[maguirex]

Has anyone had success replacing Sky with internet services (legally).

I was originally given the idea by smackos on the netflix thread. I have pretty much copied his setup exactly (he was also brilliant with advice). I started a new thread rather than taking over the (purely) Netflix one.

Using unblockus I am using US Netflix (can also access Canada, Latin America etc) and watching US on demand channels, ABC player, SyFy rewind etc.

The Networks/programs I am struggling with are;
Showtime - Borgias, Dexter
HBO - Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, The Newsroom, True Blood
TNT - Falling Skies

There are also loads of new series about to start in the US which look awesome.

I am using the TV Show Favs app (again recommended by smackos) to monitor when US shows are airing - I haven't found a way to monitor when shows are released on-demand yet.

[smackos]

Some networks actually work against themselves, "The USA Network" being a good example. They provide a "catchup" service so should people miss a show they can watch said episode online. BUT for U.S.A as an example, they only make a show available 30 days after it's aired. So should you miss a show you'd have to actually watch the rest of the entire series via catchup, by the time they would have stuck that episode online, they would 4 episodes ahead on tv again. Leaving you the choice of skipping the episode or watching everything else online..Crazy.

Most networks are pretty straightforward, nothing like as silly as U.S.A are. Fox for example will air a new show then make it available 8 days afterwards online. Most of the others are around that too, it mostly just depends on if a show is "syndicated" to other local/minor networks in the following few days.

If you set up that tv app's widget for "recently aired", then change the options to show the maximum of 60 odd days then just use that to track which of your favourite shows you're still waiting to see. Once you've watched it, click the episode off and it'll go from your widget. After a few weeks it'll be no different to how you'd watch tv now. You'll know from memory what night any given show becomes available to watch online, the same way you know now that say "Doctor Who" is a Saturday night. It all becomes 2nd nature..it's just initially you feel a fish out of water with it.

Talking of that app by the way, if by some miracle you cannot find any given show then just pop onto the app store and email the developer. I cannot praise them high enough for their communication, I asked if it was ok for them to add "Vegas (2012)" and they put it up within 24 hours with cast, plot, poster etc and emailed back when it was done.

[Big Rob]

What OS is this app available on ?

[smackos]

Originally Posted by Big Rob

What OS is this app available on ?

Anything Android 2.1 or higher mate..I don't think IOS is supported right now at least.

tvshowfavs.com

[smackos]

I've taken the idea of directly linking to tv show pages online now so I can just click a poster picture and have it link directly. For my uses it's very handy for linking to different shows on varying networks without having to remember where they are. For others it'll probably be just as useful as a kind of personal Netflix Queue. All I've done is create a "Pinterest" page with my current shows on it using poster pictures and set the link to the show/film page I want. Also categorised a few different "Boards" as they call them to different netflix regions etc and catchup sites. Makes browsing through your shows a doddle.

[smackos]

This thread has become almost a personal journal of sorts but if it helps somebody else then great. Along with all the above mentioned services I now also have started to use Amazon Instant on my ps3. The good thing about Amazon Instant is that the service actually put a lot of shows up the day after they air stateside. Yes you actually PAY for said shows but given you'll only want a few shows that the other services mentioned cannot offer then why not. It isn't like you won't be still saving a fortune in the meantime.

It still isn't a perfect ecosystem, for example HBO stateside release True Blood online after the whole series finishes airing, whilst itunes UK put each episode up generally the DAY after airing. Not hard to guess where I go for that one!

Overall though for sheer variety of content, Amazon Instant does provide great coverage. Pretty much anything out there will be available on the service to watch at some point. Game of Thrones, The Borgias, boardwalk Empire, Falling Skies, America Horror Story etc are all available, so for those stuck on any given show then maybe look into that as an option down the road.

If you are happy with a basic UK service then Blinkbox is a pretty good bet for a lot of HBO content, albeit in SD only!

My Ps3 and pc combo are working really well together. UK wise I use the pc to access Iplayer Desktop, itv player, 4oD, 5 on Demand (and from October UKtv catchup on Demand). Also occasional itunes usage but very rare. U.S wise I use the pc for the broadcast catchup sites, Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC and the CW plus Hulu. The PS3 I use for Netflix, Vudu and Amazon Instant. It can download HD films from Vudu for later watching and the UI for it's app's I prefer to my xbox 360 now.

