chmod777

Kinda like an expensive Chromecast then.

Although I do have the Roku dongle.

Chromecast and Roku overlap a lot in content available and each has its own advantages. One nice thing about Roku is you don't need another device - just plop down with the remote and pick what you want to watch from the TV screen. The new Google Nexus Player might be a better comparison to Roku in that respect.

Just curious: anyone know what will happen with your U.S.-sourced Roku if AFTER you've totally set it up using a U.S. IP and U.S. account address, you later switch to using it with a Thai IP address???

In my experience, you just lose the ability to watch region restricted video. The channels don't disappear, the Roku looks and acts the same, the US-locked content just won't play, or may give an error message.

I have some extra Steam keys for these indie games. If anyone is interested, PM me the game you want and I will send you the link, first come first served. One game per person unless interest is low. The games activate on Steam through Humble Bundle, don't worry it is 100% safe - just follow the directions.

Thomas Was Alone (I have two keys)

Risk of Rain (I have two keys, need to be used by 25 November)

Monaco

Nightsky

Surgeon Simulator

The Bridge

Orcs Must Die 2

I had to factory reset the 3 several times before returning it, and the hassles you mention with entering subscription information was huge PITA to keep repeating.

That's an interesting, thought-provoking comment. I believe, my HDMI stick arrived with about 30 apps pre-installed. And then after deleting some of those and adding others, I ended up with about 50 apps in total, at least in the early going for testing and trying.

A lot of those have some form of verification / linking / registering. And then of course, I spent some time trying to organize the icons for the apps I have into some kind of logical groupings in my Roku display (like putting the movie, sports, news icons next to each other in groups).

And I guess while I'm fortunate I haven't had to factory reset or RMA my HDMI stick after two days use, your post makes me wonder: Is there anyway to backup one's Roku profile/apps/settings so it can be flash reinstalled if needed? Or is a factory reset or RMA going to require manually re-doing all the app installing / registering / organizing process?

I doubt you will need to worry about the factory reset - my Roku 3 was a lemon. I've never had a problem with the other two Rokus I have.

After a factory reset (or if you buy a new Roku), it will remember the channels you have linked to your account and download them automatically, but you will have to reorganize them and log into the ones that require it. Pretty similar to Android without clockworkmod I guess.

I forgot to mention the offical android Roku app is region restricted in the google play store - but the apk can be easily googled up. The latest version is 3.1.4.2117542. Using the app makes it easy to type in forms and fields, and has some other pretty cool features. There are a lot of garbage Roku apps on the play store, I just use the official one.

If you have an NBA league pass subscription, I would be interested to hear if you try it on the Roku and how it compares to the PC streaming.

Many of the flaws you list are the reason I ended up with a Roku in the first place - my Dad bought an XD unit, got frustrated and threw it in the closet. I relieved him of it on a visit a couple years ago, and it took me a while to figure out how to make good use of it.

Funny you should mention 60 Minutes because that is the exact show I started off with trying to watch before I gave up. It wouldn't be so bad if all the clips weren't out of order - you could just hit play all and at least get some idea of the story. Pretty worthless as is, but I guess CBS is now selling their own monthly subscription so the whole thing may disappear anyway.

A big Roku problem is that you find a channel with good stuff, up to date, etc - and then it just dies. It either doesn't get updated, or quits working. That is the reason I gave up on XBMC - too much trouble to fiddle around finding and updating the sources when I just want to sit there and watch TV without hassles. The Viewster channel is a good example - oddball content, but quite a bit of it - it just quit working on Roku for some reason, while it still works on the PC.

I've used media players, HTPC, XBMC, Chromecast, Android TV boxes, and "Smart TV" apps and found for my purposes Roku is the best option. I ended up buying a Roku 3 as well (and then a Roku 2 when the 3 had to get RMA'd). One thing I like is that they keep updating things, and the user interface (believe it or not) has improved - but is still pretty rough. I had to factory reset the 3 several times before returning it, and the hassles you mention with entering subscription information was huge PITA to keep repeating.

There are some pretty good apps that let you use your phone as a wifi remote, that is the best way to type into it when you have to.

Thanks a lot for mentioning the Google Play channel, I missed that news. Let's hope they keep adding new and better channels!

Check out "Nowhere TV" - it is a private channel, which just means it doesn't show up in the official Roku channel store. This channel has done a good job of seperating the wheat from the chaff. For example, under the "International" section you can find true live streams of CNN International, BBC, etc including CNBC Europe. This channel has is kept up to date, and is easy to navigate to find things like full episodes of Conan for example. You can find it at http://thenowhereman.com/roku/

If you google for Roku private channels, you will find that most are garbage (as are most of the "official" Roku channels), but there may be some that fit your interests. You can even make you own private channel, which sounds interesting https://www.roku.com/developer

The HTPC will runs rings around the Roku for flexibility, but in some cases I think the Roku beats it for quality. For example NFL Gamepass, MLB.tv, and others use browser plugins on the PC that can be glitchy.

