Comparing Options for Watching Japanese TV from Overseas

cocomonk22 · Postby **cocomonk22** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 8:39 am

This is a comparison of various ways to watch Japanese TV from abroad. Sorted alphabetically.

For methods no longer available, click here.

This will be divided into:
1) Computer Software
2) TV Devices

Computer Software:
eMankai
http://emankai.com
$30 1 month
$150 6 months
$240 1 year ($20 per month)
640x360 at ~241kbps, 15fps
audio is 32kbps at 32kHz, stereo
total bitrate 273kbps
Stores all shows from the past 3 weeks for download, plus real-time tv
All channels can be watched at the same time
Channels are NHK-G, NHK-E, NTV, TBS, Fuji TV, TV Asahi, TV Tokyo

Exitoostore TV
http://go.exitoostore.com/CJapan
Free streams!
Some channels have multiple streams
Channels include:

Fengyuzhibo
http://www.fengyunzhibo.com/space/japan.htm
Free online streams!
27 channels:

Japanese Slingbox Rental
https://www.facebook.com/JapaneseSlingboxRental
1 Package $50
2 Packages $60
3 Packages $75
All Packages $90
Packages are DTV, Sports, Anime, Adult
Free channels come with every package
2TB recording space included
Channel list here: https://docs.com/WQUU

jpPlayer
http://jpplayer.com
$10 3 days trial
$30 1 month
$200 1 year
38 channels
More information to come

JPTV24
http://www.jptv24.com
Java based program using P2P for streams
You can watch NHK E for free
14 Channels: NHK G, NHK E, NTV, TBS, Fuji TV, TV Asahi, TV Tokyo, NHK BS1, NHK BS Preimum, BS NTV, BS Asahi, BS-TBS, BS Japan, BS Fuji
Prices are:
¥4980 for 30 days Tokyo channels + BS + CS
352x240 video at 393kbps, may be higher for other channels
720x480 video at 663kbps for HD channels
Order page is accessible through Remote Control app, or here

KeyHoleTV
http://www.v2p.jp/video/english/
Free service!
Officially available on Windows Mobile phones
Unofficially available on iPod/iPhone
Variety of radio and TV channels, including Fuji TV, NTV, TBS, TV Asahi, TV Tokyo, and NHK G
P2P based, so channels may be added or removed by individual servers
Quality is not very good: 320x240 video, approximately 2-10fps

NihonNamaTerebi
http://www.nihonnamaterebi.com
HBC/TBS, NHK G, TVH/TV Tokyo, STV, NTV, UHB, Fuji TV, HTB, TV Asahi, NHK, NHK E
Optional channels with additional costs: NHK BS1, NHK BS2, Wowow, Skyperfect, Anime
Can record 2 programs simultaneously
Costs may vary, on June 4 it was:
¥24,000 initial setup
¥9,500 monthly
Customer support may be lacking

NIJI
http://www.myniji.tv
Registration required (free)
500 Kbps video, 448x336 WMV9 20fps
32kbps audio, 44kHz stereo WMA9
25 channels:

NTKTV
http://www.ntktv.com
Formerly firephoenix
Java based program
Can watch NHK E programs for free
NHK G, NHK E, NTV, TV Asahi, TBS, TV Tokyo, Fuji TV
Can choose from programs aired in the past like pvr/dvr/tivo, around 1 hour after airing
No live tv
¥4,980 for 30 Days
¥9,960 for 60 Days
¥14,940 for 90 Days
¥29,880 for 180 Days + 15 Days?

onTimeTV
http://www.1stream.jp
Note: From 2010-11-29 DaBom service suspended
Manufactured by 1stream and resold by other sites on Internet
It is a 1-seg plus net-tv tuner that plugs in via usb
Do not need to be in Japan to view, as it operates via P2P with included software
USB device must be plugged in to watch
Latest model is DMBO-1300J
Since 1300J 64-bit OS supported
Channels are Tokyo MX, Fuji TV, TBS TV, TV Tokyo, TV Asahi, Nippon TV, NHK Kyoiku, NHK Sogo
Single payment only, no monthly costs
320x240 15fps
¥36,800 from min-tele.com

SKYLIVE365
http://www.skylive365.com
720x480 stretched to 16:9
NHK教育 free to watch live and VOD
Live video and VOD by the hour for the past week
Channels are available in 3 packages:
Package A: 29 channels [Tokyo(8), Osaka(8), BS(11), CS(2)]
1 month: ¥4,980 or ¥3,680 campaign
6 months: ¥29,880 or ¥19,980 campaign
1 year: ¥59,760 or ¥36,800 campaign

Package B1: 21 channels [Tokyo(8), BS(11), CS(2)]
1 month: ¥3,980 or ¥2,880 campaign
6 months: ¥23,880 or ¥15,880 campaign
1 year: ¥47,760 or ¥28,800 campaign

Package B2: 21 channels [Osaka(8), BS(11), CS(2)]
1 month: ¥3,980 or ¥2,880 campaign
6 months: ¥23,880 or ¥15,880 campaign
1 year: ¥47,760 or ¥28,800 campaign

29 possible channels:

SopCast
http://www.sopcast.com
Free service
P2P, has different streams from around the world, so streams may not always be available
Standard quality: Video: WMV3(448x336) 20fps, Audio WMA2 16 bits/sample 44.1kHz, stereo
HQ: Video H264(640x480) 50fps, Audio MPGA 48kbps, 44.1kHz, mono
Download Japanese channel favorites.xml here (Note: to use, place favorites.xml in your SopCast directory, then when you open the program, click the Live Channels tab and click the star to switch to "My Favorite Channels")
You can also use heliosphere's web interface(http://204.63.8.52/soptv/) to select channels to launch in SopCast and view TV guides
As of 2012/09/14, there are 26 Japan channels, some standard, some HQ:

TvAnts
http://www.tvants.com
Free service
P2P, so some channels may be unavailable
Some channels are labeled incorrectly (i.e. NTV instead of TBS, TBS instead of Asahi, Asahi instead of NTV)
Ads displayed for maybe 15-30 seconds or longer during buffering before each video
Quality varies, around 391kbps

