Goodbye Ubc - Forever

[Prasert]

Does anyone know who supplies the smartcard for Fox Crime / Australia Network / Nat Geo Wild on the Thaicom5 satellite?

---> see http://www.lyngsat.com/thai5.html --> frequency 12355H

My receiver shows these channels, although they're encrypted.

[LivinLOS]

Just cancelled UBC, I had 2 access points in my house. Was paying TrueVision (UBC) around 4,000THB per month. I was only watching CNBC and Bloomberg really. It was time I canceled it.

Why 4k ?? Its a couple hundred baht for an official second point or you can just use cardsplitters..

So 1500 could have done it..

[BigSnake]

Good for I canx my UBC years ago, what a useless company when it come to TV program, bet a group of Teenagers could do better if they had the fund to start a company.

[kudroz]

Just cancelled UBC, I had 2 access points in my house. Was paying TrueVision (UBC) around 4,000THB per month. I was only watching CNBC and Bloomberg really. It was time I canceled it.

Why 4k ?? Its a couple hundred baht for an official second point or you can just use cardsplitters..

So 1500 could have done it..

You're right, I just checked the bill. I was paying 2,654.56 per month.

[Jingthing]

I use slingbox and have a gold cyber TOT account costing me 1000 baht a month. In other words, pretty pitiful speeds (in Pattaya). But guess what? The slingbox reception is quite OK most of the time.

[Jingthing]

What about program schedules. I guess you need to watch them in US schedule. Meaning prime time shows are on early morning here on Thailand ?

I have a dedicated DVR attached, so just record programs, the time difference is not relevant.

Its worth it for me for HBO, Independent Film Channel, Sundance Film Channel and also I have a DVD player for a netflix account. Believe it or not, most films are not available in Thailand on the "street" or even in torrents (shhhhhhhhhhhhh). If you only watch the real popular stuff, not an issue, but it is for real film freaks like me.

BTW, my host in the US has never had any issue with me "hogging" his bandwidth. He has a good US high speed service and barely notices my use. I do pay him to share the cable services, plus I pay for the DVR monthly and netflix account. I even kick in an extra tenspot for my use of his bandwidth (his idea).

The cool thing about having a US host is that if you kick in some share money, they may be more likely to spring for the full package premium package, so I do recommend people look into this if they have a somewhat tech savvy friend who loves entertainment.

Edited May 20, 2009 by Jingthing

[Cromarty]

Jingthing,

What sort of DVR do you have attached? How do you get the programme data? I was hoping there was a plugin for MCE but I don't think there is.

[Jingthing]

Jingthing,

What sort of DVR do you have attached? How do you get the programme data? I was hoping there was a plugin for MCE but I don't think there is.

It comes from the cable company my friend subscribes to, Comcast. There is no choice but to rent from them. The program info from comcast website. Obviously, this will differ with providers.

If you try this out and you aren't happy or your host can't get it together, the worse that can happen is you have to eat the Slingbox purchase. They are easily resalable on craigslist.

Edited May 20, 2009 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

Forgot to mention the program information is fully available directly from the DVR controls. I used that a lot more than the website.

[fullservice]

I hope more people get rid of their TVs as soon as possible. Its the worst waste of time in my opinion.

[Plus]

For me the price is not an issue as you might have guessed.

I think it's not the money issue you mean, it's the bandwidth. I just saw you post in another thread and you set up 18mpbs connection.

For most of us it's out of the question, money or not.

[ChiangMaiThai]

Just cancelled UBC, I had 2 access points in my house. Was paying TrueVision (UBC) around 4,000THB per month. I was only watching CNBC and Bloomberg really. It was time I canceled it.

I have contacted ChiangMaiThai's contact and he is setting me up tomorrow. Each of my TV are already hooked up to an Apple TV and a Mac Mini, so I'll install the Slingbox player on the Mac Mini to supplement Boxee (hulu, Joost, Netflix, etc). The Slingbox service also comes with a DVR and 100 hours of recording, you can record 1 or 2 shows at once. I'll program all the TV shows I'm following and it'll record automatically. I also have a Roku player that I use for Netflix.

Slingbox for me is convenient, don't have to torrent all of the shows I need to watch, but can just turn on the TV and use the Slingbox player to connect to DVR (DirectTV) in New York. For me the price is not an issue as you might have guessed.

Thanks or the tip!

How did the test go?

[ChiangMaiThai]

For me the price is not an issue as you might have guessed.

I think it's not the money issue you mean, it's the bandwidth. I just saw you post in another thread and you set up 18mpbs connection.

For most of us it's out of the question, money or not.

You don't need 18Mbps for slingbox to work. 3Mbps should be plenty.

[kudroz]

Just cancelled UBC, I had 2 access points in my house. Was paying TrueVision (UBC) around 4,000THB per month. I was only watching CNBC and Bloomberg really. It was time I canceled it.

