1) KTV (KhonKaen Cable), 2) Android Set top boxes, 3) TrueID TV BOX & 4) Wi-Fi Mesh

[gdhm]

Hi,

Hoping some "far more knowledgable members than I" can enlighten me on several semi connected enquires.

 

1) KTV (KhonKaen Cable),

My wife went to pay our usual 12 months in advance subscription to KTV (KhonKaen Cable) and worryingly was informed they are not currently offering anything other than monthly renewals. From what I could understand from my wife is that KTV (like many other channel providers) have been losing customers due to peop[e switching to Internet streaming. My wife was told they were planning to have discussions in January 2020 on their way forward.  This sounds ominous to me and I fear maybe they are thinking of ceasing (BUT I AM ONLY SPECULATING).  I admit I am worried because I have been happy with my 3-4 English soundtrack movie channels, News channels and sports channels in English.

Has anybody heard or knows of any more info regarding KTV?

 

2) Android Set top boxes.  ThaiVisa (and other sites) one to two years ago was advising that Android set top boxes had been banned in Thailand unless specifically licensed by Thai authorities. Ignoring all the online retailers like Lazada and AliExpress etc. I have noticed recently that PowerBuy are selling a couple of Android Set Top Boxes and True one. Can anybody confirm that there are now Android set top boxes that can be legally sold in Thailand (I am assuming they are conventional Android boxes and do not have "enhanced/adjusted ROMs" I wish advise at this point I am ONLY interested in Legal Android Set top boxes that can substitute for my very disappointing Panasonic LED TV TH-L42E6T Panasonic which we bought in Dec 2013.. To be honest I was unaware at the time that Brands cease to support their older models often only after a few years, thus turning their Smart TVs into near dumb ones.  In our case the YouTube app worked perfectly until about a year or so ago, when we were advised it was no longer being updated and would not work anymore on our TV (thanks Panasonic). The TV had its own Browser app which to be honest was always awful as it kept crashing on many sites (I suspect inadequate memory) and it certainly could never run YouTube via it.

 

I have 3BB Fibre (which seems to have been auto upgraded to 700/700). However, it is not connected by Ethernet LAN to either of our TVs. The TV in our bedroom seems to get Wi-Fi speeds of between 24mbps to 57mbps. Am I correct in believing that these speeds are fine for streaming 720p or even 1080p YouTube.

 

I have yesterday tried to see if I could use my Smartphone to mirror stuff to the Panasonic but if the Panasonic can be used like this I have been totally unable to find out how or whether it can do this.

 

The TV itself has not been used that much as I had a Samsung Cathode Ray TV that far outlasted expectations for many years before finally failing recently. Now the Panasonic has been moved to our Bedroom instead of it. If KTV ceases then the Panasonic will be  pretty useless on its own, so I am wondering if an Android Set top box is the solution. My hope is to use the box to access Android apps, YouTube and web browsing via it, and using the Panasonic purely as a dumb TV. I am loathe to buy another Smart TV as I fear apps will after a few years fail and not be supported. I have also read that Android Smart TVs are not as stable nor do they perform as closely to Android Smartphones as Android Set Top boxes do.

Our Lounge has an LG and its pretty good as its Browser seldom has buffer issues and YouTube works perfectly.

 

So my questions are:

a) Has Thailand started to allow some Android Set Top boxes to be legally sold by Thai retailers like True and PowerBuy?

b) If I bought an Android Set top Box would it substitute for the inadequacies and non working apps in the Panasonic TV.

c) Are Google Chromecast dongles being sold legally in Thailand now AND IF SO are they a decent alternative to Android Set Top Boxes?

 

Leading on to 3) TrueID TV BOX

From what I understood from Web articles this Box is legally sold in Thailand and is an Android Box and uses one of the latest Android OS Versions. From what I can ascertain I believe do not need to use True as my ISP or Fibre Provider for the set Top Box to work. Can anybody confirm this and does anybody have any knowledge or input on the suitability of these boxes for my scenario?.

 

I note I cannot think about purchasing any of the AIS TV packages (which sold very good) unless I abandon 3BB and use them as my ISP. This I am unwilling to do as I have used 3BB for many years and am happy with them. Are there any other LEGAL in Thailand channel packages that are inexpensive (NOT TRUE VISIONS) that have several news channels and English sound track movie channels and a few Sports channels in English. With Regard to News Channels my most watched channel is Fox News (sorry US Democrats out there - and no I am not a US citizen or a Republican).

