# How to get non-Spanish TV channels?



## anderso (Jan 5, 2012)

We have now lived in Spain for two weeks and are very happy about our move.

However, we would like to be able to watch British and Danish TV channels. What's the best way?

We have a 50MB Ono fiber internet connection, so I am inclined to getting this to work with internet TV and not having to deal with satellite companies.

Is anybody doing the same? I am assuming this requires some sort of British and Danish VPN to get British and Danish IP-adresses. This should make iPlayer etc. available on the house computers. But what is the quality of this? As good as normal HD TV? What are you using to do this?

Ono also offered us a TV subscription with our fiber net connection. We initially said no, but I am now a little curious. If Ono TV is internet cable based, then maybe there is a clever way of "including" some more, foreign, channels with the standard Ono ones?

Next there is the question of streaming the internet TV from computer to actual TV. This can be done in a variety of ways with Apple TV and other "boxes", but does anyone have experiences to share? What worked for you?

Hoping for some advice from seasoned expats. If there is already a thread about this somewhere, I would appreciate a finger pointing me in the right direction.

Thanks,
Anders, Valencia


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

You are fortunate to have a fibre optic connection - we are lucky to get 7 Mb on ADSL. 

English and American programmes broadcast on Spanish channels can be viewed in English by turning off the Spanish overdubbing in the Audio settings. 

You can get programs like Expat Shield to give you a fake British IP address, which enables you to use iPlayer etc. There are security issues though. 

BBC World News and other news channels are available free on the internet through websites like Livestation. Otherwise you would have to get them as part of a subscription from ONO (along with a load of rubbish channels).

We use bit torrents to download the programmes we want to watch from Vuze: The most powerful bittorrent app on earth., like _Forbrydelsen _(brilliant!) but you have to wait a few days for the torrents to become available. On the other hand, there are no adverts! We use a media player box which connects the memory stick to the TV.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> You are fortunate to have a fibre optic connection - we are lucky to get 7 Mb on ADSL.
> 
> English and American programmes broadcast on Spanish channels can be viewed in English by turning off the Spanish overdubbing in the Audio settings.
> 
> ...


is Vuze better than utorrent?

and would there be any issues having them both on the same computer?


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

The quality of iplayer, especially the HD content is very good and you'll have no problems with a 50mb/s connection unless you have a download limit.

Unblock Us - smarter faster VPN is excellent, its a few dollars a month but is way more reliable than expat shield. Using that lets you sign up to the likes of netflix and netflix USA (much more content than the UK site)


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## Guest (Apr 9, 2012)

I prefer uTorrent over Vuze, both are equally fine for the job. uTorrent has the edge, for me though.

Having both would cause minor issues with file association malarkey. Click on a torrent and you`d have to specify which app to use to deal with the .torrent file. 

I use ExpatShield, but make sure to disable some of it`s settings when I`m done using it. It has a nasty habit of loading a bunch of process/services at startup, regardless of whether you initialise it or not. Apart from that, it`s OK(ish), but suffers when the world and their wife are watching Corrie or `stenders.

Media streamers can be modified PC`s or COTS products like Slingbox and many others. Prices start from 75 and go up and up and up! I can stream stuff from my PC to fondleslab, as well as use the slab as a remote to launch movies/music on PC (connected to hifi). Doddle to setup and freaks the OH out when I can launch a tune on her PC whilst I`m out and about - I`m a truly mischievous individual!

Eeeh, isn`t technology fun.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Yossa said:


> I prefer uTorrent over Vuze, both are equally fine for the job. uTorrent has the edge, for me though.
> 
> Having both would cause minor issues with file association malarkey. Click on a torrent and you`d have to specify which app to use to deal with the .torrent file.
> 
> ...


thanks for that, I'll stick with utorrent then 

I've thought about Expatshield, but there isn't really anything on UK TV that I'm especially bothered about - anything I DO want I can downlaod, or it's on Spanish tele anyway - & I've finally worked out how to record onto the humongous thing in the corner, so I don't even have to stay up half the night to watch it


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Personally, I don't watch TV except for the odd film. BUT we have a satellite dish and a Samsung 32" TV on which we can watch all the Satellite channels, Spanish TV, videos (either self recorded or DVD), Torrents on a USB stick and, if the suegra is using the room for teaching, she can have the PC connected and use that as the display as well as the monitor.


