apple tv and samsung smart tv and vpn / dns

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66france
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apple tv and samsung smart tv and vpn / dns

Post by 66france »

I pay a monthly subscription for vpn / dns and I have asked my mate google but not getting any direct answers.

Can I connect an apple tv to a samsung smart tv and get iplayer or do i still need a computer, iPad, iPhone, wii etc.

At the moment using my computer, but I want to seperate computer from tv.

Please help if you can.

Thanks
martyn94
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Re: apple tv and samsung smart tv and vpn / dns

Post by martyn94 »

66france wrote:I pay a monthly subscription for vpn / dns and I have asked my mate google but not getting any direct answers.

Can I connect an apple de quite tv to a samsung smart tv and get iplayer or do i still need a computer, iPad, iPhone, wii etc.

At the moment using my computer, but I want to seperate computer from tv.honehout

Please help if you can.

Thanks
An Apple TV will only access the services built into it unless it's fed a stream from an ipad/iphone/ipad/computer. Just as much with a smart tv as with a dumb tv.. But the smart tv might be adequate without help from the Apple TV: not my specialty, but others here may know.
Allan
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Re: apple tv and samsung smart tv and vpn / dns

Post by Allan »

66france wrote:I pay a monthly subscription for vpn / dns and I have asked my mate google but not getting any direct answers.

Can I connect an apple tv to a samsung smart tv and get iplayer or do i still need a computer, iPad, iPhone, wii etc.

At the moment using my computer, but I want to seperate computer from tv.

Please help if you can.

Thanks
VPNs and Smart DNS are not the same thing, which do you have? Or do you have both.

Samsung is one of the few makes of Smart TV that supports all of the major catch-up services, you do however have to make it think you are in the UK.

To watch television programs, an apple TV needs another device to send signals to it and it is no use on its own, that device can be an iPad, iPhone, iPod, PC or Mac.

The apps on Apple devices are way better than on a Smart TV so if You have an iPad then an Apple TV is a great option.

If not, say what TV and equipment you have got and which service you subscribe to and I, or someone else on here, will no doubt try to help.
66france
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Re: apple tv and samsung smart tv and vpn / dns

Post by 66france »

I subscribe to both vpn/dns. Currently watching catchup TV through my iMac.

I have a very old TV with only a scart plug at the back and will be going out to buy a new one this weekend so thought I would update with Samsung Smart TV.

I am moving my iMac 2 floors up in the house, and although I have the iPad and iPhone which are in constant use they are also away from the house quite often.

What I want is to be able to watch TV without setting up the iPad, iPhone each time.

Any help would be good.

Thanks
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Post by malcolmcooper »

Malcolm Cooper

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Re: apple tv and samsung smart tv and vpn / dns

Post by Allan »

66france wrote:I subscribe to both vpn/dns. Currently watching catchup TV through my iMac.

I have a very old TV with only a scart plug at the back and will be going out to buy a new one this weekend so thought I would update with Samsung Smart TV.

I am moving my iMac 2 floors up in the house, and although I have the iPad and iPhone which are in constant use they are also away from the house quite often.

What I want is to be able to watch TV without setting up the iPad, iPhone each time.

Any help would be good.

Thanks
Samsung Smart TVs are amongst the only ones that have the full range of catch-up services. They don't support VPNs but you can specify a DNS rather than using the one from your service provider. You don't say which Smart DNS service you have so I can't advise on whether it will work or how to set it up.

In order to have catch-up TV you need to connect to Samsung's UK App Store so make sure you set the network up first or it will think you are in France.

Even if it does think you are in France you can switch to the UK app store (Google will give you lots of pages of instructions on how to do this).

Normally to watch live TV, you have to use Filmon. There is no app available for Filmon so you have to connect using a Web Browser. I have a Samsung Smart TV which I rarely used, I tried it last night with Filmon and the browser updated to the latest version and wouldn't run Filmon - it just hung though it worked fine in the past. So if you buy one ask to see Filmon.com running in the web browser.

Since you plan to buy a new TV then Samsung is as good a make as any and the smart features add little to the cost. Having said that, the apps are painfully slow and not a patch on an iPad/Apple TV combination or an Android TV Box or stick so you may end up adding one of those at a later stage.

There is another way of watching live TV on a Samsung Smart TV and that is by using some free software called Plex.

Plex is in 2 parts, the Plex Media Server that runs on a PC or a Mac and the Plex client which is available as an app on the Samsung Smart TV.

Such a system does mean that your Mac has to be left powered on but the software runs in the background and you don't really know that it is running at all.

I hope this helps.
66france
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Post by 66france »

Firstly thank you very much for your help.

At the moment I am using Cactus they were offering vpn/dns for $5 a month.

I will buy the Samsung Smart TV first try to change settings to think I am in the UK and if I can't will have to to get an apple tv and use my iPad.

I have got so use to watching catchup TV I don't watch much live TV except for the news.

