Getting UK TV - All you need to know

[Ironworks]

OK, so following well over 2 years of playing around with all sorts of different things - I like fiddling with gadgets - tricking my Samsung TV into thinking it's in the UK is still the most effective and reliable method of getting cheap (â,¬2 monthly) live UK TV.

Got a Samsung Smart TV? Find out how to do the same, here: http://goo.gl/zY1cR9

For reference, prior to coming to this conclusion, here is the list of some of the different things I've played around with...

1. ZKTV on Mag250 box - summary, good but expensive to the point of being a piss-take. As reliable as it is, it still chucks you out mid-way through watching a TV show or a movie, with no option to resume, which is annoying. That and the fact that their pricing is exploitative, stops me recommending it as the optimal solution.

2. There are alternatives to ZKTV for a paid subscription service on either Mag250 box or Kodi, more info here: http://goo.gl/wUbUu8

Here's the Mag box alternatives I've tried myself, including one free option...

- Ruya on Mag250 or Kodi - a lot more for your money than ZKTV, full UK TV, movies, Sky Sports, other sports (you get to watch every Premiership game live, every week). Magbox sub or Kodi sub is only £17 monthly.

- NTV on Mag250 or Kodi - As above, with EPG, all channels and movies. Magbox sub is â,¬30 monthly, Kodi version of same (all the same channels) is only â,¬20 monthly.

- Mag250 box with FREE UK TV - Already got a Mag box? Want free UK TV? You can use the inner portal to add your own M3U streams, you'll have to find said streams online, Google is your friend. It works, I've had it working myself with almost all of the UK Freeview channels.

NOTE: Just like ZKTV, the above are completely illegal (ZKTV sales reps have claimed they are legal because they are based in Switzerland and have different laws - that's pure sales b0ll0x, they are pumping out stolen sports streams and pirated movies). So any of these services has the potential to get shut down at any time - I would advise NOT buying in to longer and seemingly cheaper contracts - if they get busted you won't be getting a refund.

3. Kodi FREE - If you know what Kodi is and are reasonably savvy with computers and software, Kodi offers all manner of free options. It can often be a lot of faffing about to get both FREE and reliable - best bet currently is probably the UKTurk add-on for UK TV, and the Exodus add-on for movies. Sports can be very hit and miss in terms of finding a reliable stream that is there on demand for every game every time.

4. Apple TV 4 - using Getflix SmartDNS so it thinks I'm in the UK, using Zattoo and TVPlayer Apps for live UK TV, also has channel apps such as iPlayer, ITV Hub etc,. Cost is â,¬2 monthly for Getflix SmartDNS. Netflix option for movies.
Further info on setting up an Apple TV box: http://goo.gl/kAGL8o

5. Amazon Fire TV box - can sideload Kodi, has all UK TV Apps such as iPlayer, ITV Hub etc, also has TVPlayer for all live UK freeview channels. Netflix again an option.
Further info on setting up a Fire TV box: http://goo.gl/V2u3AZ

6. Mini Lenovo Q190 PC under the TV - a Windows computer about the size of a paperback book, sits under the telly and allows you to do pretty much all of the above stuff, as well as using services like TVPlayer and TVCatchup via browser. A proper computer like this has always been my fallback failsafe solution.
Here's a cool little update on my older Lenovo Q190: http://goo.gl/8yr1s8

Conclusion - for an easy to use, reliable, 'one remote control' solution, conning my Samsung TV in to thinking it's in the UK, has proven to be the solution that my wife moans about the least. She still moans about everything else, she's a woman after-all, but the TV is now safe from her venomous outbursts.

For my Footy fix I supplement the above with a subscription to a Sports stream provider that I have been using for a while now, absolutely reliable, TV quality streams, of every single game, every single day, and only £50 for the whole season (sorry, it's invite only, and currently has a long waiting list - if that ever changes I'll post a link).


And finally, to round off the thread, courtesy of Eye On Demand here is a list of How-To Guides for getting UK TV on all manner of different boxes and gadgets that you might have brought with you from the UK...

