Apple TV and BBC iPlayer in Spain

[segovius]

Hi, I have a question re Apple TV or other possible solutions for a problem that's come up: living in Spain and have a satellite set-up that's been working fine. Now however the satellite has been shut off and no-one in Spain or Portugal can get UK terrestrial channels anymore.

Ok, no probs. Instead I'm thinking of getting an Apple TV and streaming BBC iPlayer to it via my 2009 MacBook Pro. So:

1) Is it possible?

2) What is the quality like on ATV content? Does it break up or buffer continuously or is it more or less like watching TV?

3) Another solution I am thinking of is to hook up the MacBook Pro to the TV without ATV but using an HDMI (?) cable. Is this going to be good quality? Is it a viable option? Worse than Airplay?

Any thoughts gratefully appreciated or if you have any better suggestions!

 

[OllyW]

Your MacBook Pro is too old for AirPlay Mirroring so you'd need use another app like AirParrot or Beamer to play it on your Apple TV.

Also, I think iPlayer detects your location and is only supposed to work from a UK IP address so you would need to use a VPN service.

 

[segovius]

Thanks Olly

I've got an iPhone and iPad too but they are not where I am now...but they'd work right? Could I hook up my (latest version) iMac to do this?

I don't know anything about this TV aspect, it's the missus who wants it sorted really. We do have a VPN though so that's sorted.

Your MacBook Pro is too old for AirPlay Mirroring so you'd need use another app like AirParrot or Beamer to play it on your Apple TV.

Also, I think iPlayer detects your location and is only supposed to work from a UK IP address so you would need to use a VPN service.

 

[colinharbour]

You'll need to throw some money at this! I had the same problem with the loss of the satellite TV signal in Cyprus and my solution was to buy a Mac Mini and connect it to the TV there via HDMI. In the UK (where I spend most time) I have a Slingbox which streams UK Freeview TV off the aerial and also the content (both live and recorded) from my Sky+ satellite box. I also watch BBC iPlayer, ITV player etc in Cyprus via a VPN connection.

With a modest downstream Internet connection of 2 to 3 mbps streaming is fine, with occasional stuttering. Supplying the feed from the UK is a BT Infinity fibre connection with an upstream speed of 16mbps. I ditched the crappy BT HomeHub and have an Asus RT-N66U router which also provides the VPN server I connect to when I'm abroad.

I hope that helps.

 

[segovius]

Thanks Colin - that helps. So I'm getting that I can't do this via the MacBook Pro and need a VPN (which I have on the iMac which is latest spec) - so I suppose the only way to do this without hideous expense is via iMac? Either connecting it to the TV or else air playing or streaming from it to the ATV?

The iMac is a long way away from the TV though at the other end of the apartment. Would that make a difference?

You'll need to throw some money at this! I had the same problem with the loss of the satellite TV signal in Cyprus and my solution was to buy a Mac Mini and connect it to the TV there via HDMI. In the UK (where I spend most time) I have a Slingbox which streams UK Freeview TV off the aerial and also the content (both live and recorded) from my Sky+ satellite box. I also watch BBC iPlayer, ITV player etc in Cyprus via a VPN connection.

With a modest downstream Internet connection of 2 to 3 mbps streaming is fine, with occasional stuttering. Supplying the feed from the UK is a BT Infinity fibre connection with an upstream speed of 16mbps. I ditched the crappy BT HomeHub and have an Asus RT-N66U router which also provides the VPN server I connect to when I'm abroad.

I hope that helps.

 

[Attonine]

I'm not sure you understand what VPN is, especially in this context. You will need to pay for a service that makes the BBC and other restricted services think you have a UK IP address. These are commercial services, there are many of them, you will need to google and look around to see which service will be the best for you.

The alternative is yo use a sling based system as described by colinharbour. This solution obviously requires that you also have a UK base.

 

[segovius]

I understand it. I have one. I use it all the time on the iMac to view UK content.

The issue is more getting this to steam from there to the TV either via ATV or a cable or some other means.

I'm not sure you understand what VPN is, especially in this context. You will need to pay for a service that makes the BBC and other restricted services think you have a UK IP address. These are commercial services, there are many of them, you will need to google and look around to see which service will be the best for you.

The alternative is yo use a sling based system as described by colinharbour. This solution obviously requires that you also have a UK base.

 

[Attonine]

OK. Is your iMac wired to your router/modem? If so, just enable internet sharing through the iMac's wifi and connect the ATV to this signal.

I should add I've never done this using a VPN connection, but if the iMac thinks it's UK based, then so should the ATV.

 

[segovius]

Actually I think you were right, maybe I did not quite get it. What I have is a proxy but it should work in this way still ?

Thanks for this actually, really helps...will give it a go and report back.

OK. Is your iMac wired to your router/modem? If so, just enable internet sharing through the iMac's wifi and connect the ATV to this signal.

I should add I've never done this using a VPN connection, but if the iMac thinks it's UK based, then so should the ATV.

 

[Grapow]

Not all of Spain

It's wrong to suggest that the whole of Spain has lost satellite reception for UK channels. We love in Denia (Northern Costa Blanca) and our reception is perfect 24/7.
Furthermore the suggestions on this forum that "the Spanish are getting difficult with us" is rubbish. They continue to treat us with respect and affection!

 

[davidoloan]

The main problem with using your computer is that you can't airplay the iPlayer program to your Apple TV by itself. You have to use Airplay Display which shows your whole computer screen on the TV. Which is great, but not ideal for this purpose.

Its not as nice in terms of pausing and rewinding etc.

The ios app works really well with Airplay to the Apple TV. Its designed to work with your TV, while the computer version is not. I use the ios version all the time. Airplay works more or less perfectly and you can use the ios device for other things while the program is playing on your TV. You can pause, rewind etc with fewer problems.

IOS iPlayer will work at its best if you download the whole program (takes a minute or so), and airplay that rather than stream it and airplay at the same time. However, if you are doing this go to Settings and turn on "Higher Quality Downloads" which will give you a higher resolution picture.

You can get a VPN for your IOS devices, but its very likely that very soon the Apple TV is going to have its own App store and hopefully its own iPlayer app. VPN apps might be available for the Apple TV - who knows.

But it might be worth seeing about getting a router on which you can install a VPN, and then just using ios and Apple TV as normal.

If it was me I would focus on IOS. Put it this way, although I have access to a Mac I never use it to stream iPlayer to a TV.

The main requirements for good iPlayer airplay between ios and Apple TV are a good internet connection and a good router. The Apple Airport Extremes work perfectly, but another brand might be better if you want to install a VPN on the router itself.

P.S. One tip to dramatically improve ios iPlayer Airplay to your Apple TV. Turn off Overscan on your TV. Nearly all TVs have Overscan turned on as standard. If its on the the TV will zoom the image and the BBC logo will be cut off in the corner, and the image will look bad. Turn Overscan off and the image will fit a 16.9 Tv screen perfectly. John Siracusa can huff and puff about this much better than me, here at http://hypercritical.co/2013/12/22/fill-your-tv

And nahla.11111 I just noticed we replied to a thread thats a year old ............ and your post is a link to a particular service