How to watch TV without a decoder

Those who do not intend to replace their TV or buy a new decoder will still be able to continue watching some TV channels by relying on solutions that allow them to be viewed via the Internet. In particular, I refer to those devices to be connected to your television and which, through the official applications of the individual broadcasters, allow you to view the content of your interest live or in an on-demand mode.

What do you say? You are also interested in the subject and would like to know in detail how to watch TV without a decoder? So let’s not waste any more time chatting and get to the heart of this tutorial. Courage: make yourself comfortable, carefully evaluate each solution proposed in the next paragraphs and choose the one you think best suits your needs. By doing so, I assure you that you will be able to continue watching your favorite TV shows even without having to buy a new decoder.

How to watch television without a decoder

©Aranzulla

As I anticipated in the introductory lines of this guide, it is possible to watch television without a decoder using one of the devices to connect to your TV which also allows you to watch streaming TV.

Regardless of the device, you are going to choose from those listed in the next paragraphs, to watch the television programs of your interest you will need to download the official app of the broadcaster you intend to watch or connect to its website.

In this regard, it will be useful to know that you can see all Rai and Mediaset channels through the services RaiPlay And Mediaset Infinity. Through discovery +instead, you can play channels Real-Time, NINE, DMAX, Discovery Channel, Motor Trend And K2, and all the other channels of the Discovery Italia group.

Besides, you can also see TV8 and the other free-to-air channels of Sky (Sky And SkyTG24) and all the various broadcasters that broadcast on digital terrestrial and stream on the Internet (eg. La7).

Chromecast

©Aranzulla

Chromecast is the first device you can consider for watching television without a decoder. It is a key produced by Google to be connected to the HDMI port of the TV, which allows you to transmit any content played by smartphones, tablets, and computers to the TV.

In addition to the basic version which supports resolution Full HD and is enabled to receive content from compatible apps for smartphones and tablets, the version is also available Chromecast with Google TV, which supports resolution 4K, is equipped with remote control and allows you to download and run apps directly from the device, without the need to transmit the content of your interest from a smartphone, tablet or computer.

In the first case, all you have to do to watch the TV channels of your interest is to take your smartphone or tablet and make sure it’s connected to the same Wi-Fi network that Chromecast is connected to. Once this is done, start the app of the broadcaster of your interest, press the icon of transmission (the screen with Wi-Fi waves) and select the first name of your Chromecast from the opened menu. Once this is done, start playing the channel or content you want to watch, so you can see it directly on your TV.

If you prefer to proceed from computer instead, all you have to do is connect to the official website of the broadcaster you prefer using Chrome, click on the icon three dots located in the upper right corner of the browser, select the option Broadcast from the opened menu, click on the first name of your Chromecast and start playing the channel or content of your interest.

What do you say? Do you have Chromecast with Google TV? In this case, you can either broadcast content from smartphone, tablet, and computer to the TV as I have just indicated or proceed directly from the TV using the official app of the broadcaster you intend to watch available on Google TV.

In the latter case, you will need to log in to the Play Store, search for the app you are interested in and download it by clicking on the relevant button Install. Once this is done, start the app in question, log into your account (if necessary), locate the channel or content you want to watch, and start playback by pressing the middle button of the Chromecast remote control.

In this regard, my guides on how to watch RaiPlay with Chromecast And how to see Mediaset Infinity with Chromecast.

Fire TV Stick

©Aranzulla

Even the devices of the family Fire TV of Amazon are a valid solution to continue watching TV without a decoder.

In particular, you can consider the Fire TV Stick, an HDMI key to be connected to the TV equipped with special remote control and which has an internal store from which to download various applications, including those of the main television broadcasters.

It is available in two different versions: Quarrel (with or without support for TV commands), which allows you to play content with a maximum resolution of 1080p, and 4K / 4K Max which, instead, enable streaming support in Ultra HD / 4K.

 

 

It also belongs to the same family Fire TV Cube, a small box that connects to the TV, equipped with voice control via Alexa and content support 4K Ultra HD.

 

 

To watch the TV channels of your interest, first, select the option Finds located in the main menu, click on the box Near, type the name of the application relating to the broadcaster you want to watch (eg. RaiPlay) and select it from the search results. In the new screen that appears, select the option You receive. Download for free, to start its download and installation. For the walkthrough, I’ll leave you to my guide on how to install apps on a fire tv stick.

Once this is done, go back to the main screen of the device, select the app you just downloaded and press the middle button on the remote control, to launch it and start watching your favorite channels or content.

Apple TV

©Aranzulla

Apple TV is the multimedia box produced by Apple that connects to the TV via an HDMI input on the latter and allows access to a wide range of contents. In addition to being able to receive content from other Apple devices, such as iPhone, iPad, and Mac, thanks to AirPlay technology, you can download numerous applications from the App Store, including those for seeing live Internet TV.

Apple TV is available in two versions: Apple TV HD, with support for streaming content up to Full HD resolution and 32 GB internal memory; And Apple TV 4K, which supports a maximum resolution of 4K / Ultra HD and is available in 32 or 64 GB memory sizes.

To download one of the applications that allow you to watch TV in streaming, all you have to do is access theApp Store, select the option Near, search for the app of your interest and, after selecting it from the search results, click on the option Get. For the walkthrough, you can check out my guide on how to download apps on apple tv.

Other solutions to watch TV without a decoder

©Aranzulla

In addition to the devices that I have indicated to you in the previous lines of this guide, you must know that they exist other solutions to watch TV without a decoder.

If you are looking for a device to connect to your TV that allows you to watch your favorite TV shows in streaming, such as the ones I indicated above, you can consider a TV Box. They are “boxes” that connect to the TV via HDMI cable and which, in most cases, are equipped with the Android operating system, thus allowing you to download apps directly from the Play Store.

 

 

A special mention relating to Android TV Boxes deserves the TIM VISION Box, the decoder that is provided on free loan for all TIM customers who activate one of the offers TIM VISION. It is, in fact, a real decoder compatible with the standard DVB-T2: this means that if you have been provided with this device, you will not have to worry about the so-called switch-off as you will be able to continue watching TV (at least until you deactivate TIM VISION).

Even the video game console allows you to download some apps to watch streaming TV (eg. Mediaset Infinity). Also, you can always connect your computer to the TV via HDMI cable. In this regard, you may be interested in my guide on how to connect a PC to HDMI TV.

What do you say? Don’t have any of the devices I have indicated to you? If so, you always can watch TV on PC or download one of the apps to watch TV from smartphones and tablets.