Getting English TV in Thailand

[kjun12]

Have any of you heard of or used Super Ip Tv? I contacted them and the charge is high at 12,500 baht for the box and one years service. At one time I had Dreambox but they were apparently stealing the signal from True and True changed their codes and Dreambox folded. I'm now afraid that this Ip Tv is the same type of operation and wonder if any of you know anything about them.

[Yraen]

Kjun12, good evening.

These are two entirely different ways of getting TV.
Dreambox was a pirated version of True's satellite TV, taken down from a satellite in 'stationery' orbit.
IP TV is a way of getting your TV shows directly through the Internet and it largely depends on the speed of your connection to your ISP. As I understand it, Thailand is presently around ADSL1 or 1+. That may not be fast enough for IPTV. Check with a 'real' technician.

It you do a Google search, you should find lots of places where you can get TV programmes, often FOC. BUT ... you do need a "smart" TV set or an IP 'set top box', either of which can then be connected by an 'ethernet' cable directly to your 'modem'/gateway/hub.

A Google search will find a diagram on how to do it.

Back to your 'longevity' question. IPTV is the way of the future. Free-to-air will gradually disappear and will be replaced by TV via Internet. I suspect that Thailand will be another decade or so before it decides to go IP rather than FTA so I wouldn't be concerned about the service "disappearing" - at least not if they are a reputable company.

Cheers, Yraen.

[paperboy]

hi

i live in spain, and i use www.filmon.com (http://www.filmon.com)
you can get nearly every channel and then just conect your notbook to your TV
great pic and FREE
im sure it will work in thailand
also there was another 1 i used before
myinternatiolTV or something
just google myinternationalTV it will come up .

[cameroncat]

I hate to say it, but the easiest way to get English or US TV in Thailand is Bit Torrent. That's how I keep up with my US shows while vacationing in Thailand. The BF enjoys watching them too.

....the easiest way to get English or US TV in Thailand is ....

Even though I'm devastated to have missed the English Unilateral Declaration of Independence, I should like to wish them well with their new "English" TV service.

:party

[cameroncat]

Sorry, Too Much Egg Nog. I meant to type UK or US TV shows...

[Jellybean]

Thank you Paperboy for posting the link to http://www.filmon.com

The only two British TV channels I recognised and can use are Channel 5 and Sky News. I was hoping that either BBC 1 or Channel 4 might be listed but they aren't. The picture size is very small, which I can cope with to watch short news bulletins. But the sound volume was also very low. Does anyone know if it can be boosted by buying a small set of speakers?

Yraen mentioned being able to connect the computer to the TV which sounds very high-tec and probably beyond my capabilities. To accomplish this I would need to find a Thai technician who understands English and understands what I require.

The only British news television channel available in Thailand is BBC World and I find it absolutely hopeless. And, incredibly, sometimes there isnтАЩt even any British news. I mentioned this to the BBC Trust when I was back in London and asked why they donтАЩt just broadcast BBC News 24 тАУ the channel available in the United Kingdom. I said they could save on the cost of producing BBC World. To my surprise I was told that it isnтАЩt actually run by the BBC and it doesnтАЩt cost the British taxpayer or licence payer anything. I still don't understand why they donтАЩt broadcast BBC News 24 as it appears to me that Australia, France, Germany and the USA broadcast home news programmes in Thailand.

I tend therefore to rely on the radio on my computer for news updates. In all my previous visits IтАЩve been able to listen to BBC Radio 4 live, but for some reason this service is no longer available. IтАЩve tried to listen to podcasts, but the whole layout has changed and seems very much more complicated to use. Previously it seemed simple, but now itтАЩs pretty much hit and miss whether I am able to download a podcast.

Luckily the main radio station that I listen to, LBC 97.3, hasnтАЩt changed and I can still listen live or to podcast programmes IтАЩve missed. The sound volume is quite loud and definitely much louder than BBC Radio 4 which is almost inaudible. Anyone had similar experiences?