I have contacted ChiangMaiThai's contact and he is setting me up tomorrow. Each of my TV are already hooked up to an Apple TV and a Mac Mini, so I'll install the Slingbox player on the Mac Mini to supplement Boxee (hulu, Joost, Netflix, etc). The Slingbox service also comes with a DVR and 100 hours of recording, you can record 1 or 2 shows at once. I'll program all the TV shows I'm following and it'll record automatically. I also have a Roku player that I use for Netflix.

Slingbox for me is convenient, don't have to torrent all of the shows I need to watch, but can just turn on the TV and use the Slingbox player to connect to DVR (DirectTV) in New York. For me the price is not an issue as you might have guessed.

Thanks or the tip!

How did the test go?

The test went great, I've manually setup the speed and doing fine with a 1-2mbps download. Quality is better than UBC, I'm very happy. I set it up on my TV connecting a Mac Mini, so I can use the Apple Remote the change the channels, pause-stop, etc. It's working great!

[namoo]

If you use a US VPN to access YouTube they have some decent shows / movies full length available for free with great streaming speeds through witopia.

Also rumour has it on the tech sites that by sept BBC,ITV,CH4 content on youtube. Simply switch to UK VPN in witopia.

[ChiangMaiThai]

Just cancelled UBC, I had 2 access points in my house. Was paying TrueVision (UBC) around 4,000THB per month. I was only watching CNBC and Bloomberg really. It was time I canceled it.

I have contacted ChiangMaiThai's contact and he is setting me up tomorrow. Each of my TV are already hooked up to an Apple TV and a Mac Mini, so I'll install the Slingbox player on the Mac Mini to supplement Boxee (hulu, Joost, Netflix, etc). The Slingbox service also comes with a DVR and 100 hours of recording, you can record 1 or 2 shows at once. I'll program all the TV shows I'm following and it'll record automatically. I also have a Roku player that I use for Netflix.

Slingbox for me is convenient, don't have to torrent all of the shows I need to watch, but can just turn on the TV and use the Slingbox player to connect to DVR (DirectTV) in New York. For me the price is not an issue as you might have guessed.

Thanks or the tip!

How did the test go?

The test went great, I've manually setup the speed and doing fine with a 1-2mbps download. Quality is better than UBC, I'm very happy. I set it up on my TV connecting a Mac Mini, so I can use the Apple Remote the change the channels, pause-stop, etc. It's working great!

Excellent! On the remote that you use can you actually enter the channel number or can you only do up and down? I can only do the latter with my lap top remote, so I can use that or my wireless mouse. Would be nice to be able to enter the channel number on the remote.

[kudroz]

Excellent! On the remote that you use can you actually enter the channel number or can you only do up and down? I can only do the latter with my lap top remote, so I can use that or my wireless mouse. Would be nice to be able to enter the channel number on the remote.

I can go up and down only, but I use a software called Remote Buddy that allows me to control the mouse with the remote, so I can push the button of the virtual remote on the screen - or click on my favorite channels buttons. I've also installed Remote Buddy on my iPhone, so I can control Sling Player using my iPhone.

As I'm writing this, I'm watching live the NHL Playoffs! I can pause, rewind/f-forward and record it! Love it!

[LivinLOS]

Excellent! On the remote that you use can you actually enter the channel number or can you only do up and down? I can only do the latter with my lap top remote, so I can use that or my wireless mouse. Would be nice to be able to enter the channel number on the remote.

I use a gyration media center remote which works superbly with VMCE

http://www.gyration.com/p-68-media-center-...compatible.aspx

I also have a built in IR detector on my media PC and the remote can also learn and use IR codes.. I have been involved with girder for years which is a truly hardcore command and control application.. Theres little in a PC that cannot be made remote and macro friendly with this but it IS a pretty complex and powerful app.

[ChiangMaiThai]

Excellent! On the remote that you use can you actually enter the channel number or can you only do up and down? I can only do the latter with my lap top remote, so I can use that or my wireless mouse. Would be nice to be able to enter the channel number on the remote.

I can go up and down only, but I use a software called Remote Buddy that allows me to control the mouse with the remote, so I can push the button of the virtual remote on the screen - or click on my favorite channels buttons. I've also installed Remote Buddy on my iPhone, so I can control Sling Player using my iPhone.

As I'm writing this, I'm watching live the NHL Playoffs! I can pause, rewind/f-forward and record it! Love it!

Great streaming speed! I get about half that, but it is enough for slingbox. What is your connection speed and who is your ISP?

Edited May 25, 2009 by ChiangMaiThai

[namoo]

Great News. Hulu Desktop has been released.

http://www.hulu.com/labs

It really is a polished piece of software. Use it with Witopia and your good to go. If you login with your hulu account you can alter the Video Quality settings to suit your internet speed.

Great on a Mac Mini connected to a LCD. Works with Apple Remote and also Windows Media remote.

