Now it is holiday season, a tip for you on how to watch TV abroad on PC, tablet or smartphone at zero (or minimal cost).

This method is only really suitable for short term/occasional viewing.

This does not involve use of VPNS or smart DNS etc.

It is really easy to do assuming:-

a) You have a home PC/Laptop you can connect (at home) whilst on holiday.
b) You have unlimited home broadband.
c) Upload speed of > 1Mb/s recommended (> 2Mb/s is better).
d) You know how to access UK channels on internet e.g. TV-catchup, filmon,
BBC, ITV,4, 5 websites etc.
e) You have access to zero (or low cost) wifi abroad.

I recommend you do not use 3G on phone - likely to be poorer service and potentially megabucks if you do not have a suitable dataplan - be warned blah blah blah.

Simply connect your UK home PC/laptop to router (best via LAN ethernet cable to avoid wifi dropout) and leave switched on. Change power settings in control panel to enable PC to remain on all the time when plugged in.

Install teamviewer (free for personal use) or similar on home PC as host, and on device abroad (client) e.g. PC/tablet/smartphone abroad.

You can then connect to and control home PC from device abroad and connect to any UK TV internet service, and watch abroad. Do this before you go abroad to test it works.

Quality depends on upload but you get a reasonable SD picture on a tablet/smartphone if upload is only around 1Mb/s.

This method is great for short term e.g. holidays, and requires very little technical expertise.

Unfortunately. if you get a powercut at home, you are normally "goosed" unless there is somebody at home to switch on PC.

Surely just using a SmartDNS service which only costs £2 or £3 would work out cheaper than the electricity used to power your PC for 24 hours a day over 1 - 2 weeks whilst you're away? And it's much simpler.

From a technical point of view I wouldn't say that changing your DNS address is any more difficult to installing Team Viewer...

Forget all the above.
Just go here
www.tvtoast.com
Select UK TV from the menue.
Then just choose a channel from the list

Maybe OK but seems to need Flash to work.

Why the hell would anyone want to watch TV on holiday?

victorslot.
What is the problem with having flash installed ?
All kinds of web sites require flash.

Probably because he wants to use an iOS device?

Well yeah. But as a DXer I do sometimes have a play on holiday. One year in a high-rise in Penang Malaysia I found I could get Thai TV faintly. So I went out and bought a local band 3 aerial and mounted on the balcony on a broom handle and got great Thai reception early morning. Sad, well no, the rest of the day I was on the beach or sight seeing.

Well, to be honest, my favourite way is to just use the BBC iPlayer and 4oD's offline downloads.

It's free, and video quality is very good.

It also has the advantage that you don't need any bandwidth at all, whether that is 3G or wifi, so you can watch content while traveling on a plane or train.

ovbg.
BBC iplayer for TV & ITV player wont work abroad unless you use a VPN etc.

I was talking about their offline downloads, and in this case, both work perfectly abroad.

(also for the BBC iPlayer and 4oD - I never mentioned ITV Player which does not offer offline downloads)

Naturally, if you are offline, you don't need a VPN - that is the whole point of offline broadcasts.

In fact, Amazon Prime users can also try this if they own a Kindle as that also offers offline downloads.

Yes I do use iOS devices so anything that uses flash is of no use.

I usually do the same as ovbg and download from iPlayer etc and/or rip a couple of DVD's if I think I might need some personal entertainment.

Spotted this today. Can't say I've tried it tho.

TVman Home WiFi TV Hotspot (£70)

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/tvman-home...-hotspot-a89nj

TVman Home WiFi is a family tuner streaming Free to Air Digital TV to your smartphone, tablet and computer at home. It turns your mobile devices in a second TV offering an independent choice for entertainment, freedom and comfort unmatched by conventional TV. Live TV is available continuously in your WLAN through your home router to be played from any smart devices in one single click on our free application. TVman Home can share the same antenna with your main TV to ensure the best possible reception and easy installation. User can schedule a recording by using the EPG and record thousands of hours on an USB external hard disk drive.

I always like to keep up to date with the X Factor and Eastenders whilst drinking and eating my way through the suitcase of Tetley Tea and Heinz beans that I packed. Doesn't everyone do this?

In all seriousness, whist Teamviewer is great for remote access, it is not really designed from streaming video, and would probably have problems with low frame rates and sound sync.

I tend just to watch the local TV whilst on holiday and enjoy the experience!

Actually I use Splashtop which streams very well, and I do not get any sound sync. However, it does costs about £15 per year for internet access. I forgot Teamviewer is not so good.