The transition to a new transmission standard for digital terrestrial, called DVB-T2 , began in October 2021 and will end in January 2023 with the so-called switch-off, i.e. the definitive transition to the new digital TV . From that moment on, to continue seeing the entire television offer, it will be necessary to acquire TVs or decoders compatible with this new standard and, to facilitate their purchase, the Italian Government has made various incentives available.
Those who do not intend to replace their television or purchase a new decoder will still be able to continue watching some television channels by relying on solutions that allow them to be viewed via the Internet. In particular, I am referring to those devices to be connected to your television and which, through the official applications of the individual broadcasters, allow you to view the contents of your interest live or in on-demand mode.
How do you say? Are you 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 let’s get to the heart of this tutorial. Courage: make yourself comfortable, carefully evaluate each solution proposed in the following paragraphs and choose the one that you think best suits your needs. By doing so, I assure you that you will be able to continue watching your favorite television programs even without having to buy a new decoder.
How to watch TV without a decoder
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 be connected to your television and which also allow you to watch TV in streaming .
Regardless of the device you choose from among those indicated in the following 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 RaiPlay and Mediaset Infinity services . Through discovery+ , on the other hand, you can play the Real Time , NOVE , DMAX , Discovery Channel , Motor Trend and K2 channels and all the other channels of the Discovery Italia group.
Furthermore, you can also see TV8 and the other free-to-air channels of Sky ( Cielo and SkyTG24 ) and all the various broadcasters that broadcast on digital terrestrial and in streaming on the Internet (eg La7 ).
Chromecast
Chromecast is the first device you can consider to watch television without a decoder . It is a stick produced by Google to be connected to the HDMI port of the TV, which allows you to broadcast any content played by smartphones, tablets and computers on TV.
In addition to the basic version which supports Full HD resolution and is enabled to receive content from compatible apps for smartphones and tablets, the Chromecast version with Google TV is also available, which supports 4K resolution , is equipped with a remote control and allows you to download and run the apps directly from the device, without the need to transmit the contents of your interest from your smartphone, tablet or computer.
In the first case, all you have to do to watch the TV channels of your interest is take your smartphone or tablet and make sure it’s connected to the same Wi-Fi network to which Chromecast is connected. Once this is done, start the app of the broadcaster of your interest, press the transmission icon (the screen with Wi-Fi waves ) and select the name of your Chromecast from the menu that opens. 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 a computer , however, all you have to do is connect to the official website of the broadcaster you prefer using Chrome , click on the three dots icon located in the upper right corner of the browser , select the Transmit option from the menu opened, click on the name of your Chromecast and start playing the channel or content of your interest.
How do you say? Do you have Chromecast with Google TV? In this case, you can either transmit content from smartphones, tablets and computers to the TV as I have just indicated or proceed directly from the TV using the official app of the broadcaster you want to watch available on Google TV.
In the latter case, you will have to access the Play Store , search for the app of your interest and download it by pressing the relevant Install button . Once this is done, start the app in question, log in to your account (if necessary), locate the channel or content you want to watch and start playing it by pressing the central button on the Chromecast remote control.
In this regard, my guides on how to watch RaiPlay with Chromecast and how to watch Mediaset Infinity with Chromecast may be useful .
Fire TV Stick
Amazon’s Fire TV family devices are also a valid solution for continuing to watch TV without a decoder.
In particular, you can consider the Fire TV Stick , an HDMI stick to be connected to the TV equipped with a special remote control and which has an internal store from which you can download various applications, including those of the main TV stations.
It is available in two different versions: Lite (with or without TV command support), which allows you to play content with a maximum resolution of 1080p, and 4K/4K Max which, on the other hand, enables support for Ultra HD/4K streaming .
The Fire TV Cube also belongs to the same family , a small box that connects to the TV, equipped with voice control via Alexa and support for 4K Ultra HD content .
To watch the television channels of your interest, first select the Find option located in the main menu, press the Search box , enter the name of the application relating to the broadcaster you wish to watch (e.g. RaiPlay ) and select it from the results of the research. In the new screen that appears, select the Receive option. Download for free , to start the download and installation. For the detailed procedure, I leave you with my guide on how to install apps on Fire TV Stick .
Once this is done, access the main screen of the device again, select the app you just downloaded and press the central button on the remote control to start it and start watching the channels or content you prefer.
Apple TV
Apple TV is the multimedia box produced by Apple that connects to the TV via an HDMI input of the latter and allows access to a wide range of content. In addition to being able to receive content from other Apple devices, such as iPhone, iPad and Mac, thanks to AirPlay technology , it is possible to download numerous applications from the App Store, including those for watching live Internet TV .
Apple TV is available in two versions: Apple TV HD , with support for streaming content up to Full HD resolution and 32GB 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 the App Store , select the Search option , search for the app of your interest and, after selecting it from the search results, press on the Get option . For the walkthrough, you can check out my guide on how to download apps to Apple TV .
Other solutions to watch TV without a decoder
In addition to the devices that I have indicated to you in the previous lines of this guide, you should know that there are other solutions for watching TV without a decoder .
If you are looking for a device to connect to your TV and which allows you to watch your favorite TV programs in streaming, like the ones I have indicated previously, 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.
The TIMVISION Box , the decoder that is provided on loan for use free of charge to all TIM customers who activate one of the TIMVISION offers , deserves special mention regarding Android TV Boxes . It is, in fact, a real decoder compatible with the DVB-T2 standard : this means that if you have been supplied with this device, you won’t have to worry about the so-called switch-off since you will be able to continue watching TV (at least until do not deactivate TIMVISION).
Video game consoles also allow you to download some apps to watch streaming TV (eg Mediaset Infinity ). Also, you can always connect your computer to your TV via HDMI cable. In this regard, you may be interested in my guide on how to connect PC to HDMI TV .
How do you say? Don’t you have any of the devices I’ve indicated to you? In that case, you can always watch TV on your PC or download one of the apps to watch TV from smartphones and tablets.