What sort of TV package do you have?

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LemmysCodPiece@reddit

You can get all the moody streams that they offer for free.

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BronzePleb@reddit

How do you go about doing this? I'm tired of spending 50 odd quid for buffering constantly.

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Kyla_3049@reddit

Sideload apps. Streamsfire has similar issues but it's free and you install it on your own fire stick.

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Tenpin-Tower462@reddit

Fire stick package I do pay for Netflix and prime separately. Oh and I pay for my tv licence. No idea why as I don’t have an aerial or a dish. Worth binning?

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Kyla_3049@reddit

You should get one from Amazon and sideload apps on it. It's £40 on sale and it's yours forever. I like HDO Box and OnStream best, and those are free.

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Grouchy-Nobody3398@reddit

You will still a tv license if anything you watch on Netflix or prime is being live streamed in real time, such as sport or news channels.

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Tenpin-Tower462@reddit

I don’t watch live stuff or news on Netflix or prime Guess I need it for the fire stick, even though it’s about 2 minutes behind?

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UnacceptableUse@reddit

If you're stealing TV with the fire stick I don't know why you would worry about paying a TV license. That's like walking out of a restaurant without paying for the meal but still tipping the waiter

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Tenpin-Tower462@reddit

Yeah fair point 🤣 Wouldn’t even know how to cancel it, or if it’s worth the hassle. They’ve taken a DD for decades but I haven’t seen any paperwork

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MDK1980@reddit

TV licence isn't for a dish or aerial, it's for *any* live broadcast TV.

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Tenpin-Tower462@reddit

Yeah but I meant if there’s a licensing van in the area, surely a house with no dish or aerial won’t be high on their list of priorities for a spot check? Irrelevant anyway. As I’ve got a licence

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UnacceptableUse@reddit

Even if they do a spot check, you aren't watching live TV are you? So it doesn't matter, and you aren't required to even let them in your house

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Tenpin-Tower462@reddit

Technically I’m not, but I’m sure it would still be classed as ‘live TV’ even if there’s a new minutes delay

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EvilTaffyapple@reddit

Dodgy firestick, obviously. Who is paying for every package when you can get them all?

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Get a regular one from Amazon when they're on sale and sideload some apps onto it like Bee TV, OnStream, HDO Box, but make sure to only use those apps to watch public domain content ;-) The IPTV guys can F off.

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Mountain_Brush_6185@reddit

Dodgy firestick

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Kyla_3049@reddit

But don't get one from someone providing a preloaded one. Get a regular one from Amazon when they're on sale and sideload some apps onto it like Bee TV, OnStream, HDO Box. I do not endorse piracy. Only use those sites to watch public domain content.

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borokish@reddit

Boom!

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Kyla_3049@reddit

None. Streaming services let you watch whatever you want, whenever you want, and Freesat+Now TV are cheaper than Sky and give you basically everything if you want traditional TV.

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trmetroidmaniac@reddit

Mate I don't even have a tv license

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AtomicDioxide@reddit

Same here; tv isn’t worth watching these days

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Bernardozila@reddit

I mostly agree, except for live sports

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AtomicDioxide@reddit

Eh, go to the pub for that, spend the money on pints instead of the tv licence😂

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Mdl8922@reddit

This is the way. I genuinely know more without licences than with.

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ConsciouslyIncomplet@reddit

No TV licence + Netflix. The ‘High Seas’ for any specialist. Total = £8.99 a month.

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BangkokLondonLights@reddit

IPTV on Apple TV.

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AEHBlandalorian@reddit

What app are you using mate? I’ve never had a lot of luck with a decent IPTV app on my Apple TV.

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BangkokLondonLights@reddit

SwipTV.

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AEHBlandalorian@reddit

I’ll check it out, thanks a lot.

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EuroSong@reddit

None. I only watch **two** programmes per year on live TV: the Eurovision Song Contest, and the King’s Speech at Christmas. Everything else is on streaming. Were it not for Eurovision, I would have stopped paying my TV licence several years ago.

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TSC-99@reddit

Omfg they’d be the two things I’d avoid first all year.

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iamabigtree@reddit

It's not 5 basic channels and hasn't been for over a decade. Freeview has lots of channels beyond the traditional 5. Add to that any subscriptions such as Netflix, Prime Video etc. you won't be short of stuff to watch

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New_Pop_8911@reddit

Freeview was launched in 2002, how does op not know of its existence?