[paperboy]

jellybean, why not try the expat shield
then you can watch any program you want on the bbc iplayer
or itv iplayer
just down load expat shield
that gives you a uk ip address
then bobs your uncle.
also dont understand why filmon is not working for you
works perfect for me, with all the channels

[yumyumroger]

hi all

I use thaiexpat tv and get about 30 channels inc Sky News which is usually on full time.
They have BBC 1/2/3/4 + ITV 1/2/3/4, film 4 Movies etc,
They have recently added 3 Russian channels but not at the expense of other channels.

I bought the magic box so I can watch on my flat screen TV.
A bit expensive at 7999B but if you use Freeplayo you can quickly accumulate enough points
to trade in for a free box or go for the software version for 3/6/12 months

cheers :occasion9:

ron

[cameroncat]

Jellybean,

It's quite simple to connect your Computer to the TV as long as your TV has a spare HDMI input and your computer has HDMI output (most newer laptops).

[kjun12]

Cameroncat, it is my understanding that you cannot use a long HDMI cable or it will cause distortion. So, your computer must be near your television.

Cameroncat, it is my understanding that you cannot use a long HDMI cable or it will cause distortion. So, your computer must be near your television.Depends on the quality of the HDMI cable for a short distance any HDMI cable will do but for longer distances you need a high quality cable http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI and http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/ ... mi-run.htm (http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/how-long-can-hdmi-run.htm) you should try using Google kjun12 instead of relying on urban myths.

[kjun12]

Cameroncat, it is my understanding that you cannot use a long HDMI cable or it will cause distortion. So, your computer must be near your television.Depends on the quality of the HDMI cable for a short distance any HDMI cable will do but for longer distances you need a high quality cable http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI and http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/ ... mi-run.htm (http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/how-long-can-hdmi-run.htm) you should try using Google kunt12 instead of relying on urban myths.
Oh, thank you for your great wisdom. You are so wise and intelligent.

Oh, thank you for your great wisdom. You are so wise and intelligent.your welcome.

[Jellybean]

Jellybean,

It's quite simple to connect your Computer to the TV as long as your TV has a spare HDMI input and your computer has HDMI output (most newer laptops).

Thanks Cameroncat. Now thereтАЩs two words that should never appear in the same sentence, тАШsimpleтАЩ and тАШcomputerтАЩ :) Seriously though, yes I could go to a computer shop and ask for a HDMI cable and stipulate тАУ must be high quality no cheap tat please. (And how would I say that in Thai? тАЬHDMI cable dtong kuu peeng mai tuuk.тАЭ . . . IтАЩve really no idea!) But where would I connect it? The back of my TV looks like spaghetti junction . . . aagghhh!


jellybean, why not try the expat shield
then you can watch any program you want on the bbc iplayer
or itv iplayer
just down load expat shield
that gives you a uk ip address
then bobs your uncle.
also dont understand why filmon is not working for you
works perfect for me, with all the channels

And thanks for your further post Paperboy. I really do wish that Bob was my uncle because things would, IтАЩm sure, be far easier! I re-checked the available UK TV channels and they are as follows: 5USA, 5USA+1, 5*, 5*+1, Channel 5 +1, Challenge and Yesterday. But no matter, your advice has enabled me to find Sky News and that I regard as a great find. Moreover, I found a button labeled тАЬPop outтАЭ which when pressed changes the small screen format into the full screen format, which is a great improvement despite being a little bit pixilated. The problem of the poor sound quality remains.

I also followed your advice on Expat Shield. It appeared to download successfully then when I tried to log on to BBC Radio 4 my computer went berserk! Page after page after page opened up and I ended up shutting the whole system down. Now I did say I was totally useless when it comes to computers. I suppose thatтАЩs what comes of having a computer support team at work to turn to whenever I had computer problems.

ThereтАЩs only one thing for it Paperboy, youтАЩll just have to drop everything youтАЩre doing and hop on a plane and get yourself across here and sort out the problems for me in person . . . only joking! But thanks for the advice, I am happy to have found Sky News, for everything else I have Sky+ which enables me to record my favourite TV programmes back in the UK even when I am here in Thailand.

