Hopefully this isn't the wrong place to ask and I am sure this has been asked millions of times but im finding the sheer volume of info and opinions to be overwhelming. That said, here goes.
I want to get rid of Cramcast. Its expensive and I find that I really don't use cable much besides DVR functionality. I already use Hulu and such on a gaming console but someone recently told me about Kodi and it sounds like it would be a great way to transition away from cable. Here are some pertinent things:
*I have an older TV(pre-4k) and HDMI receiver (like first gen HDMI)
*I want to be able to stream TV shows realtime or record them for later viewing. (Live too far from anything for OTA)
*Being able to watch the NFL is a high priority. Where I am now I pay for redzone because I can only see local games, and I hate the team.
*Id like to get a device that can handle all of this without struggling and I am willing to get my hands a bit dirty so I don't necessarily need a pre-configured device, although it would be convenient. I can fumble my way through linux or windows command line. (id rather not spend a fortune either)
I read the forum pots about possible devices but , although its comprehensive, its vast and there is so much info that I have no idea where to even start. I realize that this is vague and openeneded Im just trying to get some ideas so I can focus my research a bit. Any advice would be appreciated
if you heard that Kodi is giving you all the latest TV shows and movies for free, then you heard wrong. Kodi is just a media player and doesn't provide any content. We do support PVR, local media libraries as well as the possibility to extend and customize Kodi via add-ons. There are add-ons that change the look of the UI, some add functionality and some give access to online content. All add-ons in our official add-on repository only provide free content (stuff you could also watch in your browser, like youtube) or require a valid subscription (BBC iPlayer, Netflix [experimental, not official], ...). There are however third party add-ons out in the wild that will provide access to pirated content (watch stuff you usually would have to pay for, for "free"), all of which are banned here and for which we don't give any support nor do we recommend their usage (stuff tends to break frequently, privacy might not always be protected, they are not legal to use in many countries, ...). What you do with your ony Kodi installation is up to you though, but don't expect any help from this community if you go that route.
If you however look for legitimate ways to cut your cable, we're more than willing to help. We don't have a HULU add-on yet, though, and I'm not sure what NFL options we have, since I'm not from the US. There seems to be an add-on "NFL game pass" (
https://kodi.tv/addon/scripts-video-add-...-game-pass) which likely requires a valid subscription. No idea if this is cheaper than whatever you pay for redzone (of which I also never heard as non-US citizen
).
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da-anda Thx! I don't want to pirate stuff. I have netflix, hulu, CBS access, and amazon prime. I suppose id like pair Kodi with some device, maybe an ODRIOD HTPC I read about, and a really old NAS I already have to be able to watch and record stuff. In a while I will be moving to a place with OTA access so being able to record to my NAS would be cool. The bigger issues I have is that ive been out of the tech world for ages so I have no idea what equipment is out there or what is worth building. I do know that I hate lag and prolonged buffering.
I read about am Odriod xu4 set up that seems cheap but effective. But I dont really know the capabilities of this newer, micro hardware. I used to build PCs but never anything ARM based or otherwise tiny.
maybe we should start fleshing out your primary demand/usecases. Is 4K a thing for you in the near future, or are you happy with your 1080p TV and don't plan on upgrading any time soon? I personally like my PI3 very much, but it's limited to 1080p, which wouldn't be an issue with your current setup. It also can handle all audio formats your AVR might be able to support. It also has the best support for 3D video playback, if that's a thing for you (in case your TV does 3D). The only downside of it is, that it can only handle DRM protected content (Netflix, Prime) in 720p, since DRM is handled in CPU and not GPU.
If you are into Netflix, Hulu, CBS etc and would like to also have proper/stable support for these streaming platforms on the same box that is running Kodi, then your best option these days might be something based on Android TV (go for AndroidTV and not just a random Android box). But Android has it's own limitations, especially in terms of lacking support for official Android APIs by box vendors. So while Kodi does support the Android APIs and can do refresh rate switching and HD audio passthrough on Android, many Android based boxes lack proper firmware support for it and would require hacks to get this stuff working, which we refrain from implementing. If you don't care about HD audio passthrough and are also happy with a multichannel PCM stream and also don't care about refresh rate switching, then you probably can't do much wrong with most proper Android boxes - just make sure to pick a vendor that will do firmware updates (most cheap chineese stuff doesn't, and is ofc also not Android TV certified).
If you however like tinkering and don't mind having to update add-ons like Netflix or Prime from time to time (in case they are broken), I'd go for something like LibreElec on any HW of your preference (ARM or x86 like the Intel NUC), since it's really easy to install and doesn't require maitenance.
Thx! I think I like the Nvidia Shield Tv. Seems to have everything one could need.
while the Shield TV is a bit expensive, it's definetly a good choice. I also have one connected to my living room TV and like it very much. IMO you can go with the smaller version, since the 500 GB hdd is barely needed by anyone. Even if you make use of the Plex server you can just as well plug a USB hdd to extend the storage capacity if you need it.