 

4) Wi-Fi Mesh

My son's bedroom is at the diagonal opposite location from where my downstairs PC and HG8145V GPON are situated (cannot be realistically relocated). He gets zero Wi-Fi 2.4GHz signal for either a smart TV or his Smartphone (very occasionally it clicks in and out at around 3-5 Mbps. One other back bedroom also has no coverage and to be honest my nearer Bedroom, as I already have said< only gets 24 -57 Mbps. I have read about conventional Wi-Fi extenders but they halve the signals and Power line extenders may or may not be effective depending on the wiring. So to me, a simple 1 or 2 Mesh system seems desirable.  Any advice on this, and if considered a decent solution do you have any recommendations on Brands and models (My 3BB Huawei HG8145V GPON is dual band (2.4Ghz and 5Ghz) so I'd like a Mesh system not too expensive that can cope with both bands, as many users where I live are on 2.4Ghz (my smartphone Wi-Fi analyser catches 10 to 15 at times in various parts of the house).

 

Many thanks everybody. Sorry for such a long and varied enquiry but with the KTV situation unclear, all are subjects I now need to consider

Kind Regards

 

 

 

[robblok]

Maybe you could hook up an amazon fire stick to your TV (if it has usb its possible) Then you can watch netflix on your TV. You do pay a subscription but you will have many tv series and movies. 

[gdhm]

2 hours ago, robblok said:

Maybe you could hook up an amazon fire stick to your TV (if it has usb its possible) Then you can watch netflix on your TV. You do pay a subscription but you will have many tv series and movies. 

Thanks for the suggestions. To be honest I'm not that keen on Netflix after finding (when they first launched in Thailand) how they charged similar prices to US and UK but offered a tiny fraction of the shows due to copyright. My instinct was "rip off at the time". No idea if things have become more balanced. I also prefer purchases in Thailand (ideally stores/retailers I can go back to (maybe I'm just old fashioned????).

[robblok]

9 hours ago, gdhm said:

Thanks for the suggestions. To be honest I'm not that keen on Netflix after finding (when they first launched in Thailand) how they charged similar prices to US and UK but offered a tiny fraction of the shows due to copyright. My instinct was "rip off at the time". No idea if things have become more balanced. I also prefer purchases in Thailand (ideally stores/retailers I can go back to (maybe I'm just old fashioned????).

Yes I guess your old fashioned and the price of Thai netflix is far below that of an UK or Dutch Netflix not sure for US one.. For me its the best thing to watch.

 

What you are talking about is something that indeed old people use and want to use. No problems there but if you ignore a solution that is probably far cheaper then what you want to do with a bricks and mortar shop then yes your old fashioned and your hurting yourself.

 

But as it is your life, then just do it your way. But you should know all your old fashioned retailers are going the way of the dinosaurs. Maybe a few expensive ones will keep existing the rest will go over the internet.

[gdhm]

5 hours ago, robblok said:

Yes I guess your old fashioned and the price of Thai netflix is far below that of an UK or Dutch Netflix not sure for US one.. For me its the best thing to watch.

 

What you are talking about is something that indeed old people use and want to use. No problems there but if you ignore a solution that is probably far cheaper then what you want to do with a bricks and mortar shop then yes your old fashioned and your hurting yourself.

 

But as it is your life, then just do it your way. But you should know all your old fashioned retailers are going the way of the dinosaurs. Maybe a few expensive ones will keep existing the rest will go over the internet.

 

I know your comments are fundamentally correct robblok soon the fun of window shopping and instant purchase and possession will be gone and we will never need to leave out homes.  Online shopping IMHO is a bit too sanitary.  Seeing a product in person and demonstrated can be advantageous.

 

It not just me being old fashioned robblock I worry about, what I consider several valid concerns: fakes, non delivery, returns systems and one sided costs (sometimes one sided) , stuff not turning out compatible with this country's systems or exactly as advertised, whether my Visa is at risk if an item I ordered turns out to be illegal for use in Thailand, that although items are cheaper I understand Thailand is looking into checking and taxing online goods brought into the country which will I believe level the playing field considerably. 

