2 October, 2022 15:18

When the war comes into your living room

I’ve been trying set up the TV so that Ivan can watch the news on something other than his phone.

It’s pretty easy to do on a Raspberry Pi but the devil is always in the detail. Basically, you just need to install the Simple IPTV PVR Client and point it at a relevant playlist (m3u). This can either be local or somewhere on the internet. After some searching i found https://iptvmaster.ru/ukraine.m3u. It’s pretty extensive, though not so channels work.

While I was testing it on Ternopol TV, Ivan’s local station, the transmission was interrupted with an air raid warning, complete with siren. Suddenly the war was brought into our living room.

I didn’t think to take a photo, it was just so freaky. Ternopol isn’t anywhere near the front but air raid warnings are common throughout the country.

I’d kind of love them watching the kind of TV I hate, but I know that Ivan mainly watches the news. Olga says she prefers to read. Anyway, a little bit of home away from home while they’re here.

Btw. Ivan is shocked to realise he’s getting long-sighted. As I already wear glasses, I can’t really provide many tips but I think he should be able to pick up a pair of reading glasses from a drugstore to be getting on with. But if anyone has any tips, we’d be grateful.