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Watching Telly on my Laptop

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shutter
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Watching Telly on my Laptop

We are not into... telly via the phone line... or ... satellite telly...  we have FREEVIEW (free to air) through an aerial on the chimney. ... It serves our purposes "indoors"..

 

What I would like to be able to do, is... especially on days like today... take my laptop outside in the garden, to a shady spot. and watch telly there...

I can watch about 14 German T.V. Stations on-line.. ( with a VPN)...  I can watch a few French T.V.stations on-line.. I could also find numerous other countries national T.V. on line...but I cannot find any UK terrestrial TV live, on line.

 

which is annoying when you think about it  !. Pity I don`t understand German.. or French. or any other language, ..

 

Anyone got any ideas on how to get FREVIEW/Terrestrial UK t.v. viewable via WIFI on my laptop outdoors  ? ? ? Preferably independent of the existing telly in the lounge, which the missus will be watching her favourite progs on ! .

 

40 REPLIES 40
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Watching Telly on my Laptop


@shutter 

 


I think you can go into TV Guide Freeview and watch on a laptop by clicking on a programme 

You have to log in 

 

 https://www.freeview.co.uk/tv-guide

 

Let us know if it works 

 

HD

shutter
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Re: Watching Telly on my Laptop

@Anonymous   Thanks for that.... just done a quick look about.. it seems that if you click on the red circle with a red sideways triangle

play logo.png

 

 

You are then offered the program info fly out...

 

 

program info.png

 

Then you have to click on the "watch now" icon...

 

and then you have to "register" or "log-in" to that particular station...

 

So.. if I want to channel hop, I will have to "Register" and "log-in" to about 20 different channels/stations and remember the "Log-in" for every one of them, every time I want to change channel...

 

 cos I tried BBC1.. and it offered that... and said.. why do I need to register with BBC..  ( so presume ITV is the same.. and Yesterday is UK TV... etc etc etc ) .

 

Unless... of course.. someone can tell me different...

 

Mook
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Re: Watching Telly on my Laptop

It'll cost some money but what you need is a Freeview DVB-T HD TV Tuner you can buy them on Amazon or Fleabay of course, just make sure you get the right one.

shutter
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Re: Watching Telly on my Laptop

 

Hi @Mook   Got two of them... tried to use them for my Amateur Radio listening...but can` t seem to get them to work at all....  as for getting TV on the tiny micro/mini antenna supplied... I doubt it....

we are  "over the hill" from the Main transmitter on the Isle of Wight.. and our tv sig is showing 70 percent on the tuner on the telly... with a "proper" aerial on the chimney..

 

Baldrick1
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Re: Watching Telly on my Laptop

@shutter 

If you don't want to log in to the net then the other option is a receiver that plugs in to your laptop. A Google search for Freeview Receiver Dongle will throw up all sorts. Whether one will work with Mint or through Wine is the question though?

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Mook
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Re: Watching Telly on my Laptop

Maybe time to give them another try. Where you are uou should be able to get Freeview with a wet bit of string never mind a roof aerial.

198kHz
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Re: Watching Telly on my Laptop

You can stream live or catch-up on BBC iPlayer and the ITV Hub. I think Ch 4 have something similar. Ch 5 is catch-up only.

If you've saved the password in FF you don't need to keep logging in. I assume other browsers have similar.

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shutter
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Re: Watching Telly on my Laptop

@Baldrick1  That is what @Mook was advocating...  usb tv dongle.png

 

As an experiment.... ( see my orignal answer to @Mook  ) I chopped off the aerial lead, and made an adapter plug to plug it in to my HF  and VHF aerials, as well as the TV aerial, on the chimney.. but still no reception

It also depends on certain software being installed to make the HF section active.

 

Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Watching Telly on my Laptop


@Mook wrote:

It'll cost some money but what you need is a Freeview DVB-T HD TV Tuner you can buy them on Amazon or Fleabay of course, just make sure you get the right one.


There are some special managers specials direct from Humax at good prices

I have purchased direct from them before  and have been pleased with the deals 

Humax no longer make  freesat  boxes where you use a dish

 

https://www.humaxdirect.co.uk/special-offers.html

 

HD

Mook
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Re: Watching Telly on my Laptop

Sorry @shutter but what do you expect when you only pay 10 for a piece of 💩like that and it no doubt source from fleaBay too.

shutter
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Re: Watching Telly on my Laptop

@Mook  Nah... that was just a pic that I found....

I think the two that I bought a few years ago, were about £25 each...

 (same sort of thing though) ! 

Mook
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Re: Watching Telly on my Laptop

Well that's what I'd consider paying myself if wanted one but disappointed to find that they wouldn't work. 

shutter
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Re: Watching Telly on my Laptop

@Anonymous  Yeah.. but... I don`t want another "box" to carry about with me.. (would probably need the mains for power, too ! ! ! )  ..

The dongle idea would be great... if it worked...but alas.. it does not.. ( just dug out my two dongles, and despite me running WINE with Linux Mint 20.1   they do not seem to be "compatible" with the system... so a total failure with the driver/install discs too ! .

 

 

ah well.... case closed. then  !   CryCryCry

Mook
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Re: Watching Telly on my Laptop

@shutter Don't close the case. Plug one in and let's see what errors you're getting.