 

Thank you for confirming Netflix is cheaper in Thailand. I will check it out further as I was unaware that that was the case. When it first started here it was minimally cheaper and with a massively smaller database.  A concern I have with Netflix (and similar packages) is that they seems to be movies and series based only or mainly.  This means acquiring other packages to get News and sports. The AIS packages sound pretty good to me and I hope they will at some time allow different ISP users to purchase their packages (be it a little more costly if necessary). In the main I have been very happy with what I get on KTV adequate Movies, News and sports channels.  I am aware many on the web speak of accessing Netflix USA by various methods but I do not wish to go down those routes (I'm not implying you do robblok).

 

An additional issue I find annoying is that my UK bank has a habit of blocking every overseas Visa debit I make online outside Thailand. They are so keen to protect me that any payments overseas are considered "red flags" and blocked. I'm not suggesting that I am not grateful to the protectives intents.

I have taken to contacting them first by message to advise what I am about to do an important online overseas transaction, but of course the message and transactions do not always noticed in time.

 

I think online purchasing is ideal for technology because provided not a fake you usually know what you will get but even then brands have slightly different specs for different countries and warranties may be problematic. I'd hate to buy clothing online or not be able to get a local emergency item. Online takes time be it only a few days.

Regards

PS Don't knock the dinosaurs completely, it took a global catastrophic event too take them out (or the actors in the Jurassic Park movie series????). 

 

[robblok]

7 minutes ago, gdhm said:

 

I know your comments are fundamentally correct robblok soon the fun of window shopping and instant purchase and possession will be gone and we will never need to leave out homes.  Online shopping IMHO is a bit too sanitary.  Seeing a product in person and demonstrated can be advantageous.

 

It not just me being old fashioned robblock I worry about, what I consider several valid concerns: fakes, non delivery, returns systems and one sided costs (sometimes one sided) , stuff not turning out compatible with this country's systems or exactly as advertised, whether my Visa is at risk if an item I ordered turns out to be illegal for use in Thailand, that although items are cheaper I understand Thailand is looking into checking and taxing online goods brought into the country which will I believe level the playing field considerably. 

 

Thank you for confirming Netflix is cheaper in Thailand. I will check it out further as I was unaware that that was the case. When it first started here it was minimally cheaper and with a massively smaller database.  A concern I have with Netflix (and similar packages) is that they seems to be movies and series based only or mainly.  This means acquiring other packages to get News and sports. The AIS packages sound pretty good to me and I hope they will at some time allow different ISP users to purchase their packages (be it a little more costly if necessary). In the main I have been very happy with what I get on KTV adequate Movies, News and sports channels.  I am aware many on the web speak of accessing Netflix USA by various methods but I do not wish to go down those routes (I'm not implying you do robblok).

 

An additional issue I find annoying is that my UK bank has a habit of blocking every overseas Visa debit I make online outside Thailand. They are so keen to protect me that any payments overseas are considered "red flags" and blocked. I'm not suggesting that I am not grateful to the protectives intents.

I have taken to contacting them first by message to advise what I am about to do an important online overseas transaction, but of course the message and transactions do not always noticed in time.

 

I think online purchasing is ideal for technology because provided not a fake you usually know what you will get but even then brands have slightly different specs for different countries and warranties may be problematic. I'd hate to buy clothing online or not be able to get a local emergency item. Online takes time be it only a few days.

Regards

PS Don't knock the dinosaurs completely, it took a global catastrophic event too take them out (or the actors in the Jurassic Park movie series????). 

 

I dont use vpn to see US content. I might be able but never really tried. I got a good vpn.

 

For some things like clothing i dont buy online, most other stuff i do. Sometimes if i order stuff on ebay i get taxed. But it does not happen often.

 

So far no fakes after countless products.

 

Netflix is an easy solution for your problem. Just get a amazon fire tv dongle and you need only your wifi password and its done.

 

Netflix has no sports(i think) i only workout myself never liked watching sports.  

 

I love lazadaa it has its faults but not many. I got a kasikorn bank with an debit card that functions online like a creditcard.

 

For me online shopping is a blessing. Though i live close to bkk.

 

Anyway i hope you get your problem sorted out.

[gdhm]

Thanks for your very  helpful information robblok. Its appreciated, as is your time 

 

May I ask are there fundamental differences between an Amazon Fire TV dongle vs Google Chromecast TV dongle vs android set top box.

If a dongle is all I need to achieve my needs then that indeed does seem to be a good and cheap way to go and I would only need to sort out Wi-Fi dead/poor spots in my home.

 

Kind Regards

 

Edited December 13, 2019 by gdhm