Block TV access through router
The answer is yes, but how it is done will depend on which router you have.
However, instead of simply blocking the things they are using, which your friend might consider 'unfriendly',
you might want to consider looking at whether your router can limit the network speed to their devices.
If you can reduce their network speed to a value that is below the rate required to stream TV, then their viewing experience will be terrible with constant buffering, and they will soon get bored trying. If they ask you what is going on, you can say that your internet is sometimes slow, or some other similar excuse, without being seen to have imposed an outright ban on their activities or appearing to be overly petty.
The thing about outright blocking, is it seems quite easy to do, but they will soon move on to a different website and you will constantly be trying to shut them down. By rate limiting, you are limiting all high bandwidth internet usage, and should save your monthly allowance.
Of course, you might come unstuck if your friend catches you simultaneously using the internet doing something at unrestricted speeds.
However, instead of simply blocking the things they are using, which your friend might consider 'unfriendly',
you might want to consider looking at whether your router can limit the network speed to their devices.
If you can reduce their network speed to a value that is below the rate required to stream TV, then their viewing experience will be terrible with constant buffering, and they will soon get bored trying. If they ask you what is going on, you can say that your internet is sometimes slow, or some other similar excuse, without being seen to have imposed an outright ban on their activities or appearing to be overly petty.
The thing about outright blocking, is it seems quite easy to do, but they will soon move on to a different website and you will constantly be trying to shut them down. By rate limiting, you are limiting all high bandwidth internet usage, and should save your monthly allowance.
Of course, you might come unstuck if your friend catches you simultaneously using the internet doing something at unrestricted speeds.
Rate capping their device sounds perfect. 
My router is a thomson TG585v7. They use a laptop and an ipad. Hopefully this is not to technical!.
My router is a thomson TG585v7. They use a laptop and an ipad. Hopefully this is not to technical!.
Unfortunately I am not familiar with the configuration details of the Thomson TG585v7. 
Perhaps someone else with a TG585v7 can advise on how to configure rate limiting to specific devices, OR how to configure upstream QoS to bandwidth limit specific devices.
Unfortunately doing anything useful involving Thomson/Technicolor routers seems to end up using command line Telnet commands, which is likely to get quite technical for the inexperienced, although if someone can write a series of commands for you, then it should be a matter of accurately copying them line by line into a command prompt on your computer.
Perhaps someone else with a TG585v7 can advise on how to configure rate limiting to specific devices, OR how to configure upstream QoS to bandwidth limit specific devices.
Quote from: bumbershoot Hopefully this is not to technical!.
Unfortunately doing anything useful involving Thomson/Technicolor routers seems to end up using command line Telnet commands, which is likely to get quite technical for the inexperienced, although if someone can write a series of commands for you, then it should be a matter of accurately copying them line by line into a command prompt on your computer.
Agreed:
I do not fully "get" how QoS (upstream) can have a marked impact on DS priorities, which is what this user really needs. At best all it will do is delay ACK responses.
Where QoS comes into its own is limiting a high use US service, such as P2P uploads.
If the line is comparatively slow, then one could make the third party's viewing futile by running another TV "session" on a different device at the same time - when they give up, stop the "other" stream.
My line runs circa 5Mbps - when I want to watch iPlayer, I block all other users as without that, if they are streaming too, iPlayer is unwatchable. This can be "reversed" engineered (so to speak) to make the 3rd party's experience undesirable.
You could just tell them - "not on my broadband please" - mind you if they are kids, they will know better! I had to switch to unlimited because the step son (28+) would not moderate his use of my broadband!
I do not fully "get" how QoS (upstream) can have a marked impact on DS priorities, which is what this user really needs. At best all it will do is delay ACK responses.
Where QoS comes into its own is limiting a high use US service, such as P2P uploads.
If the line is comparatively slow, then one could make the third party's viewing futile by running another TV "session" on a different device at the same time - when they give up, stop the "other" stream.
My line runs circa 5Mbps - when I want to watch iPlayer, I block all other users as without that, if they are streaming too, iPlayer is unwatchable. This can be "reversed" engineered (so to speak) to make the 3rd party's experience undesirable.
You could just tell them - "not on my broadband please" - mind you if they are kids, they will know better! I had to switch to unlimited because the step son (28+) would not moderate his use of my broadband!
Which account are you currently on, how much are you currently paying and is your exchange Market 1 or Market 2/3 (you can check that here).
Quote from: bumbershoot My router is a thomson TG585v7.
Perhaps someone knows of an alternative router with bandwidth limiting capability that 'bumbershoot' might consider using ?
Another possibility is to get hold of a router loaded with "DD-WRT" (less than £20 on eBay) which has a QoS bandwidth limiter built in to the firmware, connect it as if it were a Wireless Access Point, and only allow the "friend" to connect to the internet via that.
See this video for a demo of the DD-WRT QoS limiter - "Using DD-WRT for Bandwidth Control"
Probably beyond the scope of this thread, but this is how my router would do it - "Limit Download & Upload bandwidth per IP"
Another possibility is to get hold of a router loaded with "DD-WRT" (less than £20 on eBay) which has a QoS bandwidth limiter built in to the firmware, connect it as if it were a Wireless Access Point, and only allow the "friend" to connect to the internet via that.
See this video for a demo of the DD-WRT QoS limiter - "Using DD-WRT for Bandwidth Control"
Probably beyond the scope of this thread, but this is how my router would do it - "Limit Download & Upload bandwidth per IP"