New technologies are playing a big part - it seems - in building S4Cs audience. Putting two fingers up to the naysayers of welsh language broadcasting…Good news!
6 Likes
It’s an important shift, I think - we don’t have the tv on all that often in general terms, and when we do we’ll usually be watching a film - so we don’t watch S4C very often. But I’ll see stuff on social media and then end up watching a bit on Clic on a fairly regular basis…
I think the ‘see the bits you’re interested in’ aspect of on-demand stuff is really, really important. S4C has never been able to please all its intended audience - I’d rather stick spoons in my eyes than sit through some of the stuff they have to do - but when I can see the things I’m interested in and skip the rest, the value is much clearer.
4 Likes
I found “Y glas” that way and I watch it now, because I like it. I saw that the figures for listening to Radio Cymru are up too!!! I watched “Sam ar y screen” when it was on because I found out about programmes from it.
3 Likes
A little bit off-topic…
…as most of you know, I’ve not long moved to Barry. Looking forward to watching Welsh TV through an aerial instead of Satellite, you can imagine my disappointment when I plugged my TV into the main aerial of my flat, tuned it in and picked up all my channels…from Bristol!
I wish it was as simple as realigning the aerial towards Wenvoe, only I have no access to the roof and because I’m situated downhill (and most other properties in the area are also picking their TV signals up from Bristol) I’m guessing that picking up signals from Wenvoe is problematic in my part of Barry 
I can’t even hook up to a satellite as I have no dish and have no plans to buy TV services until I’ve settled in properly. Internet is the only way to go, only I have no broadband connection - just what I get from my SIM in my iPad and my phone.
Didn’t want to moan, but if anyone in the Barry area knows of a solution to this where I won’t need to subscribe to Sky/Virgin/YouView etc, I would be very interested to try it out!
If there’s somewhere you can grab some wifi temporarily, some S4C programs are available on iPlayer, and the iPlayer app on iPad lets you download things to watch later. Not much of a solution, but it might be /something/.
This has probably been mentioned a thousand times, but how can I get Welsh language programmes abroad? I listen to Welsh radio over the internet, but don’t know where to go for TV!
Joining in to this question. We’re regionally even not so far apart so it might be common solution for both of us. 
Or if S4C has any program over Internet in Cymraeg not to be georestricted and for this matter especially designed to be watched everywhere.
Diolch.
I am able to use free WiFi when I’m not at home, and I have 2 TV apps available where I can watch live S4C as it is broadcast (adverts as well - S4C Clic doesn’t broadcast regular adverts on its live streaming service). I just need a quick easy solution for when I’m at home! It’s no big deal - hopefully in 6 months time once I’ve settled into my new job I will be able to sign up for Sky or something…
If you have access to satellite services, you might be able to pick up S4C in Europe. The channel isn’t encrypted in the UK, so I’m assuming it isn’t encrypted across Europe either.
You may need to tune your satellite receiver manually to receive S4C in Europe, unless you have Sky services there, but again, I’m not sure if even Sky offer S4C in its packages for mainland Europe. The channel frequency used (in the UK*, may differ slightly for other parts of Europe eg. Satellite position) is as follows:
Position: 28.5°E*
Satellite: Eutelsat 28A
Frequency: 11343 V
System: DVB-S, MPEG-2
SR: 27500
FEC: 2/3
If you don’t have access to satellite services, then there may be online broadcast services that can provide a way for you to stream live, or even catch-up services to where you are, although I’m not too sure on how legal these services are!
Hope this helps though…
That’s the whole point. Online broadcast of S4C (just like BBC) are georestricted, what means they can be watched only in UK and its related countries) and they don’t provide any subscriptions at least what concerns my country and I believe with Greece isn’t much better. It might be we can watch some occassional videos and that’s all. I could go for “shield” which covers location but it can cause other problems elswhere.
For years I lived on Gower and could get nothing except from North Devon!! It is a tad frustrating!! My sympathies for all who live in Cymru and have this problem!! As well as Sky, I get S4C on the internet and watch S4C Clic! Our broad band isn’t great, but it is watchable!! There was no broadband on Gower in my day!!
1 Like
That’s quite amusing, because when I holiday in Lynton and Lynmouth (Gogledd Dyfnaint), the telly all comes from De Cymru just across the Bristol Channel…!
Hwyl,
Stu
1 Like
There were online services that allowed you to watch georestricted channels via their platform - which is why I mentioned that I wasn’t too sure if they were legal or not. I should imagine if any existed in the past then they probably don’t anymore, but then I’ve never (knowingly) used such a service before so couldn’t give any examples!
There are some programmes which can be watched worldwide on S4C clic, 8 listed today, look under Ar Gael y Fyd-reang on the Home page. Also some people not in the UK use services to watch georestricted programmes but I believe Ssiw do not approve of this.
1 Like
Neither do some other sites especially if you do many other things online not just watching TV programes, posting on the forum, replying and reading mails etc. Well, yes, those “shields” are ilegal so I understand the attitude of SSiW.
I certainly will, thank you.
EDIT: I might be awkward but I in my life don’t find this what you’ve written neither on their hompage nor elswhere and whatever I click it doesn’t want to start what means it’s georestricted.