[Sooty]

It looks very much like a Roku streaming television box or similar that has been "adjusted" so that it looks like it is located in the UK - maybe that's what the outrageous** monthly fee does (provides a quasi VPN). For ex-pats who live in Thailand buying a Roku box from the UK and using a router that has DDWRT enabling a permanent VPN to connect would be the way to go. It's probably best to use a VPN anyway while living there to avoid Thai censorship. I couldn't access my William Hill account last time I was there without using a VPN.

** outrageous because a full annual VPN service can be got for around the cost of those guys for 3 months

[tobias-old]

If you have a search of the thaivisa it/computer forums there is fairly extensive discussion on this topic as well.

[Patanawet]

Have you tried UKTV?
The plusses:
They have many U.K. channels live. The player can record, pause, skip acouple of minutes (for commercials) and, allegedly now, transfer to DVD.
You can also watch any programme from the previous seven days.
Picture quality is good, all things considered.

The minuses:
It is on your computer screen (but as described earlier you can use an HDMI cable to connect to your T.V. A friend bought a two and a half metre cable from Fortune Town recently for 350 Baht. I have no idea of it's quality yet but that seems very cheap).
It only seems to work on beefy P.C.s (it doesn't work on my puny HP Mini notebook).
UKTV has a bit of a flaky history, disappearing a couple of times for a month or two, so I wouldn't pay for more than a month at a time initially.
The monthly subscription is, at the moment, 499 Baht. Not sure if that is just a promotional price.
Now, I'm not sure if my memory serves me right on this but I think that you have to be in Thailand to get it (or have a Thai IP address).

If it is inconvenient to view on your TV via the computer, you could buy a wireless keyboard and mouse (about 900 Baht from Pantip) and control pause, volume etc. from your armchair.

They have a free trial offer at the moment with limited channels (BBC 1 and 2 and I think ITV 1 and 2).
http://www.uk-tv.asia.

As to the comment about there being no U.K. TV in Thailand ---- True Visions (YUK!) has BBC World and CNN if you buy the right premium package; some regional cable companies also have Al Jazeera in English.

And I agree with getting some programmes by torrent. I use Thebox.bz and Torrent day. The former is exclusively British television and the latter American and some U.K.

[Jellybean]

Assuming that at least part of your reply above was directed at me Patanawet can I say thank you for the advice given.

I went to IT City at Pantip Plaza this afternoon. For those who may be interested the nearest Sky Train Station is Ratchathewi, it is on the Sukumvit Line in the direction of Maw Chit. Take Exit 4, turn left at the bottom of the stairs then turn right on the corner and walk straight on for 10-12 minutes. Pantip Plaza is impossible to miss.

Within 10 minutes I had purchased a 3m HDMI cable from a computer accessories shop for the price you mentioned above, i.e. 350 Baht. Now whether IтАЩll be able to connect it to my TV and view any programmes from the computer is another matter, but IтАЩll give it a go.

May I also add that I am currently at the Montien Hotel (opposite Patpong 1) on Suriwong Road, Bangkok and am using the hotelтАЩs wi-fi system. I was surprised to find how easy it is to log on to Sawatdee Gay Forum (SGF), view topics and move from page to page. When logging on using my Dongle at home in Hua Hin moving from topic to topic and page to page was very slow and occasionally the page would freeze and I had to log out and log back in. I assumed the problem lay with SGF.

It made me think the problem was with the Dongle and not SGF so I tried bringing up the BBC Radio 4 page and found that I could in fact listen live and easily listen to podcast programmes where the sound quality was as good as on my previous visits to Thailand, which is the complete opposite of what I experienced using the Dongle to access the Internet.

I also logged on to http://www.filmon.com and was able to view Sky News (a UK commercial news channel) without too much pixilation and where the sound was very much louder than when listened to with the Dongle to provide me with Wi-Fi. Clearly then obtaining all of the above is still possible in Thailand it just appears that that using a Dongle to obtain the Internet does not easily support some websites.

Again, if your comment was meant for me, IтАЩm sure I didnтАЩt say that I couldnтАЩt get UK TV on my satellite provider (UBC), I said I wasnтАЩt at all impressed with the quality of the news shown on BBC World News and said I wish they would just show the home grown channel BBC News 24 which is, in my opinion, a far better quality news programme.

