IPTV for Beginners

Step one: check your internet

Before anything else, run a speed test on the device you plan to watch on, standing where it will actually live. Testing on a laptop next to the router tells you very little about a television at the other end of the house.

Around 10 Mbps is comfortable for HD. If the figure you get is well below that, sort the connection out first — no subscription will fix it.

Step two: work out what you will watch on

Any reasonably recent smart TV, streaming stick, phone, tablet or computer will do. If your television is older than about 2018 and has no app store, an inexpensive streaming stick is usually cheaper and better than replacing the set.

Not sure? Send us the make and model and we will tell you honestly whether it will work.

Step three: understand what a connection means

A connection is one simultaneous stream. One connection means one device playing at a time. It does not stop you installing the player on the television and on your phone — it only stops both of them playing at once.

If two people in the house want different programmes at the same time, that is two connections.

Step four: choose a term

Shorter terms cost more per month but commit you to less. If you have not used a service like this before, there is a reasonable argument for starting short and extending once you know it suits you.

Step five: set it up

Install a player from your device’s app store, enter the details you are sent, and wait for the first load to finish. That is the whole process. The installation guide covers each device with the screens you will see.

Questions worth asking any provider

• What currency is the price in, and is it the total for the term or per month?
• How many devices can stream at once on what I am buying?
• Is this specific thing I want to watch actually included?
• How do I get help if it does not work, and who answers?
• What happens at the end of the term — does it renew automatically?

Ask us those five. If any provider is vague about them, that tells you something.