Roku also is a great PLEX client if you are into setting up a media server at home.

Looks awesome The new Civ is only ฿899

I was a bit half hearted about getting it or not (Since I love the Civ series, but Civ in space seems weird....), but if it's cheap, then why not lol

My thoughts exactly - that's the first game I checked with the new pricing.

Steam now shows all pricing in Thai baht. At first glance, this looks to be a great deal for those of us buying games here. It seems most titles are cheaper in baht than dollars, in some cases almost half the price. For example, some big new pre-releases that cost $60 are around 1100 baht. This carries over to the sale prices as well.

Also, if anyone who is into pc gaming has not yet checked out humble bundle, do so. Some amazing deals can be found there sometimes.

That system should work fine for the purposes you stated.

Is your TV Panasonic? If not, you may want to consider a sound system from the manufacturer of your TV to ensure best compatibility since they will communicate over HDMI CEC (Panasonic calls this VIERA link). Not a big deal, this system will work with any TV - but would work best with a Pansasonic.

Finally received the Chromecast through Lazada. It was shipped from Singapore, shipping included for 1600 baht. Plugged it in t the TV and it upgraded itself first and then went though the setup step by step. Very easy, elegant really. I downloaded the extension that the Chrome browser uses to Chromecast and pulled up Youtube and...it worked, perfectly. Then I downloaded and installed Plex Media server. I showed Plex where my downloads were, fired up a Daily Show episode and that worked perfectly. So, I originally asked how do you stream video over wifi? Chromecast is inexpensive and works well. There are other features that I haven't got into yet. VLC should have their app working soon which will probably be easier than Plex but it's not an issue.

 

One thing is that the picture on the computer is ahead (synch wise) of the TV. That doesn't effect anything and you can be browsing the internet in another tab while the video is streaming to the TV. Sound is only on the TV. 

 

Thanks for all the additional info and suggestions. I plan on getting another Chromecast when I'm in the US next month for another TV. It's less expensive there, like $35. 

You may want to check out the chrome extension "Videostream for Google Chromecast" while you are waiting for VLC to update.

Truevisons cares nothing about the NFL or its fans here. They have dropped the NFL three times that I remember, the last time in the middle of the season. Once in the late 90s, they advertised it up until the day of the first game, then...nothing! They had tried to play contract hardball at the last minute and lost, and did not show the NFL at all that season.

Even when True/ASN does show games, you are limited to their choices - which admittedly are better than nothing.

Bottom line, if you care about watching the NFL here, take matters into your own hands - go with online streaming. NFL Gamepass works great, or check into what is mentioned in the posts above.

If you love lost causes and beating your head against a wall, go ahead and try to get True to pretend they care.

I don't think this is a general question of shortage of bandwidth. This isn't a browser message, but is from a proxy server through which all communication is passing to ensure we don't look at anything the junta doesn't want us to see.

Prompted by comments above, I now realise that this (I think) is only happening on newspaper websites. I've noticed it on the Wall Street Journal, Jerusalem Post, Haaretz, The Guardian. It definitely appears to be a lack of capacity in the censorship system.

I think you are on the right track - this is not an international bandwidth issue.

It is not just news websites though, it is widespread on servers not located in Thailand.

From comments on here, and my experience, many of us are suddenly seeing this on different ISPs in various locations.

I suspect your theory about the cause is close to correct, although it may not just be capacity - it could be a poorly-planned, ham-handed, meat-fisted implementation of the sort that may not be surprising. You know, the type that would block espn.com.

well, why tinker with adapters and converters?

You will always have a signal loss with this cheap Chinese ones, they sell here.

As mentioned above, a cheap graphic card (mine was ~800 Baht), if possible, will do a better job.

And for those, who alwys recommend connecting USB Sticks/Cards/$whatever to a TV....

I highly doubt, that you will be able, to receive Internet-streams through them.

I have a google chromecast and had no issues using it in thailand.

Why should one have issues?

I have a CC too, but how do you play local content from your PC or Internet streams from "non CC sites" ?

(And yes I know about the Beta features in Chrome Browser)

EDIT: I've found this in the meantime

http://allaboutchromecast.com/how-to-use-plex-media-server-to-stream-local-media-to-chromecast-from-your-pc/

Somebody tried this?

Yes, Plex works well with chomecast. If you don't want to go the media server route, check out "Videostream for Google Chromecast" in the Chrome store. It's free, and lets you pick a file on your PC and stream it to the TV. It even supports picking a subtitle file to play with it. The associated android app just lets you pause and seek while it's playing.

Espn site works again for me on TOT after being blocked last two days.

I am wondering the same thing, very annoying to say the least.

I use my Roku to watch MLB baseball games. I pay $125 per year for a subscription purchased on the MLB website and I can watch all games includung all playofff games and the World Series with no blackouts.

