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bleep bleep bloop

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 12:02 (seventeen years ago) link

No, you only need a TV licence if you are using the phone etc as a receiving station on which you will watch TV.

― Mark C, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 12:07 (seventeen years ago) link

& the mobile operators still haven't got their sh*t together to even be capable of doing that yet, i thought

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 12:09 (seventeen years ago) link

At this BBC thing yesterday a device was mentioned which sounded pretty amazing. Apparently you stick it into the back of your TV and it beams some kind of signal to your interweb, meaning that wherever you are in the world, you can watch, via your computer, whatever's being shown on your TV (I guess your pc acts as a remote control too).

― Mark C, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 12:10 (seventeen years ago) link

this seems like as good a place to ask as any: do any uk mac folks have any experiences with elgato's usb antenna thingamajig? it looks tempting.

― ^@^, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 12:19 (seventeen years ago) link

sounds like a slingbox, mark, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slingbox

― Alan, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 12:19 (seventeen years ago) link

the Elgato thing is supposed to work great but i would rather watch TV on a TV. where it might completely rule is in conjunction with a video iPod, if you're into that kind of thing?

FYI the BBC iPlayer test has hit some snags and is delayed, but wider tests should be coming very soon. for that i want some kind of reverse slingbox, to watch stuff i've downloaded on my TV, wirelessly (without having to stream it through iTunes).

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 12:28 (seventeen years ago) link

I'm not really a fan of the whole Slingbox idea. I can't think of many times where I'm at a computer away from home and wish I could beam what's on my TV at home to it. A mobile device, maybe, but price/bandwidth issues, plus on a tiny screen I'm more likely to watch short content purposed for it.

I'm much more a fan of Slingbox's cousin, the Slingcatcher, which does it in reverse: streams whatever you've collected on your computer to your TV. It seems like it's going to work the way Apple TV should but doesn't.

― Alba, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 12:32 (seventeen years ago) link

ok so forget the telephone thing

if my computer is capable to playing a television programme, i have to pay a licence? i guess most computers are televisions now too?

― 688, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 12:32 (seventeen years ago) link

i have a nice little device that acts as an external USB2 hard disk when attached to a computer, but is a standalone media player that plays out through SCART or composite or component. the remote lets you navigate through the folder structure and plays xvid, divx and a number of other formats (inc stuff ripped from DVD). about 140 quid. it's sort of anonymously branded so i don't have a name for you sorry

― Alan, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 12:33 (seventeen years ago) link

googling "media player 160gb scart" gives me this

http://whatthehellis.wordpress.com/2006/10/11/160-gb-hard-drive-media-player-plays-divx/

110 quid at maplin. it's the same device with another brand label on it!

― Alan, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 12:34 (seventeen years ago) link

Hey - that looks good. My mate at work bought a similar player for £50 that's a 1GB flash-based thing, which he transfers stuff onto whenever he wants to watch it, but it's USB, not USB2, so it takes longer than copying to a CD and playing it on a DivX compatible DVD player, like I do.

The only worry I'd have with those sorts of things is that they won't keep pace with new codecs (I suppose you could get firmware updates?). The Slingcatcher is dependent on your computer for the decoding and is just a neutral video-out streaming device, which seems a better plan.

Anyway, I'll have to stick with my burning discs method for the moment, as I only have slow wireless (and Firewire, not USB 2, for that matter). And when I upgrade I'll probably get a laptop, so I may just end up getting a lead and plugging it straught into the TV. Wireless shmireless.

― Alba, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 12:45 (seventeen years ago) link

yeah i thought about the updated codecs problem too. i don't see any way to do any sort of update.

odd thing is the remote control on the device has volume + and volume – the WRONG WAY AROUND (+ – not – +) even though the on-screen volume bar is std minimum at the left.

this might be a deal breaker for many :-D

― Alan, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 12:49 (seventeen years ago) link

Indeed.

if my computer is capable to playing a television programme, i have to pay a licence? i guess most computers are televisions now too?

It's not about playing them. It's about receiving them. If you don't have a TV tuner card, then don't worry.

― Alba, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 13:10 (seventeen years ago) link

what is this tv tuner card? presumably they dont come as standard then?

thanks,
tuomas

― 688, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 13:12 (seventeen years ago) link

What if you have a TV tuner card but you don't use it?

(this is moot, as I also have three TVs, but just saying, like?)

― ailsa, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 13:15 (seventeen years ago) link

BBC TV Test - Service Outage
Dear Trialist,

This is an update on the current service status of BBC TV Test. As communicated in my last update to you we have now reached our next milestone for the service - a major software release. This means that the service is now unavailable until further notice.

The release will bring a raft of service improvements rather than user facing functionality, however, we hope it will greatly speed the throughput of data onto the website thereby increasing the availability of programmes for download.

Thanks for your participation in BBC TV Test and we will be back in touch once the service resumes.

If you do have any issues with BBC TV Test you would like to discuss in the meantime please call our Customer Service Agents at BBC Information on 08709 000 223, 8am - 8.30pm, 7 days a week or feel free to contact me if you have any wider concerns or issues.

Ian Hunte
Managing Editor, BBC TV Test

― Elsa Svitborg, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 13:17 (seventeen years ago) link

I just want people to savour that first graf, it's a masterwork of BBC-speak.

― Elsa Svitborg, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 13:18 (seventeen years ago) link

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