Edited May 29, 2009 by namoo

[sleepyjohn]

All very interesting to me.....

Is it possible some one of you afficianados could put together a little presentation of the various possibilities available and how they work..........for a loafer? From free downloads on up to the 7000pm (phew!) we heard about first?

I hope so very much

cheers John

[tlcwaterfall]

Great News. Hulu Desktop has been released.

http://www.hulu.com/labs

It really is a polished piece of software. Use it with Witopia and your good to go. If you login with your hulu account you can alter the Video Quality settings to suit your internet speed.

Great on a Mac Mini connected to a LCD. Works with Apple Remote and also Windows Media remote.

Just downloaded Hulu and it tells me I can only watch programs if I am in the United States! I of course am in Thailand so not much help to me I am afraid.

However it does point to the future of what is going to happen with our tv shows.

If anyone can give me some hints on how to access good quality movies and tv shows(other than downloads which take forever) this would be much appreciated. My internet connection here is slow.

[Jimjim]

He just told you in that post, use Witopia with Hulu and you can watch it from Thailand. Google Witopia to see what it is.

[namoo]

Just downloaded Hulu and it tells me I can only watch programs if I am in the United States! I of course am in Thailand so not much help to me I am afraid.

RTFP.

[Jungian]

I get world wide TV free (yes FREE) via a PC server I set up in my house strictly as a TV server, I watch USA, UK, Aus, pretty much anything in the world. I can watch live TV as well as download the shows. I don't watch TV on the PC I have installed flat screen full HD TV's in the rooms that are RGB compatible and directly connected to the server. I have TOT for internet it's fine I never have a problem and you can watch TV while people are using the wireless access with no problem, that however sets me back 550฿ per month. The other benefit of using a PC is you never need to worry about the format of anything a PC can play it all and the obvious thing is you can get subtitles in almost any language. I have given up on paying for TV as it is free anyway the satellite and cable companies are the ones that decided to charge a fee and "make it convenient" for you. The total cost of my set up was about 12,000฿ excluding the TV's

[alfieconn]

There have been some threads about this before, but I am so impressed with my own experience that I thought I would post here. I finally canceled UBC last year. So tired of all the repeats and old movies on the Asian version of HBO. Anyway, I finally got set up with Slingbox. (Read more at slingbox.com)

I have 200 channels from the US based DirecTV which I watch on my TV, not my computer.

It is all live. I have a desktop connected to my TV. I change channels with a wireless mouse. I can record a hundred hours of TV and even pause live TV. When I want to watch TV, I just double click the slingbox icon on my desktop. 90% of the time the quality looks exactly the same as UBC's signal. 10% of the time it looks like a recorded VHS tape. Every hour or so it will freeze for a milisecond, but hardy a problem.

I didn't want to buy a slingbox myself and have my family set it up and then put a drain on their Internet. So I found a guy in New York who runs a slingbox service. I pay about 4000 Baht a month. This includes a special proxy service which doubles the slingbox speed which is essential. (I tested with and without the proxy).

My Internet connection is TT&T Premier 4mb 1:10 which I pay 3,000 Baht a month for. A quality internet connection is vital for this to work.

It took about 5 minutes to set up and I can say without a doubt, I will never ever go back to UBC again. I have all the football from UK plus all the Americaqn sports and new, uncensored movies and latest shows. The only problem is the annoying American commercials, which I mute with my mouse!

If you would like me to put you in touch with the guy in NY who can set up a free test for you, send me a PM.

Hi Chiangmaithai, when you say all the football, do you mean every single premiership game as UBC has ?

[ChiangMaiThai]

Hi Chiangmaithai, when you say all the football, do you mean every single premiership game as UBC has ?

Yes

[kudroz]

I have just upgraded my Slingbox AV to a Slingbox PRO-HD. I now have over 100 HD channels through DirecTV. It is simply amazing, now I can fully enjoy my Samsung LCD 850 Series in Thailand.

I had to switch to Windows (meh...) because the Mac player doesn't support HD yet. I'm watching HBO in HD now, look at that quality! It plays in 720p on my TV too.

[kudroz]

Great streaming speed! I get about half that, but it is enough for slingbox. What is your connection speed and who is your ISP?

Maxnet Premier 6mbps. But I'm streaming it through my company server in Qala data center in Singapore which directly peers with Maxnet. So I'm always getting the full speed when I access US sites.

[ChiangMaiThai]

Great streaming speed! I get about half that, but it is enough for slingbox. What is your connection speed and who is your ISP?

Maxnet Premier 6mbps. But I'm streaming it through my company server in Qala data center in Singapore which directly peers with Maxnet. So I'm always getting the full speed when I access US sites.

Any suggestions on how I can always get the full speed when I access US sites? Maxnet Premier 4Mbps streams at between 600 and 1100 for me. No where near good enough for HD. Got any extra space on that company server in Singapore?