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paulrhyan · 2016-09-25, 17:32

I have Kodi 16.1 Git:20160424-c327c53 installed on a Win 10 laptop. I have a broadband internet connection that averages 50+ Mbps.

What I really want is to be able to view some live TV (ABC, CBS, NBC & FOX). I'm really wanting to watch Sunday football and maybe next spring watch baseball. What is the best way to get decent live feeds?

I have cCloud but most of the feeds I try fail. I get the Playback Failed error. I have also tried Phoenix TV but there doesn't seem to be any options for viewing live TV feeds. I have also looked at SALTS but that also seems to be more VOD.

The only thing that seems to be working for me is USTV NOW. I have the free account that seems to work okay with decent quality. My biggest concern is what will the quality look like after the 45 day introductory period expires.

To summarize, my primary goal is to have live over the air networks streamed through Kodi. Are there other free options outside of USTV NOW? A big plus would be receiving streams from various markets (Chicago, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Dallas/Fort Worth). I'm very new to Kodi and I'm still working on the intricacies of this software.

**DarrenHill** · (This post was last modified: 2016-09-25, 17:37 by DarrenHill.)

Free content (wiki)

I'd suggest you read the forum rules (wiki) on piracy, as many of the 3rd party add-ons you mentioned use illegal pirated sources and we want nothing to do with them nor offer any support for them.

The ones that are legal you will find in the built in official repo and/or in threads in the video add-ons section here.

If you've obtained Kodi thinking to get paid TV services for free then you are mistaken and won't get help to do that here.

paulrhyan · 2016-09-25, 17:49

(2016-09-25, 17:36)DarrenHill Wrote: Free content (wiki)

I'd suggest you read the forum rules (wiki) on piracy, as many of the 3rd party add-ons you mentioned use illegal pirated sources and we want nothing to do with them nor offer any support for them.

The ones that are legal you will find in the built in official repo and/or in threads in the video add-ons section here.

If you've obtained Kodi thinking to get paid TV services for free then you are mistaken and won't get help to do that here.

Sorry. Still working through this. Most of those apps I found through google searching "Live TV APPS for Kodi". I didn't realize that they were considered pirated sources.

Is looking for over the air broadcasts considered piracy? No sarcasm intended; I'm just asking. I don't really care about the premium stuff. I live off the beaten path and 'rabbit ears' for OTA don't work well. Getting a tower antennae is a little cost prohibitive at the moment and I am a renter.

When you say 'built in offical repo' do you mean the 'official version' of Kodi. I kind of thought that is what I was running. I will also look though the video add-ons section. Before I waste too much more time on this project; is it even possible to do what I want to do? More to the point; it it possible to get advice through these forums to achieve my goal of Sunday afternoon football?

Thanks for the help.

**Dangelus** · 2016-09-25, 19:18

Yes of course it is possible to run into add-ons that offer pirated streams of live TV, they don't even need to be premium channels.

My suggestion would be to browse the video add-ons forum here. Anything with a longstanding thread is going to be legitimate. Of course, anything in the official Kodi repository should be safe too.

**DarrenHill** · 2016-09-25, 19:43

It also depends physically where you are, as many sources geo-lock their available material to the IP address range of the country they are in. So without work-arounds someone from the UK can't access many sources from USA or Canada, even if they are freely available to people within the country (same applies in reverse - for example the BBC sources are only available to UK IP addresses).

By official repo, I mean the one that comes with the official version of Kodi (the one that is available from this site).

Essentially you just need to apply some common sense. All of these TV companies and channels are there to make money, be it from subscription, advertising, license fees or some other source. So they will rarely give stuff away, especially premium stuff like sports and movies. Use that to guide both your expectation and your view of what may be on offer. As with anything in life, if it seems too good to be true then it probably is.

paulrhyan · 2016-09-28, 03:40

Okay so this is what I'm looking into now. I'm running the PVR IPTV Simple Client on Kodi V16.1 that is running on a Win 10 laptop.

My first question is: Is the PVR IPTV Simple Client a legitimate Kodi App? If yes please read on...

It seems that I have to configure the app with a M3U playlist. I've been searching everywhere but I can't seem to find a playlist that works. There was one playlist that worked for a second then when I went to 'change the channel' the next channel would not work and now none of the channels work. I've tried googling for other playlists but I think most of the hits that google presented were *ahem* of questionable legality.

I am living in the United States. I would like to have live streams of OTA networks (ABC, CBS, NBC & FOX). I DO NOT really care about premium cable/satellite channels. I am more than happy to do this legally.

