Best way to get Netflix to my TV?

[Claremac]

I'm currently trialling Netflix and we are really enjoying the content. Easy to set up and use on Android phone, laptop, iPad2, iPhone and iPod but our Sony TV is too old (by a year!) to have inbuilt Netflix. We are currently connecting laptop to TV via an HDMI cable but this is obviously not a permanent solution.

We also have a knackered DVD player which needs replacement so we're thinking to kill 2 birds with one stone and get a DVD player with built-in Netflix. Is it possible to get a DVD recorder (or PVR?) with Netflix built-in as that would kill 3 birds as our Sky receiver has a tiny hard drive and we don't want to shell out for the bigger one. I know we couldn't record Sky programs to anything other than the Sky box but that's OK.

Alternatively, we could get a cheap DVD player as it doesn't get used much and get an Apple TV for Netflix but not sure if that would be better. We don't have Apple laptops but do have iPads and iPods. The problem is that there seem to be a few alternatives but I don't really understand enough about it to see what would be best. I would be grateful for any help.

I'm not sure if this is the best sub-forum for this question so please suggest whether I would get a better answer in another one. Thanks.

 

[crockett]

A Google Chromecast might be worth a look as you get a great Netflix experience via your phone/tablet, see HERE

 

[Claremac]

Thanks for the reply and for the video as I didn't know how the Chromecast worked. It does does look easy to use but I would prefer something that runs directly in to the TV and doesn't rely on a phone or iPad as they won't always be around when someone wants to use them. Does that only leave the Apple TV or a DVD player?

 

[ovbg]

First of all, forget about this DVD thing. DVD Players are no longer made with new and exciting features, that has moved to Blu-Ray.

Also, you probably won't find a Blu-Ray Player with build in PVR as they don't usually have tuners. Still, they have pretty much all the other things you may need.

My best recommendation is the Samsung F-6500 model or above. It is important to start at that model number and head upwards as the lower numbers have less apps.

Samsung is the only Blu-Ray player that currently has all the UK FTA catch-up apps. So you will get Netflix, and Amazon Prime UK, but you will also get the BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport, ITV Player, 4oD and Demand 5 apps. This is a lot of good catch-up stuff.

I think the F-6500 may be going for around £100 these days, and there is also an H-series coming out now, but I don't know what apps the model numbers will have there.

A Roku box is another option, and will also get you Netflix starting around at half price. The catch is, is that you won't get Amazon Prime if you also want to go for that, and although it has the BBC iPlayer, 4oD and I think Demand 5, there is no ITV Player. Then again, the cheapest boxes can be around £50, but I recommend the flagship model if you can afford it - oh, and no physical discs.

Chromecast as mentioned above is a good idea, but it doesn't have a lot of options yet, and as you say, if someone walks away with the mobile device that started the stream, it can be a bit messing switching it all off.

The Apple TV is great, especially as you have an iPad. Then you get AirPlay, which can be absolutely amazing (when the broadcasters do it right). BBC does, but Channel 5 doesn't. On the box itself, it only has Netflix in the UK store which is useful, so even the iPlayer will need to be airplayed.

Hope all this helps.

 

[NX3]

Chromecast works very well with Netflix and only £30. Netflix, iPlayer, BT Sport for now but its new out and more features will come. You can broadcast any tab from your Chrome browser from PC/Mac/Linux device.

"if someone walks away with the mobile device that started the stream, it can be a bit messing switching it all off." Not really, just turn tv off and it powers off Chromecast, change channel from HDMI in and your back in control.

However as you say the control devices aren't always around. For £80-99 you can get Apple TV which is a lot of money and doesn't do much more really.

Cheap bluray (not PVR) with Netflix feels like an easy option as mentioned above.

 

[grahamlthompson]

How about the WD TV Live Media Player.

WD TV Live

 

[LJx]

PS3, WDTV

 

[ovbg]

"if someone walks away with the mobile device that started the stream, it can be a bit messing switching it all off." Not really, just turn tv off and it powers off Chromecast, change channel from HDMI in and your back in control.

Actually, not on all TVs. I just tested this with my F-series Samsung TV, which is very new. This TV can be powered on by Chromecast.

However, I had the BBC iPlayer playing a live stream all morning, and chromecasted to the TV. I switched off the TV, and when I switched it back on an hour later, the stream was still playing from Chromecast. So, it didn't stop the stream at all. Now keep this is mind for people who have data limits. Imagine if they left that TV off for a day or so (easy if it is not the main TV in the house) and all that data which it could eat up.

The second point, even if someone owns a TV that works in the way you explain, i.e. when the TV is switched off, the stream stops and resets the Chromecast, there is still the issue of controlling the stream.

Let's say someone starts a film or TV show from the BBC iPlayer or Netflix via their smart phone, and then leave while the rest of the family is watching the show. How do you pause the TV show? As the controlling device has left the house, there is no way to pause, fast forward or rewind. The only way I can think of on my TV is to pull the power on the Chromecast, restart the device, start the BBC iPlayer or Netflix on another mobile device, and in the case of the BBC iPlayer, find the location of where the film was stopped and continue playing... hardly easy.

There may be a remote available for Android devices (which I have not seen), so if you know about this, let me know. But I don't think there is one for iOS. Such a pity as this would solve the whole problem. Anyone with any mobile device in the home could take over basic control.