Whilst all this sounds like a lot of juggling of devices and services it isn't that bad at all when setup right and I just view swapping over from one app to another akin to switching channels.

Hope my ramblings help someone out or the very least amuses, that there is indeed someone out there nuts enough to go through and do all this..haha!

[zAndy1]

I'd be interested to know how much on average you're ending up spending between vudu rentals, amazon prime, Netflix, unblock us presumably? How does billing work with amazon instant and what's the streaming quality like and do you get 5.1 audio? I admire your efforts and would love to go down this route myself, the issue I've got is I like to watch movies on my projector so low quality streams don't cut it. Vudu HDX can be excellent quality but Netflix is let down by the lack of 5.1 audio on most movies and variable video quality.
I contemplate cancelling sky pretty much every week but there always seems to be something that stops me, for example this weekend if I didn't have sky sports i wouldn't be able to watch the Ryder cup live and that would bug me a bit although such examples are few and far between to be fair. Just need to take the step , £70 saving a month is a lot of money although it would probably end up being £40 a month by the time rentals etc were taken into account

[smackos]

Originally Posted by zAndy1

I'd be interested to know how much on average you're ending up spending between vudu rentals, amazon prime, Netflix, unblock us presumably? How does billing work with amazon instant and what's the streaming quality like and do you get 5.1 audio? I admire your efforts and would love to go down this route myself, the issue I've got is I like to watch movies on my projector so low quality streams don't cut it. Vudu HDX can be excellent quality but Netflix is let down by the lack of 5.1 audio on most movies and variable video quality.

Actually Andy not a lot generally.

You are right obviously Vudu and amazon Instant rentals would be variable by nature. I only pick up the cheap $1 film rentals (or $2 in Amazon Instant's case) when they suit or the odd exception when I REALLY want to watch something. The last month full month I've rented "The women in black" which cost me £0.65 and the weekend gone I watched Avengers Assemble on my xbox. Had some Microsoft points left over from a points card I was given at Christmas. That would otherwise have cost me £3.20 if I'd rented it off Vudu itself.

Unblock is £33 yearly so £2.76 a month split down. Netflix is £5.99 a month.

Tv show wise from amazon I deliberately limit myself. I used to have Lovefilm so just stick those funds across once a month for amazon spends instead. Basically £10/$15 a month gives me roughly 2 episodes a week, every week. Sounds pitiful but consider that something like American horror Story or Falling Skies etc are only 12 episodes per series on average its enough across a year. Setting Amazon instant up was fairly straightforward actually, easier than Vudu. Downside for other folks would be no 1080p yet only 720p but yes 5.1 and stated before you purchase too. Individual shows are anything but cheap in themselves but they give you the "must have" shows you need to leave Sky etc which costs much more. Obviously for myself it is a little different because I also took the tv license out of the equation, not just Sky tv.

Tv license and most basic sky pack work out as £31.62 a month or £41 with HD pack. My core costs are £8.75 a month then £10 for amazon Instant. Oh and my US pre-pay travel card costs £3.33 a year.

We generally only watch a film a week so Netflix US, UK and Canada combined have enough going up to meet our needs.

I fully realise I choose to pay slightly more than what people with standard freeview do. It is just that for that small increase in cost, I get a lot of sky tv viewing for that price too.

Ultimately the path I've chosen could be reworked quite differently for others to a similar outcome. I use Vudu and amazon Instant but there isn't anything stopping people from using say itunes and blinkbox for example or using traditional Lovefilm/Blockbuster by post for those extra shows instead. Horses for courses etc.

