[Closed] TV Streaming device, what do you recommend

Roku box?

http://www.roku.com/uk/what-is-roku

Apple for ease of use

Any of the Android TV Streaming boxes should do the job! Something like this, [url= http://goo.gl/81cfvp ]http://goo.gl/81cfvp[/url]

Apple for ease of use

Edit: Cheap option, Raspberry Pi running OpenElec and the catchup service add-ons, can power on with the TV connect over HDMI and can be controlled via TV remote using CEC

What I've found is that all of the ones I looked at didn't offer everything I wanted, there was always a compromise somewhere, or reviews said suffered from software glitching(android TV). the two mentioned above (Roku and Apple) appear to be considered among the best at the moment, also consider Sky Now TV box at £9.99 and cancel any subscriptions which Sky try to sell you. However, it still probably won't have everything you want, but it's a very cheap way of getting half decent kit.

Other than that, you'd have to airplay everything.

Which in itself is very easy and judging by the OP's comments, preferable.

OP, Apple TV is a great option, but there be dragons. 4OD for instance does NOT Airplay. You can watch it on your iPad but as soon as you try and stream it to your Apple TV you just get an image on your TV saying it won't work (or words to that effect). I even tried plugging an iPad into a spare HDMI input on my TV and still it wouldn't play. I don't know why Channel 4 care whether you watch it on the iPad or the big telly, I really don't.

The whole issue of streaming TV is a confusing and non-standardised mess in my experience, but if you're already into the Mac experience I'd definitely recommend Apple TV.

How about something like this

http://dx.com/p/android-4-1-dual-core-google-tv-player-w-keyboard-wi-fi-bluetooth-1gb-ram-8gb-rom-black-176755?utm_source=dx&utm_medium=edm&utm_campaign=20131126hightechliving

Through a long winded and boring series of events, I've got the Apple TV, Now TV, Google TV and a Sony smart Bluray.

The Apple TV doesn't do a lot without the iPad/iPhone, and I assume Macbook, but the airplay when used with those is excellent. It's great with Netflix and air video too, well worth it for that. We're looking at getting another. Shame about 4OD etc blocking airplay, it's all just a bit daft.

The Now TV is a bit of a lemon. It's very meh, seems to need unplugging and rebooting once or twice a day. I don't know if this is how it is with all Roku boxes but i'm not impressed, the Apple TV shows it right up. But it does get us Sky without having a Sky dish. It's on trial at the mo, i'm not sure if we'll keep it.

Google TV. We have the Sony £200rrp effort (included with a TV, I presume because nobody bought it). If that's as good as it gets it's a bloody disgrace. A complete waste of space and only used due to the remote being nice and the spare HDMI port. Junk.

Sony smart bluray. Does exactly what it's supposed to do, including playing everything i've thrown at it. It's going to stay.

Hope that helps... somehow.

As @wozza says - Apple TV plus one of iPhone/iPAd/Mac for max power (you cannot run BBIC iPlayer/4OD etc on Apple TV without one of those other devices)

OP what phone do you have ? That's a good starting point on Apple vs Android choices.

WD Live,

Good points - attaching a nas / hard drive dead easy, can stream from phone, PC, will play absolutely anything on a usb stick.

Bad points interface not that snappy, Netflix just stopped working one day, not fixed it yet.

Apple TV is great I you har an iphone/iPad and a Netflix account. Not so great otherwise.

Any idea if you can stream from an iPad with a WD TV live. How about iPlayer and 4OD?

@woody - I stream from my iPad to Apple TV, not sure what a WD TV live is to be honest (being lazy and not googling it - sorry)

[b]grum[/b] - Member
Apple TV is great I you har an iphone/iPad and a Netflix account. Not so great otherwise.

I have a skybox f3 going at present.
1 feed to sky dish, 1 feed to router, hd to tv.
oh, and no monthly to the robbing major satellite people.... 8)

Netflix is rubbish IMO.

Netflix is great IMO 😀

I like Netflix - loads of good stuff on the Canadian and American ones.

I do enjoy watching Vice TV on YouTube on the telly. Some amazing stuff on there. You could watch 4OD via AirParrot if you have a Mac I guess. I find the 4OD player such a PITA anyway that I don't bother. Quite a few C4 shows like Skins and Inbetweeners are on Netflix anyway.

just download XBMC !