[paperboy]

hi
using a dongle is a waist of time, only good for checking email etc
for tv and radio, a good strong wi-fi or even better a direct land line

[kjun12]

hi
using a dongle is a waist of time, only good for checking email etc
for tv and radio, a good strong wi-fi or even better a direct land line
Isn't a dongle used in conjunction with your wi-fi device?

[Jellybean]

hi
using a dongle is a waist of time, only good for checking email etc
for tv and radio, a good strong wi-fi or even better a direct land line

Ah, now you tell me Paperboy! The problem is that my agent in Hua Hin told me if I wanted Wi-Fi I would have to sign up to a 1 year contract, but I am here in Thailand for only 4 months. And I am already paying for Wi-Fi and satellite TV at my condo in Bangkok for my tenants as part of the package I agreed to. In addition, I am paying for Sky Internet in the UK so I am obviously keen to reduce my costs wherever I can.

Another downside to using a Dongle to obtain Internet access is that it works only on my computer and has no effect on my iPhone. Talking of which, to gain Internet access at the Montien Hotel I have to plug in a cable and I still cannot get Internet access on my iPhone, despite the efforts of their technical staff to do so.

My iPhone has become such a part of my life that I am almost having withdrawal symptoms because I am unable to use it. So when I walked across Suriwong Road yesterday to book a room at the Tarntawan Place Hotel for 4 visits over the next 4 months I was able to use my iPhone after their director helped me to connect up. I was then able to read a batch of messages on the free message appsтАЩ Viber and Whatsap and send a record signal on my Sky+ app to my TV in the UK.

Whilst talking about the Tarntawan Place Hotel I would like to mention that I received a very warm welcome from the lobby, reception staff and director despite having stayed there on only one occasion a few weeks ago. The director even handled me a New Year present of a Thai calendar which had been given out to hotel guests and will come in very handy. A very nice touch indeed!



Isn't a dongle used in conjunction with your wi-fi device?

Crikey kjun12 IтАЩm probably the least qualified person to reply on computer and Wi-Fi issues. But what I can say is that the Dongle looks similar to a memory stick, which when plugged in to my computer gives me access to the Internet wherever I am located (in Thailand I presume). I purchased the monthly unlimited package at a cost of 900 Baht. But, as mentioned above, it does seem to have its limitations.

[Patanawet]

I'm sorry but, yes, I misunderstood your wish for local U.K. news. BBC World is indeed what it claims to be. I'm going to try your link for Filmon to see Sky News -- possibly the best U.K. news channel.
It's good to see that the Tarntawan has free wifi ---- is that in the room or only in reception?
You could pick up your beloved Radio 4 (and even Radio4 exrta!) on the iPhone via the hotel's wifi . I use an iPhone radio app. (from the app store) called iRadio UK or another called "The Radio" both free with occasional ad. interruptions or 99c to buy, ad. free.
You could also pick up free wifi around the corner in Silom Soi 4 at BALCONY or Telephone.

[kjun12]

Isn't a dongle used in conjunction with your wi-fi device?


Crikey kjun12 IтАЩm probably the least qualified person to reply on computer and Wi-Fi issues. But what I can say is that the Dongle looks similar to a memory stick, which when plugged in to my computer gives me access to the Internet wherever I am located (in Thailand I presume). I purchased the monthly unlimited package at a cost of 900 Baht. But, as mentioned above, it does seem to have its limitations.
As is said: We lives and we learns. One day you and I will both know the answer to this mystery.

[cameroncat]

You can get BBC news from the iphone/iPad app. a lot of recorded news stories. For live english speaking news, the best App is (Believe it or not), the Al Jazeera App. It allows you to watch their cable news feed live.

[kjun12]

I am very happy that a lot of the British participants are getting such great information on TV but can't someone give some info on US TV. Not that it is really worth the effort I have been putting into trying to receive it.

Are commercials as prevalent in British TV as they are in US TV?

[Jellybean]

Thanks for your further post Patanawet. I hope that you too are able to pick up Sky News on your computer. However, I cannot claim the credit for first mentioning the website http://www.filmon.com the plaudits for that are rightly due to Paperboy who posted the link on the first page of this topic.


