Getting Eurosport player via YouView box?

KnightOfTheLongTights

Anyone know if this is possible? From a bit of googling, I suspect it isn't - but thought if anyone knew a trick, it would be here ...
Any other top tips on getting Eurosport without having to pay for some big satellite TV package?
Thanks ...

RichiePortly

The short answer is probably not.

On a computer, EP uses the Microsoft Silverlight plugin, so only works on Windows (and Mac I think). You can get it to work on Linux, but you have to hack about a bit.

There is an app for some smart TVs I think, and obviously Android and iPhone apps, so unless there is an app you might be stuffed.

Only other option I can think of is a phone or Windows laptop plugged into your TV via HDMI.

takethehighroad

What RichiePortly said really, although it depends on your idea of a "big satellite TV package"

Eurosport is classed on the "News" bundle of Sky, so you could get it for about £20 a month, along with the rest of Sky.

I'd imagine Virgin do something similar, or if it's just the cycling you're after, your best bet is prob laptop with EP and HDMI combo

The_Boy

Lappy and HDMI.

Or tablet/phone and a chromecast/roku stick/amazon fire stick could be a possibility? Pretty sure they let you mirror your tablet screen to your telly, which would save on the trailing wires.

Or they also have an app for the XBone/XBox360.

hommelbier

I've got the BT YouView package with the Entertainment add on (additional £5/month) which includes British Eurosport and Eurosport 2 which can be recorded on the YouView box hard drive.

KnightOfTheLongTights

Thanks all - will try and absorb those answers into my tech-repellent bonce.

mfin

Or... get it on the iPhone/iPad app and then 'Airplay' it to an AppleTV box.

t4tomo

if you are subscribed to the app, is there an archive you can access of "old" events or it it literally just whats showing on the channel at the time. or do yiu get just say the last 7 days like you view?

The_Boy

t4tomo wrote:

if you are subscribed to the app, is there an archive you can access of "old" events or it it literally just whats showing on the channel at the time. or do yiu get just say the last 7 days like you view?

Stuff seems to be available for a week - atm I could watch Pais Vasco from stage 2 onwards, an episode of Leomnd of Cycling, a round of the elite road series and Roubaix.

But there doesn't seem to be an archive of old old stuff.

durhamwasp

Satellite wise, either point a dish at 19.2 east, and get the German version, or search for 'open box' on ebay - ones for about £80 with a 12 month gift

KnightOfTheLongTights

RichiePortly wrote:

Only other option I can think of is a phone or Windows laptop plugged into your TV via HDMI.

Right OK so given that my TV is about 20 years old ... could I plug laptop into YouView box, which does have HDMI socket?

We got given a YouView box - we didn't get it through a BT subscription or anything so we currently just use it as a Freeview box that also streams a few catch-up TV services. There was a suggestion apparently that ES player would be made available via YV but it obviously hasn't occurred.

mfin

No that HDMI port is an 'out' for the Youview box's picture to a flat screen modern TV.

If you got a new TV you could plug your laptop into one of the HDMI ports on that. (Your Youview box would be plugged into another of them, a bluray player into another etc... hence why new TVs have 3 or 4 HDMI ports).

You might find some other lead which might connect your laptop to your old tv though, depends on the laptop and the TV.

New flatscreen TVs start from pretty cheap nowadays.

KnightOfTheLongTights

mfin wrote:

No that HDMI port is an 'out' for the Youview box's picture to a flat screen modern TV.

If you got a new TV you could plug your laptop into one of the HDMI ports on that. (Your Youview box would be plugged into another of them, a bluray player into another etc... hence why new TVs have 3 or 4 HDMI ports).

You might find some other lead which might connect your laptop to your old tv though, depends on the laptop and the TV.

New flatscreen TVs start from pretty cheap nowadays.

Understood perfectly. Yes TV just has SCART.
Have been delaying buying new TV but it might finally be time...
Thanks.

KnightOfTheLongTights

One supplementary question - I understand that new smart TVs have integrated Freeview:
1) Would the TV's menu be overriden by the YouView one if we connected the YV box?
2) Would there be any point in keeping the YouView box if we had the laptop connected via HDMI (i.e., we could access the catch-up stuff via laptop)?

tim000

scart-hdml converter box . http://www.amazon.co.uk/SCART-HDMI-conv ... B0092IAA3I

mfin

KnightOfTheLongTights wrote:

One supplementary question - I understand that new smart TVs have integrated Freeview:
1) Would the TV's menu be overriden by the YouView one if we connected the YV box?
2) Would there be any point in keeping the YouView box if we had the laptop connected via HDMI (i.e., we could access the catch-up stuff via laptop)?