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk

How are the MLB streams for you?

No matter what device I use (Roku, PC, phone, tablet, Chromecast), I get frustrated with buffering. Very disappointing compared to NFL Gamepass, which is mostly rock solid - I think due to their use of servers in Japan.

Last year I lived in Hua Hin and the condo complex I lived in didn't have strong wi-fi. There was constant buffering and the watching the games wasn't that good. I think if I had my own dedicated internet feed I would have been okay.

I moved to Pattaya last month and the community wi-fi is much stronger. I have very little buffering. When I do have it, it continues for several minutes and I suspect it is due to a neighbor trying to Skype or something. After awhile it goes away.

What do you pay for NFL Gamepass, and are you able to watch games once they have been completed, such as the next day or later in the week?

I am impressed you had that much success with shared connections, my ISP's crummy routing to the USA is probably to blame. I resort to watching the recap or condensed game more often than I would like.

NFL Gamepass is about $200 for a calendar year for the top package that includes EVERYTHING: live games (preseason, season, postseason), archive games (up to five years back), NFL Red Zone, and NFL Network 24/7 365 days a year. They have some cheaper packages as well, I think for $100 you only get to watch one team's games.

They may even have a Roku channel coming, but for now I can watch it through PLEX on the Roku. They don't support as many platforms as MLB.tv, but do a better job of delivering the content in my opinion.

I use my Roku to watch MLB baseball games. I pay $125 per year for a subscription purchased on the MLB website and I can watch all games includung all playofff games and the World Series with no blackouts.

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk

How are the MLB streams for you?

No matter what device I use (Roku, PC, phone, tablet, Chromecast), I get frustrated with buffering. Very disappointing compared to NFL Gamepass, which is mostly rock solid - I think due to their use of servers in Japan.

I have older model Roku 2 XD, and it gathered dust until recently - but now it gets a workout because:

- Roku upgraded even the older models to better software, streaming is much more reliable. I can actually watch live news without constant buffering.

- Roku added DLNA support

- Roku added Youtube

- PLEX has improved greatly, and it is fantastic on the Roku. I have ditched XBMC and gone all PLEX, check it out if you have lots of video and music files.

- More third party support, including things like Twonky beam - which lets you cast content to the TV from your phone or tablet. Cool stuff.

The "channels" are mostly garbage, but you can find a few good things in there - check out the private channels as well. That's where I get live news streams.

So now I have a Roku 3 on the way...

This is the current broadcast station C band in PDF format (easy to print). There are several HD stations free to air but most are on the paid services.

http://www.gmmz.tv/_files/download/c-band.pdf

This is the general download page - you can translate and the last items will be the C and KU band channel lists in format you want.

http://www.gmmz.tv/download.php

Thanks for the links, very helpful.

I found that with no subscription, you can view these channels in HD on the GMM HD "Lite" receiver:

42 Thairath TV HD

118, 439 GTH On Air HD

153, 440 Z OKE HD

311 TPBS

350, 438 Nat Geo Wild HD

436 GMM Football Max HD

437 GMM Sport Extra HD

The other free channels labelled HD (TV5 HD1, 3 HD, CH 7, etc) are tuned by default to SD channels on the satellite, even though the station "bug" ID shows it as HD.

The tuning info for the HD versions is on Lyngsat, just trying to figure out how to edit the channels in the receiver....

We have the SD GMM Z box and just use it for the free channels, preferring to get most content from online sources. I need to get a second system running in our new house and the GMM Z HD box looks like a sensible option but I'm wondering if there are any HD channels that are receivable without a package subscription. Do the free Thai stations broadcast in HD?

I would like to know this too....I see that some Thai channels are now repeated on our old box in HD versions (3, 7, etc.). Been seeing the GMM "Lite" HD box at around 1600 baht, seems like I should be able to just swap that in and see them in all their HD glory.

Does anyone know?

I bought Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed for $8 in Steams summer sale last year, looks like it is $20 on there right now. I also bought a Sonic Hits Collection (17 games) that includes it for my daughter. That is $30 now, during a sale it would be about 75% off.

In my opinion, the best place to buy games is Steam, especially if you load up during the sales.

store.steampowered.com

Seems clear the purpose is to cause chaos and fear, not to kill. Must have been a stun or crowd control grenade, plenty of people close enough to be killed and maimed if it were a high explosive.

The grenade spoon supposedly found at the scene exactly matches some photos of the Soviet F1 grenade, don't know if that comes in a non-lethal variety.

The google play music shop is not available in Thailand, but you can use music manager software to upload your own music to their cloud. Go to play.google.com/music on your PC and look for a button that says UPLOAD, this should lead you to the software download.

My TOT winet result:

359 highway has well earned the nickname my friend gave it - Death Adder Road. By coincidence, he drove past this spot a couple hours before this accident.

They are finally widening 359, let's hope the contractors do a better job than with the original - shoddy work that started falling apart within months after it was first built.