How To: Amazon Fire TV - http://www.eyeondemand.com/category/how-to-amazon-fire-tv/
How To: Android - http://www.eyeondemand.com/category/how-to-android/
How To: Apple TV - http://www.eyeondemand.com/category/how-to-apple-tv/
How To: Beginners Guide - http://www.eyeondemand.com/category/how-to-beginners/
How To: Chromecast - http://www.eyeondemand.com/category/how-to-chromecast/
How To: Getflix - http://www.eyeondemand.com/category/how-to-getflix/
How To: iTunes - http://www.eyeondemand.com/category/how-to-itunes/
How To: Kindle Fire - http://www.eyeondemand.com/category/how-to-kindle-fire/
How To: Netflix - http://www.eyeondemand.com/category/how-to-netflix/
How To: Nexus Player - http://www.eyeondemand.com/category/how-to-nexus-player/
How To: Now TV box - http://www.eyeondemand.com/category/how-to-now-tv-box/
How To: Overplay - http://www.eyeondemand.com/category/how-to-overplay/
How To: Playstation 4 - http://www.eyeondemand.com/category/how-to-playstation-4/
How To: Roku box - http://www.eyeondemand.com/category/how-to-roku/
How To: Samsung Smart TV - http://www.eyeondemand.com/category/how-to-samsung-smart-tv/
How To: SmartDNS - http://www.eyeondemand.com/category/how-to-smartdns/
How To: UK Television - http://www.eyeondemand.com/category/how-to-uk-television/
How To: Xbox One - http://www.eyeondemand.com/category/how-to-xbox-one/

I'd strongly recommend adding the Eye on Demand website to your favourites, as you can see it has lots of valuable info on TV for Expats.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Paul ,the local agent for ZKTV has asked me to correct a few errors in your post:
1.  From July 14th 2016 New Feature - Catchup & VoD Resume: we've now introduced a resume feature for Catchup and VoD. If you're watching either of these and for some reason it drops out, pause it for too long or stop it to watch it later you will now see a popup asking you if you would like to resume or start again - like Netflix.
2. The sports services uses subscription paid for in the country of origin, they are not stolen.
3. ZKTV  do not carry any SKY or BT channels unlike the other companies you have quoted.
3. The BBC went to court in Switzerland to stop their broadcasts being used and they lost the case
http://www.nzz.ch/keine-chance-fuer-bbc-1.561610
that is why Swisscom, part owned by the Swiss state shows BBC/ITV channels
https://www.swisscom.ch/en/residential/swisscom-tv.html#t=3
4. We charge monthly for TV and don't require any personal or credit card details.
5. RUYA operates out of  Turkish occupied north Cyprus - they use trust pay part of union pay China for
credit card transactions.

[keithtx]

Wow super helpful post Ironworks - thanks! I have followed your posts on tv abroad and found them really helpful. I am back in the uk at the moment and added filmon app to my Samsung. For some reason live tv on filmon does  not work. Catchup tv (with mainly rubbish programs) works, but not live tv. Don't suppose you have any idea why not?

Cheers...Keith

[Ironworks]

Filmon does  not work. Catchup tv (with mainly rubbish programs) works, but not live tv. Don't suppose you have any idea why not?

Hi Keith

I haven't used Filmon in a very long time, so my info might be squiffy.

I do recall that the problem with the Filmon Samsung App was caused by the fact that the App starts streaming in HD, then a few seconds later switches to the free SD - it was the switching that seemed to be at the root of problem.

I guess you could try registering a Filmon account on your computer, setting your preferences to SD only, and then logging in on the telly in the hope that it then picks up your saved preferences for SD only.

Not tried that solution myself, but just thinking laterally it would be my first stab at a fix.

[Ironworks]

Paul ,the local agent for ZKTV has asked me to correct a few errors in your post:
1.  From July 14th 2016 New Feature - Catchup & VoD Resume: we've now introduced a resume feature for Catchup and VoD. If you're watching either of these and for some reason it drops out, pause it for too long or stop it to watch it later you will now see a popup asking you if you would like to resume or start again - like Netflix.

Excellent news, always good to hear that a service is being improved.

2. The sports services uses subscription paid for in the country of origin, they are not stolen.

There isn't a snowballs chance in hell that Paul somehow managed to secure a legitimate license that allows him to re-broadcast Premier league football all around the world. The very idea is completely ludicrous.

I'll unspin Pauls flim-flam in to truth for you as follows... "Paul subscribes to a legit sports TV service in order to get the best possible stream, then he nicks that stream and flogs it to you."

As an aside, it's when a company tells porkies, stretches the truth or otherwise insinuates legitimacy for their nefarious activities, that I start to think they probably shouldn't be trusted.

