iPlayer straight into my telly

[Hot Flatus]

 

I've just drilled a hole into my living room and plugged in my telly (which has been in the living room unplugged in for 2 years).

It is connected to a Humax HD freesat box, in turn plugged into an old Sky dish.  I noticed it had an ethernet port on it, so I did a bit of digging and discovered that if you connect it up to a router you can access BBC iPlayer on your telly

 

[DaveJ]

Yes, its brilliant.  iPlayer was the main reason we bought the Humax box.

I've just been looking at the BBC stuff on iPlayer.  If you watch programs in "higher quality", it'll get through about 1.5GB per hour.  That could chew through the allowances on capped connections quite quickly if you used it lot.  40GB a month would give you 26 hours or a bit less than an hour a day.

Dave

[richie]

You can also watch the iPlayer on TV via a Nintendo Wii.   Providing the kids aren't playing SuperKongMarioPlanet or some such nonsense.

[border-rider]

Lots more TVs seems to be directly internet-enabled these days.  Makes sense

Ours has an elderly PC sitting behind it that does all the Freeview PVR &  iPlayer stuff, and also acts as a media streamer and server for our music, photos, recorded TV etc. 

[Woofage]

You can also watch the iPlayer on TV via a Nintendo Wii.   

That's what we do. It gives a smoother picture than the MythTV box.

The TV does have an ethernet port, but ICBA to wire the second socket (we have CAT5 to most rooms; the Wii runs wireless).

[Hot Flatus]

I'm wondering what the future of telly is.  At the moment I can't see how the infrastructure behind the internet could cope with everybody sucking HD telly out of it. I hardly watch tv, and the setup I have is quite clumsy to use, but I am reluctant to update it to a freesat specific pvr.

[pcolbeck]

You dont need Freesat. Humax Freeview boxes both PDR and non PDR do the same thing. The basic one is about £100. I would think several others do the same.  Some  Sony DVD players include iPlayer as does the PS3 and the Wii as already mentioned. Or you can link a PC directly to your TV.

[Hot Flatus]

You dont need Freesat.

You do if you havent got an aerial 

[Woofage]

I'm wondering what the future of telly is.  At the moment I can't see how the infrastructure behind the internet could cope with everybody sucking HD telly out of it. I hardly watch tv, and the setup I have is quite clumsy to use, but I am reluctant to update it to a freesat specific pvr.

We tend to record stuff we want to watch using the MythTV box rather than watch "live". It's a fantastic bit of kit and capable of much more than just TV.

My concern with watching everything through iPlayer is the bandwidth consumed would consume our monthly limit so end up costing quite a bit (I already pay for TV through the license fee so I am reluctant to pay more).

[pcolbeck]

I only use it to wacth stuff I have missed. I don't really have that much I want to see so its maybe three or four programs a week.

[Clandy]

You can also do this if you plug in a Sony PS3 as I have done. In doing so I have added the capability to view and listen to internet, iPlayer, 4od, itv/stv/utvPlayers, LoveFilm film rentals, DVD, BluRay, CD, MP3. All of it in 1080p high definition, and all licence free. I have also plugged in my old 80Gb iPod using a composite cable, so I can watch downloaded films and TV series.



<edit> Oh, and occasionally I also use the PS3 to play a game.

[urban_biker]

My 3view http://www.3view.com/Home.aspx PVR box lets me use iPlayer on the telly and streams full HD. I've only got a 4 meg internet connection and it seems to work OK. I suspect the internet is going to become the main transmission medium for all TV and radio within the next 10- 15 years. The transmission frequencies freed up will get used to expand wireless internet capability.

[Rhys W]

I spoke to my sister tonight and after I alerted them to the possibility of iPlayer on a Wii, they've now got it working. I'd read that it used an old version of Flash that was severely limited in screen resolution, but I'm told it looks fine on their 32" TV. I'm betting that my nieces (8 and 4) have got it all worked out by now! The cool thing is that the Wii has Wi-Fi built in, so it only has to connect to their network, no worries with running Cat 5 cables round the living room.

I get iPlayer and 4OD etc through my Virgin box (albeit somewhat limited in terms of programmes and picture quality) - slightly better than watching it on my iMac upstairs.