Hurricane
Well-Known Member
TV in the Med
Following a recent other thread, I thought that I would write up a report/discussion of my boat TV upgrades this year.
Each year, I spend several months out on the boat so it is nice to occasionally sit down and watch UK TV when I am out in Spain.
And I thought that it may be interesting to people on this forum.
Several of my friends in Sant Carles switched to this type of system after seeing how mine works.
Satellite vs Internet
In the past, the best method of watching TV on a boat was to install a satellite TV dome and point the dish at Astra 2.
Astra 2 is a cluster of satellites placed above the equator at 28.2 degrees East.
There are now three satellites (Astra 2E, Astra 2F and Astra 2G).
These satellites replaced the older ones (Astra 2A, Astra 2D and a Eutelsat)
During the upgrade they used a temporary satellite called Astra 1E which has now moved to its design slot at 19 degrees East.
In the past, we were able to pick up transmissions around Europe that were destined for the UK.
This is great for anyone wanting to watch satellite TV in the UK but unfortunately for us viewers in the Med, the new satellites have been designed using much crisper beams.
Generally speaking, this means that we can no longer receive UK TV outside the UK.
There is one exception - currently, BBC have a backup system for their terrestrial network which uses a satellite placed above the mid Atlantic.
The satellite is called Intelsat 907 - the channels are encrypted - it is easy to obtain hardware and software keys to decode these channels but I have not found the signals strong enough for boat systems in all the tests that I have carried out.
So, that leaves us with the Internet.
Until recently, watching TV over the internet has been difficult due to slow or limited data connections.
Video is notoriously hungry on data (hungry on both speed and the amount of data that it consumes).
Marina WiFi connections are cheap and often free but, in most cases, are too slow for TV.
Unlimited data 3G and 4G internet connections are now available and are beginning to become more affordable.
The following is a report/list/discussion of the solution that I implemented earlier this year.
Internet Connection
We are based in Sant Carles Marina - mid way between Barcelona and Valencia.
The town of Sant Carles is nearby but fibre optic internet still hasn't reached it.
However, two mobile phone operators (Vodafone and Orange) are offering fast 4G broadband and unlimited data plans became available to us in Spain earlier this year.
So I took the opportunity to upgrade my boat's internet connection from marina WiFi to 3G/4G.
It was a simple matter of changing my old WiFi router for one of these at about £125.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4G-3G-150...383540?hash=item3aa65f8ef4:g:dfYAAOSwBLlVGo2m
At this stage, I would like to say that I have always used domestic equipment in my boat's systems.
Although well built, IMO bespoke marine equipment always "lags" behind technology and is often much more expensive.
A number of friends use the MiFi concept - this is a small portable device that provides a local WiFi access point by connecting to 3G/4G mobile data.
The device that I selected above is very similar but be careful.
A fairly new technology (MIMO) is starting to be adopted by the mobile data service providers.
MIMO is a multi antenna concept which greatly enhances the throughput of data.
Some MiFi devices incorporate MIMO - others don't.
If you are planning on upgrading to a router, I suggest that you consider one that handles these new concepts.
Alternatively, MiFi devices are more portable and may be more appropriate.
I chose to install the D-Link fixed router.
However, these concepts (MiFi or 3G/4G Router) are similar and very capable of receiving TV across the internet.
Connection to TV and the Raspberry Pi
Most people will have used a PC, tablet or phone to watch TV but most of us prefer to watch TV on (well) a TV!
There are lots of devices out there that will do the job but I chose to use a number of Raspberry Pis which connect directly to my TVs.
One Raspberry Pi per TV.
This little device has the advantage that there is a host of "open source" free software that is available making it (more or less) infinitely configurable.
It is also very cheap - just £30 or £50 if you want a complete kit including a nice little case to put it in.
In January 2016, they launched a new version of the Pi (The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B).
Here's a link to a complete bundle kit of parts for a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B.
https://thepihut.com/collections/raspberry-pi-kits-and-bundles/products/raspberry-pi-3-starter-kit
Importantly, this powerful little board incorporates 4 USB ports, an HDMI video output and a LAN/WiFi data connection.
This means that you won't have to route wires throughout your boat - just provide the Pi with a power supply and connect it to your TV.
Connection to the internet can be either by wire (ethernet) or by WiFi connected to a router or MiFi (as above).
A microSD card slot is also included so that a full operating system can be installed.
Although it is possible to use your existing TV remote to control the Raspberry Pi (by sending control signals up and down the HDMI port), I find it easier to connect a wireless keyboard to one of the Pi's USB ports.
I use these cheap keyboards from Ebay for about £8 - makes it easier to search listings etc if you have a full QWERTY keyboard.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-4G-Mini...075062?hash=item3d150b6bb6:g:YpoAAOSwoudW8AA4
Software
The bundle kit for the Raspberry Pi comes with microSD card already loaded with a number of different operating systems.