[url= http://xbmc.org/download/ ]XBMC media[/url]

I'm holding out for Google Chrome cast to arrive. For now I use an Xbox 360 as a media extender from my PC that has 2 tuners in it running off a standard aerial. With less than 2mb download speeds here there will be a while before we are on Internet TV. The Xbox runs it's own iPlayer and can also do 4od I think but you need to pay a Microsoft subscription to unlock that functionality as well as Netflix which is stupid so I don't. When I get the chromecast I will also think about a Netflix sub.

I'm going to be controversial. Get Sky. Has it all and you can record on demand to view at your leisure. Apple TV is a must for all the reasons above and with both in play it's all you need.

I'm not sure one device does it all. I've got sky, a jail-broken v2 AppleTV with xbmc and a raspberry pi running openelec - they all have their place but best value for money goes to the raspberry pi. It does everything the ATV does and more but is less than half the price.

I have Virgin and a Roku box which cover all my needs.

However, after seeing Chromecast as Stoner points out above (one of my colleagues told me about this a few weeks back), I'd say that's the current best offering.

roku? tell us more please

I just have an Apple TV, and a Samsung smart TV.

The apps on the smart TV provide iPlayer, 4OD etc, and the Apple TV streams movies, music, and photos from a NAS box (managed by iTunes) and internet content (via airplay).

All incredibly simple - and bomb-proof.

roku. Little box, plugs into an HDMI port on your TV. Wireless connection to your network. Can stream iplayer and the like plus thinsg like netflix and SkyTV (you have to subscribe to those to get this). Control it from a mobile phone or a crapy remote they give you.

Can also stream from a local shared drive on a computer.

I got mine from ebay, £25. It's ace.

Stream To Me is a handy app for streaming content to AppleTV.

Wats wronge with pluging ur laptop in to the tv.

I haven't bought anything yet as everything I researched seemed to have flaws of one nature or other. Will look into Chromecast, cheers for the heads up (this is the bit I love about STW).

[i]Wats wronge with pluging ur laptop in to the tv. [/i]

We used to do it with a kindle which was very choppy. My Macbook would need an appropriate (expensive) cable.
if you don;t need the laptop for anything else while you're streaming though, it's probably a good choice.

woody74 - Member
Any idea if you can stream from an iPad with a WD TV live. How about iPlayer and 4OD?

Yes, yes and yes. There are are also apps available for iPhone/pad android which enable them to be used as remote controls.

NOW TV box is good deal, just released 4OD. I got an AppleTV and to be honest it is crap compared to the other stuff out there. It doesn't even have iPlayer, you have to use your phone or ipad to stream it, and 4OD channel5 are not there at all

I use one of the older slimline versions of this
http://au.shuttle.com/products/products
with a low power setup, silent fans running Windows 7, then with XBMC over the top.

It plays anything, add in something like spotify you have a very powerful media centre. XBMC has plugins for most of the streaming services, if not you still have a proper browser to get you out of trouble. Will work with the DL services for iplayer. Any media you have stored (I have mine on a network drive) is organised and playable.

It's a very complete solution add in a blu ray drive and there is nothing you can't do.

XBMC also supports air play.

this threads passed me by so far but just had a read and am intrigued.

weve got a sony tv which we're p*ssed off with. its internet, but not wifi so needs a wired connection, but the routers miles away so we'd given up hope of internet tv.

i thought our only option was a sony dongle at about £60 which would just give us access to the usual suspects, iplayer, youtube etc.

am i right in thinking these roku boxes (or similar) will plug directly into tv (hdmi or usb?) and pick up the wireless signal much as a sony dongle would?

also, for some reason the tv hardly picks up anything on our usb stick. we have plenty of films in mp4 or avi on there, and it only picks up 1 or 2, we're really frustrated with it. googling seems to show its a common problem with sony. wish we hadnt bought it now.
do these streaming devices have usb slots that would maybe read everything on my stick, and play through tv that way?

or would i need a nas for that? toyed with the idea of nas but havent gone through with it yet, but this may give us the push we need if its the best option.

thanks

I've got an old laptop permanently plugged into the telly, with a little BlackBerry sized wireless keyboard
I just use that for iPlayer, 4OD, downloading films etc etc

Sadexpunk:

weve got a sony tv which we're p*ssed off with. its internet, but not wifi so needs a wired connection, but the routers miles away so we'd given up hope of internet tv.

i thought our only option was a sony dongle at about £60 which would just give us access to the usual suspects, iplayer, youtube etc.

