Smart TV advice for use without internet

Vegastare

We are once again trying to get more options on TV channels for 80 year Mum who has no internet or wifi access.
One son says she can use his Netflix to get more channels - but brother has told her she would not get use out of smart TV unless she had broadband.
We would all club up for nice TV for present , but really it is access to more channels than the freeview she has.   We have typed a list of all her freeview channels so she can see what she can get.  But so many show repeats.  Could she get Netflix!!!
Any ideas please.

JJ_Egan

Smart channels require an internet connection Netflix IPlayer More 4 etc .

Freeview has something like a hundred channels  ,including 7 movie channels .

Scroll down the numbers past the basic 5 .

https://www.freeview.co.uk/tv-guide

Vegastare

JJ Egan   we have typed a list of all the channels she can get and basic idea of whats on them.....way past 5 and she has found Talking Movies full of old films....but we keeping getting told that she has seen them !!!!  But no way does she get 7 movies channels Film 4 and Sony Movies one of which I am informed is playing Christmas Films other may pixelate and Sony Action not in our area.

Neil_Jones

If you're not getting Film 4 and Sony Movies that can mean one of two things:  1) Your channel list is out of date (just do a rescan), or 2) you have an aerial issue.  If channels pixelate that almost always implies either an aerial issue or something is interfering with the signal.  Birds love sitting on TV aerials, though they tend not to sit there too long and I'm not sure if they affect the signal to any great degree either.

Vegastare

Sorry Neil....may error she gets Film 4 and Sony Movies (xmas films) and Sony TV and a channel showing old films.  Will ask OH to re scan (did it earlier this year.  The aerial I fear maybe the problem, it is older people housing and I think maybe a call to them might be a good idea.

matelodave

Not all channels are available in all locations, some places rely on repeaters which may have a subset of the channels that are available from the main transmitter
Likewise some channels aren't transmitted at the same power or in the same way as others so you don't always get them all especially if the aerial is a bit iffy. You can get pixellation sometimes even with a decent signal when atmospheric condition interfere with the signal.

JJ_Egan

80 years old  seen that it was on in 1949  Or not watching that disgusting .

brewerdave

matelodave said:

Likewise some channels aren't transmitted at the same power or in the same way as others so you don't always get them all especially if the aerial is a bit iffy. You can get pixellation sometimes even with a decent signal when atmospheric condition interfere with the signal.

Very true. Our local channel is transmitted at reduced power and includes Sony Movies, Sony channel, and a few other less exciting choices( !!) Frequently pixelated even tho' "power" shows 82%

Neil49

matelodave said:

Not all channels are available in all locations, some places rely on repeaters which may have a subset of the channels that are available from the main transmitter
Likewise some channels aren't transmitted at the same power or in the same way as others so you don't always get them all especially if the aerial is a bit iffy. You can get pixellation sometimes even with a decent signal when atmospheric condition interfere with the signal.

We get our signal via a repeater and quite a few of the less popular freeview channels are missing including some of the movie channels and some +1 channels. There's nothing you can do about that.

Without broadband she won't get any benefit from having a smart TV.

You'll have to get her a dvd player and buy some dvds from the local charity shops for £1 or less. 

Vegastare

Thanks all for the replies, I felt that broadband was needed....but one family member contradicted this!!   Yep she has a DVD player that just sits there, next time this topic rears its head I will ask would she like some assorted DVD's.....as for the smart TV - well will be very tempted to suggest he who knows better than us on MSE sorts it out  on his own

macman

Neil49 has probably nailed it-she is on a relay station which will not give the full range of Freeview channels.
Only two cures for that: 1) switch her onto Freesat, which will give the full range which is near-identical to Freeview. However that will require a sat dish and set top box, unless you find her a set with a built in Freesat tuner. Or 2) get broadband installed. These days the extra cost for a basic ADSL broadband service is minimally more, if anything,  than a landline only. If she's on an old BT legacy tariff, she will almost certainly pay less for a current landline, calls and BB package: there are plenty going at around the £20pm mark.