Can anyone actually still use 4OD?
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4OD used to be brilliant, but it is just utter sh*t now! The adverts seem to run on some different miraculous bandwidth which allow them to stream flawlessly while the actual show either takes forever to buffer or just shows black! And if you do manage to watch 10 minutes of a show it usually crashes and you have to start again and watch all the adverts.
Adblock plus can fix the stupid amount of adverts, but it cant fix the fact that the videos don't often work. Trying to watch black mirror and I can't view it on the website, youtube or on my iphone.
I don't know a single person who can view it anymore??? Why have they not fixed this.
Adblock plus can fix the stupid amount of adverts, but it cant fix the fact that the videos don't often work. Trying to watch black mirror and I can't view it on the website, youtube or on my iphone.
I don't know a single person who can view it anymore??? Why have they not fixed this.
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I don't have any problems with 4oD on my computer, or playing back on my ipad. But I must admit, I plan a cup of tea while the first 6 ads play.
As for the ads themselves, they do seem a little excessive, but in all fairness, advertising is how channel 4 primarily finances itself. That said, they do have a fine line between providing a "free" service to the public, and not upsetting the public.
I personally don't mind the ads as it doesn't seem all that different to live television. Maybe we are just so used to skipping through them on a recording, or watching the BBC which is ad-free. We could live in the US though where the ads 4oD show would be considered tame. I was watching Hulu this last weekend and I think I watched more ads in one film than I have all year in everything else I have streamed all together.
My only real gripe with 4oD is their lack of hardware support. Getting 4oD on to a television is actually not that easy. They have no AirPlay support, are not currently on any Smart TV platform and are very limited with any actual TV-connected devices.
BIt rates are a bit low (average < 2Mbps) but otherwise, it's fine. BT Infinity. I notice they use stream chunking these days, don't know if that's new but if it is, it could be part of the problem.
http://watchlive.channel4.com/C4
Doesn't seem to be working for me on my Mac anymore...
They can't even stream at HD or a decent bitrate so obviously they run it on a shoestring budget.
Sometimes we have to select the program, then let it sit on pause for a bit to make sure we don't get any buffering throughout, but more often than not we don't even have to do that and it plays fine. HD and no buffering.
With all the money Channel 4 make from advertising, they shouldn't be this shit.
For the record, I'm watching outside of the UK and not having any problems with 4oD's servers.
Video quality on the Samsung Smart hub is actually really good, averaging 2400kbps and difficult to tell apart from the BBC iPlayer stream (which averages 1600kbps for SD and 3000kbps for HD). So, at least on this platform, video quality is not an issue - though it was poorer on the Roku for some reason.
As for ads, 4oD play fewer ads than on traditional television, so complaining about the number does seem a lit odd. And the quantity of ads on UK television in general is much lower than many other countries. Here in Germany, you can have commercial breaks that last 15 or more minutes! Now think about that for a moment. In the US, commercial breaks on traditional OTA television networks are far more frequent and last longer than FTA networks in the UK.
As much as we don't like ads, without them Channel 4 would have to charge a very expensive sub to cover its costs - which includes a lot of in-house productions.
My biggest gripe with 4oD would be that it's missing from some platforms like the PS4 and Amazon Fire TV. Otherwise I am really impressed with them - after-all, how many other FTA television networks in the world allow both off-line downloads (only one - the BBC), and entire box-sets as well as the latest catch-up (not even the BBC).
95 pounds (sorry my keyboard is playing up) and boasts live tv catch up tv and on demand it's not the stb at fault but the app developer who i have emailed countless times and erven phoned channel 4 about the problem they aren't interested in sorting the problem out.
Actually, I hate to be bring bad news, but the fault is 100% the STB here. If I understand correctly, you have an Android set-top-box. i.e. a box running a hacked version of the operating system that was never designed to run on the box in the first place.
This version of Android was designed for a handheld mobile device, not a 10ft environment - in fact, no where near it.
4oD was never, in any way or possible form, designed to work on that box. The developer designed, coded and tested the Android version of their app on various mobile devices, but not the STB. So it's a bit unfair to blame the developer here when you are doing something with the app that it was never designed to do.
In fact, I can't name one single major television network that supports the Android STB (as in hacked Android STB, and not to be confused with the official Android TV that just launched recently in the US of which the Nexus Player is using).
So, this is why the developer and Channel 4 are not much help.
Now, problems with the 4oD app on the Roku platform is a different story, as this is an officially supported device, and both the platform and the app were designed exactly for the purpose of 10foot UI.
but the android ui can be switched from smart to ordinary but the point is ican get bbc i-player and itv player on this stb but not 4od. there must be other reasons why?
you only have to look on google play reviews for 4od it's not good.
right are there any work arounds that could get 4od working tia:)
I do have adblock but disabled for 4OD
Sadly, that ordinary Android was still not designed for your STB. It was designed for a handheld mobile device and was hammered and banged until it was able to fit inside the set-top-box. They then added a customer front-end to make their own basic UI work better, but apps themselves don't take this into account - they simply were not designed for this Android STB.
