[baz9375]

Morning All

has anyone been able to try the catch up services using UK VPN yet?

I'm in ROI and receive Freeview from Northern Ireland, also have router with UK VPN connection (works fine for I player on x box etc).

Hoping to get Youview box but just wonder if this will the catch up services work with the VPN or are Youview blocking VPNs like TVcatchup?

[mikeoscar]

It's supported with overplay smartdns so you dont need to muck about with VPNs

[ovbg]

^^ Just one question about this though. Do you need an active Satellite reception for the online side to work? I used to have a FreeSat Humax HDR box, but when I moved to a new address where I couldn't point at Astra2D I lost access to the "red button" which activated the iPlayer.

If you don't need the Sat connection, what online features does YouView with Overplay SmartDNS offer? Are there any live feeds, or just the main 4 networks (iPlayer, ITV, 4oD and 5 on Demand)?

[blueplatinum]

YouView only has a terrestrial connection - no satellite.

[ovbg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueplatinum

YouView only has a terrestrial connection - no satellite.

Ok, cool. So, just one more question then. Will the internet side of the YouView box work if there is no terrestrial signal?

In other words, will the iPlayer, 4oD etc still work with only an online connection?

[-GONZO-]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ovbg

Ok, cool. So, just one more question then. Will the internet side of the YouView box work if there is no terrestrial signal?

In other words, will the iPlayer, 4oD etc still work with only an online connection?

Seems like an awful lot of expense just to use terrestrial on demand services.
Is there not a cheaper device that offers these services?

[ovbg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by -GONZO-

Seems like an awful lot of expense just to use terrestrial on demand services.
Is there not a cheaper device that offers these services?

Agreed, I would love a cheaper device. But I need something cheap that has all the main on-demand services. I have iPlayer and ITV on my TV, but no way to get 4oD and 5 on demand.

As I don't live where there is a terrestrial service, I was wondering if this works without such a signal.

[-GONZO-]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ovbg

Agreed, I would love a cheaper device. But I need something cheap that has all the main on-demand services. I have iPlayer and ITV on my TV, but no way to get 4oD and 5 on demand.

As I don't live where there is a terrestrial service, I was wondering if this works without such a signal.

Have you thought about maybe a PS3?
Certainly a lot cheaper than what a You View or Free Time device will be.
If your not too fussed then you may be able to pick up a second hand PS3 even cheaper.

[1andrew1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by -GONZO-

Have you thought about maybe a PS3?
Certainly a lot cheaper than what a You View or Free Time device will be.
If your not too fussed then you may be able to pick up a second hand PS3 even cheaper.

PS3 no longer has Demand5, but it does have 4OD. (it has iPlayer and ITV Player too but you have these anyway).
An unknown to me is whether the Sky+ boxes will support catch-up services without a subscription. If so, they could be the cheapest, comprehensive catch-up service once all players are in place on the boxes, which should be Q1 2013.

[derek500]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

An unknown to me is whether the Sky+ boxes will support catch-up services without a subscription. If so, they could be the cheapest, comprehensive catch-up service once all players are in place on the boxes, which should be Q1 2013.

I doubt it, as unlike the internet based ones which smart TVs connect to, they're commercial free.

I expect Sky are paying the broadcaster for each viewing.

Also, they use progressive download, which uses the HDD as part of the Sky+ subscription.

[sps1013]

Quote:

Originally Posted by derek500

I doubt it, as unlike the internet based ones which smart TVs connect to, they're commercial free.

I expect Sky are paying the broadcaster for each viewing.

No they are not all commercial free. I downloaded 2 programmes from on demand on Saturday one off itv and the other off demand 5.

the itv one had adverts at the beginning but the demand 5 had adverts at the beginning and at all 3 breaks during the programme.

[ovbg]

So, year, the PS3 wouldn't be that useful, as it doesn't have all the catchup networks. What interested me with the YouView, despite it's cost, is that it includes ALL of the main UK networks. iPlayer, ITV, 4oD and Demand5, plus others all in one spot. So, with this, I probably wouldn't even use the built in iPlayer & ITV in my Samsung TV, as I would have all of the services in one spot, so to speak.

So, the question is, if there is no terrestrial signal, will the on demand services still work? I know that with my old Humax box, if I disconnected the Satellite cable, the internet services would also stop working, even though it didn't go through the Sat cable.

I am also considering this device:
http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2012/09/thi...ered-smart-tv/
As it may have apps or a working web interface for all the UK services. The catch is, I don't know how well this version of Android plays with 4oD and Demand5. I know that despite my 2012 model Samsung TV has a Flash enabled browser, it still can't play 4oD shows due to the wrong type of Flash.

So, any Android heads out there who know their system, I would really appreciate some feedback.

[1andrew1]

I suggest you ask the no terrestial signal question on the YouView forum

[lbear]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ovbg

Agreed, I would love a cheaper device. But I need something cheap that has all the main on-demand services. I have iPlayer and ITV on my TV, but no way to get 4oD and 5 on demand.

As I don't live where there is a terrestrial service, I was wondering if this works without such a signal.

