Television over internet

I'm not particularly interested in computer-only services - I want to watch TV on my TV, not on my laptop. Set-top boxes are computers. Why go through a third party when you can just hook up a beater PC to your TV and enjoy all the torrents, streams, etc you like.

I hooked up a Mac mini to my plasma and use it to watch TV from iTunes, Hulu, etc. (fill in the "etc." yourself, the first rule of it is that you do not talk about it) as well as DVDs. The mini comes with a remote and media center software, so it's about as close to a set-top box as you're going to get while still having access to the flexibility of computer-based content. You could do something similar with a PC, probably for a bit less, but the mini is a very nice unit for the task. It paid for itself in about a year, since I'm not paying for satellite anymore. I do pay the $13 a month for local channels from the local cable franchise since I do find it occasionally handy to be able to watch live TV (and much to my pleasure, Comcast does include the HD broadcasts).

A computer attached to your TV will get you iTunes, Zattoo, iPlayer, ITV's Catch-Up and 4OD (depending on your choice of OS/installed plugins...) which more than covers the 'terrestrial' channels and a handful of Freeview ones. (For what it's worth, when we moved into the house we're in now, the TV signal was rubbish. We mentioned it to the lettings agency, and they sent someone out to fit a new aerial at no charge to us, so it can't hurt to at least ask)

2nd Zattoo

Lemme see. The legitimate mainstream online services are all DRM'd and/or streaming, so the only legit option for those is to buy a pc, and plug it into your TV. Or use your laptop plugged into your TV. There is the appletv box ( a cut down mac mini) but I don't know what it's compatibility is like for non itunes content. Personally, I built a custom quiet pc with tv tuners (for freeview recording) plugged into the hdmi port on my TV, running windows vista home premium (with media centre). I also watch xvid or x264 content I ripped from my own films and store on my storage server outside the living room. Also, watch your quotas - most UK isp's now have an explicit monthly cap, or a hidden 'fair use' one, usually around the 40GB mark for premium 'unlimited' services, lower for the cheap ones. Entanet resellers are the only ones I know of that have a much higher one. You've got free legit services like: - BBC iplayer (streaming or p2p) - channel 4 watch online (streaming) - itv OD (streaming) - zattoo (p2p) - hulu (streaming) - joost (streaming) - twisting the arm of your landlord and get him to allow to you put up a freesat dish, on the basis that you take it with you after. paid legit services like: - BT vision (streaming using BT broadband is charged for; freeview via aerial isn't) - itunes UK tv (individual downloads, limited selection) - xbox live (individual film downloads, requires an xbox) - renting DVDs through subscription postal services like lovefilm. less legit options include: - torrents and subscription newsgroup servers, downloading xvid and h264 encoded films and tv - given that ISP's now log all this crap, at least use an anonymising VPN like torrent-freedom. I use one because I don't like the UK government snooping on my 'net connection as a matter of course. - youtube. All the online tv services I know of are pc only, except appletv (almost a pc) +itunes, which is expensive with a limited selection in the UK.

OK, BT vision On Demand doesn't require a PC, but their set-top box instead. Bloody expensive though, and you need BT broadband.

I know you said you don't watch much over-the-air TV but you could try a small amplified antenna. If possible place it near a window in the direction of your local TV towers.

ian1977: netflix isn't available in the UK, nor amazon unboxed. Wish they were.

A bit off-topic, but you may get improved reception with a new antenna, even if the antenna is inside the house. The old antenna may be misaligned, or just ... old (a little corrosion can degrade the signal quite a bit). Some options: - add a preamp to the current antenna - set up a new outdoor antenna in your attic (and possibly add a preamp) - set up a small antenna near the TV This http://www.doityourself.com/stry/tvanten seems like a good starting point, and here's a http://www.tvantenna.com/support/tutorials/uhf.html. If you like to geek out on this stuff, http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/types.html.