I believe it’s waste of time bother with any UK programe obviously no matter how Cymraig it might be. People from abroad being situated in “UK related” countries surely experience it differently and with more “rights” on watching then one situated at the beginning of “Balkan” area.
We knew that!! We joked that, to watch S4C, we needed to pop across by boat!! We usually got pretty terrible reception from anywhere, then, one Christmas Eve, I got beautiful clear TV!! Later, went outside and found the thickest fog I remember!! It was causing the effect!!
1 Like
Right, advertising any sort of illicit activity should be kept off the forum, please.
(To that end, I’ve edited the posts above to not advertise such a service)
2 Likes
Wonder sheep,
Although I am happy to accept that SSiW do not wish people to advocate the use of Vpns on the forum and to abide by that, to suggest that mentioning them is advertising them ,is a bit extreme. As for calling them ‘illicit activity’, perhaps more accurately a ‘legal grey area’ as evidenced by the following 3 quotes. In New Zealand (where I live)
“In 2013, the New Zealand internet service provider Slingshot introduced a feature known as “global mode”; initially intended for travellers to enable access to local websites blocked in New Zealand, the service was re-launched in July 2014 as a feature to all Slingshot subscribers, with a particular emphasis on allowing access to U.S. online video services. Unlike similar services, Global Mode is implemented passively at the ISP level and automatically activates when certain websites are accessed, removing the need for the user to configure the VPN themselves.” Although Sky TV and TVNZ threatened to take Slingshot to court over the matter, they have not done so yet. Also
"In Australia, a policy FAQ published by Minister for Communications Malcolm Turnbull, states that users violating an international commercial arrangement to protect copyright in different countries or regions is not illegal ". And finally
"On 6 May 2015, the European Union announced the adoption of its “Digital Single Market” strategy, which will amongst other changes, aim to end the use of “unjustified” geo-blocking between EU countries, arguing that “too many Europeans cannot use online services that are available in other EU countries, often without any justification;”
Illicit activity? Only not proven.
3 Likes
Not that I want to insult anyone, but let’s look at this this way:
SSiW isn’t only the area where we can learn the most magnificent way we can, it isn’t just a forum we talk about Cymraeg, Cymru and whatever else related to it on but it’s also establisment which provides living for the founders and from which and for which all the crew lives so I believe here can’t be a discussion and argues whether what @wondersheep says is right or wrong. It’s simply how it is and I stand for this because no establishment, enterprise or whatever which makes living for those who created it should in whatever way publish or advertise what might be illegal or grey area.
Grey areas are very delicate things what I’ve experienced in a dispute with one photographer whos links and thumbnails of their photos I’ve shared because they were published in the articles which was shared through the Internet by many others (so I should even not be accused of anything as all lead to original source)…
So, I rather don’t watch any Welsh program at all then seing any grey area thingys published here on this forum.
I’m sorry if I might be (what almost always happens) understood wrong but we, members of this community also have the responsibility to remain the company at its good name to which forum surely is attached aswell.
(And, please, don’t be angry with me (again)).
EDIT: Unfortunatelly many EU regulations however acceptec and decided it proves at the end that they don’t rule for all countries of EU. Equalty is proclamed but never really established. (This is what I’ve experienced too) But this is already another story which doesn’t belong here.
1 Like
Do you plan to get broadband eventually, or is it not available where you are?
I mention this as these days there are “smart TVs” that can connect to the internet, and with a smart TV (I believe they need not be wildly expensive) you could then watch Clic (and iPlayer, and a lot more besides, of course).
We don’t currently have a “smart TV” - we have an ancient enormous conventional one that is still going strong (with the help of a Freeview box), but I sometimes occasionally half-hope it will break down and give me the excuse to buy a “smart TV”.
1 Like
Save your money, and stop leaving mugs of tea balanced precariously on the bookshelf above the old tv…
Smart tvs do have a few drawbacks
- The manufacturer decides which services to support. Very likely it’ll do iPlayer, but perhaps not S4C’s clic
- They can become dumber over time as the manufacturer decides it’s not worth the hassle to keep supporting your particular television, and simply removes some of the software rather than keep it up to date
- The user interface is generally designed by people who hate other human beings
Fortunately there is another approach that’s a good bit cheaper, and saves you the cost of a new television.
So long as your television has a HDMI port there are a multitude of devices you can connect that essentially act as the “smart” bit of a smart TV.
Devices such as
- Google chromecast
- Google’s nexus player
- Amazon’s fire TV
- Roku
- Sky’s Now TV box
(The added benefit is when the little box you’ve bought becomes obsolete you can buy another one, rather than being stuck with a fancy “smart tv” that’s gone a bit thick. Not that I’m bitter at all.)
It’s down to the manufacturer to decide what software to support i.e. everyone supports iPlayer, but who knows about S4C’s Clic.
I have a Google Chromecast. One of the joys of this device is that you can use it to show whatever content is on an Android phone on your television. Handy if you use your phone for Welsh lessons. Of if you watch a video on your phone you can use the Chromecast to show it on your tv
3 Likes