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

I upgrade my PC every year and use the old one in a bedroom plugged into a TV, connected to the home wireless network I can lay in bed and surf the net or watch a film off my main PC downstairs, simple to set up and all four bed rooms are now 'online'.


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## anderso (Jan 5, 2012)

Thanks to all for the replies and good ideas.

Didn't know you could switch the dubbing off. Just tried it and it works great.

The ONO TV is only a couple of Euros extra a month if you have internet with them, so think we will go with that to get BBC World. There are a couple of other decent channels in their package.

Vuze is great and we use it together with XBMC installed on a jail breaked Apple TV to view the files on the TV.

Call me old fashioned, but I still like live TV where you don't have to search for specific files but can sit down and let yourself be surprised. I am sucker for History Channel type documentaries and there aren't too many of those lying around as torrents.

Also like live sports with English or Danish commentary. 

Anyway, think we can get iPlayer to run on XBMC to use it via Apple TV. For Danish TV I think I have to play with mirroring the computer screen on the TV. And we need two different VPNs of course. Pheeww ...

Thanks again
Anders


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

There are a surprising amount of History Channel and National Geographic type documentaries on some of the more obscure Spanish TDT channels. In Andalucia they often turn up on Canal Sur 2.

I like watching football with Spanish commentators, they are far more entertaining than the English ones!


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## Guest (Apr 9, 2012)

If you have a droid or an iphone, try using FilmOn. I could watch, but rarely do (Six Nations, David Attenborough, Brian Cox and David Attenborough etc.) all the main Brit TV channels on the fondleslab. It`s even got Dave, if you like constant re-runs of Top Gear and some great panel shows/comedy in between Clarkson.

Tis free to download and use. Go to Google Market/Play and search for FilmOn.


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## anderso (Jan 5, 2012)

Oh, and if somebody can recommend a UK VPN-provider I'd be most grateful. Low price, high speed and no hassle is what I am looking for, of course.

And thanks Alcalaina, I will check out the higher channel numbers to see what's on offer (-:


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

baldilocks said:


> Personally,* I don't watch TV except for the odd film*. BUT we have a satellite dish and a Samsung 32" TV on which we can watch all the Satellite channels, Spanish TV, videos (either self recorded or DVD), Torrents on a USB stick and, if the suegra is using the room for teaching, she can have the PC connected and use that as the display as well as the monitor.



You naughty popette, do tell what you watch


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

bob_bob said:


> You naughty popette, do tell what you watch


Recently watched the Artist before it got all those awards and last weekend watched Le Havre - both excellent films and well worth the trouble to read subtitles.


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## GallineraGirl (Aug 13, 2011)

Film On works very well on the iPad and if you have an iPad 2, or better, can be shown on a TV with an adapter or using AirPlay. You can also 'mirror' any video content on the iPad to the TV. Also the BBC iPlayer Global App works very well and has lots of previous BBC content to choose from and some current content, for a very reasonable cost. This works well with iPad 1 too. Of course, you do have to have an iPad to use this option but we find we need nothing more.


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## anderso (Jan 5, 2012)

FilmOn looks fantastic on iPad and I can mirror to Apple TV. Thanks. Am I really just choosing channels and watching streamed live TV from the UK etc.? Even with a Spanish IP? 

I will have to play around with it. There is no such thing as a free lunch ... or is there?


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## Guest (Apr 10, 2012)

I thought the same. Having watched Scotland get gubbed, again, in the Six Nations, whilst up a wee hill (me, not them), I can attest to the overall liveness of said product! 



ps There are some truly awful channels that really are worth a deek - mainly anything with God in the title!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

baldilocks said:


> Recently watched the Artist before it got all those awards and last weekend watched Le Havre - both excellent films and well worth the trouble to read subtitles.


We saw _The Artist _last night and really enjoyed it (didn't realise it had won awards but I can see why). Will now go and download_ Le Havre_. Thank you!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Has anyone tried those USB TV receivers that let you watch TDT channels on your computer?


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> We saw _The Artist _last night and really enjoyed it (didn't realise it had won awards but I can see why). Will now go and download_ Le Havre_. Thank you!


