Do you still watch TV?

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  • 27th October 2024 at 10:20 am #604456

    I cannot remember the last time I watched TV. Except for some of the Olympic games and some rugby.

    We used to watch the news but it is no longer the news, just a collection of stories the channels and the government wish to push, often interspersed with adverts pushing more agenda rather than products.

    When we had Sky there was much more choice, particularly with sport and documentaries but now I am wondering why a whole corner of the living room is assigned to a more or less redundant screen. We spend far more time looking at the log burner.

    What about you, do you still watch.

     

    27th October 2024 at 10:51 am #604463

    Just fit a VPN and a firestick – you won’t know where to start.

    27th October 2024 at 12:37 pm #604470

    We watch all the police programmes which are usually on channel 5 and Judge Judy of course.

     

    27th October 2024 at 2:00 pm #604471

    Never heard of a Firestick, I looked it up. I can already get Amazon tv but have only watched Clarksons Farm on it.

    How does a vpn get into your tv?

    27th October 2024 at 2:07 pm #604473

    I am gross and perverted
    I’m obsessed ‘n deranged
    I have existed for years
    But very little has changed
    I’m the tool of the government
    And industry too
    For I am destined to rule
    And regulate you

    I may be vile and pernicious
    But you can’t look away
    I make you think I’m delicious
    With the stuff that I say
    I’m the best you can get
    Have you guessed me, yet?
    I’m the slime oozin’ out
    From your TV set

    Frank Zappa and the Mother’s of Invention – 1975.

    27th October 2024 at 2:30 pm #604474

    OK Bonjour – Here we go!

    I’m sure that it must be true to say that the quality and availability of free to air television has decreased so much over the last few years, that most of it isn’t worth watching – actually you said so yourself. I suppose that in fairness and the fact that we don’t pay a licence fee you could say that anything is better than nothing. But is it –  when other sources are available.

    I think that it’s always been a bit of a grouse for those of us over here that we weren’t able to access the BBCiplayer, ITVx and all the rest even if we’d been prepared to pay for it. Basically, that’s because being Internet based platforms, they can pick up, through our Internet providers, that we don’t live in the UK and thus make these streaming platforms unavailable to us.

    A VPN or Virtual Private Network sets up, through a secondary router, a facility to conceal your principal provider (Orange or whoever)  and thus enable you to source those programmes that would normally be unavailable to you. In this way you are able to have access to a far greater choice of viewing. The Amazon firestick fits into the side of the television and this enables it, through WiFi to transfer the information to the television itself. It works well but it does really require good WiFi and, I would have thought, an incoming fibre network.

    Phew!

     

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    27th October 2024 at 2:38 pm #604476

    Thanks JJ, so I would need to link the firestick which is in the tv port to my computer wifi which goes through my vpn. Is that right please?

    We do now have Orange fibre wifi and I have Nord vpn on my computer.

    Thank you.

    27th October 2024 at 2:55 pm #604477

    You seem to have everything you need Bonjour – you’ve just got to get it up and running. I’m not the expert – Mrs J sorted ours out.

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    29th October 2024 at 4:41 pm #604573

    JJ – Where did you order your firestick from? Straight from Amazon UK or France?

    29th October 2024 at 7:11 pm #604585

    There’s more than enough for me on the tv we have…

    freeview downstairs …orange French tv upstairs…

    nothing puts me to sleep quicker than the tv …funnily French tv often has a continuous run on series..at least 3 episodes….i often start watching….obviously miss the end and find myself halfway through the next.

     

    29th October 2024 at 8:41 pm #604586

    Both the Firestick and the secondary router that you’ll require to carry the VPN came, in our case from Amazon.fr.

    We chose Nord VPN – we’ve been using it for a year – this will enable you to watch all the stuff that you shouldn’t like BBCiplayer. There are quite a few on the market, but Nord is highly recommended particularly for France. There was a special offer on it via their website this time last year – might be worth checking.

    The secondary router that you’ll require to carry the VPN from your normal livebox to the computer/tablet/mobile via WiFi also came from Amazon.fr. In our case we bought an Asus RT-AX57. It seems to work well with Nord and comes with a cable to connect the two liveboxes together. It might be worth mentioning that if you don’t have a Smart TV, the Firestick will convert your current one to HD – but you do need strong Wi-Fi so fibre is a huge bonus if you can get it.

    Good luck.

     

     

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    30th October 2024 at 7:52 am #604587

    Very interesting and helpful JJ, I have been procrastinating as regards this for ages. Might even make the jump now.

    30th October 2024 at 8:25 am #604591

    https://unitedinfrance.com/vpn-what-is-it-do-i-need-it/

    We use Nord VPN, other than hiding where you are it keeps you much safer online.

    Here is a link to one of our articles about it, where you will find a link to a no risk free trial, as well as a very good introductory offer.

    https://unitedinfrance.com/vpn-what-is-it-do-i-need-it/

    Here is the link to the free trial

    https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=105445&url_id=902

    30th October 2024 at 10:47 am #604595

    74% Is a very good discount.

    31st October 2024 at 8:42 am #604601

    I was and still am very grateful we have Sky.  David spent a wonderful last summer watching the cricket which lasted well into September.  His only regret was that Warwickshire did not make finals day in the 20 20 competition he had hoped that this would be the year

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    3rd November 2024 at 2:29 pm #604676

    I had Nord for a while but had problems with it. Not found a VPN that allows me to access any of the “other” channels.

    A lot of people say they only watch Netflix these days. When I mention such absolute gems as “The Detectorists” “Only Connect”, “Taskmaster” and “Mortimer and Whitehouse Gone Fishing”, they glaze over….(never heard of it mate).

    There IS some good stuff on the streaming channels, we have Netflix, Prime and Disney, but we often spend 30 minutes or so desperately trying to find for example, a good comedy for a Saturday night.

    Only watch ITV news as the BBC is controlled.

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