Where can I get a legal working playlist? Are there other settings that I need to configure? Do I even use playlists here or have I completely missed the boat here?

Thanks.

**bry** · (This post was last modified: 2016-09-28, 04:28 by bry.)

go to tvfool.com or antennas.org run a report. to see what is available in your area

**Dangelus** · 2016-09-28, 08:52

(2016-09-28, 03:40)paulrhyan Wrote: Okay so this is what I'm looking into now. I'm running the PVR IPTV Simple Client on Kodi V16.1 that is running on a Win 10 laptop.

My first question is: Is the PVR IPTV Simple Client a legitimate Kodi App? If yes please read on...

It seems that I have to configure the app with a M3U playlist. I've been searching everywhere but I can't seem to find a playlist that works. There was one playlist that worked for a second then when I went to 'change the channel' the next channel would not work and now none of the channels work. I've tried googling for other playlists but I think most of the hits that google presented were *ahem* of questionable legality.

I am living in the United States. I would like to have live streams of OTA networks (ABC, CBS, NBC & FOX). I DO NOT really care about premium cable/satellite channels. I am more than happy to do this legally.

Where can I get a legal working playlist? Are there other settings that I need to configure? Do I even use playlists here or have I completely missed the boat here?

Thanks.

You're very unlikely to find a legal M3U playlist on a random site. Any you find will most likely be from pirated sources as most official sources don't roll out their channels on lists like these. Your best bet is to build a PVR ecosystem and forget IPTV, especially if you're not bothered about premium channels. Yes some services (like cable and satellite) provide an IPTV option with your subscription but you'd have to check with your provider on how to access that.

Is IPTV Simple Client legal? Yes of course. It's what you do with it that matters. Just like you can use a web browser or torrent client to do legal and illegal things. Common sense apples here. If you find some random list offerring 5000 channels it's unlikely to be legal.

paulrhyan · 2016-09-29, 02:25

(2016-09-28, 08:52)Dangelus Wrote: Your best bet is to build a PVR ecosystem...

Are you suggesting that I use Kodi and my laptop to make a PVR? I would be okay with that but obviously I would need some kind of TV feed. As mentioned earlier I can't afford cable and I can't seem to get a good signal for OTA broadcasts. Is there some other legal way to get a TV feed? I apologize if I seem a little obtuse; I'm new to Kodi and I'm just now learning what it can do and what I shouldn't do with it.

Thanks.

**Dangelus** · 2016-09-29, 08:49

(2016-09-29, 02:25)paulrhyan Wrote:
(2016-09-28, 08:52)Dangelus Wrote: Your best bet is to build a PVR ecosystem...

Are you suggesting that I use Kodi and my laptop to make a PVR? I would be okay with that but obviously I would need some kind of TV feed. As mentioned earlier I can't afford cable and I can't seem to get a good signal for OTA broadcasts. Is there some other legal way to get a TV feed? I apologize if I seem a little obtuse; I'm new to Kodi and I'm just now learning what it can do and what I shouldn't do with it.

Thanks.

In this case your choices are limited and perhaps region specific. You can check the threads in the video add-ons section for add-ons that use various networks legitimate streaming services. Perhaps one of our American friends can advise, I'm on the wrong side of the pond to be much help Big Grin

donbrew · (This post was last modified: 2016-09-29, 20:03 by donbrew.)

You can pay for USTVnow. That is the short answer. It is legal,but unfortunately it is on a banned repository so you will have to find it for yourself. Well maybe not since it is discussed on this forum and the app dev is a member here http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=...ht=ustvnow.

IPTV Simple is not an app for streaming, it is a app for watching streams. You really don't need it for much.

**DarrenHill** · 2016-09-29, 20:22

There are different UKTVNow add-ons. At least one is from a banned repo, but the other is available here but I'm not sure if it's currently being maintained or not.

**scott967** · 2016-09-30, 23:09

Generally, OTA broadcasters in the US have been able to restrict/prohibit any rebroadcast/carry of their OTA signals without paying a fee to the broadcaster (which is what cable does, even with local broadcast stations). An attempt was made in NYC to install an antenna/digital tuner farm so a user would be dispatched a pair to receive OTA but that was also found to be infringing. Keep in mind that the original "CATV" was a Community Antenna, with better gain/positioning, and the received signal was dispatched to subscribers. The use of internet access doesn't change the basic configuration. Also currently there is proposed rule-making at the FCC concerning set-top boxes (pushed by Google) which may affect how software such as Kodi can access programming in the US.

scott s.
.