Question UK TV streaming options on LG TV ?

[JJBandit]

Hi Folks,

I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

Up until recently, I simply had freesat for my LG webOS TV. But it seems the Satelite Dish has failed, And cash is a bit tight at the moment, so i would prefer to avoid the repair/replace costs.

Most modern TVs in the UK have Freeview plus/play where you can (as far as i'm aware) stream UK TV over internet. But trust me to by an LG TV the one year they 'forgot' to renew the freeview plus/play licence.

Is there any way i can stream UK TV (freeview/sat) to my TV without requiring a Satelite or ariel? I have great ultra fast internet (600Mbps). But i'm really struggling to find any way to do this.

What i would really like is something that acts in the same way as my TV usually would, with a useable EPG that i can scroll through and pick a channel, rather than load up a specific app. The equivalent of just turning the TV on, and its there.


What i have found so far:

I have a firestick, but have read you can only use the individual apps, or use pluto TV, for example. My TV already has pluto TV and LG channels. but they don;t have the TV channels i'm looking for.

I think i have an old android box i could plug in, but i'm under the impression i would have a similar issue as i would with the firestick.

I vaguely remember reading that apps like Kodi have plugins that could do this, but its been so long since i used Kodi that i wouldn't even know where to start. I know how to sideload onto my firestick, or android box. But is it possible to get the equivalent of a working EPG for UK TV channels on there?

I keep coming across "youview' boxes on ebay, which sound like they might do the job, but am unsure if this is a subscription service, or would even allow me to stream using the internet.

The only other option i have found whilst searching for this is to put my TV in developer mode, then some how add the freeview plus/play app using the developer mode. But apparently this disables itself after 24 hours, and you need to add another app/function to reset the 24 hour timer. I'm not totally against doing this if i have to. But i'm hesitant to do anything that could cause ongoing issues with the TV as i simply can't afford to replace it at the moment.


I'm fairly techy, but know very little about TVs etc. So if anyone has any suggestions of anything i may have missed or not thought of. Or how i can basically have my usual UK TV but using the internet to get it. I would be eternally greatful, as my wife won;t be nagging me to fix it all the time.

Thanks in advance

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

You can use all of BBC Player, ITVX, and Channel 4/All4 apps top get most channels. They will work on the Firestick or TV.

Have you tried this? : https://www.freeview.co.uk/freeview-play

What channels are not available for you?

 

[JJBandit]

Hey there,

You can use all of BBC Player, ITVX, and Channel 4/All4 apps top get most channels. They will work on the Firestick or TV.

Have you tried this? : https://www.freeview.co.uk/freeview-play

What channels are not available for you?

Hi,

Thanks for your reply,

Thats exactly what i want. But my TV's OS on the LG does not have the option to install the app due to it being made in the one year LG forgot to renew the licence.

And there doesn't appear to be an android/firestick app that allows me to download freeview play app.

There doesn't appear to be freeview play set-top boxes as a standalone unit. everything that i seem to find requires the antenna or dish.

 

[JJBandit]

I just foudn the page that gives examples of freeview set-top boxes, Turns out they do make them, but at £250, it would be cheaper to replace my satelite dish

 

[JJBandit]

I thought i would just add a new finding.
I'm yet to actually test this, but the following lin suggests freeview play "is" actually available on the firestick in the UK.

So i will need to take another look and see if it does, But this is contrary to almost everything else i have read.

How to Watch Freeview on FireStick From Anywhere (2023) - Fire Stick Hacks

This step-by-step detailed guide will show you how to watch Freeview on FireStick, Fire TV, and Fire

firestickhacks.com

 

[Dylan Beckett]

can you sideload the apps you want.

I've heard you can plug in a chromecast or something like that and somehow fun google play store temporarily and use that to install stuff? Sounds hit and miss...

Pretty sure they mention that and other options here...

https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-get-the-Google-Play-Store-on-my-LG-Smart-TV


Best answer, avoid lg/hisense for this very reason, go sony and samsung if you can.

BTW are you actually in the UK or not?

I'm not in the UK, but I use NordVPN on my Smart TV and stream BBC, Ch4 etc from the apps. Same on pc, except easier still.

Get a 2-3 year membership, just straight vpn sub only, it's cheaper than you think.