TV with no dish or aerial

[JessUK98]

Anyone have experience of watching TV, in particular sports without the need for an aerial or dish?
I haven’t had a TV licence for literally about a decade as I never watch TV (I do have Netflix though). My boyfriend is going to move in at some point in the first half of this year and transfer his licence over to my address. He likes his SKY sports.
I have had triple glazing put in, and have a composite front door. The door fitter put the phone cable down the side of the door frame to avoid drilling through the frame. I also have thick solid stone walls. I refuse to have any holes drilled in my window frames or door frame and they’d never manage the ordeal of drilling into the wall (and I wouldn’t want them to either).
I have seen that SKY Q which is internet based may be introduced around 2019, but in the interim is there any other way to watch SKY sports?
I figure terrestrial telly can be seen through some kind of smart box.

TIA,
Jess

[uspaul666]

Now TV (from sky)

[Bminusrob]

I use a high gain aerial in the loft, and get excellent reception. Screwfix do one for £20.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/labgear-tv-a ... ital/60215

[Julian]

Now TV (from sky)

I thought that Now TV got the Freeview channels (BBCx, ITVx, Channel 4 etc) via aerial. Is that no longer, or never was, the case?

If it doesn’t need an aerial then presumably the electronic program guide running on the Now TV box knows how to access the live streams on iPlayer and the ITV/Channel-4/etc equivalents in order to access the stream for the Freeview channels. Is that the case? If so then I might be tempted to have a look at Now TV.

P.S. I do see that Jess made specific reference to Sky Sports so your answer is clearly very appropriate, I realise the Sky stuff does stream over the internet and Now TV is a good suggestion, I was just wondering if there was an answer to the more literal question as posed in the thread title.

- Julian

[todthedog]

Having lived in Sweden we were able to stream TV via the internet. Abroad we needed a VPN not required in the UK.
We used a roku box (about £50). Streaming sticks Google, Amazon about £30. Decent WiFi required. You can get the usual suspects iPlayer,ITV hub, C4, C5. Sports you will need to buy a subscription package, sky, or now. Or subscribe to same or BT sport via internet supplier. You still need a TV licence though.
Good luck

[todthedog]

We lived in an old farm at one point drilling a metre thick rubble filled walls. Drilling to put up a satellite dish was not hard a decent installer should have the kit.

[JessUK98]

We lived in an old farm at one point drilling a metre thick rubble filled walls. Drilling to put up a satellite dish was not hard a decent installer should have the kit.

Putting a dish up wouldn’t be a problem, getting the cable into the house would be. Not sure i’d want a dish anyway as some of the neighbours that have them have the cables going over the top of their roofs, presumably because they can only get a signal at the back of the house, and the living rooms are at the front. I’d rather fork out extra for an internet version (or rather if my boyfriend wants TV, then he is going to have to!). Now TV looks like a good option.

[uspaul666]

Now TV (from sky)

I thought that Now TV got the Freeview channels (BBCx, ITVx, Channel 4 etc) via aerial. Is that no longer, or never was, the case?

If it doesn’t need an aerial then presumably the electronic program guide running on the Now TV box knows how to access the live streams on iPlayer and the ITV/Channel-4/etc equivalents in order to access the stream for the Freeview channels. Is that the case? If so then I might be tempted to have a look at Now TV.

P.S. I do see that Jess made specific reference to Sky Sports so your answer is clearly very appropriate, I realise the Sky stuff does stream over the internet and Now TV is a good suggestion, I was just wondering if there was an answer to the more literal question as posed in the thread title.

- Julian

According to https://www.nowtv.com/tv-box the (current) now tv box connects to broadband only and has no aerial or dish connections plus it can watch live and catchup tv. Perhaps there was an earlier version that used free view through an aerial?

[csearle]

Not sure i’d want a dish anyway as some of the neighbours that have them have the cables going over the top of their roofs, presumably because they can only get a signal at the back of the house...

Yes the dish has to point to a location above the equator, so if the house is in the way...

C.

