I am interested to know peoples opinion/experience of whether IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) is a real alternative/replacement if we lose the Free to View (BBC/ITV etc - NOT SKY)... when the ‘switch over’ to the new satellite happens.

(I think this will, but just when is the big Q at the moment. Also there is a ‘possibility’ we will still be able to receive the free to view with our existing set up, but most think not.)

I am personally only interested in a small media streaming box by my TV and to use it like the current set top box - i.e with an easy to use TV guide, handset and no fiddling with other stuff via my computer. I also want the quality this system should give rather than the sometimes inferior quality via a PC.

I have had on loan a MAG 250 box, with pre-loaded channels, and all worked fine. I am just wary about committing however, to a monthly fee if A) The provider is ‘here to day gone tomorrow’ - as we all know these exist! B) It is a very grey area about how they get these programmes to you - and again, will they disappear overnight if there is a crack down in the law.

Oh - and there is the question of the quality of the internet connection.
If everyone switches to this system… will we suddenly not have enough download speed to even send an email, let alone watch TV!

Susan?

Basically I have a problem with anyone pushing IPTV products here in Spain, especially along the Costas. Unless one has really good and consistent 24/7 internet speeds ie., better than 4-5Mbps it?s all a waste of time and money. Non subscription IPTV boxes are available in the UK for well under ?100 from Ama*on and C*rrys /PC World. There are a lot of so called Spanish (Brit) Sky Installers and other folks jumping on this latest ?get rich quick? scheme? Some advertise their wares on this forum. All I can say is you pays your money and takes your choice? Caveat Emptor!

I could be wrong but people with Satellite or Wimax Internet using IPTV to access TV programmes boxes will soon run foul of Fair Usage Policies and IPTV at 256Kbps is a non starter!

If you really must have access to Corry or Eastenders and the rest of the dross put out by most UK companies you can do so for free via filmon.com. They stream most if not all the UK programmes? and its a simple matter to hook up a modern non smart TV as a monitor?

fb

I agree FB!  I only ask as it seems every cat and his dog is pushing some kind of ‘guaranteed service’ or other…
I am cautious.

I think I will wait and see what comes out in the wash.

Oh - BTW - I have looked into the download allowance (and speeds too) and it seems Spain is 10 years minimum behind the UK!

So no ‘stable’ stream anytime soon :(

Depends where you live folks.
I live in a large town and get good speeds - just tested and got 10.98Mbps so no problems with watching online TV so I shall not be buying any sort of box as I am happy watching the sports etc (but not the soaps!) via my laptop.

I’m looking into this also, I have a lot of PC/Internet/WiFi support experience, not so much on the TV side. 3 Mbps is perfectly acceptable for any standard (TV) streaming, obviously the higher the quality demanded the greater bandwidth needed, I suspect the restriction is going to be from the source, especially if stream providers ‘over subscribe’!

BTW, prior to moving this year I was getting 16Mbps and now have 10Mbps, both from Jazztel in the Fuengirola area. Those speeds are perfectly acceptable in most establishments. I’m regularly uploading and downloading for web development, my son plays XBOX Live (online gaming), and at the moment we use FilmOn for the limited TV we want to watch, everything is fine, (occasional stutter with FilmOn).

I will be investigating some of the IPTV boxes on offer and will, hopefully, provide information as I get results.

Small rant: For those who don’t know! In our ‘modern’ computing world we constantly refer to megaBYTES, gigaBYTES, teraBYTES and too often the media, sales people and even so-called ‘experts’ refer to internet speed as “megaBYTES per second” when, in fact, it is commonly measured in megaBITS per second (Mbps). Bits and Bytes are measurements of data and there are 8 bits in a byte, so when your friendly ADSL sales person promises “Up to 10 megabytes per second”, they are actually promising 80Mbps. The cynic in me suspects that this is purely for marketing purposes, 10Mbps looks much better than 1.25MBps! Just saying! 😉

i dont have any experience on the boxes but do use a vpn (uktvaccess.com) and hook my laptop to the tv - not as easy but certainly reliable

I got my IPTV running in the beginning of January. So far so good. Works on 2Mb/sec. Though I had to buy this receiver but at the other hand - it is small, portable, can catch up movies 1 week back, download, record and take the box with me to Japan and continue watching channels there. Other option was to buy another Laptop as we have two but always in use. So if we were to make one to stand for TV we would be in trouble. But it all comes down to what are the needs of your family. Single guys, young couples - they definitely can manage by LapTop only. Having small kids, teens and elderly around IPTV was the best option for us.

