Fire stick with Kodi app

[Evil Sports]

You can also run it on a PC or Mac, I watched Ballers in my office yesterday. Rob Codry is funny as shit in that

 

[Mainah]

It just clicked for me. This is all just files sitting on servers somewhere in the world and the box/software gives an interface to them. The max download in my area is 30 with a max upload of 6 so if I wanted to watch 5 separate things in 1080p at the same time it may not work out so well all the time. I work from home full time over a hardware vpn using lots of bandwidth and my wife works from home 2-3 days a week. Last thing I need is one of those letters saying I use too much bandwidth from the only true high speed ISP in my area.

The digital content age is very cool but of course all of this "free" content may not be paying royalties to the content owners. Hopefully this provides enough motivation to the paid providers to stop infalting their prices every year. Is it just me or are commercials making up a higher percentage of the 30-60 minute time blocks each year? This is one reason why we love Netflix and our Hopper 3.

Perhaps I will have to give one of these kodi or plex setups a try just to check it out.

 

[cozilla]

I have a Firestick with Kodi that I have had for like 1o months. Works well but want to try a box as the stick does tend to lag sometimes. Just stay on top of your add ons and updates and you should be good. I enjoy using it.

 

[TheGreekTitan]

How is the audio and video quality? Is 4K Ultra achievable with a good enough connection? Also, what about local news, etc.?

Interesting, and I could see getting one for my office, but seems unlikely to be able to compete with the quality I have in my home at present.

Thanks @GeniusGio for the generous offer, I may take you up on it. Can't really beat the price, even if it's just hooked up to the TV at my shop.

 

[GeniusGio]

How is the audio and video quality? Is 4K Ultra achievable with a good enough connection? Also, what about local news, etc.?

Interesting, and I could see getting one for my office, but seems unlikely to be able to compete with the quality I have in my home at present.

Thanks @GeniusGio for the generous offer, I may take you up on it. Can't really beat the price, even if it's just hooked up to the TV at my shop.

Hey buddy, as far as 4K goes, Not much being shown on the box as 4K . Most so far is at 1080p. Audio and Video are great though. When the movies first come out in theaters, It will show up on the box as a ( Cam ) Copy.. as time passes by, it then comes out in ( Standard ) then HD then it will show as 1080P.

 

[Eurocat]

just an fyi for all of you using firestick and the fire tv.
there is a handy app for you phone that allows you to use it to control as many sticks or boxes as u need. much easier to type stuff with too, and much less likely to be misplaced.

 

[Bill D]

It will be interesting to see where this goes...

https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/d51d0dcb-8757-3c1a-aab8-174505e32b5e/ss_sale-of-kodi.html

 

[2nazt]

I have no real idea about any of this, and not super techy at all with anything(now if I can hit it with a hammer or make something I'm in) my wife and I are about to downsize with me going back to school and losing my income, so we need to have internet but want to have to shows. What is the best/easiest way to do this. Something I can hook up on maybe 2 TV's for shows and movies, hopefully news. Is this firestick the way to go, and I guess I need to google what a Kodi is. Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Evil Sports]

Since your not so techy you might want to get a friend or someone to help you. Once you get the hang of it you might not need much help. Getting a good build and updating it will save you a ton of headaches. I prefer the Android MX3 type boxes over the firestick. Get one with 2gig x 8gig, the 1g are cheeper and cant laggy. Depending on the build you can tax a firestick to its resource limit. Also Youtube has a ton of instructions but you need to be sure to type in any codes exactly as shown, thats where many people fail. I use Ares for my builds

 

[2nazt]

Thanks @Evil Sports I will start looking into youtube for some instructions, and to see what these actually give you.

 

[veedubtek]

@2nazt - Grab some $30 HD antennas off Amazon or whatever. I've got one on every TV in the house and at the camper. Pick up about 20 channels, but I mostly just use it for local news. And, as Evil said, get a good box. I use a firestick in the bedroom now, a fire tv at the camper, and a Gbox2 for my main viewing. Whenever one of the fire devices act up, I'll replace them with another Gbox or equivalent as well. MUCH easier to setup than the fire devices and way better performance. You can even buy it pre-loaded with everything right on Amazon for marginally more than what it normally costs if you don't wanna fuss with it. It really is easy though

 

[tim h]

It's time for us to cut the cable. I have 2 fire sticks on the way , but after reading here I'm not sure I made the right purchase...
Is the gbox the way to go ?
Firestick is $40
Gbox is $145

 

[swatski]

It's time for us to cut the cable. I have 2 fire sticks on the way , but after reading here I'm not sure I made the right purchase...
Is the gbox the way to go ?
Firestick is $40
Gbox is $145

I couldn't wait to cut the cable. The problem is, it is still the easiest way to get internet where I am.
Now, if anyone has ideas about that?