3. ZKTV  do not carry any SKY or BT channels unlike the other companies you have quoted.

So ZKTV stolen streams aren't as good as some other stolen streams? A bit of truth and transparency at last. Thanks and duly noted.

3. The BBC went to court in Switzerland to stop their broadcasts being used and they lost the case http://www.nzz.ch/keine-chance-fuer-bbc-1.561610 that is why Swisscom, part owned by the Swiss state shows BBC/ITV channels.

That's a case between Swisscom ($USD value 26 Billion) and the BBC (estimated value of circa $USD 15 Billion if it was ever sold off).

It's a case that has absolutely bugger all to do with ZKTV (estimated value 1 fake Rolex, 3 squares of Lindt chocolate and â,¬2 in loose change).

This is exactly the sort of half-arsed spinning of the truth that I mentioned above.

I'll unspin it for you again... "Here's some legit official news, from legit official people, that we post to try and look officially legit ourselves. We're not legit though, we nick stuff and flog it."

Nothing wrong with nicking stuff and flogging it - in fact my Uncle, God rest his soul, was brilliant at it - but please ZKTV, just stop with the bull5hit.

4. We charge monthly for TV and don't require any personal or credit card details.

Excellent, that's more genuinely good news for your subscribers.

5. RUYA operates out of  Turkish occupied north Cyprus - they use trust pay part of union pay China for credit card transactions.

I fail to see the logic of this borderline racist post. Are you suggesting that your stream thieves are a better and more trustworthy calibre of stream thief purely because they are Swiss and not some fiendish northern Cypriots who bank in China? Hopefully they dress like the baddies in Aladdin so I can recognise them.

Be careful someone doesn't counter your clumsy racism with some of their own hackneyed racism suggesting that your Swiss mob might be funded by stolen Nazi gold.

By the way, I paid for my RUYA stream by Paypal, with not a Turkish Cypriot Chinaman in sight.

[Stone Free]

Paul ,the local agent for ZKTV has asked me to correct a few errors in your post:

Blimey, this is a bit rich coming from ZKTV who excel in posting lies and half truths on various forums.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

from Paul, ZKTV agent for the Canaries:

It seems I will have to expand the answer as you have missed the main points in my last answer.

2. The sports services uses subscription paid for in the country of origin. They are not stolen.
we obtain the service from OFFICAL agents in the country of broadcast via what is known as 'the exchange',
they pay the fee for broadcast in their country . As geo-blocking is no longer legal in the EEA then this is allowed
one of ZKTV Russian shareholders puts their offering in the pot, an example below http://zktv.ottv.info/iptv/ZV5CGAGRWTN9BE/124/index.m3u8

3. ZKTV  do not carry any SKY or BT channels unlike the other companies you have quoted.
The point being made here if ZKTV were ´crooks´ and like the people you pay money to, would they not also carry stolen SKY channels?

4.The landmark case in CH was that any signal that can be picked up via SATELLITE and is not scrambled can be used by ANY kabel company in CH ...the reason I showed the programming from SWISSCOM (the SWISS BT) is that a state owned company also has BBC/ITV ,as like ZKTV it follows the law of the country. Quote from the newspaper, 'A television company can only prevent the spread of its broadcasts via cable networks, if the programs are encrypted. The results from a new ruling by the Federal Court in the dispute over the programs BBC 1, BBC 4 and BBC CBeebies. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had before Zurich Superior Court requires that the cable network  will prohibit the dissemination mentioned British programs under penalty. The cantonal court dismissed the action, however, on 23 February 2007 from, and the Supreme Court has now confirmed this decision'.

5.RUYA operates out of  Turkish occupied north Cyprus - they use trust pay part of union pay China for Credit card transactions . The point being made here is not racist but the fact that you are paying a buiness operating out of an illegal area and that no action can be taken against them in case of fraud etc https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_541 . If you use PAYPAL they pass the following information on to the merchant which in RUYA case is in CHINA: your name/your email /your full address . The only way to stay safe is to use a pre-paid debit card, linked to a ´box´ address not your own one. You also quote NTV as a company to use ...maybe reading how they are collecting information that is not required for watching TV
http://www.cyprusliving.org/phpbb/nfphpbb/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=63423&sid=ee3879317a1e505ab4f54ef24a1b4c36

The fact that this forum has a large number of people who are happy with having a service with local back up and can sort out any problems with their telefonica internet thrown in, the latest post being added this week, against yourself who even say the service is ´good´ and others who have never had our service, with costs start from 50p a day for 80 UK TV channels, I'm sure most people have much better things to do than worry about saving such a small sum.

