The Freeview retune fiasco continues to cause frustration among TV lovers. But you don’t have to have a set top box to enjoy the best digital TV. Here’s our pick of the best streaming services and gadgets to help you get the most out of your gogglebox habit.
1. TellyBox
Fancy sneaking in half of hour of Doctors of a lunch time? Then TellyBox is ideal. A Mac app that lets you watch live BBC TV and access iPlayer from your desktop, without needing to fire up your browser, it’s perfect if the Freeview retune has scuppered your access to Auntie.
2. Zattoo
If you’re rocking a PC, then you can’t get TellyBox. But you can get Zattoo (don’t worry Apple fans, it works for you too). Similar to TellyBox, it streams a whacking 32 channels, including all major terrestrial networks and even Al Jazeera Arabic. There’s no on demand content, but it remains a killer Freeview alternative.
3. TVCatchUp.com
Zattoo or TellyBox not got what you want? Then TVCatchUp.com will. Browser-based, it’ll let you watch everything from Dave Ja Vu to Sky Sports News on your laptop. And if you’re an iPhone punter, then it’ll work for you too. Picture quality is stunning, notably better than its rivals.
Freeview retune: one month on, problems persist
4. BBC iPlayer
The daddy of them all. You can either stream content over the web or download shows and watch them at your leisure (well, within 30 days) on your PC, Mac or PS3. You can even get involved with Philips’ MP3 players and the Sony Ericsson W995. And for devices that connect to the TV, like the Nintendo Wii, Auntie’s unleashed iPlayer Bigscreen, with an easy-to-use interface.
5. ITV Player
While ITV Player might not have the same exposure as its Licence fee-loving rival, it’s still an ace service that lets you catch up for 30 days on everything from X Factor to Murderland. The only downer? You’ll need to sit through ads. Not too much of an issue when your peering through your fingers at John and Edward butchering Queen.
6. 4OD
4OD’s roll call is impressive and the fact you can nab it via your TV with the likes of Tiscali, as well as using it on your PC, makes it a winner. Online you won’t find any streams of Channel 4 or E4, but TVCatchUp can serve you there. However, with Father Ted easily up for grabs alongside recent shows, it’s still ace.
7. Sky Player
If you already subscribe to Sky, you can watch shows in your bundle for free online. If not, you can sign up and pay for on demand content, ideal if you’re a Sports or Movies buff. And with Sky Player on Xbox out, it’s a great way to watch the best Sky TV without having the dish or box pushing costs up.
8. EyeTV iPhone app
If you’ve not upgraded your EyeTV iPhone app, you can stream Freeview and record shows over 3G. Just tap on the text warning it won’t work without Wi–Fi and you’re away. If you’re a newbie, you can only stream over Wi–Fi. The app costs £2.99 and you’ll need to register, but it’s worth it for full-on mobile TV.
9. PS3 Play TV
The Play TV add-on is vastly underrated. The £70 box will give you access to Freeview and let you stream shows over Wi–Fi to either your PSP or Sony Ericsson Aino via the Remote Play feature. If you’ve got a PS3, this is the way to go.
10. Slingbox
Ok, you’ll need to front up £190 for a SlingBox Pro, but that includes a Freeview tuner here in Blighty, not to mention the ability to hook up to four other devices. It’ll even stream to PCs, Macs and Slingcatchers, letting you watch TV anywhere where you’ve parked your backside.
I have to ask Joe, what is your beef with the PS3? You go to pains to intentionally post negative news, and it seems intentionally miss out good things about it.
I note you mention pretty much every device on the planet that can use iPlayer, except of course the PS3, which has, aside from the PC, the biggest iPlayer marketshare. You even mention the Wii, where you have to pay to get iPlayer (the browser costs money).
What’s the agenda?
I have no beef at all with the PS3. I give a mention to PlayTV here and call it “vastly underrated”. Admittedly, I was meant to put PS3 under iPlayer, this is being fixed.
I have no agenda, in fact I’m just about to buy a PS3 and PlayTV to replace my Tiscali box. I don’t go to pains to post intentionally negative news. We love the PS3 here at Electricpig. See our 5 star review of the PS3 Slim, our news on the new video service and features like this which draw attention to PlayTV.