Smart TV advice please.

Omg sorry to sound thick! But i dont understand any of this its all too technical,
Im moving to malta 7th feb and already have my apartment ready for me, Obviously i meed internet house phone, and some decent tv, i have contacted melita and go and looked at their packages, do you suggest i just get   Housephone and internet from them then as id like to book it so it gets fitted day after i arrive, then get some different sort of different package from someone else, and will that someone else fit the dish box etc or do i still need
To do this streaming confusing thing? Im so confused. Any clear info that i understand ha ha  will be very much appreciated. Also is there anyway out of this  200  euro deposit before id card do go and melita charge this? Thank you in advance

dont get the tv packages stay well clear you will be fed up in no time at all and it will be too late to get out of their contract. Stick to your guns and dont pay the deposit its against the EU legislation - those who have done this have not had to pay a deposit. ask to see a manager and explain this.

tv depends on what you wish to watch and your viewing habits.

iptv (Internet Protocol TeleVision) would seem to be the way to go - less hassle no real installation costs, take it anywhere no matter where you go.

simple plug n play

That sounds easy for me toon, shall i just get phone and internet then is melieta and go just same? Prob just eastenderS, Geordie shore, only way is essex lol ha ha, and kids programmes for lily and some sort of sport for ronnie. Where do i get this plug and play you mention? So i dont need a dish or anything, how do i argue about deposit what will i say, its cheeky like especially when im just waiting on my maltese citizenship. Im panicking cos i want internet when i get  there or day after or ill be cracking up lol xx

1. Get Melita internet and phone only. May take longer than a day or two and you may well have to pay a deposit.
(Argue as much as you like, if they are minded to charge you one, they will.)
2. Get this from flutistat as it is very easy to operate and you will get all UK main channels.





















That can be installed after the internet service is on.
Flutisat FB page is here:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flutisat … 40?fref=ts

I am sure that with being half Maltese and having visited regularly that you will NOT expect everything to be ready when you want it to be? Chill, relax, find something else to do in the meantime.

Mods. Please note this is NOT an advert but a personal recommendation based upon experience and the need of Denisemac1

Oh thank you, this is a great help, so i literally plug in and go? My head is gonna explode trying to think of everything, only good thing is i have keys now and my cousin lives right near apartment so i was hoping to sort before i came in 3 weeks. Go said they wont charge a deposit but everyone advises melita better, x

Do you know if you buy a subscription from them with that box as they have the same box on ebay for 90 quid. But would it work x

You buy the box and combined subscription from them which covers the first 12 months (€360), then it's €20 per month afterwards.
The box is easy enough to connect but the guy cam over from Malta and installed it for us on Gozo for €30 as they do not deliver to Gozo. I could have easily done it myself but couldn't be bothered. I also wanted to ensure it worked whilst he was here. If you buy your own box you will then need to find and subscribe to a service provider.
I am advising this one as it is very easy to use, though there are other methods.
Melita internet is advised as it is a better internet service, as many will also say.
Picture quality is about the same as a non HD UK TV picture.
Also, with a USB memory stick inserted into it you can record programmes but ensure you leave the box switched on and not on standby.
Also there is a 'catch up' service for just about all channels.
Others may argue that there may be better alternatives but for ease of use and a 'good enough' service, I suggest this method for here. Lynn is not technically minded at all and she loves it. Bonus for me (and probably your husband) is you also get all Sky Sports, BT Sports and EuroSport channels.

Oh that's fab thats what i wanted sky sports etc, so might as just well wait to i get there and go to the store and buy one. Ur information is clear and easy for someone like me to understand ha ha cheers. Is it active immediently when u buy or is there a waiting period for activation? Did you pay melita a deposit and if you dont mind me asking how much was it?

it is a good service i have the same box with a different supplier - 25 channels of catchup tv including the main brit ones. i can recommend it too.