It's good to see that the Tarntawan has free wifi ---- is that in the room or only in reception?
In answer to your question I can confirm that free Wi-Fi is also available in the rooms as well as the lobby of the Tarntawan Place Hotel (on Suriwong Road, Bangkok)

Oh, whilst drafting my reply above IтАЩve just seen kjun12тАЩs latest post. There are no adverts on the BBC channels; there are however adverts on all the other UK commercial channels. The BBC is our public broadcasting organisation which has four channels plus the BBC News 24 channel. However, BBC World News does have advertising тАУ much to my annoyance as it seems to be the same adverts over and over again.

[Sooty]

I am very happy that a lot of the British participants are getting such great information on TV but can't someone give some info on US TVIt's the same answer as I gave before - get yourself a Roku (http://www.roku.com/) box. You'll need a decent Internet connection. Then you access their "private" channels (http://streamfree.tv/roku/private-channels/), most of which are free.

[kanom]

I have IPTV and it is OK. The only thing is it uses a lot of bandwidth. Remote stopped working about 2 months ago and the support ignores the many request mails and I cannot get it repaired or know where to get a new one. Therefore..........No TV

[jinks]

Buy a "Sling Box" FreeSat TV decoder and connect it to your WiFi Router.

Connect to your "Sling Box" over the internet and watch whatever channels are on FreeSat.
Or whatever you have set to record from FreeSat TV.

Mine is an "Echostar" HDS-600RS.

[ned kelly-old]

HDMI cables transmit a digital signal and the quality of the cable is largely irrelevant....they either work or they don't, you cannot receive a bad quality signal which is just made up of "1's" and "0's". One rider is that the actual connections on very cheap cables can be a potential problem if they are continually connected/disconnected as they work loose. A non expensive HDMI cable should be good for at least an 8 metre run and some would say that 12-15 metres also works fine for most users. (you can buy boosters to extend the run length if necessary) If you have doubts Google "HDMI cable myths," where you will find plenty of commentary. Companies like Monster have spent a lot of marketing money to spread the message about the need and superiority of "quality" (read high priced) cables......but read the comments and make up your own mind.
Do not confuse digital HDMI with analogue component video where cable quality is an important consideration.

[kjun12]

Ned, Thanks for this valuable info.

[Jellybean]

Well you certainly seem to know what you are talking about Ned, so I would add my thanks to those of kjun12 for the information.

I bought a HDMI cable on 2 January 2013 at IT City at Pantip Plaza in Bangkok. I didnтАЩt get around to connecting it until 6 January mainly because I thought it would be terribly complicated. Surprisingly though, it turned out to be quite simple. I found the connection on the TV very quickly, there was only one place that it could be inserted and the same applied to the computer.

I also found the correct channel on the TV very quickly and the image on the computer was instantly available on the large TV screen. Disappointingly though, when I tried to view the Sky News TV channel it only appeared for a matter of seconds then the screen froze. The same thing happened when I tried to listen to BBC Radio 4. I believe that the problem lies with the poor quality of Internet connection provided by the Dongle and nothing to do with the HDMI cable because similar things happen on the computer.

However, when I logged on to my favourite London talk radio station, LBC 97.3, there was no problem whatsoever. And I was pleasantly surprised when I found that the volume could be as loud as watching a satellite TV channel or DVD. I could hear the radio from anywhere in my living room or kitchen. When listening on the computer I had to be sitting next to the computer to hear anything. I would therefore like to offer Cameroncat my belated profound thanks for first mentioning the HDMI cable; it is no exaggeration to say that it has improved the quality of my day-to-day living experience in Thailand.

I imagine that when I connect the HDMI cable up to my TV in Bangkok, where I have Wi-Fi, when I return in December, then IтАЩll also be able to listen to Sky News and BBC Radio 4 on my TV via my computer without any problem.

Sorry for writing such a effusive post, as I assume that all of the above is probably well known to the majority of members and is no doubt of little consequence, but to me, coming late to this тАШnewтАЩ technology, it is a great find.