I have the shield set up and have Kodi running now. Had a few issues but so far its pretty good. My goal with this is to get rid of my Comcast cable but be able to maintain some level of convenience and watchability. Right now I record almost everything and watch it later. So far this simply doesn't seem possible with Kodi and I think I misunderstood the whole point of "cord cutting". Im not looking for anything illegal but, at the moment, Kodi simply doesn't offer anything I cant get with my PS4 and subs to nexflix or amazon. Plex seems to work with OTA antennas, which is well and good unless you happen to live far enough away from major cities for OTA coverage. Some IPTV providers I have found seem almost as pricey as xfinity so im not seeing how this all = the cost savings of cord cutting. Any further advice would be welcomed and thank you for the info so far. I appreciate that someone is willing to help an FNG!
Kodi is not supposed to be a cord cutting cost saver. It is primarily for viewing media you own and have ripped from your DVD or Blu-ray collection.
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nickr I agree, but when you also add a PVR like tvheadend, catch up tv from your native country, and soon Netflix and Prime, it can be used to be a cord cutter saver...... however....
I got rid of Sky here......and plowed my money into beefing up my server, a PJ in the bedroom and have just bought. Pi touchscreen for portable Kodi..... nope, haven’t saved at all 😢😂😎😜
Sure but a PVR only gives you OTA broadcasts, which you have anyway.
Kodi can be used for cord-cutting if you have OTA in America. Over here in Europe, cord-cutting isn't a thing at all, since we have OTA everywhere (DVB-T in cities and many rural areas, DVB-S basically everywhere). Also all public TV stations offer free IP-TV and the possibility to watch their content on demand from their online library for a certain amount of time. In America, IIRC Google is coming up with Youtube TV, but with a price of $40 a months this seems just as bad as cable. The US is really fucked up in terms of TV broadcasts and no public stations funded by taxes (it's 50€ a year over here and includes public TV and radio stations). I couldn't stand watching anything on TV with a commercial break at least every 10 mins.
Is OTA via satellite a thing in the US?
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nickr that is true, but to get TV to different rooms without resorting to cabling etc, Kodi with an HDhomrun can work out cheaper than OTA set top boxes. This was my primary goal when I left Sky. Not the cheapest alternative in the short term, but with v18 being able to use DRM for subscription services does make it a long term investment.
Problem is when moving from services like Sky etc people want zero cost per month and pay as little as possible for hardware. My advice would be to find out exactly what you want out of your entertainment needs, what you are willing to pay per month then look at the hardware threads to see what fits with those needs and build accordingly. Buy what you feel comfortable with setting up.
(2018-03-23, 10:20)da-anda Wrote: [ -> ]Kodi can be used for cord-cutting if you have OTA in America. Over here in Europe, cord-cutting isn't a thing at all, since we have OTA everywhere (DVB-T in cities and many rural areas, DVB-S basically everywhere). Also all public TV stations offer free IP-TV and the possibility to watch their content on demand from their online library for a certain amount of time. In America, IIRC Google is coming up with Youtube TV, but with a price of $40 a months this seems just as bad as cable. The US is really fucked up in terms of TV broadcasts and no public stations funded by taxes (it's 50€ a year over here and includes public TV and radio stations). I couldn't stand watching anything on TV with a commercial break at least every 10 mins.
Is OTA via satellite a thing in the US?
Yeah. Here no one does anything unless there is money to be made. Thats generally why our TV system is like it is. Satellite TV is a thing here but its just as expensive as cable and structured the same way generally.
so there is no free-to-air broadcast via satellite that you could make use of? That's a pitty. Been asking around in the team, and an American member switched to YoutubeTV and is more than happy with it. As mentioned, it's $40 a month, but has unlimited cloud DVR, integrates perfectly into the AndroidTV live channels of his SHIELD and it can be used by up to 6 family members on any device (so also smartphone/tablet and from on the road). So it might be possible to share it with other family members (parents, siblings, kids, ...)
(2018-03-20, 18:35)da-anda Wrote: [ -> ]maybe we should start fleshing out your primary demand/usecases. Is 4K a thing for you in the near future, or are you happy with your 1080p TV and don't plan on upgrading any time soon? I personally like my PI3 very much, but it's limited to 1080p, which wouldn't be an issue with your current setup. It also can handle all audio formats your AVR might be able to support. It also has the best support for 3D video playback, if that's a thing for you (in case your TV does 3D). The only downside of it is, that it can only handle DRM protected content (Netflix, Prime) in 720p, since DRM is handled in CPU and not GPU.
If you are into Netflix, Hulu, CBS etc and would like to also have proper/stable support for these streaming platforms on the same box that is running Kodi, then your best option these days might be something based on Android TV (go for AndroidTV and not just a random Android box). But Android has it's own limitations, especially in terms of lacking support for official Android APIs by box vendors. So while Kodi does support the Android APIs and can do refresh rate switching and HD audio passthrough on Android, many Android based boxes lack proper firmware support for it and would require hacks to get this stuff working, which we refrain from implementing. If you don't care about HD audio passthrough and are also happy with a multichannel PCM stream and also don't care about refresh rate switching, then you probably can't do much wrong with most proper Android boxes - just make sure to pick a vendor that will do firmware updates (most cheap chineese stuff doesn't, and is ofc also not Android TV certified).
If you however like tinkering and don't mind having to update add-ons like Netflix or Prime from time to time (in case they are broken), I'd go for something like LibreElec on any HW of your preference (ARM or x86 like the Intel NUC), since it's really easy to install and doesn't require maitenance.
I would advise same, Netflix has a freak android app!