You need a wireless bridge/wireless access point acting as a bridge, Something from Netgear should do you for about £40 or less, and it'll have a wizard if you're not sure what you're doing with the setup.

am i right in thinking these roku boxes (or similar) will plug directly into tv (hdmi or usb?) and pick up the wireless signal much as a sony dongle would?

Yep, HDMI

also, for some reason the tv hardly picks up anything on our usb stick. we have plenty of films in mp4 or avi on there, and it only picks up 1 or 2, we're really frustrated with it. googling seems to show its a common problem with sony. wish we hadnt bought it now.
do these streaming devices have usb slots that would maybe read everything on my stick, and play through tv that way?

That sounds like a codec problem. Your stick also needs to be formatted FAT32 (google will help you there) not NTFS (Windows 7 default). This limits your movie file size to 4gb so no 1080p rips unless you resample.

Non-technical answer. Download Handbrake (free) and convert your stuff to mp4. It's quite quick and once its done you can bin off the originals.

or would i need a nas for that? toyed with the idea of nas but havent gone through with it yet, but this may give us the push we need if its the best option.

I use stuff off my laptop in all sorts of formats and get airvideo to convert it on the fly and send it direct to the apple tv. No waiting for conversion it just does it while you're watching it. For £1.99 it's well worth it.

Although your idea of a NAS is good, since I could convert all the content and leave it on there and use the Apple TV to manage it. I think.

To be honest if I started with it all again. I'd buy the apple TV everytime closely followed by the Smart BluRay player.

Looks like this might be a time to use Amazons free return service and just try a few until I find one that meets my needs. I know that I can always use something like XBMC but I want something I can just plug in and it works. Get a bit sick of hacking things as they never work all the time and you always in the long run seem to spend more time trying to get them working than actually using them. So far the WD TV Live looks the best.

God knows why someone can't make something that just covers everything. It seems people are just locked into the whole having to have an app, when a basic browser should play everything thats on the internet so then all you need to worry about is resizing for the screen.

@sadexpunk - what smartphone and/or computer do you have ? As I posted before this is often a good place to start. The Roku sounds like it might be perfect for you.

As for your movies it does sound like a formatting issue. I would get them onto the pc and convert to a different format the tv supports. I am Apple based so I use Handbrake but there must be equivalent PC programmes.

also, for some reason the tv hardly picks up anything on our usb stick. we have plenty of films in mp4 or avi on there, and it only picks up 1 or 2, we're really frustrated with it. googling seems to show its a common problem with sony. wish we hadnt bought it now.
do these streaming devices have usb slots that would maybe read everything on my stick, and play through tv that way?

or would i need a nas for that? toyed with the idea of nas but havent gone through with it yet, but this may give us the push we need if its the best option.

I use my iMac as a media server and run Stream to Me on my iphone/pad to Airplay stuff to Apple TV. Works flawlessly and will convert any format I've encountered on the fly instantly up to 720p. It's a lot easier than that sounds!

thanks chaps

im on android (desire HD) and a packard bell laptop running linux mint 14. i use the laptop to run logitech software for a squeezebox. how would my setup look with a roku then?

i dont particularly want my laptop to be plugged into tv, even tho this has worked in the past. id prefer something standalone that i could just operate the tv with a remote or phone.

thanks a lot 🙂

mk808 works great for me.

I have the TV connect kit for my iPad, as Apple TV at the time was limited in its resolution, whereas the TV connect kit was full HD through HDMI Cable.

Like someone else has said though, 4oD doesn't work on the telly, I player does.