Hi,
Can anybody recommend a reliable IPTV company or is it too early to tell yet. Prices for monthly subscription seem to vary a lot. Any advice would be welcome.

Hi,

I think susanspain nicely summarised the key points:

susanspain - 26 October 2013 02:58 PM

I am interested to know peoples opinion/experience of whether IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) is a real alternative/replacement . . .

I am personally only interested in a small media streaming box by my TV and to use it like the current set top box - i.e with an easy to use TV guide, handset and no fiddling with other stuff via my computer . . .

I am just wary about committing however, to a monthly fee if

A) The provider is ‘here to day gone tomorrow’
B) It is a very grey area about how they get these programmes to you

Oh - and there is the question of the quality of the internet connection.

The above defines the key ingredients of an IPTV package. The acronym IPTV does not describe a box. IPTV is really a standard of service and the box itself is just one component. An IPTV package is normally provided by the internet service provider. The ISP provides the set-top box and guarantees not just sufficient broadband speed but the quality of service, including the source of and quality of the TV streams. An example is BT’s YouView in the UK.

The packages labelled IPTV in Spain provide a set-top box but they have no control over the broadband quality and, as susanspain has highlighted, the TV streams are uncertain.

An “easy to use TV guide’ is for me desirable but not essential.

Maybe the MAG 250 box subscription packages do provide quite good video quality. That is not down to the box itself which is a low specification device.

Is the MAG 250 video all that good? Has anyone here compared the MAG 250 with the quality of iPlayer when streaming in high definition?

Kate3014 - 28 January 2014 07:39 PM

I got my IPTV running in the beginning of January. So far so good. Works on 2Mb/sec. Though I had to buy this receiver but at the other hand - it is small, portable, can catch up movies 1 week back, download, record and take the box with me to Japan and continue watching channels there.

Hi Kate, can you provide the details of that box, please?

From 1 month ago I watch all the UK channels in Spain with LinkTV IPTV device by a friend’s suggestion and I’m very satisfied. It also works on 2Mb/sec and provides more than 100 british channels (and other worldwide channels). The best advantage, I think, is that the quality is very good and there’s no broadcast cuts.

Hello to everyone in the Murcia and Almeria regions in Spain. I will try to explain why a Mag 250 STB seems to cost a lot of money when supplied with subscriptions.  Yes, from most auction sites they can be bought for as little as ?60. But that’s not where it ends. The price of the equipment that no one sees can cost the supplier the same as a new family car plus caravan!  Then there is the on- going costs of bandwidth and staff to monitor it 24/7 and this is just for freesat. I know this because I offer it but for free.  Just the price off the Set Top Box without subscription charges.  Also beware of people supplying illegal Sky subscription these soon will be cut off as sky are about to upgrade their smartcards, so this will mean the end of card sharing. Just to say why I can supply Free TV.  I am not paying for bandwidth as it is in the family.

Hello.

I have not been here for a while so i thought i would add my own knowlage to the questions.

“I am interested to know peoples opinion/experience of whether IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) is a real alternative/replacement if we lose the Free to View (BBC/ITV etc - NOT SKY)... when the ?switch over? to the new satellite happens.”

The switch over is fantastic - no need for a 2.4 dish any more, it can be received on a 1.4

I myself am an owner of a wireless internet company for the last 15 years in Albir Spain, and I supply FTA channels via the MAG250/MAG254/MAG260.
Yes the MAGS do have a very good picture but its not the MAG that really provides the quality, it depends on what you stream HD or SD, that is where you will see the difference in quality. The MAG254 can handel what ever you throw at it, even HD 3D movies.