Melita is the better service for sure and you get the speed you pay for as long as you are not abusing the download limits.

even if you had to pay the deposit just make sure you can get it back against your bill once you ve got your status sorted and id cards etc - that seems to be the way for many people too

or you can opt for the android smart tv set top box for tv series and movies and just about any live tv content you want for a one off charge for the box (€70-€95 shipped to Malta - or about £70 if bought in UK)  and no monthly charges - quality is very good to exceptional.. and is way upto date with content including an archive going back decades - if its on the net its available to view, and most stuff is  - its relatively easy to setup despite being a little techy, but once its done - its done

Think i fancy the first box if it has sky sports etc on, did you pay same price from your supplier toon? Was it also 360

Denisemac1 wrote:

Do you know if you buy a subscription from them with that box as they have the same box on ebay for 90 quid. But would it work x

i bought mine from a german supplier ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/261323332530?ss … 1439.l2649 ) nb again not an advert just info - and it worked fine but you do have a little techy stuff to do to match / bind it to the box and service provider assuming you can find one to supply you this way - again once its done its done....but then i tried both the main IPTV suppliers (not in Malta) trial periods first then made an informed and experienced choice

however am 100% sure the suppliers here wont sell a subscription on its own.

No because the Flutisat unit didnt have what I wanted as standard - the suppler charges far more for that as an optional extra to what i now pay for the whole lot, plus the benefit of two services for the price of one, - i wanted ALL sport including OSN and Al Jazeera (now Bein sports 1-10)

the other side of these things is that this is a lot of cash up front with a service that is not yet fully proven over time - not a criticism just a financial and technical observation  - it could disappear overnight - (unlikely as i know the originator personally of the Flutisat service (Flutisat is an agent) - but it could as it depends on take up - a lot of investment has been spent by him (not Flutisat) to set it all up  - whereas what i wanted and opted for was a safe monthly sub no lump cash up front - so i am protected against any potential loss with a supplier " disappearing"  until such time as i have sufficient confidence in its longer term stability

Denisemac1 wrote:

Oh that's fab thats what i wanted sky sports etc, so might as just well wait to i get there and go to the store and buy one. Ur information is clear and easy for someone like me to understand ha ha cheers. Is it active immediently when u buy or is there a waiting period for activation? Did you pay melita a deposit and if you dont mind me asking how much was it?

in my experience of others the deposits seem to depend on what services you take and who you deal with in the shop  - one chap i kn ow was asked for €1000 deposit  (extreme case) - others have been asked for between €100 and €300

Thanks for all info. Been a huge help. Think ill just go wth the box and subscription for 360 as im too confused to do anything else lol, be suitable for what we want not be watching a huge deal anyway prob wont be home much x

Don't forget that your TV should have a HDMI connector and the quality of picture will depend upon type of TV and screen size.
( Any loss of detail is more observable on larger screens, we use 37" & 39" screens and they are fine.)
HDMI socket looks like this:

am using a 55inch led and its fine.....

toonarmy9752 wrote:

am using a 55inch led and its fine.....

It's not the size that counts..................

without doubt its the quality

but just to serve as a parry for the picture quality on tv size... its fine

I know, I was trying to make a joke on the old 'man' saying about the size that counts. 

i know 

When we arrived here we wanted internet installed straight away, but it took ages & even when it was installed it didn't work for 3 days! Our landlady already had GO TV installed, which was included in our rent, so thankfully she arranged installation of the internet (as well as the phone, as she got the GO Silver Home Pack) & it is all in her name, so there was no problems & no ID cards needed, plus we only have to pay for the internet (& any phone calls we make), thankfully as the TV out here is dire!

