You Tube removed off pre-2013 smart tv's

So, I have a Sony KDL tv bolted together in 2011. Until a couple of Monday's ago, I was fairly happy with it. It had the I-player, and more usefully for when there was nothing worth watching, head into You Tube and whilst the search function was a little hit and miss, it was ok - and then Google switched from flash to HTML5 and that was that.

Now, ignoring the fact that the BBC I-player went the same way last year, and after a couple of weeks it came back running on HTML5 - You Tube isn't coming back.
Sony have blamed Google - Google say "look at You Tube on a different device"

So, I was looking at other streaming devices to plug into the HDMI socket, and ask it to go find my wi-fi signal.
I was on the verge of getting a Chromecast (despite my grump with Google) but have read some right horror stories about the last firmware update, ballsing up I-player and You Tube.

So now I'm thinking about getting a Now TV box, or maybe splashing out a little more for a Roku dongle - although that website appears to offer the world, but doesn't say what is available in each country.

Which would be best? Any advice would be welcome.

Personally I'd get a Chromecast. It's by far the best way of watching YouTube and that includes the LG app on my Smart TV.

The Now TV box is a Roku box with custom firmware.

If you want to do it as cheap as possible, go for the Now TV box.

A point to note, the NOWTV box is 720p only. If you can wait, see what the new Apple TV announced next month might offer.

If 720p maximum is really a deal breaker, then I'd go for the Roku Streaming Stick. You get a lot for your money, without the silly prices of Apple TV.

So I got one. Nice bit of kit - although the remote is a bit 'laggy', and prone to freezing up, leading to opening the battery compartment to flick out a battery, then put it back in to reset it..

..but - I have no UK channels to select in the store.
BBC Iplayer/BBC Sport, ITV Player, All 4, Now TV (which is ironic, because I've got 3 free months with the entertainment pack) nothing. Just US networks and channels - which I know just won't work on this side of the Atlantic.

There doesn't appear to be a setting to change, to change the country you are operating it in. I set up my account using Firefox which is pointed towards the US via an IP Mask - but I would have thought the stick would have recognised the UK IP address from the Wi-Fi on initial set-up, rather than a masked US IP address that I set up the account on.

Very strange.

With Roku/NOW TV boxes and Chromecast, you need a Smart DNS service, such as Unblock Us or UnoTelly which you need to change the DNS settings to their server at the router level. This will ensure that it'll only change the DNS for the service you're using while staying in the UK for others. Most of them offer a 7 day trial and then around £3.50pm. Unblock Us charges $4.99USD per month.

Just remember to write down the original DNS settings before changing.

Thanks Mr Lite for your wise words of advice, but wires may have been slightly crossed.

I only use a IP mask so I can get around the childish attitude of IHeartRadio and CBS Radio who don't want to pay international music rebroadcast rights on talk and sports talk stations ( ) so, it's very useful for my quick fix of aggessive shouting about American sports and travel on the 8's.

However, with the Roku stick, all I want is to get the UK streaming catch-up services (currently they don't appear in the streaming channel store) and You Tube (which does).

I was musing out aloud in the original post, about whether the fact I set up the account on-line, and behind an IP mask pointing towards the US, caused the stick on set-up to get all confused as to where it was, and this is the reason whilst I can download ESPN GO, and the NBC Sports Channel apps, but the BBC I-Player is totally invisible at the moment.

That sounds like the most logical reason. I'm not too sure how the Roku boxes work, but I wonder if you do a reset of the device you can start again with another account this time with the box believing it's in the UK.

Personally the Chromecast is probably the best way of beating the geoblocks as long as your Smart DNS system is configured at the router level as Chromecast uses the Google DNS which can't be changed. I've found it the best device to watch and cast YouTube on a tv as well.

With my Smart TV which I can change the service country to any in Europe, I can watch Zattoo Switzerland (an excellent selection of European channels inc the UK streaming and recording service), then change the service country back to the UK to watch NOW TV and BBC iPlayer thanks to the Smart DNS service I use.

For anyone interested - just got off a live chat with a Ruku tecchie - and it's all sorted. It was what I thought. As I used a browser with a VPN mask pointing to the US, it thought I was there. Quick swap of the country at database level, and a new linking code and we are back in the UK!

Now, if only the version of I-player was the same as the I-pad version, and I could browse the archive collections on my big screen, rather than the Apple one..