Also it depends on the company that does the subscription for the IPTV, I would say 90% of companies transcode a 9MB video down to 1/2Mbps - this really reduces the quality of the stream, of course they do this to get more clients because the lower the quality of the stream the more bandwidth they have spare, meaning they can supply to more clients, also this is done so it can work on most internet connections.
The best option is to find a company that provides both internet and TV from there own network - I say this because if the TV comes from the same companies network then there is no need to transcode the video meaning everything would be perfect 24hours 360 days a year.
(skipping things like power cuts of course.

We provide internet WIFI 10Mbps unlimited downloads + the client buys the MAG254 and then gets IPTV with FTA channels (The IPTV is free of charge) Internet/Voip/TV ?24,79 per month
So yes the IPTV can be very cheap.
(Also I am not here to advertise as I am not providing my company name - Also we have a waiting list and not taking any more new clients on.

SIDE NOTE

Also please be careful when taking out a subscription for IPTV for legal reasons.
If you are receiving paid TV Packages this is not legal as each clients has to have there own TV card.
Also FTA channels are FREE TO AIR. It is illegal to charge for FTA channels.

This is one thing that really gets to me. There are many internet companies that are legal and do everything the correct way, but also there are many that do not. I still listen to people all the time saying that Spain is so far behind with the LAW, so you get many people thinking that they can just stick up antennas and try and provide a wireless internet service, or start an IPTV buisness when they have no clue how to do it or just ignor the paperwork.

For example our company have a licence here in Spain with…

Ayuntamiento - Town Hall
Comisi?n del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones - Commission of Telecommunications Market
Guardia Civil - Local Police
registro operadores de redes y servicios de comuniciones electronicas de tranporte de la senal de servicios de comunicacion audivisual.
registry operators of electronic networks and services tranport comuniciones the signal of audiovisual communication services.

Ask the questions then you know you are safe.
Regards to all, hope this helps for when you move to Spain.

I cant understand why the MAG 250 box is so popular out here in Spain? its a very out of date method for receiving IPTV now - you can buy a an IPTV box for around ?90 in the UK which will give you all the FTA channels and hundreds more with no ongoing subscriptions..The XBMC/Kodi platform is miles ahead of the Mag 250 software and is constantly being developed by its massive userbase.

Take a look here for instance http://www.xbmcplayer.co.uk
full FTA UK tv plus usa, canadian etc etc
plus all latest movies and dvd boxsets on demand - all completely free forever.

and to top it off the box can run the mag 250 software if needed (I cant see why anyone would want to though).
heres a video of the system working -showing you all the free live tv channels it gets..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyBoZtymz1s

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susanspain - 26 October 2013 02:58 PM

I am interested to know peoples opinion/experience of whether IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) is a real alternative/replacement if we lose the Free to View (BBC/ITV etc - NOT SKY)... when the ‘switch over’ to the new satellite happens.

(I think this will, but just when is the big Q at the moment. Also there is a ‘possibility’ we will still be able to receive the free to view with our existing set up, but most think not.)

I am personally only interested in a small media streaming box by my TV and to use it like the current set top box - i.e with an easy to use TV guide, handset and no fiddling with other stuff via my computer. I also want the quality this system should give rather than the sometimes inferior quality via a PC.

I have had on loan a MAG 250 box, with pre-loaded channels, and all worked fine. I am just wary about committing however, to a monthly fee if A) The provider is ‘here to day gone tomorrow’ - as we all know these exist! B) It is a very grey area about how they get these programmes to you - and again, will they disappear overnight if there is a crack down in the law.

Oh - and there is the question of the quality of the internet connection.
If everyone switches to this system… will we suddenly not have enough download speed to even send an email, let alone watch TV!

ofcorse iptv technology is the best ever alternative that we have with us, when compared with satellite tv and cable tv. video on demand, live television broadcast and so many features that other tv service provider won’t give. It’s definitely the other big revoltuion