Kicking Cable to the Curb

[2legsshrt]

I just bought another shield tv box, we're putting a different TV back in the kitchen.

btw if anyone wants something like the Nvidia box but still with good kodi build support there is a couple of ones out there doing it for free, I think the best one is the spoonfed guy, he has builds for android platforms that can't use 17.1 also.

Yeah from all that I've read on boxes which is too much the Nvidia is hands down the best you can get, especially if you are a gamer and such. They have the highest specs and price. For just streaming there are others that are also good but for quality and being able to use it for games also the Nvidia seems like it would be pretty good if you didn't mind setting it up yourself.

 

[2legsshrt]

Say I saw a blip on MSNBC that someone leaked the first 10 episodes of Orange is the new Black I'm going to check it out on a couple things that we can't mention. I have noticed that since the clamp down here this thread has died. Oh well it was fun while it lasted.

 

[Ken_A]

OK.. the upgrade to 17.1 on my current device has gone about the way people have been complaining. Slower, less cache available, etc.

so I did a 3 day search for android TV boxes, and am getting
https://www.amazon.com/NVIDIA-SHIELD-TV-Streaming-Media-Player/dp/B01MYV94H3/?th=1
It's a bit expensive. For the pro version, about $300 $200 for the basic. But the reviews are outstanding. NVIDA is a KODI supporter, and AMAZON PRIME is there too. It also supports HD HomeRun for local broadcast channels, and you can get Nvida games galore in their app store.
Basically, if the ROKU is level 1, this is level 12.

Ken:
I'm sure you've heard me rant about Skystream but they have stuck with Kodi 16.1 and did an update to receive all the sources of Kodi 17 not sure that is available for all boxes but it works great. I have no problem getting HD and 1080 on all addons. No problems with cache. They haven't wanted to do the update to 17 because of the problems involved. All I know is I am able to stream just like I did before.
I have been getting a lot of streams lately where when a foreign language is spoken I get Russian subtitles which is a PITA but it is what it is.

I thought about the skystream, but the reviews didn't give it high enough for the AMAZON video.

The Nvidia box is a good choice

Holy crap, just ordered this yesterday with some other amazon stuff, delivered today by a guy in an uber... very strange... but, I've never had faster shipping.

You will probably see that it was delivered by someone like Dynamex. They use local people to deliver. MY local people are getting really bad about delivering before 8 pm.

Yeah from all that I've read on boxes which is too much the Nvidia is hands down the best you can get, especially if you are a gamer and such. They have the highest specs and price. For just streaming there are others that are also good but for quality and being able to use it for games also the Nvidia seems like it would be pretty good if you didn't mind setting it up yourself.

pros - it does load faster on 17.1 than the previous one, but that is a difference between 4k and 16k for processing.
great for games, great for Amazon video

you DEFINITELY want to get a remote with keyboard. It's easy enough to use the remote or the game controller to type in with, but if you are watching a video, and hit the left controller, or the remote hits the floor... it randomly selects from anywhere in the video, or jumps back to the main screen.

I'm not getting any more advance on the video, but I'm getting far less of it running into the cached advance.

With the current processor on the Shield, I don't anticipate running into any further problems with upgrades in the future.

I think I will keep it.

 

[Iffy]

I'm going to check it out on a couple things that we can't mention...

Google and YouTube?

 

[Ken_A]

Say I saw a blip on MSNBC that someone leaked the first 10 episodes of Orange is the new Black I'm going to check it out on a couple things that we can't mention. I have noticed that since the clamp down here this thread has died. Oh well it was fun while it lasted.

people want to be careful. It will probably go the same way as it's predecessor, and people will chime in every week or so with info, etc.

 

[retired1]

I have noticed that since the clamp down here this thread has died.

Enough. The constant complaining will cease. There are plenty of other sites that specialize in circumventing copyright law. ECF is not one of them.

 

[kiba]

Thats one nice thing about PIA, they have a client in PlayStore that installed with a minimum of effort. Loaded it on 3 Android Boxes in about 20 minutes, and most of the time was spent walking from room to room and waiting for the box to boot.

I have pia, it wasn't in the play store though I had to sideload the apk

 

[mikepetro]

 

[kiba]

You were able to get to that on a shield tv?

 

[mikepetro]

No, not a shield, but it installed straight from PlayStore on all 3 of my Android TV boxes.
A T96Pro, a TX5 Pro, and T95ZPlus.

https://www.amazon.com/HOUYUAN-T96-...e=UTF8&qid=1493733694&sr=8-1&keywords=t96+pro

 

[r77r7r]

View attachment 653603

Funny, that VPN service was listed as free and then wanted to charge me for services.

 

[kiba]

No, not a shield, but it installed straight from PlayStore on all 3 of my Android TV boxes.
A T96Pro, a TX5 Pro, and T95ZPlus.

https://www.amazon.com/HOUYUAN-T96-...e=UTF8&qid=1493733694&sr=8-1&keywords=t96+pro

I never bothered looking before but it's not there. The shield only gets the android TV version of the play store, so only stuff meant to work on a TV (landscape). when you sideload pia it looks like it would on a phone (portrait) but still works great. Here is the vid I made to show my sister's fiance how to do it...

Is there a way to get to the regular Google play store on an Android TV?

btw which one of those boxes should I get for my stepmom? My dad already has the Nvidia box I got him for Xmas but as my stepmother is using kodi more and more she realizes the fire stick in their room is a pos and i need to replace it.

I'm not getting him another $200 shield tv bc it's mainly my step mom using it, so I'm not looking to spend a bunch. Is there like, a decent $50 one?