[Ironworks]

What a load of old waffle.

I suppose the poor-quality pirated movies are legit too are they? 

1. ZKTV is 100% an illegal service, so it's only as good as the amount of time it lasts before getting shut down. That could be years, it could be days - but it's a clear case of 'buyer beware'.
2. It's about twice the price of comparable illegal services.
3. For balance, ZKTV is actually pretty good as far as 'illegal' services go - but again, see point 1.

Anyone telling you different to the above is trying to facilitate a sale.

[keithtx]

I haven't used Filmon in a very long time, so my info might be squiffy

Hi ironworks. Do you watch regular tv on something other than filmon? If so my try that as still cant get it working on my Samsung, wont even login

[Ole Man River]

Given "ALL of the Above" - on a different subject;
Where are all the new/up to date TV series? Nothing NEW for weeks & weeks & weeks "LOW QUALITY EARLY COPY or COMING SOON. Who want's that!?
WE DON'T ALL WANT SPORT, SPORT, SPORT all day every day!! We too pay our subscription but not for just SPORT.

[Johnrgby2]

Given "ALL of the Above" - on a different subject;
Where are all the new/up to date TV series? Nothing NEW for weeks & weeks & weeks "LOW QUALITY EARLY COPY or COMING SOON. Who want's that!?
WE DON'T ALL WANT SPORT, SPORT, SPORT all day every day!! We too pay our subscription but not for just SPORT.

If you google some of the existing shows that are not currently being shown you will get updates on when or if they are due to return, a couple of My Wife,s favorites, Criminal Minds and NCIS are due back later this year or early next, but where you find info on new ones defeats me

[Ole Man River]

Thanks Johnrgby2. Have Googled some,with varying info.  We were given 2 new TV series on ZKTV a few weeks ago,  - episodes 1 & 1. So where were the further episodes? Very annoying!
Tamara, any info. on this?

[FRY]

You forgot to mention that if you DONT have a decent INTERNET CONNECTION forget it. To stream TV in KODI you will need MINIMUM 6 mb download. Anything less will only produce BUFFERING.

See my new thread about JRM in El Matorral.

[Johnrgby2]

Thanks Johnrgby2. Have Googled some,with varying info.  We were given 2 new TV series on ZKTV a few weeks ago,  - episodes 1 & 1. So where were the further episodes? Very annoying!
Tamara, any info. on this?

What were they?

[DaveW]

I posed your question to Paul at ZTV, he gives the following reply



The VOD we use for TV series is  based on FREE OVER THE AIR within 24 hours of broadcast from NEW YORK ,so it

is what people pick up on their TV aerials there . The networks in the states normally have very few and this

year due  to the olympics, NO tv series during the months june-august . We still have a few new films most of which have

been released outside the USA .THE NEW SEASON IN AMERICA STARTS 20th SEPTEMBER


20thTuesday

Gotham

The Big Bang Theory

Lucifer

21stWednesday

NCIS

NCIS: New Orleans

Agents of SHIELD

22ndThursday

Law & Order: SVU

23rdFriday

Greys Anatomy

The Blacklist

Hawaii Five-0

Z Nation

Blue Bloods

25thSunday

Transparent

26thMonday

The Simpsons

Quantico

29thThursday

Criminal Minds




Regardng the LOW QUALITY films . these are the best you can get at the time ,sometime BEFORE they arrive in the pictures in the UK

they are replaced by CINEMA QUALITY later . so people can watch a film early or wait till later . Most are what is called R5...for region inc Russia,China etc.. 

In an effort to compete with copyright infringement in these areas, the movie industry chose to create a new format for DVD releases that could be produced more quickly and less expensively than traditional DVD releases.R5 releases differ from normal releases in that they often lack both the image post-processing and special features that are common on DVD releases. 

[Ironworks]

You forgot to mention that if you DONT have a decent INTERNET CONNECTION forget it. To stream TV in KODI you will need MINIMUM 6 mb download. Anything less will only produce BUFFERING.

See my new thread about JRM in El Matorral.

Very good point. I'm in Corralejo with a decent Movistar connection that flits around between 6Mb and 8Mb.