USB型日本IPTV紹介 (also rebranded as neo tv)
http://www.hzskytv.net/jp/20120928129.html http://www.neobox.tv
USB device plugged into PC
Similar in quality to iHome, almost HD
Sample video here (thanks guroneko)
About $200 per year
3 day trial from neobox.tv, requires shipping
$320 from neobox.tv first year, $22 every month after
37 channels

wist

http://wist.tv
Plan A: $29.99 a month PC(the 7 Tokyo area channels)
Plan B: $42.99 TV+Karaoke,VOD,IP Phone,etc (Plan B still pending)
Can watch multiple channels at once
Can record video on your computer using Mixtreamer software (only works on 32-bit OS, 64-bit not supported)
When recording with Mixtreamer, you set start and end time/date, and it records about ten seconds after the start time due to loading the stream, then ends a little after the end time set
512x288 video at around 985kbps, 30fps
audio is 31kbps at 44kHz, stereo
total bitrate 1016kbps
Very good price/quality ratio
Occasionally there are special free trial offers lasting about a week, check their main page
Sample clips:

TV Devices:
auHikari
http://www.auhikari.jp
By KDDI
More information needed...

G-Wings
http://www.g-wings.com
Location Free TV, Slingbox
¥36,000 for 1 year I think

HCIPTV
http://www.hciptv.com/arti_show.asp?id=30
Uses a set-top box with iptv
Plugs into your TV
Resold by many others
Price varies, 2500 yuan at hciptv.com
Not sure if additional costs exist or if it is just single payment needed
Over 55 channels, including:

iHome
Hardware:IP900 HD PVR
From the same company that created NLINE
Setup menu code is 1111
Menu can be changed to other languages besides Japanese
All channels appear to have great quality, most appear 720p
Comes with a video-only HDMI cable and composite video/audio (yellow/white/red) cables
Each channel allows you to watch programs previously aired about a week back (differs depending on the station)
Can view a program guide for about one week into the future for each channel
Recording function can be used to save live or previously aired videos to USB (videos are ihp format, can only be played from your iHome unit)
36 channels:

Safest place to purchase internationally is probably aliexpress.com.
Price ranges from $300-400 for the hardware and 1 year
Annual fee is about $200

TVpad (with NIJI Show app)
http://en.tvpad.hk/
TV box device with downloadable apps for more content
Chinese, Hongkong, Taiwan channels
NIJI Show app contains 25 Japanese channels
25 Channels:NHK BS, BS1, WOWOW, テレビ東京, テレビ朝日, フジテレビ, NHK教育, 日本テレビ, TBS, NHK総合, 読売テレビ, 毎日放送, 関西テレビ, ABCテレビ, テレビ大阪, サンテレビ, BS Fuji, BS朝日, BS TBS, BS日テレ, BS Japan, Movie Plus, J-Sports, GOLF, Kids Station
Average video quality (non-HD)
Cost $229 (no monthly fee)
$30 Discount Code ($199): 14696673 (good until 2012 September 30)
Sample video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhrKmFx7ZS0

W-Vision
http://www.w-vision.tv
Location Free TV, Slingbox
differing initial costs
¥4500 monthly
Service choices:
Tokyo(NTV, TBS, Fuji Tv, TV Asahi, TV Tokyo)
Kansai(MBS, ABC, KTV, ytv, TV Osaka, SUN TV)
Fukuoka(KBS, NHK G, RKB, NHK E, TNC, TVQ, FBS)

Do you have any experience with similar services that you would like to share? I can add them to this list and make any corrections if prices or services change.

mrklaw · Postby **mrklaw** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 4:17 pm

fantastic post, thanks very much.

Do you know if J Network is just live TV, or whether they have a DVR at the other end? Being in the UK, the time difference means live isn't any good to us.

Also, has anyone any experience of Rokuraku? they have a little computer you put under the TV. Don't know if its streaming, or downloading?

I might look into getting my parents-in-law to host a DVR+slingbox solution in their house. Even if we pay for their broadband it'd be way cheaper than the hosting services. Anyone done that? It'd be good to hear what are good DVRs to use that have slingbox support. Also, whether UK/US slingplayer software can show Japanese DVR remotes properly

cocomonk22 · Postby **cocomonk22** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 7:41 pm

The following are no longer available:

No External Hardware Needed:
BSSubs *DOWN*

http://bssubs.net/live/
Free service, but donations are welcome
Good quality, widescreen using Silverlight
18 Channels: NHK-G, NHK-E, NTV, TV Asahi, TBS, TV Tokyo, Fuji TV, Sun TV, MBS, YTV, ABC, TV Osaka, KTV, NHK-BS1, NHK-BS2, WOWOW, TOKYO MX, Kids Station
426x240 at ~400Kbps

freshverse *DOWN*

http://www.freshverse.com/tv_high.php#live
Free service (May require free registration)
Flash video using h264
Many channels possible
There is only one channel available at a time, so subject to freshverse schedule
640x360 video at 672kbps

JapanTV.biz *DOWN* DO NOT SIGN UP!
Free streams don't work
Payment options still up, but the streams do NOT work!