I can get filmon on my iMac so hopefully I will be able to get it on the new TV. I also watch tvplayer.com which I personally think is better than filmon.com.

Why would I watch live TV using Plex Media? or what are the benefits of Plex? I have checked it out on youtube but can't think why I would need it! When you have a minute if you could explain it would be much appreciated and please make it simple. Thanks
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Post by Allan »

66france wrote:Firstly thank you very much for your help.

At the moment I am using Cactus they were offering vpn/dns for $5 a month.

I will buy the Samsung Smart TV first try to change settings to think I am in the UK and if I can't will have to to get an apple tv and use my iPad.

I have got so use to watching catchup TV I don't watch much live TV except for the news.

I can get filmon on my iMac so hopefully I will be able to get it on the new TV. I also watch tvplayer.com which I personally think is better than filmon.com.

Why would I watch live TV using Plex Media? or what are the benefits of Plex? I have checked it out on youtube but can't think why I would need it! When you have a minute if you could explain it would be much appreciated and please make it simple. Thanks
You have me a bit confused as Cactus seem to offering VPN and SmartDNS as 2 separate products, each at $4.99 a month.

To use a Samsung SmartTV you need to be using SmartDNS and to set the DNS server on the TV to 87.117.205.136.

You are quite, TV player is a good product and probably superior to Filmon

To use either on a Samsung SmartTV, you can only do it using the TV's web browser. When you start the web browser it checks to see if there is an updated version before opening it. On my Samsung Smart TV, neither Filmon nor TVPlayer would work in the browser after a recent update, they worked on the previous version and I haven't had time to check if this is a general problem or just an aberration on my TV.

If Filmon doesn't work in the TV browser then you can still watch it using Plex. The Plex app works better with a TV remote than the browser does and tends to be smoother because generally the PC/Mac running the server is more powerful that the processor in the TV. At the end of the day, it is simply another way of watching the same thing.

If you are unhappy with the SmartTV, then an iPad/AppleTV combination is a good option but for a similar price to an Apple TV, you can buy an Android TV Box or stick that doesn't tie up your iPad.
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Post by Sue »

Allan we took your advice of "If it aint broke dont fix it" and continue to use our Android stick for Film on and bought a new Samsung tv (NOT Smart) and the 2 together work together really well. We personally have no desire for catch up tv (and dont understand peoples obsession with it) as there is such rubbish on we don't mind if we have missed it but then we never watched catch up in the UK anyway.
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66france
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Post by 66france »

Cactus we're offering two for the price of one when the World Cup was on so I subscribed for 3 months and it ends in September. Before that I only used VPN.

I would also like to know why you need an android stick to watch filmon?

Thanks
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Post by Sue »

The android stick does away with using a tablet, laptop, xbox or any other type of box or subscription. It is small the size of a USB stick and fits directly into the tv unseen.
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Post by Santiago »

How do you control your Android stick Sue? Can you download other apps to watch catchup TV, Netflix, FilmOn etc?

I'm the opposite, I only watch live TV for sporting events. I hate my life to be ruled by TV broadcasting times.
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Post by Sue »

The android stick comes with a pretty useless wifi remote. We bought another for a little over £10 from ebay uk. In fact we have 2 as hubby has one which he uses to change channels/saved music on his netbook. We do not watch catchup tv, i player or Netflix although I understand if you use Google Chrome or Firefox you can download the Hola app which will give you catchup and iplayer. Did try but didnt put much effort into it as not really interested. This is the wifi remote we use http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WiFi-Fly-Air- ... 20da08cc45
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Post by montgolfiere »

are you watching Filmon in 'SD' or 'HD'?
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Post by Sue »

SD with virtually no buffering except on Channel 4 particularly around 9 pm. We dont get adverts either except on the usual ITV channels.
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Post by Santiago »

The Android stick sounds a great solution for my gite TV as the house has Wifi but no TV aerial.
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Post by Sue »

Have to give detailed instructions how to operate it. Fine when using it yourself but may be more trouble than its worth for a gite!
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Post by Allan »

66france wrote:Cactus we're offering two for the price of one when the World Cup was on so I subscribed for 3 months and it ends in September. Before that I only used VPN.

I would also like to know why you need an android stick to watch filmon?

Thanks
You probably don't.

You were talking about a Samsung Smart TV and there is no app for Filmon available for it. The only way to watch Filmon (on a Samsung Smart TV) is in the Samsung web browser and I did say a couple of times that on my Samsung Smart TV, Filmon no longer works through the web browser. It may be that if you have bought a new TV that Filmon will work fine.

The point that I made is that if it doesn't work you could always add an Android TV stick or box, or use the Plex app on the Samsung.
66france
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Post by 66france »

I have bought the TV online waiting for it to be delivered. I will try always of getting connected to UK TV live or catchup and let the forum know the outcome.

Of course there is a new apple TV due to appear before the end of the year so if I have to use the ipad/apple tv option I will wait until it arrives online.

Thanks for all the info.
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