The Artist is a 2011 French romantic comedy drama in the style of a black-and-white silent film written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius, starring Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo. The story takes place in Hollywood, between 1927 and 1932, and focuses on the relationship of an older silent film star and a rising young actress, as silent cinema falls out of fashion and is replaced by the talkies.
The Artist received near-universal acclaim from critics and won many accolades. Dujardin won the Best Actor Award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where the film premiered. The film was nominated for six Golden Globes, the most of any 2011 film, and won three; Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Original Score, and Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Dujardin. In January 2012 the film was nominated for twelve BAFTAs, also the most of any film from 2011, and won seven, the most wins of the night, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Hazanavicius, and Best Actor for Dujardin. It was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won five, including Best Picture, Best Director for Hazanavicius, and Best Actor for Dujardin. It was the first mainly silent film to win Best Picture since 1927's Wings (the first recipient of the Best Picture Award, in 1929), the first film presented in the 4:3 aspect ratio to win since 1955's Marty, the first black-and-white film to win since 1993's Schindler's List, and the first non-R-rated film to win since 2004's Million Dollar Baby.
In France, it was nominated for ten César Awards, winning six, including Best Film, Best Director for Hazanavicius and Best Actress for Bejo. The Artist became the most awarded French film in history. 


WRT Le Havre - make sure you get English subs unless you are fluent in French.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> Has anyone tried those USB TV receivers that let you watch TDT channels on your computer?


No, our UK-bought TV has an inbuilt TDT that enables us to watch Spanish TV on a little portable set-top aerial with the advantage that films in English actually play in English.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

baldilocks said:


> No, our UK-bought TV has an inbuilt TDT that enables us to watch Spanish TV on a little portable set-top aerial with the advantage that films in English actually play in English.


So does ours, but I just fancy being able to watch girly stuff on my laptop while OH is watching endless US cop shows...

I think you need to plug the TV aerial into the laptop so that's no good.


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## GallineraGirl (Aug 13, 2011)

Back to using the iPad.....Global iPlayer works brilliantly even with very low broadband speeds. There are some free programmes you can try out before you subscribe. We don't think Film On can be legal but Global iPlayer is, if this worries anyone.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

We spend too much time outside to watch much tv. We let our sky box record it all and then we delete it before we watch it.


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## krisani (Apr 13, 2012)

You don't have to deal with a satellite company to get freeview here. Just an old Sky or new freeview box and dish. I've got an old Sky dish with a 4-lead LNB and can get most UK channels and HD for free. Even got one lead into the PC with a TV tuner. Don't know for sure but you may be able to get some Danish channels on that Astra 2E too.
BTW I've bought a couple of used boxes on eBay in the past and they have lasted longer than my daughters' new ones(supplied by Sky) in the UK.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

thrax said:


> We spend too much time outside to watch much tv. We let our sky box record it all and then we delete it before we watch it.


Is it cheaper that way? Would that work in UK? if so I'll tell my sister and she might get out of paying her TV licence.


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## PokAlice (Mar 8, 2011)

We use Iplayer via XBMC (primarily for English language tv for the kids - cbeebies etc) and it works very well. I can't remember the plugin name off the top of my head but I can check if you're interested. 

Global Iplayer isn't available yet on anything other than apple devices last time I checked so we use a VPN (Consult-here vpn) which seems to work fine so far. Added advantage is you get a US VPN Server thrown in for the price. 

If you'd prefer to use Windows Media Centre instead of XBMC there is a great plugin called TunerFreeMCE which allows you to watch most of the UK channels: MillieSoft


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## sat (Jul 20, 2008)

krisani said:


> You don't have to deal with a satellite company to get freeview here. Just an old Sky or new freeview box and dish.


For clarification:

You cannot receive UK Freeview in Spain.
A UK Freeview box does not work with a satellite dish.
A UK Freeview box connects to a TV aerial.
A UK Freeview box in SPain will only recieve the Spanish digfital channels.
Some of the channels available on Freeview in the UK, are subscription on satellite.

Just clarifying this as still people bring Freeview boxes to Spain and cannot understand why thet do not work when they connect them to a satellite dish, or that they cannot get UK TV channels via a TV aerial in Spain...all down to people and "installers" using the incorrect terminology.


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## GallineraGirl (Aug 13, 2011)

PokAlice said:


> We use Iplayer via XBMC (primarily for English language tv for the kids - cbeebies etc) and it works very well. I can't remember the plugin name off the top of my head but I can check if you're interested.
> 
> Global Iplayer isn't available yet on anything other than apple devices last time I checked so we use a VPN (Consult-here vpn) which seems to work fine so far. Added advantage is you get a US VPN Server thrown in for the price.
> 
> If you'd prefer to use Windows Media Centre instead of XBMC there is a great plugin called TunerFreeMCE which allows you to watch most of the UK channels: MillieSoft


Yes please, can we have the plugin name for iPlayer via XBMC. Thanks


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## Lunar-Tech (Nov 21, 2011)

sat said:


> For clarification:
> 
> You cannot receive UK Freeview in Spain.
> A UK Freeview box does not work with a satellite dish.
> ...