I did a small experiment with my Humax T1000 by turning off the mains switch, unhooking the aerial input and rebooting. It came back up with a "lost or insufficient signal" message and a very pixillated image, presumably due to it trying to tune to an already memorised channel.

On the other hand, the players came up fine. Is there actually no terrestrial service or a very weak one where you are? Just thinking that in those circumstances you may be unlikely to have a 4-5Mbs broadband connection that is really needed if you want the full on demand services including in HD.

Please note what I did not do was a full "factory reset" so I do not know whether you can set it up without a signal. Of course you may be able to visit somewhere that there is a DTT signal and set it up there. You can re-establish an internet connection separately. Assuming you are in the UK, the Distance Selling regulations allow you to return a mail order item within 7 days so that might be one way of confirming they work for you.

You may want to wait until there are competitor boxes for sale. The Huawei should be cheaper due to its smaller hard drive if nothing else.

[1andrew1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lbear

You may want to wait until there are competitor boxes for sale. The Huawei should be cheaper due to its smaller hard drive if nothing else.

I think the Huawei is exclusive to TalkTalk so non-retail; hopefully Vestel will enter the YouView market soon but I've not heard anything yet on this front.
However, if you have no terrestial signal then a lot of the functionality (and space) will be wasted so it could be worth waiting till a YouView receiver (ie no hard drive) is launched.

[lbear]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

I think the Huawei is exclusive to TalkTalk so non-retail; hopefully Vestel will enter the YouView market soon but I've not heard anything yet on this front.
However, if you have no terrestial signal then a lot of the functionality (and space) will be wasted so it could be worth waiting till a YouView receiver (ie no hard drive) is launched.

Manhattan are also due to market a box and they to my mind have a better reputation than Vestel who have a tendency to replace with a new model rather than support units they have already sold.

[ovbg]

Hi lbear,
Thanks enormously for the effort of checking this out for me.

What interested me on this thread was the title "outside UK with VPN". I'm not in the UK myself, but I access UK on-demand streams perfectly with a SmartDNS service from Overplay. I have sufficient speed for full HD streams and my Samsung TV has working iPlayer and ITV using this method.

The catch is, is that there are no 4oD or Demand5 apps on the Samsung TV, or almost any other device bar this YouView box.

So, I do actually get a Video Signal, but from the German Satellite or digital terrestrial services. Not UK.

Naturally, I don't know how these would work on a YouView box.

But I did have a Humax HDR Sat box in the days when I could access FreeSat here, and as soon as I disconnected the Sat antenna, the iPlayer also stopped working.

It sounds promising that a YouView box may work at least just with the on demand services.

[1andrew1]

ovbg: The X-Box does Demand5, 4OD and iPlayer and you have ITV Player on your TV. This does require an X-Box Gold subscription at £40pa. Might be worth considering if you have an X-Box and are waiting for the prices to fall.

[ovbg]

Thanks 1andrew1, it is certainly an option, but I am trying right now to avoid any more annual subscriptions.

[dyseok]

Hi ovbg and all,

Did you ever find out if the any youview box works via Smart DNS outside UK? I was thinking to get a box purely for the catchup services option.

Since Smart DNS support tends to be per service, I'm a bit wary of what can run into here e.g. the well known catch up player feeds may be ok but not sure if the scroll back 7 days TV guide would, depending on what URL they are pulling from etc. Perhaps this particular aspect wouldn't be geo restricted?

Anyway, be glad to get feedback on anyone's experiences here to date or if there's good alternatives to a Youview box for this. I'm looking primarily for the catchup services (IPlayer, ITV, 4OD,Demand5,Now TV and RTE, if possible).

[ovbg]

Hi Dyseok,

The YouView service is very unlikely to work outside of the UK. From what I understand, it needs the terrestrial signal to operate and without that, other functions like catch-up won't work properly either. The problem is, no one I know has dared to test it because they can't use the terrestrial side.

Just a question, are you able to receive FreeSat UK satellite services where you are? If so, maybe the similar FreeTime service will work? I could ask around about that one.
http://www.freesat.co.uk/get-freesat...-with-freetime

What I use is Zattoo. It works completely over the internet and offers most of the UK channels via the sub in excellent quality (depending on platform) along with a FreeView style catch-up from every programme on every channel for the last 7 days. You also get 250 programmes you can record.

For that full service, it isn't free and you also need a compatible Smart DNS service (Overplay works). So all up, that is about €10 a month or so. But it is really worth it if you can't access UK TV another way.

There is a full review here.

[Akufu]

I can confirm that UnBlockUS works with NowTV outside the UK.

[onephat]

Youview does work without an aerial. At least mine did when my aerial broke.

[onephat]

For OD stuff that is

[smithwick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by baz9375

Morning All

has anyone been able to try the catch up services using UK VPN yet?

I'm in ROI and receive Freeview from Northern Ireland, also have router with UK VPN connection (works fine for I player on x box etc).

Hoping to get Youview box but just wonder if this will the catch up services work with the VPN or are Youview blocking VPNs like TVcatchup?

Has anybody cracked the problem of free access to UK catchup players in Ireland? Does YouView work in Ireland without a terrestial connection?