293985 30-Apr-2015 07:14

SepticSceptic: For the food / home and living, ChoiceTV is the FTA / Streaming channel.

I do miss the discovery and Nat geo, but with so many repeats and promos, just wasn't worth it. There are other means to access that content..

Didn't even think of ChoiceTV, no app that I know of which isn't a biggie. Chromecast maybe?

Pop! OS

littleheaven

2120 posts

Uber Geek

#1294052 30-Apr-2015 09:35

DamageInc:
SepticSceptic: For the food / home and living, ChoiceTV is the FTA / Streaming channel.

I do miss the discovery and Nat geo, but with so many repeats and promos, just wasn't worth it. There are other means to access that content..

Didn't even think of ChoiceTV, no app that I know of which isn't a biggie. Chromecast maybe?

Choice isn't streaming, just normal broadcast.

I do find the need for so many devices frustrating. I suspect as the SVOD becomes more mainstream it'll get easier to do everything on one device. I'm personally looking forward with interest to the next iteration of Apple TV which is rumoured to have its own app store that companies will be able to develop for. Hopefully that will mean more choice on it. The other option I'm considering is just getting a small PC to attach to the telly so I can just go straight to the website and not have to worry about who has whose app. I'll probably do that anyway, but have yet to find what I want. I suspect the new HP Stream Mini will fill the brief, if it ever becomes available here, otherwise I might have to build myself an Intel NUC.

Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.