--

 

[Bill D]

I started messing around with kodi using a Raspberry Pi since I had one laying around. It worked really well and if you have an ethernet cable where you want to view, it works great. Also, it mated right up with my Samsung TV so the TV remote would control the Pi. Ultimately, I did not have a cable to my living room, so I upgraded to a gbox Q2, mainly for the 802.11ac wireless compatibility. I get ~60-80Mbps download speed over my wifi and haven't had much trouble with buffering or lag. (Sometimes I'll find that I need to pick a different source.) The unit I purchased was just over $100 from ebay and included many add ons. The kodi works great for movies and tv shows. Especially recent releases. There is also a much larger catalog out there than apps like Netflix offer.

I also have an over-the-air HD antenna in my attic. I live in a bit of a low spot, so I only get around 30 channels. And really, only about a dozen of them are what I consider channels worth watching. But, it does get me local news and network sports broadcasts. When antenna shopping, check out a site like antennaweb.org. It will show you what channels you may be able to get and color code the type of antenna you'll need.

Between the kodi box, OTA antenna, and various apps (Netflix, Watch ESPN, AmazonPrime) I can find and watch almost anything I want to watch. The best part is I can cancel my $130 DirecTV subscription.

 

[2nazt]

Thanks for the info. I would still need the internet at 70$ a month then the fees for Netflix etc. is there a fee for the gbox or equivalent? Or is it just a one time purchase fee plus subscription costs? We have a prime membership already.

 

[Bill D]

No fees, subscriptions, or associated costs. Once you purchase the box (any of the kodi players) all you need is an internet connection.

 

[2nazt]

Thanks @Bill D slowly learning more research needed.

 

[Bill D]

I did a bunch of looking around and then eased into it over the last few months. I tried a lot of things before I decided that I was ready to give up my DirecTV.

• I tried just watching Netflix, which I found too limited. Don't get me wrong, I'm down to binge through an entire season of a show in a weekend, but sometimes variety is good. I really like the Netflix Originals too. $10 per month = worth it, but may become obsolete the better I get with the other options. Note: I chose Netflix over Hulu because I didn't watch as many of the series shows as movies and original content. I also still have access to over the air broadcasts. Hulu plus seems to me like the on-demand options offered through my DirecTV.
• I already had an Amazon Prime subscription for the 2-day shipping (because waiting any more than two days is absurd, lol) but I had never used the Prime Video. Again, good selection and the original shows are often better than the network shows. I would continue to spend the $10 per month for the Prime benefits, so I consider this free.
• Added a cheap kodi player. Great alternative to the subscription video services. You can find most movie and TV titles including recent releases. If you remember the old bootleg options like limewire, napster (before it was a pay service), torrents, etc... It is very similar, except that instead of downloading it, you stream the content. Players range from $30-$130, no subscription costs.
• Over-the-air - Great supplement to any of the streaming options above. Most can be had for less than $100 depending on your location, and once you purchase it there is no extra cost.
  • The one thing that I may look into is adding an offline DVR option to record live TV.

There are also a ton of apps for station specific shows. If you are a Discovery channel addict, there's an app for that. College football on ESPN? Just get the WatchESPN app. Heck, you can even get the NFL Sunday Ticket through an app to watch every NFL game. SlingTV is another great option offered by DishNetwork. For $20 per month, you can get most of the same channels you already have through cable. (DirecTV is rumored to be offering a similar service at a similar cost soon)

I in no way have covered all of the options. There are many ways to work around cable these days. I recommend starting with one thing and adding to that as you need until you are comfortable. (IMO a kodi player would be the best place to start) However, unless you have a good internet connection, you may quickly become frustrated with buffering delays.

 

[BigAbe75]

I've got a Tablo OTA dvr that works well. https://www.tablotv.com/ Also, highly recommend the various Mohu antennas. Their website also has a locator that will estimate the channels that you could pickup depending on your area. Purchase from Newegg or amazon.

You'll need an 'app' to access the Tablo. Roku and FireTV both work well. Don't know about the kodi.

 

[mark_m]

I've got a Tablo OTA dvr that works well. https://www.tablotv.com/ Also, highly recommend the various Mohu antennas. Their website also has a locator that will estimate the channels that you could pickup depending on your area. Purchase from Newegg or amazon.

You'll need an 'app' to access the Tablo. Roku and FireTV both work well. Don't know about the kodi.

@GeniusGio is this unit complimentary or equivalent to what you are selling, re: android box?

Is running a vpn required/advised?