Even then, I had to do a lot of buggering about with Kodi, setting up customised cache etc to reduce buffering.

This is another reason why I prefer to use the proper BBC / ITV / All 4 / My5 Apps on my Samsung TV - these production quality Apps seem to be far better at streaming to a lower speed internet connection than any of the hooky options.

And again, credit where it is due, ZKTV also performs pretty well on a poor connection.

[Ironworks]

Hi ironworks. Do you watch regular tv on something other than filmon? If so my try that as still cant get it working on my Samsung, wont even login

Keith, I use BBC / ITV / All 4 and C5 apps on my Samsung, but not all have live TV.

For live TV, you have numerous 'almost free' options - you need SmartDNS, I use Getflix at £2 monthly which includes free VPN.

However... these are not on your Samsung telly (yet, TVPlayer is planned for release on Samsung soon), so you'll need to use Phone, tablet, computer, Amazon Fire, Apple TV etc,.

Apps from TVPlayer and Zattoo have live UK streams and are pretty reliable even on a poor connection.

Via the web also for http://tvplayer.com and http://www.tvcatchup.com

[FRY]

You can get all catch-ups with KODI in Exodus / TV Shows / Networks / then select ITV or BBC, for Emmerdale, Corrie or Eastenders, 12 hours after airing in the UK. No VPN required.

Also there's all Netflix Series, Channels 4 & 5 and dozens more.

In Google Apps / Playstore, you can download ITV Hub for catchups, but VPN required.

[Ole Man River]

Johnrgby2, The Night Of   &  Guilt. Not top notch but for the want of something to watch, looked at them then Nada!

DaveW, thanks for the details(& the reasons). Maybe 4 or 5 of those.

Have an  MX box. Not easy for me to manage. Have a Samsung Smart TV too. Not sure about messing with the TV though. Bit on the cautious side & I'm not that savvy.

Thanks All    

[Ole Man River]

Update.
Last night, 2 new episodes of 1 series & 1 new of the other !!! Well, well. Strange, who spoke to whom I wonder???

Ray Donovan, 2 new episodes! Watched 1 at about 10pm. Kept breaking & stopped, back to "would you like to resume". Did this 6 times in 6 minutes, then gave up.
Watched it at 2pm today - no problem.

What was it that someone said about Internet overload? Think they are probably correct.
So does this mean there is not very much chance of getting anything running smoothly on ZKTV in the evening? 

[moonraker]

Hi Ironworks, I have PM'd you.....
Cheers......

[Ironworks]

Hi all

Firstly apologies for the eternity since i last posted.

Here's a few answers/updates...

1. I don't frequent these forums, it has been months since I last logged on, so sorry if questions go unanswered - i'm not being rude or evasive, i'm just being elsewhere enjoying island life.

2. I don't do this as a business, i simply share the useful info i find in here so others might benefit.

3. Sorry, but I DO NOT offer a service where i come to your villa and set up your TV in exchange for cash, wine or sexual favours.

4. Just as an FYI, my current TV system of choice remains unlocked Samsung telly, VPN, and more recently an Amazon Firestick running sideloaded KODI 17 with the Exodus (Movies n Box Set TV) and Phoenix (Live UK TV) plugins.

Good luck with your telly adventures - as with all things, Google is your friend, as pretty much all human knowledge can be found online.

[woe10]

I've been using Android TV Box for 3 years with either KODI and SPMC, which is more or less the same as Kodi but with better Android Specific Coding, which KODI doesn't have.
Now I have 15 mb download internet, I have no problems getting ANY British program, be it TV or Radio, plus with "Phoenix" addon, tons of films including latest ones. The wife watched "La La Land" last week, but recommends that you don't bother, it's all hyped up.
Also with Phoenix you can download films onto a pendrive. Exodus you can't.
On the subject of Filmon, I use "NotFilmon" for ITV programs. Essentially the same but with less bloated softwear and less Geo Blocking on some channels. You can get "Notfilmon" in the XunityTalk Repository

Every Football game played weekday or weekend from SKY, BT Sports, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, PPV Boxing, Moto GP, F1. All in HD with "Sportsmania", an inexpensive subscription addon. 

Last thing, Most developers don't recommend KODI 17 as it's not yet compatible with many builds and addons, and takes up a lot of CPU power. Stick with 16 for the time being. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".