[Mr Regan]

Originally Posted by zAndy1

I'd be interested to know how much on average you're ending up spending between vudu rentals, amazon prime, Netflix, unblock us presumably? How does billing work with amazon instant and what's the streaming quality like and do you get 5.1 audio? I admire your efforts and would love to go down this route myself, the issue I've got is I like to watch movies on my projector so low quality streams don't cut it. Vudu HDX can be excellent quality but Netflix is let down by the lack of 5.1 audio on most movies and variable video quality.
I contemplate cancelling sky pretty much every week but there always seems to be something that stops me, for example this weekend if I didn't have sky sports i wouldn't be able to watch the Ryder cup live and that would bug me a bit although such examples are few and far between to be fair. Just need to take the step , £70 saving a month is a lot of money although it would probably end up being £40 a month by the time rentals etc were taken into account

Should get yourself a Dreambox or skybox f3, It costs me £40 a year for everything but can't be discussed on here google is your friend

[x3j3UKN]

Originally Posted by Mr Regan

Should get yourself a Dreambox or skybox f3, It costs me £40 a year for everything but can't be discussed on here google is your friend

Lol

[smackos]

Playing Devils Advocate why not mix say.. basic Bt Infinity with Sky sports 1+2 (circa £24 IIR). Then make the most of online viewing etc too. Or.. maybe go Freeview HD/Freesat/Youview/top up tv etc.

General advice for anybody contemplating doing something similar, write a list of everything you watch now and what you "need" to be able to still watch. Then it is just a matter of working out where you'd need to get those shows from and how much it'd cost you.

Of course with all the talk about Sky tv shows, let us not overlook the fact that some of us are currently watching a few things not out over here yet. Below are a few things I'm just going through now. The only one confirmed for UK broadcast right now is "Vegas". I dare say "Copper" might make it over since it is produced by BBC America. There are dozens of others depending on tastes. "Tv Wise" is a great website for checking out US premier dates and what US shows have been picked up by UK broadcasters. One of the single best shows NOT to grace UK tv right now is "Breaking Bad". The last few years that show and cast have picked up Emmy after Emmy award.. And that's on basic Netflix!


Vegas
www.youtube.com/watch?nomobile=1&v=i5VRbwMFh7M


Magic City

MAGIC CITY: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON dvd trailer-- available on blu-ray & dvd on October 2nd! - YouTube

Copper

COPPER Extended Trailer: BBC AMERICA Original Series This August - YouTube

Last Resort
www.youtube.com/watch?nomobile=1&v=IKwl6f4yFIs


Longmire

Longmire: Trailer - YouTube

Political Animals

'Political Animals' Trailer - YouTube

Revolution
www.youtube.com/watch?nomobile=1&v=Jaf2sif0iRs

[zAndy1]

I dont see any of the Sky channels from BT a viable option because I assume they're not available in HD? I'm still trying to work out the best way to do it, I'm tempted to just cancel Sky apart from the £10 cost to carry on using my HD box as a PVR and see how I get on, go cold turkey so to speak and see if I can manage without it. I reckon with Netflix and vudu and freesatfromsky I'll be able to manage. Haven't watched a film on sky for as long as I can remember, even in HD the quality isn't good enough and I'd rather watch my films on bluray with hd audio. Sports I'd miss some things like the Ryder cup last weekend but I very rarely watch live football or anything else on the sports channels really. The problem is without cancelling Sky completely the min I'm really looking at is £26 + £10 for hd + £10 multiroom + £11 line rental + £7.50 broadband = £64pm, not an insignificant amount! Presumably you still get BBC , ITV, c4 and c5 in hd even if you cancel Sky and but use the Skyhd box?

[steviedr]

Originally Posted by zAndy1

I dont see any of the Sky channels from BT a viable option because I assume they're not available in HD? I'm still trying to work out the best way to do it, I'm tempted to just cancel Sky apart from the £10 cost to carry on using my HD box as a PVR and see how I get on, go cold turkey so to speak and see if I can manage without it. I reckon with Netflix and vudu and freesatfromsky I'll be able to manage. Haven't watched a film on sky for as long as I can remember, even in HD the quality isn't good enough and I'd rather watch my films on bluray with hd audio. Sports I'd miss some things like the Ryder cup last weekend but I very rarely watch live football or anything else on the sports channels really. The problem is without cancelling Sky completely the min I'm really looking at is £26 + £10 for hd + £10 multiroom + £11 line rental + £7.50 broadband = £64pm, not an insignificant amount! Presumably you still get BBC , ITV, c4 and c5 in hd even if you cancel Sky and but use the Skyhd box?