J Network Service *GONE*
HQ picture:

Medium quality picture:

http://us.jnet.ne.jp
¥3600 for Kantou or Kansai, ¥5000 for both
¥1000 each for NHK G, NHK E, NHK BS1, NHK BS2, WOWOW, Eisei Gekijo, Animax, SUN TV, Music on TV
Simultaneous recording of multiple programs
Recordings can be scheduled up to 7 days in advance
You can record as many programs as you want, however you can only download 14 a day
¥1400 for NHK General and Educational
¥1500 for High Quality video (640x360) (Limited, only offered once or twice a year)
Regular quality is around 480x180, anamorphic

jpPlayer (nline version) server unstable
HD:

Main interface:

Channel interface:

http://cocomonk22.web.fc2.com/jpPlayer.html
54 channels
Recording
Windows only
P2P streams
Recently connection has been pretty bad, and maintenance has become more frequent
Uses DirectDraw for video playback with hardware acceleration
Video can be resized, 1:1, 2:1, full-screen
Western movies with Japanese subtitles on demand
Japanese movies and specials on demand
3D movies on demand
$10 3 days (limit 1 per PC)
$200 for 1 year
Payment via PayPal
More pictures of interface and sample screengrabs here:http://flic.kr/s/aHsjuMc2KW
Channel list:
[spoiler]
地上波（関東）
1 NHK総合 HD
2 NHK教育 HD
4 日テレ HD
5 テレビ朝日 HD
6 TBS HD
7 テレビ東京 HD
8 フジテレビ HD
9 TOKYO MX HD
12 放送大学 HD

CSデジタル
1 J sports 1
2 J sports 2
3 J sports Plus
4 J sports ESPN
5 GAORA
6 スカイ A sports
7 日テレG+ HD
8 HD GOLF
9 ゴルフネットワーク HD
10 グリーンチャンネル
11 FIGHTING TV サムライ
12 衛星劇場
13 日本映画専門チャンネル
14 洋画★シネフィル・イマジカ
15 スターチャンネルプラス
16 ムービープラス
17 LaLa HD
18 フジテレビ ONE
19 V☆パラダイス
20 ファミリー劇場
21 TBSチャンネル
22 KBS World
23 アニマルプラネット
24 東映チャンネル
25 ディスカバリーチャンネル
26 スペースシャワーTV
27 ディズニーXD
28 カートゥーンネットワーク
29 アニマックス
30 アニメシアターX
31 ディズニーチャンエル
32 キッズステーション HD
33 CNN
34 BBC

ＢＳデジタル
1 NHKBS1 HD
3 NHKBSプレミアム HD
4 BS日テレ HD
5 BS朝日 HD
6 BS-TBS HD
7 BSジャパン HD
8 BSフジ181 HD
9 WOWOW HD
10 スターチャンネル HD
11 BS11 HD
12 TwellV HD
[/spoiler]
Tips for Improving Performance (courtesy FCNantes):
http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1415318#1415318
Hong Kong vpns may work well. One user said that strongvpn's Hong Kong server gets a good quality stream after 15-30 seconds buffer.

TVJapan.us *GONE*
NTV, TBS, Fuji TV, TV Asahi, TV Tokyo
Windows media streams
$0 1 day
$20 1 month
$50 3 months
$90 6 months
$150 1 year ($12.50 per month)
320x240, 540kbps

WatchJapanTV *GONE*
Uses Sony LocationFree or Slingbox
Uses CoreAVC h.264
buffering cannot be changed by user
¥6000 initial costs?
¥6000 monthly

ZiZi Player *ENDED*
http://www.ziziplayer.net
Manufactured by Transnetwork
It is a 1-seg plus net-tv tuner that plugs in via usb
Do not need to be in Japan to view, as it operates via P2P with included software
USB device must be plugged in to watch
Japanese channels are Tokyo MX, Fuji TV, TBS TV, TV Tokyo, TV Asahi, Nippon TV, NHK Kyoiku, NHK Sogo
Korean channels are KBS HEART, KBS STAR, KBS Music, My MBS, SBS u TV, mYTN, CBS, U1
Single payment only, no monthly costs
320x240@15fps 4:3 or 320x180@ 16:9 at 416Kbps
¥11,000 from oneseg-net.tv
¥17,800 from ziziplayer.net and ziziplayer-net.tv
$219.99 from k-g-s.us

flavenne · Postby **flavenne** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 10:44 pm

There's also something called TVants.

Here is a post on TVants: how to download & set it up.

cocomonk22 · Postby **cocomonk22** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:40 pm

J Network records every show, so if you miss one you can download it as long as it is within a certain period, not sure on the exact amount of days though.

Regarding RokuRaku, ccwf, an admin at CJKDramas.com, wrote up a review about RokuRaku II in 2004, so there may be some differences today:

ccwf @ http://www.runboard.com/bcjkdramasincal ... f3.t168078 wrote:ロクラクＩＩ (RokuRaku II) Review

Determined to learn more about this intriguing new device, I fearlessly ventured into our local User's Side store about twenty minutes before closing. The salesperson was busy helping other customers, so I took the opportunity to wander around the store, having never been in a User's Side store before.

(User's Side very much caters to the Japanese community. Very little is in English. They have a variety of computers, consumer electronics, and video games, including Super Famicon games. Additionally, the salesperson spoke only a little English, which made getting the info for this review more challenging.)

I eventually spotted the RokuRaku II hooked up to a reasonably large TV at the very back of the store. I had overlooked it several times since I was looking for something about the size of most home audio gear (like a small TiVo DVR or tuner). However, this device is tiny! The first few times I looked at the TV, I thought they were selling the TV and didn't spot the tiny little RokuRaku II hooked up to it.

Eventually, the salesperson came over, and I began asking him about the product. First and most importantly, the service has not yet launched in the United States. Although they are starting to advertise and have demo units in the various User's Side stores in the U.S., they are not actually selling them until the end of the month. In fact, the salespeople haven't even been given product literature, yet, forcing the salesperson to consult the web site (which I'd already seen) several times to try to answer my questions.

Like most DVRs, the RokuRaku II can function as a fancy VCR with manual recordings and manual repeat recordings. Conflicts between one-time and repeating recordings are not handled very elegantly. It has fast forward and reverse speeds of ×4, ×16, ×256, and ×999. I forgot to check if it remembers where you stopped watching a program, although with the ×999 fast forwarding, the availability of this feature is not as important as it is for Scientific Atlanta's boxes (at least those running SARA) with their single, agonizingly slow fast forward speed. The RokuRaku II does not have any ability to control other devices via IR; so if used with a cable/satellite box, the cable/satellite box must be set to change channels at the appropriate times. Unlike TiVo and most DVD recorders, the RokuRaku II is limited to composite video with stereo audio.

