IPTV for beginners: what to do, in order

Step 1 — Work out what you have

Before anything else, answer two questions about your own home. They decide everything that follows.

• Which device will you watch on? A Smart TV, a streaming stick, a phone or a computer. If you are not sure the television can run apps, the answer is probably a streaming stick.
• How does that device reach the internet? Wired, Wi-Fi in the same room as the router, or Wi-Fi two floors away. This is the single strongest predictor of how well streaming will go.

Step 2 — Ask before you buy

Send us the device and roughly how it connects. It takes a minute and it is the point at which we can tell you if the answer is no, or if you would be better off with a cheap streaming stick than fighting an older television.

Step 3 — Choose a term you are comfortable with

The one-month plan exists precisely for this situation. It costs the most per month and that is the point: it is the least expensive way to find out whether the service suits your household before you commit to a year.

Step 4 — Set it up somewhere easy first

When your details arrive, put them into a phone or a computer before you go near the television. If it plays there, you know the subscription is correct and anything that goes wrong afterwards is the television, its player or the Wi-Fi behind it. That one habit saves most of the confusion beginners run into.

Step 5 — Give the first load time

The channel list and the programme guide download the first time you sign in, and it is the slowest part of the whole process. An empty screen after thirty seconds is normal. An empty screen after five minutes is worth telling us about.