When using the YouView box you'd be using all the youview interface you are used to. Most people who have a box like this tend to use it all the time and ignore the TV's built in tuner and interface, especially if the YouView box is a recording/pause/rewind live TV one as you can then perform those actions immediately when you want to with no faffing.

As for if there's any point keeping the YouView box, well, it depends on whether it's offering you more (as above) and how convenient you find it to use compared to finding and playing stuff off the laptop. (Personally, I can't do without a box that records, it becomes second nature to record everything you even might be interested in then delete things afterwards). That said, keeping the YouView box is a decision you can make after you've got the TV and you can first see how it goes.

Another thing not mentioned is what laptop you have and what 'outs' it has, there are a lot of ways of connecting things. Have you got someone techie who can come and look what you have in return for a cup of tea and a biscuit?

mechanism

If you look at a new smart TVs, as far as I know its currently just LG, Panasonic and Samsung that have Eurosport Player. And to make things a bit more complicated the latest 2015 Samsung TVs run on a new operating system and don't yet have the app.

KnightOfTheLongTights

That's really useful - thanks both.
It's only a £350 two-year old Acer laptop - but it has an HDMI out if that's the clincher?
Was looking at a Sony TV so might rethink.

mfin

Like someone else mentioned (hommelbier), if you are on BT Infinity and you have the Entertainment package (£5 a month) you get a BT YouView box that records and you get British Eurosport 1 and 2 (but not in HD). When the contract period is up then the £5 goes up to £7.50.

Bt Infinity isn't that cheap that's the downside as it's fibre to cabinet, AND of course this is assuming you can even get it where you are!

Month on month subscription to Eurosport Player is currently £5.99 or £3.99 if you commit to 12 months, and you are not going to need to pay that so you can offset it.

If you had this, then the Youview box you'd get also has a Scart out so you could run it on your old TV and the Eurosport you could access through this new Youview box. You can also record these internet channels like normal channels as hommelbier said.

Check it all out for yourself though. Here's a channel list of that Entertainment package http://www.broadband.bt.com/channels/entertainment/?s_cid=con_FURL_extrachannels

Yellow Peril

Mechanism wrote:

If you look at a new smart TVs, as far as I know its currently just LG, Panasonic and Samsung that have Eurosport Player. And to make things a bit more complicated the latest 2015 Samsung TVs run on a new operating system and don't yet have the app.

I think this might be my problem. I subscribed to Eurosport Player on Saturday as I was panicking in case I couldn't get a live feed on Sunday. the player works fine on my laptop but when I try to open it on my smart TV (Samsung) it says you have to down load Silverlight which you can't do (I think my TV is Linux or something). Lo and behold there's no Eurosport app showing up on the TV either.

I'm not very IT savvy so it's all a bit of a dark art, like electronic shifting...

mechanism

Yellow Peril wrote:

Mechanism wrote:

If you look at a new smart TVs, as far as I know its currently just LG, Panasonic and Samsung that have Eurosport Player. And to make things a bit more complicated the latest 2015 Samsung TVs run on a new operating system and don't yet have the app.

I think this might be my problem. I subscribed to Eurosport Player on Saturday as I was panicking in case I couldn't get a live feed on Sunday. the player works fine on my laptop but when I try to open it on my smart TV (Samsung) it says you have to down load Silverlight which you can't do (I think my TV is Linux or something). Lo and behold there's no Eurosport app showing up on the TV either.

I'm not very IT savvy so it's all a bit of a dark art, like electronic shifting...

The new models (running Tizen operating system) seem to be named J-, JS- and JU-; either way I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be using Silverlight. Have you checked the TVs firmware and/or other software versions?

KnightOfTheLongTights

Mechanism wrote:

If you look at a new smart TVs, as far as I know its currently just LG, Panasonic and Samsung that have Eurosport Player. And to make things a bit more complicated the latest 2015 Samsung TVs run on a new operating system and don't yet have the app.

Am going to go down this route I think. In the small print on the Smart TV section of Samsung's website it says all the listed apps, which included Eurosport Player, are 'on all 2014 Smart TVs (H4500-HU8500)' - for what that's worth.
(Googling around it also seems Eurosport themselves can be slow to update their app, which has caused probs in the app, with people suddenly finding it not working properly.)

KnightOfTheLongTights

Right so neither the live replay nor the highlights of yesterday's Giro stage (8) are on the bloody video on demand section - or anywhere on eurosport player... is it always this sh*te?