The special feature of the RokuRaku II, however, is that you can transfer videos to it, over the Internet, from a companion unit that the company hosts in the city of Hamamatsu, Japan, thus allowing people to record and watch in the U.S. any TV broadcast in Hamamatsu. The service fee is $85/month and includes rental of both the U.S. and Japanese unit and hosting of the Japanese unit. However, the fee does not include the extra charge NHK charges for its programs if you want NHK programming. The channels available are TBS, Fuji, Asahi, JapanTV, and two NHK channels. One week of guide data is available. The salesperson believes name-based recording will be added in a future software release. (The service fee will be reduced if you buy a RokuRaku II, which costs ¥89,800 in Japan, instead of just renting it, but how much of a reduction has not yet been decided.) Japanese TV includes no captioning, although occasional programs have subtitles or secondary audio.

The RokuRaku II does VBR with three quality settings, normal (1.5Mbps), videophone-quality, and audio-only. You can watch a program as its being downloaded from Japan—you don't need for it to finish downloading before you can start watching. (I forgot to ask whether the Japanese unit can start transmitting before the program has ended.) The salesperson did warn of one Internet-related shortcoming of the current software: the software cannot resume an interrupted download, so people with flaky Internet connections may experience annoyances.

For copy protection reasons, the U.S. Rokuraku's lack USB drivers, even though (like some DirecTiVo advertisements), USB is an advertised feature. Likewise, the salesperson was under the impression that the DVD-RAM accessory available in Japan was not going to be available in the U.S. at this time. (However, the Linux community has ported USB drivers for use with the original RokuRaku. I do not know if these drivers will also work with the RokuRaku II.)

If you know someone in Japan, it will be cheapest to buy a DVR+Slingbox or similar device since you don't have to pay high monthly costs, people who use this method can chime in.

flavenne wrote:There's also something called TVants.

Here is a post on TVants: how to download & set it up.

I tried TVants, but I can't get any of the channels mentioned in your "download & set it up" url to work on my end.

shrgnatlas · Postby **shrgnatlas** » Wed May 06, 2009 7:09 am

cocomonk22, I love the commentary.

For anyone that may have attempted to access Freshverse.com in the past 48 hours, the problem is now fixed and the servers are fully functional once again. Glad we could be back in the ring.

E-Mail me at shrgnatlas@gmail.com if you have any questions, or suggestions for the schedule linked in cocomonk22's post. cocomonk22, by the way, jump in the chat more often so I can make violent love to you.

Alpedra · Postby **Alpedra** » Wed May 06, 2009 12:17 pm

cocomonk22 wrote:I tried TVants, but I can't get any of the channels mentioned in your "download & set it up" url to work on my end.

Probably the person who was streaming them stopped doing it. Let´s see if he´ll be back soon or if someone else will stream them.

Until then... no japanese tv for me. I don´t like Keyhole... picture quality is terrible and always jerky..

shrgnatlas · Postby **shrgnatlas** » Wed May 06, 2009 1:13 pm

Alpedra wrote:
cocomonk22 wrote:I tried TVants, but I can't get any of the channels mentioned in your "download & set it up" url to work on my end.

Probably the person who was streaming them stopped doing it. Let´s see if he´ll be back soon or if someone else will stream them.

Until then... no japanese tv for me. I don´t like Keyhole... picture quality is terrible and always jerky..

Try Freshverse.com then.

As of this morning, the following analog streams have been added:

NHK General * Nippon TV * TBS * Fuji TV * TV Asahi * TV Tokyo

Just log in and check the streams, I'm hoping it becomes a better alternative then TVAnts; there is really no reason for people to be using that application anymore in my opinion.

Ladymercury · Postby **Ladymercury** » Wed May 06, 2009 1:32 pm

You can not download any show after it airs on Jnet, you have to set it to record. After it airs and you didn't record it you can't download it.

The high quality option in the screencap that I made in this post, that option is limited and is only offered once or twice a year. So its sold out as of now.

cocomonk22 · Postby **cocomonk22** » Thu May 07, 2009 10:30 am

Freshverse and Jnet descriptions have been updated.

I like the new freshverse analog channels! However, wasn't the single analog channel NHK Educational? With the addition of the new analog channels, why is that one no longer available?

Ladymercury · Postby **Ladymercury** » Fri May 08, 2009 1:11 am

You can record as many programs as you want. You are only limited to 14 downloads a day.

cocomonk22 · Postby **cocomonk22** » Mon May 11, 2009 7:08 am

Made some more changes. I noticed that the analog channel labeled as NHK General is actually NHK Educational, and renamed it accordingly.

reverend · Postby **reverend** » Tue May 12, 2009 5:59 am

shrgnatlas wrote:As of this morning, the following analog streams have been added:

NHK General * Nippon TV * TBS * Fuji TV * TV Asahi * TV Tokyo

thank you thank you thank you

You've made my day. Again

den4 · Postby **den4** » Wed May 13, 2009 4:06 am

Has anybody been able to access J network service lately? Last two days the site looks like it's completely down.....

But the shows that you can download, assuming you set the right program to record, is great

reverend · Postby **reverend** » Thu May 14, 2009 3:42 pm

Looking through cocomonk22's original excellent post, if analogue is all you are after, the new silverlight streams over at Freshverse are very gratifying indeed.

I did also notice though that NipponTV seems to be offering the analogue channels for a small sum per month, and they are windows media streams, which although poor quality despite the high bitrate are recordable with apps such as hidownload. useful if you are not going to be in when your favourite program is scheduled. TVAnts was also recordable also being wm, but alas most of the analogue streams have gone.

shrgnatlas - the silverlight streams look superior to any wm stream. I did get a lot of rebuffering on tv asahi just now (15:15 to 16:15 BST). Not a complaint, just feedback.

cocomonk22 - I assume TVJapan is just an alternative branding of NipponTV - the product looks just the same.

