Most people receive linear television via cable or satellite.

In comparison, only a few use DVB-T2, i.e. the transmission of digital signals with the antenna.

What is becoming more and more popular is reception over the Internet.

To do this, you need a television set that is connected to the Internet and an app that provides channels such as ARD, ZDF, ProSieben and so on.

There are several of these offers to watch linear television over the Internet.

Zattoo, Joyn or Waipu are their names.

In order to be able to use such an app properly, you have to take out a subscription.

We terminated the cable connection two years ago and opted for Waipu as the app for linear television.

Marco Dettweiler

Editor in business.

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Such apps are already installed on many televisions. As a rule, modern devices have an operating system that is also designed for online use so that viewers can call up apps with just a few clicks that lead to the media libraries of public broadcasters, for example. It is therefore initially surprising that Waipu recently started advertising and selling a “4K streaming stick”. The company is currently offering it in combination with the “Perfect Plus Package”, which costs 13 euros per month. After a year, this increases to 16 euros, so that the stick costs an additional three euros per month. “Later,” says Waipu, the stick can also be bought individually for 60 euros.

There are quite a few such boxes that make contact with the television set via HDMI and only need to be supplied with power. Amazon, Google, Apple and Telekom have such devices on offer that - with the exception of Apple TV - are so small that they disappear behind the television. A remote control is included with every product. In order to be able to use them, you have to log in with an account. The sticks have different operating systems: Amazon has Fire TV, Google comes with Android TV, Apple with tv OS and Telekom with Magenta TV. Anyone who owns an older television set can make it internet-ready with a stick.

Does the world still need a 4K streaming stick from Waipu? The world may not, but it can be attractive to Waipu subscribers and those who want to become one. After the stick has been connected to the TV's HDMI input and the power supply, the words “Android TV” appear relatively quickly. Waipu has put Google's operating system on its hardware. This affects the remote control. A button with colored dots is placed in the center of this. This allows the Google Assistant to be called up and some things to be regulated via voice control. The wide buttons at the lower end of the remote control are even more dominant: Waiputhek, Netflix and Youtube. There are also buttons with the letters TV, Rec or Prog.

Basically, the Waipu remote control can do nothing more than the remote control of the TV, which in this case is one from Samsung. It is only more efficient because the keys configured for the Waipu applications shorten the way to get to a specific point in the menu. Since the remote control takes over the rudimentary functions of the Samsung remote control such as volume control or switching on and off, it works across devices. With a single press you can call up the program overview, list the recordings or start time-shifted television. The remote control looks a bit cheap compared to valuable helpers from Samsung or Apple. The button around the OK button could protrude a bit so that the haptic difference to the four buttons around it becomes clearer.

In addition to the remote control tailored to Waipu, there are two other advantages.

Updating the software is in the hands of Waipu and can be played out directly, so the users are always up to date. It can sometimes take some time until the apps on the televisions and other sticks are adapted with new functions.

And the hardware with the Amlogic 905Y4 processor is probably usually faster and more powerful than the chips that are responsible for the smart area including the Internet in the older televisions.