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Old-Amphibian416@reddit (OP)

I'm old

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85NH@reddit

You say on 1 post your 44 then on another post you say you’re 12 years from retirement (55) but even at them ages surely you’d know about freeview which has existed for 20+ years. Unless you work for Sky and are trying to find out dodgy IPTV providers to take down.

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HenshinDictionary@reddit

And more importantly, "the 5 basic channels" were abolished 15 years ago with the digital switchover. It was incredibly well-publicised at the time.

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New_Pop_8911@reddit

It's also been virtually impossible to buy a TV without Freeview built in in the last 10 years

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iamabigtree@reddit

Indeed and I was counting only from when analogue switch off occurred where the final transmitters to shut down were in 2012. So it's been impossible to only get 5 channels since then.

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LifeMasterpiece6475@reddit

Don't watch live TV so I don't need a TV licence. Get everything you need on YouTube, DVD and catch up as long as you don't use iPlayer.

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OrganicMemories@reddit

It’s not just restricted to iPlayer.

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HenshinDictionary@reddit

Yes it is. You only need a TV license for live TV and the iPlayer. https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one?utm_source=website&utm_medium=homepagelink&utm_content=check_button In my experience most people who oppose the TV license are doing so because they're paying for one they don't need.

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LifeMasterpiece6475@reddit

Its live tv and iPlayer, live means transmitted to everyone at the same time. All other catching up services don't require a license.

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HenshinDictionary@reddit

Freeview HD via my Smart TV. That's enough for me. > Other than going down to the 5 basic channels Analogue TV closed between 2009 and 2012, depending on your region. It was replaced by Freeview, which has like 100 channels.

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-TheHumorousOne-@reddit

IPTV. Saves me having to buy Sky with Sky sports and TNT added, Prime Video, Netflix and Disney plus.

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starsandbribes@reddit

No aerial connection in my living room. I’ve got the TV Guide app on my Apple TV which shows me the schedule of programming then just jumps to the right app (iPlayer, NOW TV Sky Max etc) if theres something “live” I want to see. Other than that just streaming services.

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OrganicMemories@reddit

None. We have access to freeview channels but it’s not even tuned in on the tv. Streaming + channel apps like iPlayer, ITVX etc cover the rest.

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SirDickButtFarts@reddit

I paid for the fully sky package a couple years back and used it on maybe once every other month. Frankly, it’s hard to see why live TV remains so popular. Video on demand isn't just the future, it's the present.

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morecbt@reddit

I don’t pay for anything. Do not watch any live tv. Just YouTube. Currently got 30 day free trial of Amazon so watching what on that but will cancel before it gets billed.

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NoisyGog@reddit

I have a tiny little PC, with a big dumb screen, and I use iPlayer, ITVX, 4OD, Disney +, TNT Sports, Prime, Netflix, Nebula, and nowTV. I’m an outlier, I know. I have my music collection the mini PC, too, connected to some decent speakers, as well as Spotify. Even further into the outlier category, I have the audio running through a couple of compressors in series to transparently reduce the difference between really loud and really quiet tv and films (so transparently that my wife doesn’t know or care about it, except for mentioning a few times in conversations with people that “tv is much better these days, you used to always have to turn it up and down because one minute it was too loud, and the next minute you could barely hear them speak, but now it’s much better, isn’t it?”)

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kipha01@reddit

O channels, I haven't had a TV since 2003.

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Sad_Pea2301@reddit

A lovely 80 feet long Brigantine.

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Rednwh195m@reddit

People have said freeview, the bus service of TV channels. Miss a programme and it will be along in an hour, or a bit later, if you miss that maybe a few days later and if you are really lucky a few weeks and then every month after that.

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wondered-bongo@reddit

Don't have one. The computer is connected to the tv, so I have Amazon, Netflix, and YouTube through that

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Blandiblub@reddit

Still using my YouView box for Freeview but am recording far less than I used to (which means I'm watching far less broadcast TV than I used to).

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Sad-Garage-2642@reddit

Netflix and Disney Free versions of All 4 and ITVX

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BCF13@reddit

I only use YouTube Premium now. I live alone and was watching less and less mainstream tv or tv in general tbh. With the cost of the TV license + streaming, I went cold turkey and went to YouTube instead. I got Premium after a week or so as the ads were doing my head in. There’s so much content, more than I can keep up with on the channels I subscribe to. I don’t miss regular TV or streaming (Amazon/Neflix) at all, but obviously everyone is different.

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LemmysCodPiece@reddit

I have YTP too. I have other streaming services, but YTP is the only one I wouldn't cancel.

