Sky stream is absolutely awful. I’m done

[Mitch16]

Get Freely mate. You get all the public channels plus U, PSB and a few others. Interface is great because it was produced in conjunction with BBC, ITV, C4 and C5. The watch from start genuinely takes you to the start of the program without doing anything else. There's a playlist function, an EPG and a 7 day planner. Oh and it's subscription free of course. My Hisense £600 tv has already paid for itself in less than a year. I use NOW for any Sky movies and Sky Sports. No long contracts!

[Fothergill1]

@Mitch16 I have been thinking that Freely would make an interesting proposition for the bedroom.  As it won't be used that often it will be a more cost effective solution than another Sky puck and a monthly whole home subscription.   Back in my days with Sky Q I ended up cancelling the multiroom as it wasn't used enough.

You mention it has a playlist function.  Does this work in the same way as the Stream playlist and can NOW TV programmes be added assuming you subscribe?

[Hunter2660]

---

@Fothergill1 wrote:

@Mitch16 I have been thinking that Freely would make an interesting proposition for the bedroom.  As it won't be used that often it will be a more cost effective solution than another Sky puck and a monthly whole home subscription.   Back in my days with Sky Q I ended up cancelling the multiroom as it wasn't used enough.

You mention it has a playlist function.  Does this work in the same way as the Stream playlist and can NOW TV programmes be added assuming you subscribe?

---

I have a Freely TV in the bedroom. It's pretty good, but basic. I can't comment on the playlist as I haven't used it as yet. The watch from the start function doesn't work on all channels as it relys on the broadcasters apps for live streams. For instance the U app doesn't carry any live streams, so no watch from the start available. You have to use the Now app independently, you can't add them to the EPG.

One thing I would add if you have an aerial connection to top up the Freeview channels. I used that at first to top up the Freeview channels, but I found it frustrating. The way the Freely operates in "hybrid" mode leaves a lot to be desired. All the HD broadcast channels override the streaming versions. What this means is that ITV1 on LCN 3 is the SD version, with the HD version on LCN 61??? Even worse, if your ITV1 HD version is the incorrect region, (we get ITV Central here in the Westcountry as our "local" HD region), then you can't swap it for the correct available streaming region and place it on LCN 3. Another anomaly are the U channels, Legend, True Crime and PBS America. They are the broadcast versions, not the higher quality streaming versions. Hence I've disconnected the aerial and scanned for, and use, only the streaming channels.

On the plus side the LCN channels 1000 and above on Freely are reserved for any FAST channels that can be added later, similar to stream, and at the moment Hisense has a nice selection of extra channels added to the EPG.

---

@Fothergill1 wrote:

@Mitch16 I have been thinking that Freely would make an interesting proposition for the bedroom.  As it won't be used that often it will be a more cost effective solution than another Sky puck and a monthly whole home subscription.   Back in my days with Sky Q I ended up cancelling the multiroom as it wasn't used enough.

You mention it has a playlist function.  Does this work in the same way as the Stream playlist and can NOW TV programmes be added assuming you subscribe?

---

[Fothergill1]

Thanks @Hunter2660 very interesting.  It sounds as though Freely still has some issues and areas for improvement.

[Mitch16]

• I don't have an aerial anywhere in the house which is why it's a boon for me. The public service broadcaster's restart all work fine. There's an "add to" playlist which is as it sounds where you can press ok to add a particular program to your playlist. Going to your playlist fetches up everything in there, including the U ones although you are limited to 50, which is adequate unless you do nothing but watch tv 24/7. Pressing the watch button takes you straight to the program via the relevant app (eg bbci, itvx). Now tv has it's own playlist. Now app isn't part of Freely but the hisense remote has a button for it.  Freely is integrated into the hisense tv and has all the other apps there too, so it's the complete package on the one screen. It's futureproof too, any new channels or improvements are carried out automatically. 

[Fothergill1]

Many thanksd @Mitch16  I can see I need to do some homework and visit a couple of retailers for a demo 👍

[lettice]

It's called My List, not playlist.

An FAQ on all these types of features are on the official Freely website.

[Dazzasky]

---

@Hunter2660 wrote:

---

@Fothergill1 wrote:

@Mitch16 I have been thinking that Freely would make an interesting proposition for the bedroom.  As it won't be used that often it will be a more cost effective solution than another Sky puck and a monthly whole home subscription.   Back in my days with Sky Q I ended up cancelling the multiroom as it wasn't used enough.

You mention it has a playlist function.  Does this work in the same way as the Stream playlist and can NOW TV programmes be added assuming you subscribe?

---

I have a Freely TV in the bedroom. It's pretty good, but basic. I can't comment on the playlist as I haven't used it as yet. The watch from the start function doesn't work on all channels as it relys on the broadcasters apps for live streams. For instance the U app doesn't carry any live streams, so no watch from the start available. You have to use the Now app independently, you can't add them to the EPG.

One thing I would add if you have an aerial connection to top up the Freeview channels. I used that at first to top up the Freeview channels, but I found it frustrating. The way the Freely operates in "hybrid" mode leaves a lot to be desired. All the HD broadcast channels override the streaming versions. What this means is that ITV1 on LCN 3 is the SD version, with the HD version on LCN 61??? Even worse, if your ITV1 HD version is the incorrect region, (we get ITV Central here in the Westcountry as our "local" HD region), then you can't swap it for the correct available streaming region and place it on LCN 3. Another anomaly are the U channels, Legend, True Crime and PBS America. They are the broadcast versions, not the higher quality streaming versions. Hence I've disconnected the aerial and scanned for, and use, only the streaming channels.

On the plus side the LCN channels 1000 and above on Freely are reserved for any FAST channels that can be added later, similar to stream, and at the moment Hisense has a nice selection of extra channels added to the EPG.

---

@Fothergill1 wrote:

@Mitch16 I have been thinking that Freely would make an interesting proposition for the bedroom.  As it won't be used that often it will be a more cost effective solution than another Sky puck and a monthly whole home subscription.   Back in my days with Sky Q I ended up cancelling the multiroom as it wasn't used enough.

You mention it has a playlist function.  Does this work in the same way as the Stream playlist and can NOW TV programmes be added assuming you subscribe?

---

---

Interesting, not as good as others are trying to make out.  I'm sure in time to come though it will get better.