Tuesday 17 July 2012

Just when are we using our broadband via the TV set?


As the Olympics are due shortly and the BBC are advertising 24 on demand channels, we thought we would take some time out to find out when we are/are not connected to the internet via our TV.

I know it sounds ridiculous, we really should know but it is one of those things in life that you think you know then realise you don't.

As mentioned previously, we have been adjusting our bills downwards, the telephone being the last one, particularly regarding broadband. We used to have it unlimited when DS. was at home but have saved ourselves quite a bit of money by reducing it to 40GB per month. So far (since 6th July) we have barely used 1/10th of our allocated amount.

We went online to find out the answers then confirmed them by unplugging and plugging in the broadband to the back of the TV.

We have an HD TV with built in FreeSat - here is what we discovered. If we want to access the BBC iPlayer we do so by choosing Channel 901, pressing the red button and navigating from there. THIS USES THE INTERNET.

If we are watching a BBC channel and press the red button to watch something else (like a different game at Wimbledon or one of the 24 Olympic channels) THIS DOES NOT USE THE INTERNET.

We double checked by disconnecting ourselves from the internet and trying both ways again. Choosing Channel 901 and trying to access the iPlayer did not work. However, navigating from a BBC channel and using the red button still worked.

I'm sure it is the same for Freeview TV's as well as those with set top boxes. We can't at the moment access the ITV player but one assumes that doing so would again use the internet.

2 comments:

  1. Get freesat - one off cost of the kit - then free - you can get i player, as ell as the C4 and ITV versions - plus the usual Freeview stuff and a load of other channels.

    Not Sky, either, which always makes me feel pleased.

    if you want to know what kit we have I would be happy to talk - email me via the blog :-)

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  2. Interesting! We choose a TV with built in FreeSat as we don't watch much TV and rarely access the iPlayer as it is. We already had the satellite dish as we used to be with FreeSky so it was an easy option to transfer to. Also where we live, (in a big dip) our TV aerial reception wasn't great. Glad we have it though especially for the Olympics as apparently Freeview players will only be able to access 2/3 demand channels. It is also strange that FreeSat is nowhere near as well advertised as Freeview yet for us, it is a far better option. Thanks for the info.

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