My Next move will be a Samsung Smart Blueray Player with Wifi to match the "Non Smart" Tv.
But we do have a spare old BT Home hub that I could set up as a wireless hub downstairs I suppose and hardwire the Blueray player to that

@sadexpunk - ok im not so familiar with android. Can you get a connecter from the desire which is hdmi out ? I had one for my iPhone before I got apple tv and used to connect phone direct to tv. You can then run iPlayer app / stream to me from pc on phone and content will be on tv. I still take it on holiday with movies etc on phone/pad and then plug it into hdmi tv when away. I'm not sure if the roku can do streaming from phone and the raspberry pi looks like a box of bits 😳

blimey, looks like more options than i thought, im confused as to whatd be best for me. roku, mk808 (googling also suggests mk809 now), bluray wifi player, chromecast.....
do blurays also play dvds? if not then i cant see us getting one as we have loads of dvds.

we have a dvd recorder with HDD and freeview at the mo, and tv obviously has freeview too. we dont watch too many channels so not fussed about sky/virgin packages.
the thought that i can browse youtube on my laptop and then play vids through tv appeals to me. using the laptop keyboard is far superior to pressing the up/down/left/right button oin a tv remote to choose letters to type.

but mainly itd be for playing videos lent to me by mates, either in mp4 or avi on a stick. and if my tv doesnt see a lot of the files on the stick, and something else does, then thatd suit.

tried installing handbrake on my linux laptop and having all sorts of probs, so rather than converting stuff, id rather have something standalone thatll just deal with what i want, when i want.

does all that lend itself to any particular device?

oh, and working it from my android phone also appeals if theyre all much of a muchness.

thanks a lot

my parents have got the sony bluray smart tv one and its resally nice, if my mum can use it then its gotta be simple

@sadexpunk - yes you want the Android equivalent of an iPhone/iPad plus Apple TV as that's exactly what that setup does, sitting on sofa using the phone as the controller picking YouTube/Vimeo videos or movies off your computer or BBC iPlayer etc. There must be such a thing.

One of the other posters mentioned "Stream to Me" I googled it and it will convert your files on the fly - so with android app and a device attached to the tv (to be decided) you don't have to convert in advance.

cheers

so do the chromecast and mk808 do the same thing then, both being android?

thanks

EDIT: just looking on [url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromecast ]wikipedia[/url] and not sure my laptop will work with chromecast as its got linux OS rather than windows, can anyone confirm that?

chromecast can be run from an android phone or tablet, no need of a pc linus or not.

chromecast can be run from an android phone or tablet, no need of a pc linus or not.

Yeah but where are you going to store all the movies? Converting them and putting them on the phone/tablet is a massive faff compared to the setup I described near the top of the page.

Yeah but where are you going to store all the movies? Converting them and putting them on the phone/tablet is a massive faff compared to the setup I described near the top of the page.

ah, chromecast isnt for serving local material. At least not yet. Some geeks have got it working but it's not native in the chromecast app yet and even when it has been got working in the experimental stage it's not without its faults.

Apple TV is on Groupon for £75 I've just ordered my Xmas pressie.

@grum - so can @sadexpunk run Stream to Me on his Android phone and send the content to an Apple TV ?

I don't think Stream To Me will work on Linux - can't see a Linux version of the Serve To Me app you need to run on the computer where the files are stored.

http://zqueue.com/servetome/

This seems to suggest it might exist but is too geeky for me.

https://code.google.com/p/servetome/wiki/StreamToMeWiki

will convert any format I've encountered on the fly instantly up to 720p.

By the way just to clarify the above it will play source material that's higher res than 720p but will only stream it in 720p.

can i just say i detest apple? 😀 used to have an ipod, then lost all my music during a sync (maybe user error, but thats the point, its not user friendly. to me anyway. why cant everything be drag and drop!!)
i just dont like the 'you can only use apple products with apple products' thing.
i [i]would[/i] use something like an apple tv it was the best option for me and i didnt need a mac or something, i dont know much about them. clueless me always thought when apple tvs were mentioned it meant a proper tv! 🙂 just been googling and seen theyre a little box. so are they like the mk808 or chromecast then, just apple flavoured? or are they better?
and yes, i dont like the premium that you pay for the name too. oh, and everybody has to have one etc etc...... ill shut up now 😀

so, back to the point 🙂 ...........

if chromecast doesnt serve local material, im assuming thats films on my laptop? so thats out? and the apple software doesnt work with linux, so thats out too?

as mentioned, i think my main use will be playing films from either a usb stick or downloaded to laptop in mp4 or avi files.
and itd be nice to be able to watch whatevers on my laptop, on the telly (youtube vids for instance)

thanks again

Right, I'm confused with this.

What I need: dongle that plugs into TV port, and streams locally-stored content from a local PC or NAS by wifi, and potentially things I'm streaming on the PC.

