IPTV GUIDE – TELEVISION TECHNOLOGY
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IPTV
Subscription Free IPTV
Subscription free IPTV, is reliant on what is freely available on the internet. BBC player, ITV player or similar to your local free to air content supplied on satellite.
Companies often supply equipment offering services and have no control over the actual content provided, so any promises made of channels or content given on an ongoing basis cannot be accurate.
This causes pictures stuttering, freezing & blank screens. These are generally the most reported type faults with these services.
These type of systems need multiple applications to receive different content, many of which need frequently updating & as such as generally not suited to many homes users looking for a simple and stable service, such as Netflix. Free IPTV is not comparable to Free to air Satellite - so each needs to be reviewed individually.
Subscription based services
With these type of providers, you are paying a provider to host the content and to provide a standardised quality of picture and specific content from that provider.
With a reliable provider and stable internet you will get the type of TV service you would expect.
All IPTV & streaming services are fully reliant on the internet. If your internet has an issue, then so will your TV. Review our help guides
for further information.
What is catch up on live TV?
This type of service may be familiar to UK users, however those expatiates overseas have traditionally been locked out of these due to geographical internet regional blocking from the UK service providers - for example BBC & their iplayer.
IPTV services allow you the freedom away from a TV schedule.
There is no need to be in at 8pm to watch Eastenders or your favourite program. You can watch the TV programmes the following day or a few days after if you have missed with the catch up services. No recording or remembering to is neccessary.
Wi Fi or Cable connection?
When using IPTV the fastest internet connection possible is the most important factor for picture quality and stability. We recommend using equipment that can accept a hard wired direct ethernet Cat 5 cable connection – same type as your router / PC. A direct cable or extension from your router, will give you the fastest performance.
Whilst in most applications WiFi will work ok, as long as you have good speed to start with and not too many walls or distance between the box and the router.
If you have a long distance between the router and the TV box, then you may find performance can suffer. You can either upgrade your WiFi signal, by using (*for example) a 'MESH' based system - boosting signal around the house. The MESH systems perform far better than the small home WiFi type booster plugs.
If it is difficult to get a CAT 5 / Ethernet cable connection, it is also possible to use ‘home network plugs,’
which send the internet signal around your mains power loop.
Subscription Free IPTV & Amazon Firesticks
This equipment is more technical to use than the subscription-based options.
Those selling 'fully loaded' Modified Amazon Firesticks are running the KODI service do not operate in the same way originally as supplied by Amazon. These are not legally sanctioned by Amazon - so be aware if offered a 'fully loaded' product.
They run the Android modified software and combined with the KODI applications and functions make the Firestick a very different device to use from its standard Amazon format.
Issues with stability and performance exist with all of these type of service, due to the unmonitored nature and overshared streams or content which they access.
Smart TV’s, Mobile & Tablet
Streaming and IPTV applications now are available for some smart TV's the two most popular being Samsung and LG which have their own app stores.