I choose to overwrite this card with software that I download separately.
The software that I use is Openelec - a Linux build that contains media centre software called Kodi.
Until recently, Kodi was called XBMC (X Box media Centre) but it has now become so powerful that it no longer runs on the XBOX.
Kodi will run on virtually all computer platforms making it a truely universal product - remember this is all "open source software" and available for free.
Although possible it is difficult to run Kodi under Apple's IOS (iPad/iPhone).
However, it works extremely well under Openelec on the Raspberry Pi
Once Kodi is loaded, there are a huge amount of free Addons that will turn your TV into a full media centre.
You can use it to stream films or watch live TV.
Easy
Don't be fooled by my complicated description above.
It is really very easy to set up and use.
Although Openelec is a Linux operating system, all the system settings are contained inside Kodi itself making it a "turnkey" system.
Most people wouldn't even know that they were running a powerful little computer - to an operator it looks just like any normal "set top box".
Here's a screen shot from Kodi (BBC News Channel)
Addons
Once installed, it is possible to install Addons which are free to download and use.
The best Addon that I always install is an "Addon Installer" which interactively downloads and install most other Addons that are available.
Addons to check out are:-
iPlayerWWW - which is a good BBC iPlayer addon
FilmOn - a TV player that streams lots of TV channels throughout the world (BBC and ITV for example).
Exodus - watch any film ot TV series.
Plus many more
Watch films from USB Drive or Stick
Just plug in a USB Drive (Hard Drive if you like) or Memory Stick containing a film and Kodi will play it.
You can try it out by installing Kodi onto a PC.
Then getting it going on a Raspberry Pi is a doddle.
Limitations
There seems to be just one limitation.
BBC iPlayer requires that you have a TV Licence and that you are physically located in the UK before you can watch BBC TV over the internet.
At the moment, the solution for us in the Med is to "channel" the streams through a VPN (Virtual Private Network).
This means that as far as BBC iPlayer is concerned, you will "pop up" in the UK thus allowing you to watch iPlayer.
However, if you just want to watch live BBC TV, the FilmOn Addon will work without a VPN.
VPN's are available from professional websites at a monthly charge - usually about £5 per month.
If anyone is interested, I will post my full install notes with the internet links to get this all working.
Following a recent other thread, I thought that I would write up a report/discussion of my boat TV upgrades this year.
Each year, I spend several months out on the boat so it is nice to occasionally sit down and watch UK TV when I am out in Spain.
And I thought that it may be interesting to people on this forum.
Several of my friends in Sant Carles switched to this type of system after seeing how mine works.
Satellite vs Internet
In the past, the best method of watching TV on a boat was to install a satellite TV dome and point the dish at Astra 2.
Astra 2 is a cluster of satellites placed above the equator at 28.2 degrees East.
There are now three satellites (Astra 2E, Astra 2F and Astra 2G).
These satellites replaced the older ones (Astra 2A, Astra 2D and a Eutelsat)
During the upgrade they used a temporary satellite called Astra 1E which has now moved to its design slot at 19 degrees East.
In the past, we were able to pick up transmissions around Europe that were destined for the UK.
This is great for anyone wanting to watch satellite TV in the UK but unfortunately for us viewers in the Med, the new satellites have been designed using much crisper beams.
Generally speaking, this means that we can no longer receive UK TV outside the UK.
There is one exception - currently, BBC have a backup system for their terrestrial network which uses a satellite placed above the mid Atlantic.
The satellite is called Intelsat 907 - the channels are encrypted - it is easy to obtain hardware and software keys to decode these channels but I have not found the signals strong enough for boat systems in all the tests that I have carried out.
So, that leaves us with the Internet.
Until recently, watching TV over the internet has been difficult due to slow or limited data connections.
Video is notoriously hungry on data (hungry on both speed and the amount of data that it consumes).
Marina WiFi connections are cheap and often free but, in most cases, are too slow for TV.
Unlimited data 3G and 4G internet connections are now available and are beginning to become more affordable.
The following is a report/list/discussion of the solution that I implemented earlier this year.
Internet Connection
We are based in Sant Carles Marina - mid way between Barcelona and Valencia.
The town of Sant Carles is nearby but fibre optic internet still hasn't reached it.
However, two mobile phone operators (Vodafone and Orange) are offering fast 4G broadband and unlimited data plans became available to us in Spain earlier this year.
So I took the opportunity to upgrade my boat's internet connection from marina WiFi to 3G/4G.
