... to think All4 is the most dreadful app?

[Jux]

You have to download whatever thing it is you want to see, and ot takes aaaaages!

I'm using it on my iPad - or rather i'm not using it at all because I justwant to open the app, find the programme and then click play. I don't want to download anything, I just want to watch something. Now. When I click on it.

Like I do on iPlayer.

It's rubbish and I don't bother with it.

Yabu - my 5 is! Crashes constantly, doesn't stream live tv, crap search function.

Itv hub not much better - freezes frequently and FAR too many and too long ad breaks.

I've often debated starting a thread on terrestrial streaming/catch up apps.

If Netflix, prime etc can work properly why on earth cath companies who should be at the forefront of tv development get it right?

Iplayer (which I'm guessing gets the least funding) is best of the lot but still not a great layout/search function.

FYI if you're downloading remember that's going to use up a lot of memory and once it's used the memory there's no getting rid properly. That'll slow your tablet down overall

My 5 is awful. It takes ages to find what you want and it scrolls past at random.

Currently watching Will and Grace and it took 5 minutes to bloody find.

Are you sure you have to download it? When did they change that?

My 5 on the other hand is terrible. It does play with frequent ad breaks but takes 1/2 an hour to find anything.

So glad it's not just me.

I thought it was my old cheap android tablet but got a fire 2 Black Fridays ago and it's just as bad on that. Friends and family have made similar comments

I watched celebs go dating in on my phone last night (trashy I know) and didn't download it. There is a button in the middle of the thumbnail picture to download but there's also a play icon. Are you sure you need to?

What do you mean please once you download something and then delete it, it never properly goes? Is this on the iPlayer??

I think it's because it's free. It's the same with UKtv play. I stream through sky go, it's no reliable and I pay for it, of course!

• more reliable

I’d forgotten about the search/browse functions on UKTV play. It’s the one app that’s worse than My 5.

For some reason not every episode comes up when you search on the app. I’be often had to open the web page in safari to find an episode and then open it from there to play in the app.

And now I need to delete, and I've no idea where it's put the damn programme.

No there was no option to just play the damn thing.

OP, you don't need to download, you can just stream it.

The iPlayer app on set top boxes and TVs is awful.

And iPlayer no longer works on my Amazon Fire Stick, though Netflix still does. Actually, none of the catchup channels I've tried on that Fire thing work any more. Amazon have said they're working on it and will contact me when they've sorted out the problem but it's been nearly a year, and nothing's changed. I only bought it for catchup on terrestrials and Netflix.

If dh and I want to catch up on something together, we have to use my laptop.....

"What do you mean please once you download something and then delete it, it never properly goes? Is this on the iPlayer??" No on any device. Once you've downloaded anything onto a device an element of the coding stays on the hard drive and takes up memory.

It's why they gradually slow down over time because there's more "stuff" being sifted through.

www.techopedia.com/never-really-gone-how-to-protect-deleted-data-from-hackers/2/30290

"Deleting files from a hard drive only removes the "pointers" that make it easy for you to access the data. The actual data is still stored"

That's funny, I have the All4 app on my phone and just now went on it, selected a programme and pressed play. There was a download option too, but obviously I didn't click on that. I can also 'cast' programmes onto my TV screen using my Google Chromecast device, which is plugged into my TV, much better than Amazon Firestick, IMO. You can also cast BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, Netflix, YouTube, etc. Not Amazon Video though, as it is not compatible (deliberately, as Amazon and Google are rivals). I can also cast from my laptop (so presumably the same from a tablet), and you can just cast whatever tab you have open onto your TV screen. So you could show people your holiday photos on your TV, etc., it also gets round the Amazon Video thing (although it's slightly more jerky that way, still watchable).

I think maybe you have to have Chrome as your browser to do the Chromecast thing.

If you have a Smartphone could you try putting the app on that?

I think whether streaming is possible depends on the programme, age of programme and country of origin. Not all USA shows are licensed for streaming in uk or have limited streaming dates.

Oh wow thanks - so I shouldn’t really ever download stuff to my iPad and instead I should just watch it via streaming instead - thanks for flagging that.

I swear I never had as many problems as I do now when it was 4OD. I suppose it's one of the rare occasions that a change in branding and name reflects the new pile of shit we've got now. It truly is All4 awful.

I use the app on an android tablet and don't need to download.

This is all useful info, so thanks to all!

I think the Fire Stick is crap. It was great at first, but only for long enough to get out of warranty, then the things I used it for mainly stopped working. It's sunk cost now.

I think I'll investigate casting as I use Chrome on my laptop, so that might be better. Or I might simply do things the old fashion way - if I miss something,I miss it, and I don't need Netflix to remain alive!

I've just deleted All4 from my iPad via Settings. I found I had 4 downloads (most were Handmaid's Tale!) which have all now gone.

I’ve just tried it on my iPad and I don’t need to download to watch, it just streams.