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Thread: Do we need a TV box/dongle/?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Auckland
    Posts
    280

    Default Do we need a TV box/dongle/?

    Hello
    I know this question has been asked before (sorry) but technology changes so quickly...
    We have a 2 year old non-smart (LCD?) TV. A UK one. We're rather luddite and currently watch only catchup via an HDMI cable from the laptop so have no other gadgets, and could poss. continue to do this for UK TV (once I've worked out how to hide our location from the router).
    Not sure if it will work in NZ.
    If the consensus is no, and if we want to watch local telly I presume will we need an extra thingy, and if so is one of these any good?
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Amazon-W87CU.../dp/B00KAKUN3E

    Please try not to use any post-2012 technology parlance in your response as I might not understand, I still think of clouds as things to store rain in

    Thank you

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Waimauku near Auckland
    Posts
    502

    Default

    Yes, you'll need a device.

    Plenty of options to choose from and all reasonable priced.

    Our 32 inch telly - which was a main box in the UK - is connected to a sky box and provides access to local content when we watch it in bed.

    The telly in our lounge is a locally purchased set that I got when I arrived.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    .
    Posts
    301

    Default

    Yes, please get the stick while you're still there, test it see how it works with the telly if you can.

    We got a Roku 2 two years ago from Amazon and it's been great. Local Sky cable tv is quite expensive and not value for money in my opinion. Plus, I don't watch tv a lot and usually only watch movies or tv series. So it depends also on what do you normally watch or want to watch. If it's sports like local rugby then you'd have to go with Sky I think.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Te Aroha from N.Yorkshire UK
    Posts
    308

    Default

    We are still using our UK television, we just bought a free view recorder box and it works perfect with our tv! I am not up with technology so not sure what your stick is ha ha!! remember you also have the internet to watch online programs if you have a good download limit, we live rurally so we have a limited amount of download so things like netflix are no good to us unfortunately!!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    5

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    NZ (Auckland; via Canada)
    Posts
    1,350

    Default

    I am your man

    We have several devices for our two TVs, being a multiculty family. Each room has:
    1. A smart TV set to NZ, so we can watch local on-demand content
    2. A Roku (Roku 3 in the living room; Roku stick in our bedroom) set to the UK: so we can watch both live and on-demand UK content.
    3. An Apple TV set to the US: for renting videos.
    4. A Chromecast: so we can use our laptops and tablets for content from Ireland, Canada, Australia and other parts of the world.
    5. Unotelly's DNS service, which is very granular: you can pick all sorts of combinations of content rather than having to lock into one region.


    If we watched a lot of videos we'd probably join the US Netflicks...but we don't. Maybe 3-4 rentals a year. We went with the Rokus for the UK content because the apps support both on-demand and live streams. So we'll be watching the rugby world cup courtesy of ITV's Roku app. We bought the Roku's from the US (half the price of the same device from the UK) and just used easy to find online instructions on how to reset them to the UK.

    Some folks like the Now TV set top box from the UK. It's actually a Roku 2, but with a somewhat limited Roku app store. It does, however, let you buy an Igloo-like package from Sky for movies, sport or other content without a contract or ongoing licence. You'd need a UK credit card, however, to unlock this--and you wont' be able to get all the Roku channels out there (there are over 1000!).

    We have an Igloo box in the lounge: the $20/month is worth it for BBC World News, BBC UKTV and a few other channels.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    9

    Default

    Seems like a good setup jawn. I would agree that freeview makes for a good back-up, but I would stick to internet services to get access to a wider range of channels. You can get around content locks and geographical caps usually by downloading an add-on or an app, then you can access things like BBC iPlayer and the US Netflix library (I use Hola for this, but there's plenty of good apps out there).

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