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Permalink Reply by Biggles on August 11, 2015 at 22:11

My experience with TVNZ and TV3 on demand via my PC is that the picture quality is absolute rubbish and not worth watching plus you still get the ads which you can't skip. I doubt that a Freeview Plus box would be any better. My opinion is that Freeview Plus is a waste of time anyway as it only allows Live TV plus TVNZ and TV3 on demand at rubbish quality. As you are in Auckland I would recommend installing a UHF antenna and obtaining either a Freeview STB so you can at least view Live TV in HD (provided your TV can handle HD) or better still get a Recorder such as a Panasonic or other PVR which can record in HD. Another option is get a Freeview TV. Most new models will now record to an external Hard Drive. You can still watch TVNZ and TV3 on demand via you PC or Laptop by connecting the video out to your TV. The advantage of having a recorder is that you don't need Freeview Plus as you can record off air so you don't need the catchup option. I've found it better to download programs/series I like from the Internet and watch at leisure without ads. They are also generally in HD and surround sound which you won't get via Freeview Plus or via SKY TV. Satellite TV is also rubbish quality unless you subscribe to Sky and get a MySky HDI decoder  with an HD ticket and they charge an arm and a leg for very limited channels in HD.

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Permalink Reply by forumuser on August 13, 2015 at 12:27

Casting or Mirroring the tab of TVNZ Ondemand on Chromecast is never going have the best quality, I would not recommend doing this, FreeviewPlus and the equipment eliminates the need for additional cables and connections, while Chromecast is built around App streaming like Netflix, Lightbox, YouTube, i Heart Radio, TVNZ  and 3Now however have no built in casting capabilities and this is possibly due to licensing and rights. Please seek the broadcaster for a suggestion to allow this to embedded into Chromecast, (This method resulted in Lightbox moving to Chromecast due to customer demand)

Quality of TVNZ and 3Now streams are determined by adaptive streaming technology and factors with local WiFi networks also play a part in receiving the best possible picture.

Dish TV have the Satbox S8200 which will soon support the TVNZ, 3Now and Maori TV apps pending approval so might be the best option for you to have alongside your Chromecast.

FreeviewPlus streaming will only be measured by the internet connection i.e. ADSL, VDSL or Fibre and variable speeds however the apps built in the receivers provide a better quality stream than casting your Tab over chromecast.  

I hope this info helps a lot to make the decision to seek more entertainment options with what's already available in the market :-) Feel free to ask for more advice

Kind Regards, Joshua

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Permalink Reply by Jane de Ville on August 13, 2015 at 19:42

Hi Joshua, thanks for the info. I was just wondering how you know that the Satbox S8200 will hopefully support the TVNZ, 3Now Apps? It's not mentioned on their website. Thanks, Jane.

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Permalink Reply by forumuser on August 14, 2015 at 11:34

I work alongside Dish TV, they have discussions available on Geekzone. The initial launch included these as but then were removed because of a last minute call from the broadcasters

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