I have been a customer of WatchJapanTV and can give a review: The service is expensive for what it is, using Sony's LocationFreeTV or Slingbox. I didnt try the slingbox, but with the LocationFree the service as received in Europe was pretty bad, buffering a lot. The software did not allow the user to configure the buffer size, which was very frustrating. Moreover, the codec used was CoreAVC h.264, which just used too much bandwidth to be efficient over the public internet. I was glad to leave.

Would you mind updating the Keyhole TV entry to state that the frame rate is very low. Between 2 and 10 fps by estimate.

Thanks

rev

dballred · Postby **dballred** » Sun May 17, 2009 1:04 pm

Since May 10th, the J Network Service has stopped working. It's like the service dropped from the face of the Earth. Does anybody know what happened? Did everybody in the company get hauled off to jail?

cocomonk22 · Postby **cocomonk22** » Sun May 17, 2009 10:01 pm

I have no idea what happened. I was hoping it would be back up in a few days, but as you said it is still not up. Hopefully everything's okay, otherwise it may be copyright/legal problems.

There is a discussion on 2ch about JNet being down:
http://gimpo.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/northa/1242077899/

noonie · Postby **noonie** » Sun May 17, 2009 10:49 pm

is this something like you were speaking of? http://www.roku.com/netflixplayer/index ... ampaign=HT

cocomonk22 · Postby **cocomonk22** » Mon May 18, 2009 6:22 am

I don't think so, it looks like that plays videos from Netflix or Amazon Video On Demand rather than live Japanese TV.

leejuntoshi · Postby **leejuntoshi** » Tue May 19, 2009 3:53 am

Hi cocomon22, thanks so much for your excellent post!

I happen to come across this post coz looking where to watch Japanese TV. I use to watch thru TVant but its gone down

I see that there is freshverse.com.. I'm a newbie at this so hope someone can help out. I just tried to logon their website but I get message "do us all a favor and upgrade your internet explorer already, please"...?? so, how to get around this? what version of IE do we need to install? Is freshverse still available for new members?? If so, any instructions guide of how to register, download and set up freshverse and perhaps record channels from this service?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Yoroshiku onegaishimasu !

cocomonk22 · Postby **cocomonk22** » Tue May 19, 2009 9:10 am

leejuntoshi,

The message is a bit misleading. It does not mean to update IE, it means to update your internet explorer, meaning to change your internet browser to something other than IE. Click on the message that says "do us all a favor and upgrade your internet explorer already, please" and it will redirect you to mozilla.com, where you can download Firefox.　 :-)

leejuntoshi · Postby **leejuntoshi** » Tue May 19, 2009 10:28 am

Thanks for the reply cocomonk22. I finally manage to get into freshverse..but 2 questions
1. I tried one of the channels and there seems to be quite frequent prebuffering on the analog channel. Is that usual?? How to get better stable connection viewing?
2. The streaming software used is silverlight - is there a way to record/capture the streaming channels? If so, how?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

reverend · Postby **reverend** » Tue May 19, 2009 11:04 am

Hi leejuntoshi

There is currently no way to capture a silverlight stream. we will have to wait for some bright spark to come up with a firefox plugin to do this.

As for the buffering, shrgnatlas may comment on that. Remember that freshverse is offering a free service though!

shrgnatlas · Postby **shrgnatlas** » Thu May 21, 2009 1:48 am

Sorry for the past week, it's been hard to host the burden of the incoming JNET users looking for an alternative. We will have a better prepared caller towards the end of the week for new users connecting to the television streams.

I'll edit this post later when all the problems have been fixed. Thanks for the patience and support.

leejuntoshi · Postby **leejuntoshi** » Thu May 21, 2009 2:07 am

shrgnatlas, just wondering if the incoming JNET users had any major impact to the speed of streaming service. i'm still currently getting alot of buffering issues watching the analog channels (very frequent buffer - 1min)..any suggestions on how to resolve this?
what's the minimum broadband speed required to get better/stable viewing? any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

ryuryan · Postby **ryuryan** » Thu May 21, 2009 11:24 am

hi all!
i wanted to sign up to freshverse.com however it asks for a registration key?

I know its not a very good time because of the stated influx of people from jnet (like me) but i would like to request a key if possible..

Thank you!

P.S shrgnatlas i'd be open to donating if you have the facility?

reverend · Postby **reverend** » Thu May 21, 2009 1:08 pm

ryuryan wrote:P.S shrgnatlas i'd be open to donating if you have the facility?

http://www.freshverse.com/donate/index.php

just donated myself.

shrgnatlas - I don't know if you are at all interested in going down the subscription route. I would be happy to pay a reasonable monthly sub for access to the analogue streams (by reasonable I mean keener than the business model of JNET demanded)

shrgnatlas · Postby **shrgnatlas** » Thu May 21, 2009 9:14 pm

ryuryan wrote:hi all!
i wanted to sign up to freshverse.com however it asks for a registration key?

To help with the bandwidth, you'll need a key from a friend to register for the site. I know, I know, it's a pain but my servers actually crashed last weekend. Now, that was 90% my fault because there were many loose ends especially from the analog fetches, (each time someone would log on it would create an infinite loop that the user could never complete).

This usually isn't noticeable on newer machines, but if you're on an old computer, or if you have a slow internet connection, you may see buffer problems. On the flip side, when many users are connected simultaneously, this small problem creates an even bigger problem for the streaming services. All six machines crashed and forced a restart after their resources peaked and idled at 100% for about two hours.

What the hell was on TV over the weekend, haha?

Anyways, I'm hoping to see better performance on the analog streams in the future, by not only keeping a closer eye on what needs to be fixed, but also squeezing the incoming pipeline of users to only the ones who care enough to hunt down a key. It sounds like a huge hassle, and I'm sure I'll regret it to an extent, but at the moment it's the only feasible solution. In the mean time, here are some registration keys for any new users who'd like to register:

4DnTFQD2HJxt7i4RS
TEqJWfxesu4B
evixGcUz3XhBRBRGSq
Jfc7vbfdYWc4NJL4BU
fY48IbLruBP8by
7Jtgdms9mE8k9Bv
EwHW7wZyIDNXYPNwp
zLPripzJRsX1
DIVDirdmZqx5uZIW6
LUZw1FECxK1dwVGHr
wRamWGtNNbQ5HpUx
curybEFJw161jhBF2K

I don't know how fast they'll be used, but I'll try and comment them out, or replace them with new ones if I notice that none of them are available anymore. Thanks again for the patience.