[Alaric]

Perhaps there was an earlier version that used free view through an aerial?

https://www.nowtv.com/tv-smart-box

It's the other way round, they've recently introduced an upgraded version with an aerial plug and Freeview tuner.

This is the ad for Sky Sports price and availability.

https://www.nowtv.com/watch-sky-sports-online

[colboy]

Getting new windows so we have a Roku box (Roku Express Streaming Player- £30) and have disconnected our dish and aerial. Has enough for our modest TV needs. Live BBC channels stream well on iplayer. TVplayer allows live streaming from many UK channels with ads. Great for Netflix and other paid services. Much depends though on stability of your broadband.

[Julian]

According to https://www.nowtv.com/tv-box the (current) now tv box connects to broadband only and has no aerial or dish connections plus it can watch live and catchup tv. Perhaps there was an earlier version that used free view through an aerial?

Thanks. From looking at it more carefully I think I had the wrong idea about what sort of user experience NowTV is going for. I had assumed it was going more in the Freeview direction where there is a single grid/spreadsheet-like EPG for all channels (and in the latest Freeview stuff even integrating catch up into the EPG by scrolling backwards). It looks however as if NowTV is more AppleTV-like where things are focussed around individual apps so if one wants to watch a Sky channel one launches the NowTV app, if one wants to watch a BBC channel one launches iPlayer, etc.

There’s clearly no right or wrong although personally after years of having a Sky satellite box I am pretty hooked on the single integrated EPG. For someone like Jess who only wants TV for specific things though the Now TV box does look like an ideal solution and, since she has already said that she has Netflix, we know that her internet connection should be good enough.

- Julian

[carrie80]

If you're also buying a new TV, you might want to look for internet connected TV. We have a Sony one and don't have it hooked up to an aerial - I think we had to buy a wifi dongle to plug into the back separately from the TV.

The internet connection works similarly to how Julian describes NowTV - via apps for BBC iPlayer, Netflix, etc. I think the ability to add new apps is limited (I haven't tried...), so if you go this route, definitely check that you'll be able to connect to any channels he particularly wants.

[bionichamster]

If it's a house, could you not attach satellite dish to the rear, then pass the cable into the attic via the soffit or a covinient vent and then either pass it down through the ceiling or find where the pipes go down and route it that way, or maybe better still plug it into a wireless sender (i.e. a transmitter box) in the attic or an upstairs room that then broadcasts the signal to the telly in the living room? e.g. https://www.maplin.co.uk/c/audio-entertainment/tv-home-entertainment/video-senders

You also get devices that send the picture through the power wiring rather than wireless.

Now TV won't allow watching normal broadcast TV but you can get Sky sports on it.

BH

[Alaric]

The internet connection works similarly to how Julian describes NowTV - via apps for BBC iPlayer, Netflix, etc. I think the ability to add new apps is limited (I haven't tried...), so if you go this route, definitely check that you'll be able to connect to any channels he particularly wants.

TV manufacturers don't have the same notions of software support that you might expect with a PC and related hardware.

To name names, a Sony TV came with BBC iplayer as part of its "Smart TV" function. Within perhaps not more than a year, the app disappeared. The BBC had revamped iplayer and Sony it seemed couldn't be bothered to upgrade the software previously supplied with the TV. So if you go that route, it's a very pertinent question as to what if any guarantees the "internet connected TV" offers of continued function.

[bionichamster]

TV manufacturers don't have the same notions of software support that you might expect with a PC and related hardware

In a similar vein we have a Freesat box and various catch-up apps disappear occasionally or new ones appear, recently All4 didn't dissapear but became greyed over. Turns out that there is some disagreement over payments between Freesat and C4 which may or may not get resolved. Clearly the presence or absence of a particular service is no guarantee of it still being available next week or net year.

On the brightside my recently expired Now TV box (two month free movie pass expired last week) can take its place as it has the all4 app should I feel the need to watch catch up (it might be useful when the F1 season starts in a months time, although the Freesat/C4 spat may have been resolved by then)

BH