I think Krisani means Freesat !


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## sat (Jul 20, 2008)

Lunar-Tech said:


> I think Krisani means Freesat !


I was just clarifying that Freeview is not available in Spain.

And even if Krisani did mean Freesat, then you cannot get Freesat on an "old Sky" box.
You can only get Freesat on a Freesat reciever.

However, all channels on a Freesat box are also available on a Sky box, even if you dont have a Sky card. These are classed as "free to air" channels.

There are some "free to view" channels on satellite, that requrie a Sky card, but no subscription (which is confusing called "Freesat From Sky" well before Freesat was conceived) - such as Five HD, Motors TV, Pick TV, Sony TV.

As you can see, using the correct terminology is critical - freeview, free to view, freesat, free to air are all differnet things. Wrong terminology gets so many confused, and means they can get the wrong equipment if sourcing it themselves. I have been to a number of people who ahev brought a Freeview box to Spain, and are confused when they cannot get it working on a dish, or cannot get UK TV channels via their TV aerial, becasue they have been confused with terminology.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

sat said:


> I was just clarifying that Freeview is not available in Spain.
> Wrong terminology gets so many confused, and means they can get the wrong equipment if sourcing it themselves. I have been to a number of people who ahev brought a Freeview box to Spain, and are confused when they cannot get it working on a dish, or cannot get UK TV channels via their TV aerial.
> 
> And if Krisani did mean Freesat, then you cannot get Freesat on a Sky box.
> ...


I have a question

fiddling around with the TV remote last night my dd found that we could switch from 'AIR' to 'CABLE' & listed under 'CABLE' were lots of UK channels!!

she then found that we actually recieve several channels incl. CITV, History, CNN, Disney, C4 

we have no set top box at all :confused2:, although I believe that the urb. has cable installed - but I thought you needed to get one of their boxes & pay them a monthly fee to use it

how come we're getting these channels?


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## sat (Jul 20, 2008)

Basically it sounds like your TV has a built in "cable / satellite" tuner, negating the need for a seperate box.

Normally most channel will be encrypted and require one of their cards and a subscription to watch.

Sometimes some channels are actually available for free.

Sometimes they forget to encrypt channels....or something is broken...

I have been to houses where no payments are taken, but the card is still active...

So dont shout about getting channels for free, it may not last, if they hear about it!!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

sat said:


> Basically it sounds like your TV has a built in "cable / satellite" tuner, negating the need for a seperate box.
> 
> Normally most channel will be encrypted and require one of their cards and a subscription to watch.
> 
> ...


it's a new tele so it probably does have a built in tuner..........

I shall keep quiet then


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## PokAlice (Mar 8, 2011)

GallineraGirl said:


> Yes please, can we have the plugin name for iPlayer via XBMC. Thanks


This I believe is the updated version of what I have:

xbmc-iplayerv2 - XBMC Plugin for IPlayer - Google Project Hosting

I will double check on my media pc a bit later to be sure.


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## anderso (Jan 5, 2012)

PokAlice said:


> This I believe is the updated version of what I have:
> 
> xbmc-iplayerv2 - XBMC Plugin for IPlayer - Google Project Hosting
> 
> I will double check on my media pc a bit later to be sure.


XBMC is the way we are going too. We have it installed on our Apple TV box and now have a British & Danish VPN set up. Only problem is that Apple TV doesn't have built-in VPN support, so I have now ordered a VPN enabled router that the Apple TV can be hooked up to. After that, we should have iPlayer & Danish TV on the actual TV via XBMC.

It's a bit nuts. Don't even watch much TV. It's become a matter of silly pride now. I WILL get it to work


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## mazlester (Oct 30, 2010)

I appear to be doing something wrong.
How do I get to watch IPlayer on XBMC? All I seem to be bale to see is Danish TV.
Could you giv em an idiots guide how to set it up please? I have downloaded the plugin and put it in the addons folder. Was this right?


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## anderso (Jan 5, 2012)

mazlester said:


> I appear to be doing something wrong.
> How do I get to watch IPlayer on XBMC? All I seem to be bale to see is Danish TV.
> Could you giv em an idiots guide how to set it up please? I have downloaded the plugin and put it in the addons folder. Was this right?