EDIT: Nagoya TV and TV Aichi have now been added to the analog list. These are tentative additions so inform me if anything goes awry.

furansudoraemon · Postby **furansudoraemon** » Fri May 29, 2009 2:51 pm

has someone already used "nihon nama terebi.com"?

here, some comments about it:

http://www.indy138.com/2008/08/03/a-new ... addiction/

There is a system to record programs and to see it after, but you don't download something and can't keep the files.

Concerning the jnetwork service, today i have seen a news on NHK site: it's president has been arrested...

cocomonk22 · Postby **cocomonk22** » Fri May 29, 2009 10:49 pm

Nihon Nama Terebi is a fairly expensive service which is was not included in the list at first. It's 39,000 yen for initial setup and 9,500 yen monthly.

furansudoraemon · Postby **furansudoraemon** » Sat May 30, 2009 9:05 am

cocomonk22 wrote:Nihon Nama Terebi is a fairly expensive service which is why it was not included in the list. It's 39,000 yen for initial setup and 9,500 yen monthly.

I guess it must be expensive, but not if you compare with a system like "Sony free location" (and use a service of a japanese society if you can't ask it to your family in law). It's always affordable if you like TV.

Maybe in America the difference of time (jissa) is not as huge as in western Europe: 50% of interesting programs are broad-casted deep in the night here. That's why we need to have a reliable record system ( to see it after).

nihon nama terebi is interesting for it system of record: it's possible to record 2 different programs (ura bangumi). But after have tested the "trial- otameshi", we have discovered that the program's offer is not kanto bangumi...

Actually we use wist.TV. To record we are forced to use their "mixtreamer player". The problem is that when we are recording if the streaming has been cut even just a little time, the record stop. Even more mixtreamer doesn't show that record has stopped.

now, i haven't succeed to record with another system (but I'm not accurate with computer stuffs).

groink · Postby **groink** » Sat May 30, 2009 9:13 am

To keep everyone in the loop, the discussion in the J Network Service topic might have an effect on all the other services covered in this topic:

http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic_74326.htm

In short, it is appearing that streaming out of Japan is being cracked down. So, if you do sign up for any of the streaming services offered, just be extra careful.

--- groink

furansudoraemon · Postby **furansudoraemon** » Sat May 30, 2009 9:28 am

groink wrote:To keep everyone in the loop, the discussion in the J Network Service topic might have an effect on all the other services covered in this topic:

http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic_74326.htm

In short, it is appearing that streaming out of Japan is being cracked down. So, if you do sign up for any of the streaming services offered, just be extra careful.

--- groink

we should have specialists of japanese laws to see it more clearly. It's certain that streaming is new thing and legal solutions are news and differents all over the world.

In France, it's not streaming that is illegal but the possibility offer by a company to download files like jnetwork (A service "wizzgo" which was the copy of jnetwork has been declared illegal here.).

Systems like sony or sling box would be legal here, mostly if you are streaming from the family in law.

For exemple, if you read the contract of all the services, you feel that recording and give file seems to give problems:
- wist tv don't offer system to download records like jnetwork and prevents that record is only customers responsibilities.
- Nihon nama terebi use sling box (it's like if you're sharing it for personal use) and if it's possible to record programs, the company don't send file - you have to see it in streaming.

PS: i have read links about hobankyo or others. I understand more clearly.

groink · Postby **groink** » Sat May 30, 2009 10:03 am

Although I'm not an attorney, I have been covering exportation of TV content out of Japan for a few years. And, based on what I know about the laws there, what happened with J Service is completely consistent. In short:

- The streaming company MUST have licensing agreements with each of the TV networks it transmits. If it streams Fuji TV, it must sign an agreement with Fuji TV, and so on.

- There is a legal process for exporting TV shows out of Japan. Article 30 of Japan's copyright law covers this, as well as HOBANKYO. As far as we know it, if a TV network is a client of HOBANKYO, then its TV shows cannot be transmitted electronically out of Japan. It must be recorded by a human being in Japan to physical media such as video tape or DVD, and then sent out via snail mail, with the media displaying the HOBANKYO decal showing its licensing authenticity.

- There are many other licensing legalities. For example, a music group who recorded the opening theme song for a show only licensed its work for TV transmission, but it did not license it for broadcast via any other medium, such as the Internet. I've been told that this is why the Japanese as a whole are not jumping on the streaming bandwagon.

That's what we basically know as of today. Again, the various case studies such as J Service support this information. As Ladymercury suggested in the other topic, if you do sign up for any Japanese video service, make damn sure it has licensing agreements with each and every TV network it has.

--- groink

GATX303 · Postby **GATX303** » Sat May 30, 2009 10:26 am

Can someone provide me with a

" Registration Key: Obtained by a user of this board via e-mail "

So I can register @ freshverse.com

shrgnatlas · Postby **shrgnatlas** » Sun May 31, 2009 11:43 am

groink wrote:discussion in the J Network Service topic might have an effect on all the other services covered in this topic:

http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic_74326.htm

In short, it is appearing that streaming out of Japan is being cracked down. So, if you do sign up for any of the streaming services offered, just be extra careful.

--- groink

Thanks for the heads up, groink.

reverend, new mirrors and streams have been added, but the links have changed to help with privacy concerns. They are now accessed through tv_high.php, tv_low.php, and tv_analog.php, respectfully. GATX303 expect an invite in your PM.

Skobb · Postby **Skobb** » Sun May 31, 2009 12:07 pm

I also would like a
'Registration Key:
Obtained by a user of this board via e-mail.'