Essentially, something like Chromecast, but with the option to stream local .mp4 or .avi files. Is that what a Roku does (in amongst all its iPlayer, Netflix etc gubbins)?

thats what im still a bit unsure of, what the difference is between them all and which one is more suited to my needs.

woody74 - Member
Any idea if you can stream from an iPad with a WD TV live. How about iPlayer and 4OD?

Yes, yes and yes. There are are also apps available for iPhone/pad android which enable them to be used as remote controls.

My WDTV live has no 4OD or airplay capabilities, otherwise it's pretty much okay. I may be missing something though?

Yeah, looks like the WDTV live may be the better option if you want to stream from a local content source. Roku, unfortunately, doesn't really offer that, if I've done my research right.

still looking, and wondered if anyone can pick through the bones of these android tv jobbies please. i dont really understand the differences......

[url= http://visopix.com/product-category/android-tv/ ]here[/url] and [url= http://www.cloudsto.com/android-mini-pc-s/rikomagic-quad-core-mk802iv-8gb-flash-bluetooth-dhl-express-shipping-detail.html ]here[/url]

what does android 4.2 give over earlier versions, and which product is most suited for what i need?

thanks

xbmc on a raspberry PI 8) for a tinker-er - very good, but may not pass significant other acceptance testing.

Youview box for plug and play PVR, IPTV and seamless iplayer etc. and some pay content (Sky etc.). If your with BT or Talktalk get if for just about nowt.

Thread update: Roku LT device now under £30 at Currys/PC World

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/audio/digital-media-players/digital-media-players/roku-lt-media-streamer-18386105-pdt.html

Does anyone else get a lot of drop outs when streaming music to Apple TV?
Even when the wifi is excellent strength?

Does anyone else get a lot of drop outs when streaming music to Apple TV?

Sky NOW is a Roku LT (from what I've seen on the ad) for £9.99

Not sure if you can add channels, can anyone comment?

Bah. There is no perfect solution, or wasn't last time I looked. Like others, I have various devices:-

AppleTV for renting movies, netflix, airplay my itunes library
RaspberryPI running XMBC for local media over Samba. Occasionally used to work for iplayer but tempramental (haven't checked in recently.)
Chromecast (from US for pocketmoney) - used once, deemed crap. I'll check in again when/if they enable local content.
A smart bluray player which hasn't been switch on since I got the RaspberryPI.

If you want absolutely everything, I think the best but expensive (and high maintenance) option is a Mac mini. I would be interested to see what the newest Rokus manage.

[quote=brassneck said]Sky NOW is a Roku LT (from what I've seen on the ad) for £9.99
Not sure if you can add channels, can anyone comment?

I believe it's locked down compared to the normal LT.

Does anyone else get a lot of drop outs when streaming music to Apple TV?
Even when the wifi is excellent strength?

Not on phone/iPad. My MacBook has taken to switching from the Airplay output in sys prefs quite often when listening to Spotify though, which is annoying.

brassneck said » Sky NOW is a Roku LT (from what I've seen on the ad) for £9.99
Not sure if you can add channels, can anyone comment?

as allthepies says, the Now TV is a Roku LT box with some of the functionality removed (to push the Sky content its subsidised to sell). Ive got one, use it primarily for Iplayer and (now) 4OD, and it comes with a "playto" channel which, having installed the corresponding app on my android tablet, I can stream youtube through. Watched the Road Bike 2 film this evening on the LCD TV using this. The "playto" channel also supports sending local media, but as I dont have any stored I've never tried it.

You can also apparently sideload another channel onto it as it is possible to access a developer mode (usually Plex). Again, not tried it but google search will give plenty of info.

Does anyone else get a lot of drop outs when streaming music to Apple TV?
Even when the wifi is excellent strength?

Nope. Mine struggles occasionally with 16gb bru-ray rips, but I cant remember it ever falling-over just from streaming music. Worth noting that there was a recall of some atv 3s that were having connectivity issues, might be worth checking whether yours was in the batch affected.

for those of you interested in the android route, i asked this question on the avforums a few days ago and am currently in the process of downloading their suggestions and probably going with the android stick.

[url= http://www.avforums.com/threads/roku-chromecast-apple-tv-im-confused-help.1837642/ ]possibly worth a read?[/url]

Not here, but I wouldn't trust wifi for a constant data stream. Try connecting it with cable and see what happens - I bet I know the answer.

