Looking to stream new online movies???
Kunash
Posts: 1,144 Forum Member
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I have looked at netflix or amazon prime and they don't seem to offer all the latest HD movies online.
Is Sky go the best bet? I don't mind paying. Now tv streams in SD
thanks
Is Sky go the best bet? I don't mind paying. Now tv streams in SD
thanks
0
Comments
Nowtv
Netflix (with a vpn)
prob best options.
What you have to understand about Netflix, is that for the price range it charges, it will never have a lot of first run movies. However, if you also grab a Smart DNS service (which allows you to switch countries), this increases the amount of more recent films.
Many people combine different services, so I have for instance Netflix (+Smart DNS), Prime and Now TV. Between them I get pretty much every film I need to watch, and if something isn't available I do one of two things:
1) Wait - it will eventually land on one of those three.
2) Just rent the odd film I really can't wait for by iTunes or Google Play.
All up it is still great value for money.
By the way, Now TV is HD on some platforms. They advertise this on the Apple TV, but I have also tested them to be around the same or near HD quality on the Roku/Now TV and Xbox One.
If you only want to go for one that is hard.
Netflix (+Smart DNS) will get you by far the largest range.
NowTV will be a lot smaller, but you may get a few more recent films (NowTV has plenty of Sky movies).
Then top it up with the odd rental.
Either try or rotate monthly between Netflix and NowTV. That is the beauty of these service - there is no commitment or annual contract. I think Netflix still have a one month free trail and I think NowTV has a cheap 1 month trail option from time to time (I might be wrong on the trails).
Whilst Prime you need to pay £79 for the year (but you get next day delivery, 1 m tracks of music to stream, the ability to download video content for offline viewing - not everything tho, cloud backup of your photos) you can still subscribe to Amazon Instant Video for a month at a time for £5.99.
A NowTV box and 2 month movie sub can be brought cheap at the moment as Sky are off-loading the older white 720p boxes as the new 1080p box based on the latest Roku 2 is now available.
BTW - it's really easy to cancel the NowTV subscription (and I assume the NF sub - I've not tried). No need to speak to anyone, you simple cancel online using your account details. When I did this I was offered a discount for 3 months not to cancel.
Good luck.
[EDIT] This was £12.99 last week, now £15.
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/2757791.htm?cmpid=COJUN&catalogId=10001&cjsurferid=412102315501499292%3ASUmDcAjZB6Cv&_%24ja=tsid%3A11674%7Cprd%3A1546795&storeId=10151&referredURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.argos.co.uk%2Fstatic%2FProduct%2FpartNumber%2F2757791.htm&referrer=COJUN
http://www.tesco.com/direct/now-tv-hd-digital-media-streamer-with-sky-movies-2-month-pass/799-4129.prd?pageLevel=&skuId=799-4129
I would check Tesco in store as I'm sure this was £12 at the weekend.
Remember - this is the old 720p box. The new box is available http://www.nowtv.com/box. Whilst the new box supports 1080p, I believe the live streams are only 720p, not sure about "catch-up". £25 inc 2 months movies.
Amazon Prime is quite similar although won't offer quite the range you get across all the unlocked Netflix locations, but it does come with the added bonus of free postage on Amazon purchased products and you can also watch films and TV not included in the subscription deal for a rental cost, this will include the latest available movies and TV.
https://uk.wuaki.tv/lists/ee-film-club/movies?wktv_code=1863
I find once you have access to the other Netflix regions, it's rare that much comes on Now TV that I haven't already seen on a Netflix region or gotten impatient and rented already from Wuaki or Blinkbox. My Girlfriend is less patient than me though and I must admit to watching the odd film she's torrented.
Paying isn't even the issue, I just wish the digital release dates of films over here was more transparent. It's hard to stay patient when you don't know how soon it is a film is going to be available to rent/buy digitally or watch on a streaming service. Hope it changes in the years to come.
but i will eventually move to Asia to live. the nearest english language cinema would be a 6 hour drive.
there i won't have sky, but could still subscribe via sky go..
i would stream / download any film to my computer and watch on the tv
so, i am looking for the latest releases, and in hd. i would watch through proxy server.
Sky Go will be geo blocked so you'll also need a VPN or smartDNS service to have access to this. My friend have me a login on his Sky Go when I moved to Denmark and it'll only work with a VPN or Smart DNS.
Alternatively, do you know anyone who lives in the US, who might be willing to share their cable login? Again, using a smart DNS or VPN you would be able to access loads of US content this way, via an Apple TV or similar. I use a combo to this, Sky Go and a few "questionable sources" to meet all my viewing needs.