That is just down to luck. ITV Player won't work on my Android STB, but for some reason it does for you? Hell, I had an old Philips TV which an even older Sony remote could switch it on and off. It couldn't change channels, but it could power the Philips box. Are Sony required to make their remotes work for every brand TV? No.
But perhaps, sometimes some of the functions work, even when not supported. This is probably the case here. ITV Player just manages to work on your Android STB, but not on mine. That's good luck for you, but ITV never done that intentionally.
That said, channel 4 have been known to block rooted Android devices, and perhaps it sees your STB as a rooted one?
I have to agree, there are some poor reviews for the Android version of 4oD. Many are a bit unfair as they are complaining (like yourself) that it doesn't work on their chosen STB (despite not be designed for that), many are for missing features (such as Chromecast which I also wish it had), but some are for poor performance which is really a bit of a problem it seems.
Unfortunately, I can't help you there. But hopefully someone knows some way to get the app to work on the unsupported device.
That said, 4oD is scheduled for a complete overhaul this year, which is one reason Channel 4 have not been too busy fixing problems - they are concentrating on the new app.
The new app will be called All 4 and is scheduled for roll-out on Windows, Mac and iOS in the first quarter of this year (so it could be anytime in the next couple of months.) There is no word for Android, except that it will follow some time later this year.
Also, there is no promise that it will work on your STB - as I can assure you, the new app will also not be created for hacked Android STBs - though people should not be surprised to see a native app for the official Android TV (as in Nexus and similar) and the Android based boxes like the Amazon Fire TV.
Actually there is.
It's called Zattoo, and think of it as a bit like TV-catchup on steroids.
First of all, it covers the main UK FTA channels and offers them in a mix of HD and SD.
All BBC and ITV1 are in near HD, and the rest of the UK channels are in near SD.
It has full PVR functions, so you can pause live TV, rewind to any point, or start at the beginning of any show (regardless of channel).
You can begin a show even before the programme finishes.
You can also access any show, from any channel for the last seven days - this is more than most of the catch-up services which often leave out many non-British shows. (they call this service Zattoo Recall).
You can record up to 250 shows, set recordings for future programmes and the computer or device doesn't have to be on for the recording to be made.
You can even add any of the shows from Zattoo Recall to your personal recordings. So, if a programme you want is 6 and a half days old, and you don't have time to watch it before the 7 day limit, just add it to your personal collection and it will remain in your library.
There is a wide platform support. iOS is especially good (with the iPad having quite frankly, an amazing UI). AirPlay is perfect and fully multitasking, so you can switch off the iPad or iPhone or use it for other things and it will still play in HD over on the TV.
Android is not quite as full featured, but still very good, and both are with Chromecast support. It also works on rooted devices and STBs (and very well) but in my opinion it needs a wireless mouse.
There is a Samsung Smart Hub app, but it is not the best they have. There is also an Amazon Fire TV app, but this misses a few important features including recordings and Zattoo Recall. There is an Xbox One app, Windows and Mac app plus browser support.
What's the catch?
It's not free. All this amazing stuff comes at a price. Not a big one, but a price all the same.
It costs around £5 a month (though cheaper if you buy it in 3month or 12month blocks) and no forced contract, so you can leave at any time.
Oh, and it is not a UK service, so you will need a smart DNS or VPN to Switzerland. Smart DNS and Zattoo will then set you back £8 a month, though of course if you are a Netflix subscriber, that Smart DNS will get you all their other libraries as well.
(Everything is in English if you choose that language). Oh, and being Swiss, it also has all the main German, Austrian, Swiss, French, Spanish and Italian channels as well.
Zattoo have a free service, but the video quality is much lower, doesn't have recordings or the Zattoo Recall.
There is a review over here:
i will still need a vpn etc are there free vpn's and are they difficult to set up?
what i do really like it supports rooted devices shame channel doesn't there's too many restrictions on uk catch up tv services imo and once again thanks for your replys
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a static ip address and the price will vary that's not the plus net way it's free
Because I live abroad I use the zen mate extension to watch such channels. It works for BBC iplayer & ITV player as well.
That's good news. Some ISPs do indeed provide a static IP address. It is more common in some countries than others.
One thing about Smart DNS, just keep in mind that it works on a service and platform basis - unlike VPN. Which means your ISP's Smart DNS service may or may not support Zattoo, and it may or may not support Zattoo via Android. If you get my drift.
If they don't support it, you can always request it from them. But if not, there are Smart DNS providers that do support Zattoo via Android.
while i have heard of this are you refering to the browser Chrome? this is all new stuff for me so hence my questions!