Brit-Streaming
by Greg Bakun
Have you ever wanted to have
your own TV
station that ran nothing but British television? I did!
For years the best way
to achieve this would be through watching programs that came up
on your local
PBS station. There was a nice variety of programs that ventured
between Comedies,
Mystery or just amazing drama as seen on Masterpiece Theater.
In some areas,
seeing these British television gems on TV are become scarcer
but luckily Acorn
Media has come to the rescue!
Acorn TV allows viewers to
connect to their
service via such devices as Roku or Apple TV and they offer a set
group of British
television series to stream. (The first episode in every series is available for free, but you'll need the premium service to see episodes beyond that. Premium accounts cost only $2.99/month or $29.99/year and include other perks such as free shipping on Acorn DVDs and Blu-rays.) Series range from Upstairs
Downstairs to I
Claudius. I love this service and I realized that Acorn TV
is a great way for
me to look at programs that maybe I have heard of before but
never chose to get
watch for a number of reasons.
What fascinated me most about
this process is
that I am a novice to the world of streaming video. Yet, I
consider myself of
some advance technical skill. I am a life-long enthusiast of
British television
and perhaps a bit of a purist. Even though I am from the US and
live in the US,
I import the majority of my British television DVDs and Blu-rays
from the UK. I
watch them back on a TV that plays back PAL and I see it in
native PAL.
Remember, the PAL system is the way UK viewers watch standard
definition
programs and us folks from the US watch in NTSC. I have never
streamed anything
before and I generally hate watching stuff from my computer. I
knew that to do
this justice, I would need to stream it into my TV. So, I
invested into a Roku.
Actually, let me back this up a little further. I started with
Apple TV. I was
lucky enough to get an Apple TV as a gift and I started to
stream Acorn TV.
Now, Acorn TV is not listed as one of the channels through Apple
TV but you can
stream it via Apple Air. This means that you need to go through
a Apple device
such as an iPhone or and iPad and stream it to the Apple TV.
This worked fine
but the version I have of Apple TV is HD 720p and I wanted to
see Acorn TV work
in 1080p. The obvious solution for me was to get the Roku. Plus,
Acorn TV has a
channel on Roku so it is easy to get access to plus it was in
1080. Of course, the
current model of Apple TV is in 1080 now but the Roku seemed to
be the best
option for me to get Acorn TV. Not to worry, I have many other
great uses for
my Apple TV.
The case eventually leads Foyle to London where he finds out there is a place where the "White" Russians go for sanctuary. On the other side of these developments, there is the Brigadier. Once he realizes that Foyle is getting more information than the Brigadier wants him to have, he now has to start moving Foyle away from the case.
From a directional standpoint
this episode is
gorgeous. As previously mentioned, this episode takes place
after the war. When
Foyle goes up to London, there is bomb-damage from the nightly
blitzing all
over the place. Buildings are bombed out. This is clearly all
done in
post-production but looks authentic. It is a nice touch that is
kept mostly in
the background. These bombed out buildings are not the set piece
of the scenes;
they are in the background as a constant reminder of what a
costly horrible war
it was for everybody.
Michael Kitchen plays Foyle.
Everything I have
seen him in has been understated. Another favorite role for me
that he has
played was the King in To Be The King. In Foyle's
War, when Foyle means business,
you see it. Like Brigadier Wilson, it probably is very easy to
think, based on
Foyle's demeanor, that he is quiet and easily guided. That is
not the case at
all and that is why he is so good. It is worth watching these
episodes just for
that.
Watching this episode has made
me a convert of
this series. I am going to actively seek out this series and
watch more
episodes. Watching it through Acorn TV is good. When watching
the first few
minutes, I noticed a lot of artifacts or blocks on the scenes. I
was worried
this would stick out through out the whole episode but no, that
was not the
case. As soon as I got into the episode, I didn't notice it
anymore.
AcornTV is a very affordable and
great way to
watch programs you have not seen before or watch your favorite
programs
anywhere you have an Internet connection and computer. I love
British
television and am thrilled to find an outlet online completely
dedicated to
these amazing programs.
Here is the current schedule for Acorn
TV:
Review Staff
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