Cable connection helps - but still get drop outs ...
I will look at the recall thing ...

BTW the Apple TV2 also does it - diff location, diff set up

I have an android stick (rikomagic mk80somthign) and Mele F10 remote, connect via cable to router and then to my NAS box. It is pretty reliable, need a reset after running for a week or so, and sometimes has a lag, that only a router, NASA and android reset will solve, but no biggy.
The main issue was a lack of on off switch, so whilst you cna turn off via the screen, but to turn it on means unplugging it, whioch is behind the TV. It was easy solve with a remote controlled plug socket thingy from maplin.

I guess I would like something more robust, Android is good, but to be honest I would prefer a bigger more powerful machine so that there would be no lag issues, like a mini pc running linux or even windows. android does have a lot of APPS but there are compatibility issues that stops some of the good apps from doing their thing, and internet browsing is dog slow. It would be good to stream HD video's from here and Dirt etc, which you can do but it can be laggy..

if anyones following that link i put in my last post ^^^, theres been a change in plans. chromecast now has plex support or something like that. im currently googling my way through it all to find out what it means to me, but looks like buying a chromecast will now be my preferred option.

I work in technology and I'm properly confused. We have a hybrid of apple and android phones/tablets, windows pcs and macs, old tv, very old pvr recorder thing, blue ray player and an xbox. It's terrifying just writing it down. Oh and some himax HD thing we never use. Not even sure what it does!

Much as I like the idea of using itunes to rent movies, the 'best' option to get netflix on the old TV is a ROKU box. I'm sure there is a better integrated solution, but for watching movies together in one room at Xmas, I'm spending the £40 at curries and getting one.

That airplay stuff is like Elven magic. Looks amazing.

o-----kay........ more help needed please 🙂

ive got the chromecast, stuck it in hdmi on tv, usb to tv also for power. followed the setup instructions and tried it out. cast a web page to the tv and it works. tried youtube, it works, but is soooo slow and blocky. then i thought that might just be the internet over our wifi being slow, so ill try a movie thats stored locally on my laptop. oops, how do i play a movie in chrome?? then it came to me whilst thinking about it all in the bath. PLEX! i play everything through plex! 🙂

so....... played an mp4 stored on laptop, same as the youtube. sooooo slow its unwatchable.

questions....
1. do i need to have faster wifi for it to work properly (so more monthly cost)
2. what does the monthly subs to plexpass get me that i havent got right now?
3. when ive stopped 'casting' the tv screen goes to the chromecast screensaver. but my 'home' button on tv remote wont let me choose other modes any more, so i cant put it back to digital tv. i have to physically remove the chromecast to be able to watch tv again. is this normal?

thanks a lot 🙂

If anyone wants a jailbroken atv2... Step into my office

The WiFi is not dependent on the speed of your internet connection rather the hardware (router/modem/laptop)your using.
Most recent routers are N rated same goes for laptops.
If your using older equipment then the slower transfer speed from your laptop/router etc could be what's causing the blocky playback.

Just to throw a few more options out there,I have as app on my Nexus 7 called 'allcast' which can throw media to any device that's DNLA rated, I have used it with my Xbox 360 and it works fine.

Also I'm using a Netgear router which has a USB socket,plug a USB stick in with films,music,photos on it and it will act as a network media server.
Works fine on my laptop and Nexus tablet not sure if it would work with a Smart TV as I don't have one to try it with.

sadexpunk, really interesting to hear your experiences. A friend keeps touting the Chromecast as the solution, but I think she's spouting mainly tech specs, rather than real world experiences.

My gut feel is that, thinking about video, there's a fair amount of coding/ decoding required to get the content from PC to dongle - would that cause the issue, if the dongle doesn't have the necessary processing power??

@sadex - what's the wifi reception like in the room with the tv ? The signal has to go from pc to router to tv box. It might be worth moving the router into the room where the tv is or at least nearby.

@sadex by the way I find YouTube generally slow and blocky on my computer with Ethernet, Vimeo runs much more smoothly. It could be a problem at YouTube / content providers end.

our YouTube improved significantly when I wired the TV rather than wifi-ed it. wifi was throttling it, but this only applies if you have a good broadband connection.

However, I am waching with interest because the only way I can get what I want at the moment is to plug our macbook into the TV, and even then the picture quality isn't perfect.

What I don't understand is why this is so hard.