Pretty please?

lol

flinx · Postby **flinx** » Thu Jun 04, 2009 2:00 am

nm - delete/ignore this

flinx · Postby **flinx** » Thu Jun 04, 2009 2:40 am

NipponTV and TVjapan are identical btw (verified by the IP). Quality based on the trial is analog transmission in 320x240 at 540 kbps. The nipponTV address offers English when you login/signup.

downloadx · Postby **downloadx** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 3:20 am

furansudoraemon wrote: - wist tv don't offer system to download records like jnetwork and prevents that record is only customers responsibilities.

I've been recording shows through Wist TV since day one. Just follow the instructions and use Mixtreamer. They also plan to offer a hardware DVR service, so it's definitely not against any agreements. Setup is pretty easy.

Wist TV offers 7 channels, most of the ones you'll want. TV Japan offers a composite of NHK and other channels. Most of your membership fee pays for the licensing rights to rebroadcast. If you have a working PC, Wist TV is the way to go. We have friends who use Slingbox and it can have encoding/lag issues but it's free. I wouldn't recommend it now that Wist TV exists. The advantage of TV Japan is it's time shifted and broadcast for a US-Japanese audience.

There are 101 ways to get unlicensed rebroadcasts, so it's in the industry's interests to support services like Wist TV and TV Japan. I can drive down to the local video store and rent any show 1-2 days after it broadcasts in Japan. They have clearance sales a few months later where you can pick up sets for $2 a disc, $5-$10 a bag of discs. There's definitely a foreign demand, and people are willing to pay for it. So it makes all the more sense to license this for expats.

cocomonk22 · Postby **cocomonk22** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 3:44 am

downloadx, are you referring to TVJapan.us or TVJapan.net?

downloadx · Postby **downloadx** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 4:04 am

cocomonk22 wrote:downloadx, are you referring to TVJapan.us or TVJapan.net?

I get TV Japan through my local cable service. I don't know anything about tvjapan.us, but TVJapan.net is the website for TV Japan. The advantage is it's formatted specifically for the US and time shifted. On the other hand, Wist TV is a better deal if you have a PC and don't mind using it. I also use Wist TV.

If I wanted to save money, I'd personally drop TV Japan. But it's kind of convenient having both.

tavon1 · Postby **tavon1** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 3:58 am

Can someone provide me with a

" Registration Key: Obtained by a user of this board via e-mail "

So I can register @ freshverse.com

leejuntoshi · Postby **leejuntoshi** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 11:43 am

does anyone know what happen to the streaming vid of freshverse? The streaming vid does not appear anymore on my pc..it has been working fine since I joined but until a few days ago its stopped. I tried even to uninstall/install both Firefox & Silverlight and that did not work. I cannot watch any channels anymore as the Silverlight vids does not come up and I get a blank screen..Can anyone help me PLEASE...?

shrgnatlas, if you happend to read this post, please help! also, i cannot chat in freshverse to ask anyone coz the pop-up chat is not working anymore!

Karate-ka · Postby **Karate-ka** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:45 pm

leejuntoshi wrote:does anyone know what happen to the streaming vid of freshverse? The streaming vid does not appear anymore on my pc..it has been working fine since I joined but until a few days ago its stopped. I tried even to uninstall/install both Firefox & Silverlight and that did not work. I cannot watch any channels anymore as the Silverlight vids does not come up and I get a blank screen..Can anyone help me PLEASE...?

shrgnatlas, if you happend to read this post, please help! also, i cannot chat in freshverse to ask anyone coz the pop-up chat is not working anymore!

Me too but it seems there was a anouncment but i haven found it yet..

enorcsi · Postby **enorcsi** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 10:30 am

So does anyone know what happened to freshverse streams? I haven't found any recent announcements either

Karate-ka · Postby **Karate-ka** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 7:38 pm

http://www.freshverse.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=469

aparently the system is not working and the owner doesnt have much time to fix it...

nancy111 · Postby **nancy111** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 8:44 am

The high quality option in the screencap that I made in this post, that option is limited and is only offered once or twice a year. So its sold out as of now.

cocomonk22 · Postby **cocomonk22** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 11:58 am

Got TvAnts to work, so added it to the list.

koi0223 · Postby **koi0223** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 3:07 pm

I can't register freshverse, it needs "Registration Key"(Obtained by a user of this board via e-mail). Can someone help me with it?!

shrgnatlas · Postby **shrgnatlas** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 7:51 am

Karate-ka wrote:http://www.freshverse.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=469

aparently the system is not working and the owner doesnt have much time to fix it...

We're back! Hope you all had an enjoyable Summer without me. The dedicated stream is now running on a new server, though it still has some kinks, (we've had stable connectivity over the past 48 hours, but there seems to be a buffer problem with older machines, and some versions of Flash 10). I expect most of the problems to be ironed out by the week's end.

Koi, look in your PM box for an invite.

koi0223 · Postby **koi0223** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 2:27 pm

shrgnatlas wrote:
Karate-ka wrote:http://www.freshverse.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=469

aparently the system is not working and the owner doesnt have much time to fix it...

We're back! Hope you all had an enjoyable Summer without me. The dedicated stream is now running on a new server, though it still has some kinks, (we've had stable connectivity over the past 48 hours, but there seems to be a buffer problem with older machines, and some versions of Flash 10). I expect most of the problems to be ironed out by the week's end.

Koi, look in your PM box for an invite.

Thanks a lot!! But, the question is i cann't see any on the screen....

kuir · Postby **kuir** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 3:22 pm

Same here. Just tried to register and it asked for a Registration Key. :cry:

juandixon109 · Postby **juandixon109** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 7:48 pm

I tried registering too but a code is required. Really this is such a great service as advertised I definitely would want to pay for it, you should maybe start a paypal donation if not already. =)

kngbryn · Postby **kngbryn** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 4:23 am

I don't have a registration key :cry:

. Can somebody help me out?

goodgal · Postby **goodgal** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 12:07 pm

me too. i dont have a registration key. please help me.