Yes as far as I know you still get those HD channels.
Thinking the same, I'm paying the £10/month basically for Atlantic HD as they have me for Broadwalk Empire/Game of Thrones/Mad Men and Treme and I didn't mind paying it to see it in HD. But with lines rentals going up and never having time to watch everything + I have a lovefilm sub, I'm thinking I may just use it as a PVR. My question is, if you cancel Sky, can you still use the old box as a PVR or can you simply only watch the freeview/HD channels?
I'm assuming since they dropped the £10 fee for recording, the PVR can still be used?
The Youview from BT looks interesting, free youview box (well £50 for installation).

[zAndy1]

Originally Posted by steviedr

Yes as far as I know you still get those HD channels.
Thinking the same, I'm paying the £10/month basically for Atlantic HD as they have me for Broadwalk Empire/Game of Thrones/Mad Men and Treme and I didn't mind paying it to see it in HD. But with lines rentals going up and never having time to watch everything + I have a lovefilm sub, I'm thinking I may just use it as a PVR. My question is, if you cancel Sky, can you still use the old box as a PVR or can you simply only watch the freeview/HD channels?
I'm assuming since they dropped the £10 fee for recording, the PVR can still be used?
The Youview from BT looks interesting, free youview box (well £50 for installation).

You can use it as a PVR but only if you pay the £10 fee for recording etc, that fee is waived if you subscribe to any package. I'm not as tempted to go with freesat or freeview as I don't believe you get all 'normal' channels in HD then do you, I think I'm right in saying that Sky is the only platform you get BBC HD, ITVHD, C4 HD and C5 HD on, someone correct me if I'm wrong. Presumably Film4 HD would be available from early next year as well without a subscription or would you need to be a Sky subscriber to get that? Why does it have to be so confusing! I think I'm just gonna cancel the lot and see how I get on, I might then start using Netflix a bit more than I am. I've also already got a dish up with LNBs on for Hotbird and 19E so I guess there are options there if I wanted to, not sure what options but pretty sure they can't be discussed on here

[smackos]

Originally Posted by zAndy1

You can use it as a PVR but only if you pay the £10 fee for recording etc, that fee is waived if you subscribe to any package. I'm not as tempted to go with freesat or freeview as I don't believe you get all 'normal' channels in HD then do you, I think I'm right in saying that Sky is the only platform you get BBC HD, ITVHD, C4 HD and C5 HD on, someone correct me if I'm wrong. Presumably Film4 HD would be available from early next year as well without a subscription or would you need to be a Sky subscriber to get that? Why does it have to be so confusing! I think I'm just gonna cancel the lot and see how I get on, I might then start using Netflix a bit more than I am. I've also already got a dish up with LNBs on for Hotbird and 19E so I guess there are options there if I wanted to, not sure what options but pretty sure they can't be discussed on here

Both Freesat and Freeview cater for the "normal" channels in HD with the exception of Channel 5 for some reason. BBC HD, BBC 1HD, ITV HD and 4HD specifically. Personally if I was going to take the plunge right now on a tv license, then I would be going down the Youview route as well though. I like the backwards playable tv guide, a very impressive feature.

What devices are connected to your tv for VOD content? Obviously the more choice on that front, the better your options are for tv shows and films.

Sky tv with Movies and Sport in HD costs around £760 a year. That's the equivalent to 235 pay per view HD film rentals a year or 30 HD VOD copies of Game of thrones for instance. Can you think of even close to 30 TV shows on Sky One, Sky Living, Atlantic and FX you would be watching right now?

Youview etc is obviously free aside the tv license and initial setup costs. Unblock is £32 yearly, Netflix is £71.88 a year. Going all out silly you could even throw in Sky's own "Now Tv" service at £15 a month plus a 2 disc Lovefilm Subscription and still be circa £400 a year better off than you are currently!

[zAndy1]

Originally Posted by smackos

Both Freesat and Freeview cater for the "normal" channels in HD with the exception of Channel 5 for some reason. BBC HD, BBC 1HD, ITV HD and 4HD specifically. Personally if I was going to take the plunge right now on a tv license, then I would be going down the Youview route as well though. I like the backwards playable tv guide, a very impressive feature.

What devices are connected to your tv for VOD content? Obviously the more choice on that front, the better your options are for tv shows and films.

Sky tv with Movies and Sport in HD costs around £760 a year. That's the equivalent to 235 pay per view HD film rentals a year or 30 HD VOD copies of Game of thrones for instance. Can you think of even close to 30 TV shows on Sky One, Sky Living, Atlantic and FX you would be watching right now?

