Catch me if you can
Thankfully Australia's Catch Up TV outlook is much brighter,
with all five major free-to-air networks and Foxtel offering mobile apps for
watching your favorite shows on the run.
Once again Apple users get a better deal, with access to
ABC's iView and SBS On Demand - which support AirPlay video streaming - along
with Seven's Plus7 and Ten's Tenplay. Unfortunately Nine's Jump In is more of a
companion app with video snippets.
Foxtel subscribers should also look to the Foxtel Go app
offering live channels and Catch Up TV. Even if you don't have a home Foxtel
service you can sign up for Foxtel Play, and there is also the Mobile Foxtel
from Telstra app which offers live channels.
Meanwhile Android users have to wait in line for such apps,
especially now that Flash support for Android has been dropped. Seven's Plus7
is no longer a Samsung exclusive but the SBS and Foxtel Go apps are still
restricted to Samsung app store. Android versions of Tenplay and Jump In are
reportedly in the pipeline, while you can look to Aview as an unofficial
substitute for iView. Whatever your Android device, there's no guarantee that
any these apps are compatible.
ABC's iView
The surprise entrant in Australia's Catch Up TV scene is the
BBC's global iPlayer for iOS, a subscription service which offers a handful of
free shows. There's AirPlay video streaming support and, as an added bonus, you
can even cache content for offline playback. Unlike Australia's other Catch Up
services there's no browser or Smart TV-based access to iPlayer, there's just
the iOS app.
Of course there's also a BBC iPlayer app for the UK. It
offers a wealth of free content, with offline video caching, but you'll need to
sneak into the UK apps store and then run a VPN on your mobile device. If
you're open to the idea of bypassing geo-blocking then you'll also find plenty
of TV shows on US services like Netflix and Hulu. Others worth checking out
include NBC, PBS and AT&T U-verse Live TV. HBO GO and Showtime Anywhere
require a US home cable subscription. You'll find some of these apps for
Android but once again it's hit and miss as to whether they'll run on your
device.
SBS On Demand
TV on the run
A legal challenge from Telstra and the AFL/NRL killed off
Optus' TVNow service, which offered a PVR in the cloud. The review of
Australia's copyright law might reverse this decision, also benefiting similar
services such as MyTVR, but for now there are other ways to watch television on
your handheld gadgets.
Around your home you can use the Elgato EyeTV Netstream as a
central TV tuner, letting you watch live free-to-air digital TV on your
computers and handheld gadgets. The Humax 7500T and Strong 6500 PVRs can also
stream recordings to mobile devices, plus the Strong 6500 lets you watch live
TV remotely
Once you walk out the front door, Elgato's Tivizen acts as a
portable TV tuner for iGadgets, while Elgato's EyeTV Micro supports Android.
They let you pause and rewind live broadcasts but you can't record. Another
drawback is that you can't watch high-definition channels. Other Android
options include the Elecom Mobile TV Tuner and TeVii T810.
Elgato's EyeTV
micro
The benefit of using a TV tuner is that you're not chewing
through your mobile broadband allowance, although you are now at the mercy of
your television reception. If you can spare the bandwidth you'll also find IPTV
simulcasts of live television, especially moneymakers like sport. Foxtel Go and
the Mobile Foxtel from Telstra app offer live Foxtel channels.
AFL and NRL fans will find Telstra LIVE apps for iOS and
Android. They are subscription services but, unlike Foxtel, you've the option
to pay for a single match. Vodafone's Cricket Live app has provided a simulcast
for the last few seasons but Cricket Australia is looking for a new sponsor
this year Meanwhile Foxtel subscribers will also find Fox Sports apps for
Android and iOS covering the likes of cricket, NRL, A-League and English
Premiere League.
Elgato Tivizen
The comforts of home
Rather than relying on the cloud it's also easy to stream
your home media library across the internet to your handheld gadgets.
Plex is a great starting point, as you'll find media server
software for Windows, Mac, Linux and Network Attached Storage drives from the
likes of Netgear, Synology and QNAP You'll also find a wide range of mobile
apps which let you access your Plex media server from around your home or
across the internet via a myPlex account. Paying for a PlexPass subscription
adds extra features like the ability to download files for offline playback.
Other home media server applications which support streaming
across the web include Air Video, ZumoCast and Orb. If you're streaming from
home remember that you're chewing through your home data allowance if your home
ISP counts uploads towards your monthly limit.
A Slingbox set-top box takes a slightly different approach,
sitting in between your television and your AV gear so it can stream the video
output from any AV device across the internet to your mobile devices. The
Slingbox is even an IR transmitter, so it can change the channel on your PVR
and do everything else you could do from the couch with the remote control. You
can also stream from one Slingbox to another, making it a handy way to watch foreign
television if an overseas friend is prepared to host a Slingbox in their home.
Plex
IceTV's upcoming PVR also promises to include Slingbox-style
features, initially streaming recordings around your home but eventually
streaming over the internet as well. Australia's television networks won't like
it, but the fact you're streaming from your own PVR means you should fall
within copyright law.