I really would suggest you buy a media box off Ebay while you are still in the UK, most are already set up with XBMC installed on them, then you can watch the basic UK channels, that you would get on Freeview, for free on either the EXPAT TV or FilmOn add on They also have an add on called NTV, this is a subscription TV service that gives you all the main UK channels, including SKY channels for just 14 Euros a month & there is no contract, you can pay month by month for as long as you want it & pay by PayPal too... The quality of the streams are excellent as well 

i edited my post because the question i asked is now redundant  :-))

FlamingGalah! wrote:

When we arrived here we wanted internet installed straight away, but it took ages & even when it was installed it didn't work for 3 days! Our landlady already had GO TV installed, which was included in our rent, so thankfully she arranged installation of the internet (as well as the phone, as she got the GO Silver Home Pack) & it is all in her name, so there was no problems & no ID cards needed, plus we only have to pay for the internet (& any phone calls we make), thankfully as the TV out here is dire!

I really would suggest you buy a media box off Ebay while you are still in the UK, most are already set up with XBMC installed on them, then you can watch the basic UK channels, that you would get on Freeview, for free on either the EXPAT TV or FilmOn add on They also have an add on called NTV, this is a subscription TV service that gives you all the main UK channels, including SKY channels for just 14 Euros a month & there is no contract, you can pay month by month for as long as you want it & pay by PayPal too... The quality of the streams are excellent as well 

Totally agree and its to become even more important for viewers of UK TV via satellite when the sats move in about 3-4 weeks time. The sat for 2F has already started its journey and is due to arrive at its permanent position around 14th 15th February

have finally got xbmc up and running after a bit of tinkering, must admit I am well impressed 

it is easy and lots of stuff for free.

toonarmy9752 wrote:

it is easy and lots of stuff for free.

Sure is,, still working my way around it all but I can get UK TV and films so I'm happy for now..

and mountains of tv series going back years  - a massive archive

What repository are you using?

Rocking Ken wrote:

What repository are you using?

Are we discussing embarrassing medical conditions now? 

redmik wrote:

Rocking Ken wrote:

What repository are you using?

Are we discussing embarrassing medical conditions now? 

Ha-ha might of guessed that would throw up a comment or two.. 

i only use two really superepo  all and mikeys1234 - they tend to cover most of what i use

an interesting one is dixies tv guide

toonarmy9752 wrote:

i only use two really superepo  all and mikeys1234 - they tend to cover most of what i use

an interesting one is dixies tv guide

I using mickeys1234 will have a look at superepo, cheers

"the one" is a worthy rep addition -

add
1channel / primewire
icefilms
putlocker
projecttv
filmikz
zmovies
watchin it
watch the tapes
solarmovies.so
much movies
moviestorm
simply movies
tubeplus
nav-x
and mashup  -when the new one is published soon

for uk tv
notfilmon
ftv
filmon
expattv


iplayers
5ondemand
itv player
bbc player

sadly 4OD doesnt work

all work well with a smartDNS service - only €3 per month so well worth it

use whats left of the on board hard drive as a cache by adding the source for whufclee and add the advanced settings xml for cache 0 to HDD - this will help to avoid any buffering issues that may ensue....and set the settings for sources in istream films and movioes and i watch to SD then DVD then HD then NA delete the CAM and TS sources.

That's excellent toon thanks....

I have just installed TV Guide Dixie & it's brilliant! Can now see what is on & it lets you choose streams to add to the guide too, I have the basic UK channels from FilmOn/ExPatTV & also the basic US ones from USTV Now, any other streams you can find can also be added too, (mostly from Live Streams in Mashup) such a clever add on 

it is a super tool for sure but dont mix it with istream as it tends to fail and lock up the tv guide. why i dont know  - if it does do this then uninstall istream and then delete the database in dixies tv guide then rerun dixies for it to rebuild.

I also managed to get the iPlayer & ITV Player addons to work just by putting in a free UK proxy server address in the settings, obvious these free proxy's may not be as stable & you may have to enter new ones from time to time, but have been using the same one for a couple of weeks now without any trouble. Just a shame that the 4OD & Demand 5 addons don't work...

my demand 5 works fine.....

but then i have backup in my smart tv for bbc iplayer and demand 5 just in case. using the same smartDNS service installed in my router.