Are we talking iPlayer on an Apple TV? In that case this is the best little tutorial I have found on installing it:


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## mazlester (Oct 30, 2010)

No, just on a windows run computer I'm afraid.
I want to run it on a laptop running Windows 7 and a pc running Vista.


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## anderso (Jan 5, 2012)

mazlester said:


> No, just on a windows run computer I'm afraid.
> I want to run it on a laptop running Windows 7 and a pc running Vista.


I haven't tried that but have a look at the tutorial video anyway. I am guessing the problem could be that you haven't activated/enabled the iPlayer from within XBMC, and the video will tell you about that. I am also guessing XBMC on Apple TV must be very similar to XBMC on Windows.


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## mazlester (Oct 30, 2010)

I managed to find iPlayer under videos and not tv where I thought it would be but it still says I need a UK IP address.
I thought this was supposed to be used instead of ExPat Shield. Do I still need ExPat Shield running then?


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## anderso (Jan 5, 2012)

Yes, either Expat Shield or a paid VPN service that supplies you with a British IP. 

XBMC doesn't run instead of Expat Shield and does not give you a British IP. XBMC is more like an entertainment system that enables you to play video files from hard disk drives, hook up to certain TV channels and streaming services etc. 

You will need to obtain a British IP address from somewhere else if you want to watch geo-restricted content like iPlayer. 

Expat Shield is one option. Another (paid) option is VPN providers like hidemyass (just google it) which will probably be more stable than the free Expat Shield. Should cost around £60-70 for a year and is nowhere near as dodgy as it sounds.

I use it and can switch between British and Danish (and many other) IP addresses quite easily. And it works well, just not on the Apple TV. 

The (English) misses is watching iPlayer on the iPad as I write this, although we can't actually download the iPlayer app as my iTunes account is Danish, not British. That's geo-targeting for you. Nasty stuff ...


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

We just use Freesat which cost as about €130 (I think - SWMBO ordered and paid for it) for dish, box and installation. Which gives us all the UK channels, CBS, and loads of others (about 300 or so) - I don't watch TV myself so I'm not sure what we get.


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## Wannabe Expat (May 2, 2012)

*Non-Spanish TV channels*



anderso said:


> We have now lived in Spain for two weeks and are very happy about our move.
> 
> However, we would like to be able to watch British and Danish TV channels. What's the best way?
> 
> ...


I am still living in the UK but have done some research. I therefore can't vouch for how well it works, but there seems to be a possibility of getting UK TV via the internet by means of i-players etc which need a UK server. Take a look at My Expat Telly for the Costa Blanca and see what you think. It costs only £5 a month and allegedly gives access to most of the i-player/catch up programmes available here in the UK. All it seems to involve is downloading a VPN application on to your computer which deceives the catch-up facility into thinking you are on a UK based server - I am not that computer literate as regards the jargon, so not easy for me to explain! I gather you need to check whether your Spanish internet server allows a VPN application to be downloaded/utilised. Sounds good to me - anyone out there had any experience of My Expat Telly?


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## Seb* (Mar 22, 2009)

Wannabe Expat said:


> I am still living in the UK but have done some research. I therefore can't vouch for how well it works, but there seems to be a possibility of getting UK TV via the internet by means of i-players etc which need a UK server. Take a look at My Expat Telly for the Costa Blanca and see what you think. It costs only £5 a month and allegedly gives access to most of the i-player/catch up programmes available here in the UK. All it seems to involve is downloading a VPN application on to your computer which deceives the catch-up facility into thinking you are on a UK based server - I am not that computer literate as regards the jargon, so not easy for me to explain! I gather you need to check whether your Spanish internet server allows a VPN application to be downloaded/utilised. Sounds good to me - anyone out there had any experience of My Expat Telly?


VPN solutions work fine, you will have access to catch-up TV and some live streams. This is basically how we watched UK TV the last years. There are lots of solutions on the market shopping around is worth it. The only limiting factor is your internet bandwidth. You will need at least 3 Mbit consistent speed to fully enjoy it. It's possible to stream some on 1 or 2 mbit but you will get regular buffering and interruptions depending on the quality of the supplied line. Internet here is often bad and even with our 4 Mbit ADSL line we suffer outtakes and buffering on a regular basis. It's the cheapest and easiest way to get your UK TV fix :clap2:


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