It was a simple matter of changing my old WiFi router for one of these at about £125.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4G-3G-150...383540?hash=item3aa65f8ef4:g:dfYAAOSwBLlVGo2m
At this stage, I would like to say that I have always used domestic equipment in my boat's systems.
Although well built, IMO bespoke marine equipment always "lags" behind technology and is often much more expensive.
A number of friends use the MiFi concept - this is a small portable device that provides a local WiFi access point by connecting to 3G/4G mobile data.
The device that I selected above is very similar but be careful.
A fairly new technology (MIMO) is starting to be adopted by the mobile data service providers.
MIMO is a multi antenna concept which greatly enhances the throughput of data.
Some MiFi devices incorporate MIMO - others don't.
If you are planning on upgrading to a router, I suggest that you consider one that handles these new concepts.
Alternatively, MiFi devices are more portable and may be more appropriate.
I chose to install the D-Link fixed router.
However, these concepts (MiFi or 3G/4G Router) are similar and very capable of receiving TV across the internet.
Connection to TV and the Raspberry Pi
Most people will have used a PC, tablet or phone to watch TV but most of us prefer to watch TV on (well) a TV!
There are lots of devices out there that will do the job but I chose to use a number of Raspberry Pis which connect directly to my TVs.
One Raspberry Pi per TV.
This little device has the advantage that there is a host of "open source" free software that is available making it (more or less) infinitely configurable.
It is also very cheap - just £30 or £50 if you want a complete kit including a nice little case to put it in.
In January 2016, they launched a new version of the Pi (The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B).
Here's a link to a complete bundle kit of parts for a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B.
https://thepihut.com/collections/raspberry-pi-kits-and-bundles/products/raspberry-pi-3-starter-kit
Importantly, this powerful little board incorporates 4 USB ports, an HDMI video output and a LAN/WiFi data connection.
This means that you won't have to route wires throughout your boat - just provide the Pi with a power supply and connect it to your TV.
Connection to the internet can be either by wire (ethernet) or by WiFi connected to a router or MiFi (as above).
A microSD card slot is also included so that a full operating system can be installed.
Although it is possible to use your existing TV remote to control the Raspberry Pi (by sending control signals up and down the HDMI port), I find it easier to connect a wireless keyboard to one of the Pi's USB ports.
I use these cheap keyboards from Ebay for about £8 - makes it easier to search listings etc if you have a full QWERTY keyboard.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-4G-Mini...075062?hash=item3d150b6bb6:g:YpoAAOSwoudW8AA4
Software
The bundle kit for the Raspberry Pi comes with microSD card already loaded with a number of different operating systems.
I choose to overwrite this card with software that I download separately.
The software that I use is Openelec - a Linux build that contains media centre software called Kodi.
Until recently, Kodi was called XBMC (X Box media Centre) but it has now become so powerful that it no longer runs on the XBOX.
Kodi will run on virtually all computer platforms making it a truely universal product - remember this is all "open source software" and available for free.
Although possible it is difficult to run Kodi under Apple's IOS (iPad/iPhone).
However, it works extremely well under Openelec on the Raspberry Pi
Once Kodi is loaded, there are a huge amount of free Addons that will turn your TV into a full media centre.
You can use it to stream films or watch live TV.
Easy
Don't be fooled by my complicated description above.
It is really very easy to set up and use.
Although Openelec is a Linux operating system, all the system settings are contained inside Kodi itself making it a "turnkey" system.
Most people wouldn't even know that they were running a powerful little computer - to an operator it looks just like any normal "set top box".
Here's a screen shot from Kodi (BBC News Channel)
Addons
Once installed, it is possible to install Addons which are free to download and use.
The best Addon that I always install is an "Addon Installer" which interactively downloads and install most other Addons that are available.
Addons to check out are:-
iPlayerWWW - which is a good BBC iPlayer addon
FilmOn - a TV player that streams lots of TV channels throughout the world (BBC and ITV for example).
Exodus - watch any film ot TV series.
Plus many more
Watch films from USB Drive or Stick
Just plug in a USB Drive (Hard Drive if you like) or Memory Stick containing a film and Kodi will play it.
You can try it out by installing Kodi onto a PC.
Then getting it going on a Raspberry Pi is a doddle.
Limitations
There seems to be just one limitation.
BBC iPlayer requires that you have a TV Licence and that you are physically located in the UK before you can watch BBC TV over the internet.
At the moment, the solution for us in the Med is to "channel" the streams through a VPN (Virtual Private Network).
This means that as far as BBC iPlayer is concerned, you will "pop up" in the UK thus allowing you to watch iPlayer.
However, if you just want to watch live BBC TV, the FilmOn Addon will work without a VPN.
VPN's are available from professional websites at a monthly charge - usually about £5 per month.
If anyone is interested, I will post my full install notes with the internet links to get this all working.