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HolbeckMax@reddit

Other than Freeview I use Cruchyroll and then I cycle through streaming services (Netflix, Disney etc) every few months as there is too much to watch and I found I was paying for a service I didn't use. If I see something I want to watch I'll make a note which will determine which streaming service to pay for next. However, I avoid Prime, though there is a fair amount on it's free output if you don't mind waiting. I do pay the TV licence as I get pissed off if I end up working for free and don't expect others to do so either.

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LemmysCodPiece@reddit

I have Netflix, Prime Video (but only because it is free with Prime), Disney + and Youtube Premium. I have 3 TVs, each with a Google Chromecast. I do not have a TV licence as I don't use the iPlayer. I know I am supposed to have a TV Licence to watch "live streams" on any platform, but that is completely unenforceable. I also have a Jellyfin media server that lets me watch my considerable DVD/Bluray collection that I have ripped to hard drives. This is great for the rare occasion that the internet goes down.

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Working_Document_541@reddit

We use Freeview, which we watch... About an hour or two a year. Wife has Polish satellite, which we pay £6pm and for an extra £12 (roughly) we can get sport, for another £30 and we could get the larger package of which there would be about 300+channels of nothing to watch.. We have netflix, paramount, Disney and prime.. but we also have BBC, itvx and the channel 4od if we need it. If anything we are spoilt for choice.

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Lazy-Kaleidoscope179@reddit

Virgin basic package because you need to have that to get sky sports with them. Only pay £60 a month for tv, sky sports, fibre broadband and netflix.

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hsw77@reddit

Only

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thatscotbird@reddit

None! I have a smart tv with plenty apps & it’s own channels on it. Like… an entire channel for Baywatch & Ice Road truckers lol. Channels 1-5 you can “watch live” through the apps, plus ITV2 etc. Then we have Netflix & Prime, I subscribe to Paramount plus occasionally then cancel when I’m done - got it recently for Yellow Jackets & Moblands but now they’re done, I’ve recently cancelled.

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JakeGrey@reddit

KTorrent, when I can be bothered to watch stuff at all.

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DropDeadDigsy@reddit

A dodgy stick (hello officer)

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BarnesyBorr@reddit

I use a mix of Freeview and my mother in law lets me use the sky go app on my xbox.

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DigitalStefan@reddit

YouTube Premium

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djashjones@reddit

Depends on the pub, lol.

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S1nnah2@reddit

Freeview and steal any content from US streaming services.

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SubYorkshire@reddit

As in the cardboard packaging that came with the TV? 🤣 Only kidding, I stream everything via Netflix / Disney+ etc

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cgknight1@reddit

None at all - never have.

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Acrylic_Starshine@reddit

You get a freeview tv or box and just stream the stuff you want

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Stunning-Attention81@reddit

Pikey stick. Amazon and netflix too

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TulipTatsyrup@reddit

I don't have a TV.

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mysocratesnote@reddit

>5 basic channels What year are you going back to?

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Old-Amphibian416@reddit (OP)

Isn't that what you get if you don't have sky

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Downtown_Economy9435@reddit

Have you actually been living under a rock since the 80s? There are 100+ freeview channels https://thechannellist.com/freeview-channel-list/

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Trifusi0n@reddit

No. Freeview has existed for over 20 years. It has 70+ channels.

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thecuriousiguana@reddit

No. Freeview has loads of channels. We use a combination of Freeview plus subscription streamers like Netflix, Apple and Disney. The advantage of the streamers is there's no minimum term. So you can subscribe for a month or two, watch the stuff you want, then switch to another to catch up on what they have. Now TV is cheaper than Sky and can give you Sky Atlantic and even Sky Sports if you want it.

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mysocratesnote@reddit

Maybe in the 90s. If you want to keep using your dish, freesat is an option : https://www.freesat.co.uk/channels?srsltid=AfmBOorY-4y699Fm0SyAMRCnYWT__tF099gZYAksGth12bnLxouhym2R

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Motor_Possibility_22@reddit

Next we will hear OP is booking their holiday on teletext

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gaz19833@reddit

You're aware that tons of free basic channels are available through the arial now?

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Voodoopulse@reddit

I'm on the dodgy firestick crew as well

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Numerous_Ticket_7628@reddit

The full bhoona.

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Gryeg@reddit

Box of bootleg DVDs

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SquareAfternoon4841@reddit

I cut the cord a decade ago. Just use my dish for freesat. Got a tv with a receiver built in and that’s it. The £££ still go to streaming services. But not sky. And I just have the ad based packages which now has reduced the cost a lot.

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TWOITC@reddit

Freeview, Freesat or Freely.

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