That same smart DNS will also give you access to all of the UK catch-up services, so you won't have an issue with English/British TV. If you decided to add Netflix (which is highly recommended if you have Smart DNS), then you will also have a major selection of films and TV shows available.
But seriously, if something comes out new, and you don't want to wait, just rent them from iTunes, Google Play or whatever you use.
The only real question here is which platform (device) to take with you to Asia. What you choose will be important as some require Smart DNS in the router, others don't.
VPNs by the way are a great option, but they have a couple of issues:
* They are harder to configure on set-top-boxes (or impossible).
* They cost more.
* They will not provide very good bandwidth to the UK from Asia, and this is important for streaming.
Smart DNS has better bandwidth, is cheaper, and can be configured on far more devices, but the trick is to find a Smart DNS provider that supports your devices and your services, though this is pretty easy for the major services.
How are you viewing Sky Go? If you want to watch it on a TV then the only devices you can do this on is PS3 and 4 and XBox360 (also you need SkyGoExtra not S) . Unfortunately SkyGo doesn't support Chromecast or AirPlay and isn't available on any other platforms.
If you want to watch content on a TV, then I would get an Apple TV, add DNS setting, then use NowTV and / or NetFlix.
[EDIT] Also I would wait until at least Wednesday 8th for Apple's announcement. The new Apple TV is rumoured to be launched which includes an app store. Hopefully this would then mean BBC iPlayer, ITV Player etc etc on the Apple platform (and Plex on a non JB ATV) - here's hoping.
That's quiet an expensive solution.
Yes, I never normally recommend Sky over Now TV, but I don't know this chap's full situation. Perhaps Sky was shared by a family or group of flatmates, and if that kept running while he moved to Asia, it could be a possibility.
But I normally recommend Now TV for IPTV delivery of Sky. It is good value and has a lot of platform options.
thanks for all replies
iTunes seems perfect
iTunes doesn't require any geo-unblocking as well. But I doubt you will rely on this for all English TV.
As recommended by Trainer99, I'd wait until after Sept 9th before making a decision on buying an Apple TV.
Amazon Prime is a good shout for brand new films as you cant rent them or purchase digital copies without having a subscription to their streaming service, plus the service is normally pre-installed on smart devices like TV's and Blu-Ray players meaning you don't have to mess about connecting or streaming a laptop or mobile device to your TV.
A lot of vpn providers are now offering a smart dns service at no extra cost, the vpn i use has a smart dns thrown in at no extra cost and it only costs about 30p more than unblock-us, might be something worth considering in future as companies are getting wise to smart dns just lately.
Some ISPs abroad are also providing Smart DNS and VPNs as standard, and some have the cheek to even call them "Netflix mode".
It's further proof in the smart dns is a grey area that they are perfectly fine and safe to use.
Speaking of vpn i did some tests on mine over the last week and not once did it drop below 32mbs which is superb as i only have 38mbs anyway lol.
The way i have it set up is my bt hub5 as my main router then my tplink router set up with smart dns as vpn was being a bitch on it lol, then my pc has the vpn set up on it and gets used as a vpn wifi hotspot for my devices to connect too if needed.
You can rent films from Amazon Instant Video, they do have some of the latest and I think you can rent even if you don't subscribe. When I want to rent a film I look at sky store and then amazon and they are usually cheaper on amazon.
Search for a film, and it will list two things:
1) Where you can rent or buy, and the price for each place (so you can see which is the cheapest).
2) If you have subscription services (Netflix, Prime Wuaki etc), it will list which ones have the film (if any) and only the ones you subscribe to.
If you choose not to rent, but would rather wait until it arrives on one of your subscription services, add it to your watchlist and you'll be emailed with it becomes available.
Works for TV shows as well.
I'd wanted to watch Digging For Fire, which has no UK release date, it came to $3.99 for SD (roughly £2.80 - so a bit cheaper than it'll be on Blinkbox) and paid with Paypal and just put a random US zip code in. I bought Dope using the same method - I'd expect paying with Paypal may be a requirment.
It's possible this may work with Windows 8 too although I haven't tested - certainly worth a try if anyone else is as impatient as me!
Worth noting (if anyone did find this useful) that all Black Friday week, there have been new films available to rent for 10 cents (6 or 7p). The rental period is 14 days (until your press Play) so right now I have HD rentals of Mad Max, Trainwreck, Jurassic World and Terminator Genesys queued up for really, what amounts to next to nothing.