 

[2legsshrt]

Yeah the Skystream you shouldn't get from Amazon anyway. Go to the FB closed group and get more info. It does work well especially if your Kodi challenged like I was when I started. The FB group is My Skystream X. If you were going to get one the best place to get it is Elite Mods. They have the best support for getting you up and running and the warranty especially if you were getting an extended one is much better then what is offered on Amazon.
Amazon is really getting fast I ordered some VG yesterday and its out for delivery today.

 

[mikepetro]

I never bothered looking before but it's not there. The shield only gets the android TV version of the play store, so only stuff meant to work on a TV (landscape). when you sideload pia it looks like it would on a phone (portrait) but still works great. Here is the vid I made to show my sister's fiance how to do it...

Is there a way to get to the regular Google play store on an Android TV?

btw which one of those boxes should I get for my stepmom? My dad already has the Nvidia box I got him for Xmas but as my stepmother is using kodi more and more she realizes the fire stick in their room is a pos and i need to replace it.

I'm not getting him another $200 shield tv bc it's mainly my step mom using it, so I'm not looking to spend a bunch. Is there like, a decent $50 one?

To be honest, most of the time I surf PlayStore on my PC, it will let you "push" apps out to any device registered with your Google Account. Just click "Install" and it will give you a dropdown of compatible registered devices. Just make sure you registered your Google account on the Android box first, otherwise it wont show in the dropdown.

If you dont mind waiting a week or two, I would get this H96Pro, 3gb/32gb for $56
3GB 32GB H96 PRO+ Smart Android 6.0 TV Box Amlogic S912 Octa core WiFi BT4.1 KDO | eBay

If you need it right away, then I would look for either a T96 Pro, or a H96Pro (newer model of the T96), on Amazon. When reading the reviews on Amazon, keep in mind that the H96 is a brand new model, so reviews dated 2016 must be about some other model. The T95Zplus would be my second choice.

I will say that I like the units with 3gb of RAM better, they are snappier. Also it allows you to set a big fat video cache in Kodi if you tweak the advancedsettings.xml file.

The T96 is my favorite of the 3 that I own. Its quick, and Kodi 17.1 runs well on it.


ETA: after looking at that H96 ebay link closer, I would just find it on Amazon. The $56 price is for 2gb/16gb. You can do just as good with a Amazon Prime shipper.

 

[retired1]

View attachment 653603

Only issue with PIA is they're located within the US (otherwise known as being part of the 5/14 Eyes). Otherwise, a top notch provider that's highly recommended by those who I know that use them. (I use NordVPN myself.)

 

[mikepetro]

Only issue with PIA is they're located within the US (otherwise known as being part of the 5/14 Eyes). Otherwise, a top notch provider that's highly recommended by those who I know that use them. (I use NordVPN myself.)

Yeah, that whole 5 eyes thing is a kicker. But then I figure that I am not doing anything that warrants 3-letter agencies to come after me. Times may change, but today you would have to be pretty high on someone's hitlist for them to go through the trouble of making PIA open their books.

 

[Iffy]

(I use NordVPN myself.)

Gasp...

BTW, so do I.

 

[kiba]

Yeah the Skystream you shouldn't get from Amazon anyway. Go to the FB closed group and get more info. It does work well especially if your Kodi challenged like I was when I started. The FB group is My Skystream X. If you were going to get one the best place to get it is Elite Mods. They have the best support for getting you up and running and the warranty especially if you were getting an extended one is much better then what is offered on Amazon.
Amazon is really getting fast I ordered some VG yesterday and its out for delivery today.

Yeah the skystream would cost me just as much as the shield box, I just need a cheapy one to replace the Firestick I gave them a long time ago.

To be honest, most of the time I surf PlayStore on my PC, it will let you "push" apps out to any device registered with your Google Account. Just click "Install" and it will give you a dropdown of compatible registered devices. Just make sure you registered your Google account on the Android box first, otherwise it wont show in the dropdown.

View attachment 653641

If you dont mind waiting a week or two, I would get this H96Pro, 3gb/32gb for $56
3GB 32GB H96 PRO+ Smart Android 6.0 TV Box Amlogic S912 Octa core WiFi BT4.1 KDO | eBay

If you need it right away, then I would look for either a T96 Pro, or a H96Pro (newer model of the T96), on Amazon. When reading the reviews on Amazon, keep in mind that the H96 is a brand new model, so reviews dated 2016 must be about some other model. The T95Zplus would be my second choice.

I will say that I like the units with 3gb of RAM better, they are snappier. Also it allows you to set a big fat video cache in Kodi if you tweak the advancedsettings.xml file.

The T96 is my favorite of the 3 that I own. Its quick, and Kodi 17.1 runs well on it.


ETA: after looking at that H96 ebay link closer, I would just find it on Amazon. The $56 price is for 2gb/16gb. You can do just as good with a Amazon Prime shipper.

I'm not getting anything out of the drop down menu, are you using that chrome extension?

 

[kiba]

When I picked them, I tried the top 4 VPN's at the time and pia was fastest overall, so that was my main reason, but also they have been tested numerous times, once was in Russia when a whole server bank was confiscated (if you have pia you'll notice there's no Russian server anymore) without warning and they got no data, another time was in a murder case where they were subpoenaed and servers were taken, but they still got nothing from them. They literally log no data and the only thing you need: your username is a randomly generated number.

Even so I still went the excessively paranoid route with mine, signed up for it at a public library with a fake email address, paid with a Walmart gift card I bought w/ cash. I renew it once a year for like 40 bucks or so. Not that it really matters, all that's going on in this house is streaming crap that we probably pay for anyway but is easier to get to on kodi.

 

[mikepetro]

I'm not getting anything out of the drop down menu, are you using that chrome extension?

No, that was in Firefox, nothing special.