Youview etc is obviously free aside the tv license and initial setup costs. Unblock is £32 yearly, Netflix is £71.88 a year. Going all out silly you could even throw in Sky's own "Now Tv" service at £15 a month plus a 2 disc Lovefilm Subscription and still be circa £400 a year better off than you are currently!

I've got a PS3 (vudu and Netflix and catch up services) and a wdtv smp (Netflix). I'm not convinced by youview to be honest, think I'd rather go for the new humax freesat receiver with youview like functionality, by all accounts the youview pvr ain't up to much. I'm pretty certain I'm going to cancel Sky now , will just have to see how strong my willpower is if they offer me a good discount to stay....

[smackos]

Originally Posted by zAndy1

I've got a PS3 (vudu and Netflix and catch up services) and a wdtv smp (Netflix). I'm not convinced by youview to be honest, think I'd rather go for the new humax freesat receiver with youview like functionality, by all accounts the youview pvr ain't up to much. I'm pretty certain I'm going to cancel Sky now , will just have to see how strong my willpower is if they offer me a good discount to stay....

Ah would that be those Freesat boxes with "freetime" or whatever it is I'm starting to see pop up?

As for ringing to cancel Sky.. just do it mate. Honestly, you've already got Vudu and Netflix. I could help you get Amazon Instant up and running too on it if you felt like it. With all that plus Freesat + iplayer etc there cannot be much out there you cannot now watch. Worst comes to the worst, since Now Tv is launching on PS 3 in the next few months,you could always grab the Sports package from that if you really do start missing it later this year. (Now Tv have stated the Sky Sports pack is coming "This year".)

[zAndy1]

Still making my mind up, tempted to go for talktalk's youview offering but I'm happy with Sky broadband and talktalk throttle stuff unlike Sky, also the talktalk Youview box doesn't look as good as the Humax one. I understand Sky sports is coming to NowTv at some point which would be useful, no doubt in SD only though
Probably gonna ring Sky later and cancel the lot, just a pain that I'll have to pay them £10pm to use the HD box as a PVR but I suppose it's better than having to go out and pay £250 for a freesat PVR or Youview box...

[smackos]

Originally Posted by zAndy1

Still making my mind up, tempted to go for talktalk's youview offering but I'm happy with Sky broadband and talktalk throttle stuff unlike Sky, also the talktalk Youview box doesn't look as good as the Humax one. I understand Sky sports is coming to NowTv at some point which would be useful, no doubt in SD only though
Probably gonna ring Sky later and cancel the lot, just a pain that I'll have to pay them £10pm to use the HD box as a PVR but I suppose it's better than having to go out and pay £250 for a freesat PVR or Youview box...

One obvious tip. The guide on the box isn't all that practical when half the channels it lists aren't watchable. The most practical way round it is to setup the Sky Mobile App "Favourites" for just the channels you can use and refer to that in the main when browsing/recording. Also Sky's "Never Miss" reminder service on the internet works even for former subscribers so feel free to use that to earmark shows too.

You can always swap over to a dedicated youview/freesat box down the road when your sure that everything is working out for you without full Sky. 6 months from now you might have a change of heart and you can always just upgrade to a full package again as it stands.

Either way Andy.. Good luck.

[zAndy1]

Hmmm just got a good upgrade deal at phones4u instore at Currys/PC world and got £150 of gift vouchers for use instore so could get the youview box for £129 or the humax freesat for about the same (when it comes out). Tempted to just get the youview box tbh , how bad can it be....

[smackos]

Originally Posted by zAndy1

Hmmm just got a good upgrade deal at phones4u instore at Currys/PC world and got £150 of gift vouchers for use instore so could get the youview box for £129 or the humax freesat for about the same (when it comes out). Tempted to just get the youview box tbh , how bad can it be....

Good timing with the vouchers. If you've got the ability to get a box outright then why not mate. Paying Sky £120 a year, just for the privilege of doing what the other boxes do for free, doesn't make much sense in the long term. That money alone would get you the 1080p VOD's for say Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, True Blood, The Walking Dead and Falling Skies or pay for a full years Lovefilm/Blockbuster subscription with 3 discs at a time.