Lez · Postby **Lez** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 4:41 pm

I would be happy too if someone could send me an invitation, thanks in advance !

wmcnair370 · Postby **wmcnair370** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 6:00 pm

koi0223 wrote:
shrgnatlas wrote:
Karate-ka wrote:http://www.freshverse.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=469

aparently the system is not working and the owner doesnt have much time to fix it...

We're back! Hope you all had an enjoyable Summer without me. The dedicated stream is now running on a new server, though it still has some kinks, (we've had stable connectivity over the past 48 hours, but there seems to be a buffer problem with older machines, and some versions of Flash 10). I expect most of the problems to be ironed out by the week's end.

Koi, look in your PM box for an invite.

Thanks a lot!! But, the question is i cann't see any on the screen....

I was just watching it this morning and everything was working perfectly, so check it again. Sometimes it does take a second or so to bring the stream up, so you will see a black screen.

BTW, I do no answer requests for invites in threads, I do it only by PM, when you send me an email address. I don't want to be a dick, but I prefer just to be PM'd.

shrgnatlas · Postby **shrgnatlas** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 9:02 pm

Many requests so I'll send these out in bulk. Grab them while they are available.

NKW1NMLcWDtKKn
1CWJSLyRBZ6m4RCUm
fFtM9LEWqM25GNz
NkWJh9puwv3Cxz
UqdgBnuH3bsJkwRe
KGuwEyd52ACME
DvXE1iCpynGd4iFBhR
JD5aJg2YwaScWtjU
268p12vycY39z
8qPnAphCts4GS6iZh
Ad8dST2345GKeT

If the keys are exhausted, e-mail me directly at shrgnatlas@gmail.com and I'll see if I can take some time to send out the invites personally.

kngbryn · Postby **kngbryn** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 11:23 pm

Thank you soo much!

goodgal · Postby **goodgal** » Sun Sep 06, 2009 5:12 am

arigatou gozaimasu!
thank u very much!!

USBME · Postby **USBME** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 5:37 pm

I've been looking for a way to watch TV for a while so I'd really appreciate it
duelarm@gmail.com

reverend · Postby **reverend** » Fri Nov 20, 2009 9:24 pm

as far as i can tell, there are no working streams on FreshVerse at the moment.

rev

furansugawakarimasuka · Postby **furansugawakarimasuka** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 12:52 pm

I use keyhole TV.....

It is ok but the image quality is really bad, and small (you can make it bigger but then the quality is even worst).

Did someone try any of the paying services? (those that are not too expensive?) and had a good experience?

reverend · Postby **reverend** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 4:54 pm

furansugawakarimasuka wrote:I use keyhole TV.....

Did someone try any of the paying services? (those that are not too expensive?) and had a good experience?

which one is not expensive? As far as I can tell, they all cost more than a basic sub to your local cable/satellite operator.

furansugawakarimasuka · Postby **furansugawakarimasuka** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 9:08 pm

reverend wrote:
furansugawakarimasuka wrote:I use keyhole TV.....

Did someone try any of the paying services? (those that are not too expensive?) and had a good experience?

which one is not expensive? As far as I can tell, they all cost more than a basic sub to your local cable/satellite operator.

Well my local cable operator don't give me access to over countries's channels, or at least not japanese channels, so I can't really compare :p

Maybe I should have saied the least expensive of the paying options

? (my cable operator is about 30 euros per month, which makes around 45 american dollar, but I have broadband internet with it through the same cables)

Ladymercury · Postby **Ladymercury** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 3:55 pm

Its been a **** trying to find a service that offered the same quality and services like Jnet... I just cant see myself blowing 250 dollars on a slingbox and not even own it to then turn around and pay 50 a month for a stream service... :cussing:

furansugawakarimasuka · Postby **furansugawakarimasuka** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 12:16 pm

One thing that should work on the long term, but I don't know if it is technically possible, would be a streaming of japanese channels, working on a P2P system.

And there would be a rule according to which only the people seeding would be able to watch in the meantime. But maybe this kind of system already exists

hanapan · Postby **hanapan** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 6:51 pm

Ladymercury wrote:Its been a **** trying to find a service that offered the same quality and services like Jnet... I just cant see myself blowing 250 dollars on a slingbox and not even own it to then turn around and pay 50 a month for a stream service...

There is a service like J-net.
You'll have to search in Japanese.
two of them are having special price offer right now.

abolafiaa · Postby **abolafiaa** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 2:37 pm

Hello, I'm just a question about JPTV24. Does this service pay every month or just once?

reverend · Postby **reverend** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 7:17 am

abolafiaa wrote:Hello, I'm just a question about JPTV24. Does this service pay every month or just once?

The answer is on page 1 of this thread:

¥980 for 3 days
¥4980 for 30 days
¥9960 for 60 days
¥14,890 for 90 days

reverend · Postby **reverend** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 7:24 am

Does anyone have this problem with TV Tokyo and NTV channels on TV Ants? (see attached)

cocomonk22 · Postby **cocomonk22** » Sun Jan 03, 2010 8:30 am

The TVAnts channels appear to be working fine now. Freshverse is also back up since December 14 using the High Quality mirror option.

RegalVegetal · Postby **RegalVegetal** » Fri Jan 22, 2010 1:06 pm

hanapan wrote:There is a service like J-net.
You'll have to search in Japanese.
two of them are having special price offer right now.

Hello,

I had search but unfortunately found nothing correct about jptv24.com :-(

Could you please give me some links ?
Thanks !

knuckles · Postby **knuckles** » Fri Jan 22, 2010 10:34 pm

JPTV24 is great, but it is a bit expensive. I wonder why Star Channel and Golf Network were chosen to be part of the package.

The JPTV24 low-quality stream should only use about 50 kilobytes/sec of bandwith, but according to Netlimiter it seems to be sucking down ~150 kilobytes/sec at times. Is there a way to prevent this?

D-Addicts

Comparing Options for Watching Japanese TV from Overseas

Comparing Options for Watching Japanese TV from Overseas

Jnet.ne.jp Stopped Service?

Registration Key

TVAnts channels distorted

Who is online