Cutting the cord

[jeffporfirio]

Originally Posted by Clarkey

I want to buy one of those Kodi box things off kijiji, what should I be looking for in terms of specs and pricing?

I bought this in amazon, not great but does the job. I have it with ethernet, and for Kodi, its pretty decent.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B01A6M...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Also, buy the keyboard, you'll need it.

[Hanni]

Originally Posted by Clarkey

I want to buy one of those Kodi box things off kijiji, what should I be looking for in terms of specs and pricing?

A quick look seems like the Kijiji boxes are overpriced, go with Amazon.

These 2 are very similar and the price difference is huge:
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-electronics/c...-ac/1098403732
https://www.amazon.ca/2016-Model-Goo...2&keywords=m8s

[Clarkey]

Thanks guys but what I was looking for is what googlebytes, rams, made in China brand name, features and kodi version etc. I should go with and what a fair price for that middle-ish of the line package should go for?

[Jimmy Stang]

My Unblock-Us account has finally expired (I was getting a free ride for a bit while they seemingly forgot to bill me). I have been considering a proper VPN for the privacy benefits anyway (I don't even torrent, but I am a big advocate of encryption and privacy).

Nord VPN seems to come up a lot in discussions for having good servers, a good price, and good privacy measures. Is anyone using it?

Unblock-Us was still able to get me the UK TV channels like BBC, ITV, 4oD, etc., which is quite important to me and certainly worth the $5/month. Netflix region switching isn't as big of a deal, but I do miss the added selection.

So the question is: renew with Unblock-Us and just get my UK stuff, or subscribe to a VPN and get the UK stuff, possibly some Netflix region switching, and the added privacy benefits. What are you folks using and what are your thoughts?

[Wormius]

So, my ISP is based in Vancouver, so whenever websites try to obtain my location it turns up as Vancouver and not Calgary. If I were to order Game Centre, would I actually be getting all of the Flames' games with the exception of the Flames vs Canucks matchups?

[EldrickOnIce]

If you order gamecenter and watch it through the Kodi NHL.tv addon, there are no blackouts. There wasn't last year, and I just finished watching the end of the Habs game on it here in Montreal.
I am very pleased with the quality, functionality, and no blackouts of this addon with valid subscription.

[Yellefan]

Originally Posted by Wormius

So, my ISP is based in Vancouver, so whenever websites try to obtain my location it turns up as Vancouver and not Calgary. If I were to order Game Centre, would I actually be getting all of the Flames' games with the exception of the Flames vs Canucks matchups?

I was with Teksavvy last year and Gamecenter thought that I was in Vancouver. Flames games are not blacked out except the flames vs Canucks. At least that's how it was last year.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

If you order gamecenter and watch it through the Kodi NHL.tv addon, there are no blackouts. There wasn't last year, and I just finished watching the end of the Habs game on it here in Montreal.
I am very pleased with the quality, functionality, and no blackouts of this addon with valid subscription.

Kodi is great, but my only issue is that my main living room tv only has an Apple TV on it, so I only have the NHL app available it's good to know that I can resort to my basement lair and use Kodi to connect through my HTPC.

It's good to know that my Vancouver based ISP might help against the Flames blackouts on the NHL app though. Last year It stopped working when I was using Unblockus and bought a Centre Ice subscription, but I was also with Shaw.

[TheSutterDynasty]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

TSN Go (CFL) and TMN Go (HBO in Canada) are not available as standalone subscriptions options. They are only included with cable package(s). Sportsnet now is available as standalone. There is no option for AMC except as part of package in Canada.
You should be able to use OTA antenna to pick up local channels in excellent HD quality. This would work for CBC hockey broadcasts, and any regular network programming.
Legal streaming options in Canada suck.

Any recommendations for antenna?

Last year CBC didn't have online streaming. They supposedly had it on their app - how did people find it?
Edit: apparently only on ios? Can I watch on my android stream it via chromecast or no?

I have sportsnet now but I need a way to watch CBC.

[EldrickOnIce]

I bought an RCA751R from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B0024R...yHL&ref=plSrch
I liked it because it is small. It has good reviews and I definitely can recommend

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by TheSutterDynasty

Any recommendations for antenna?

It really depends on where in the city you are, where in the house the TV and/or antenna is going to be. In Calgary the transmitters on Signal Hill, so if you are within 10 km pretty much anything will work. I'm down in Copperfield so I need to be a little more careful.

A good source to tell you how far you are is this:
http://tvfool.com/

[TheSutterDynasty]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

I bought an RCA751R from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B0024R...yHL&ref=plSrch
I liked it because it is small. It has good reviews and I definitely can recommend

Thanks for the recommendation.

Originally Posted by ken0042

It really depends on where in the city you are, where in the house the TV and/or antenna is going to be. In Calgary the transmitters on Signal Hill, so if you are within 10 km pretty much anything will work. I'm down in Copperfield so I need to be a little more careful.

A good source to tell you how far you are is this:
http://tvfool.com/

Thanks for this. Hopefully this means I can use an old hanger then since I'm so close.

[TheSutterDynasty]

Good news - sportsnet now is streaming both CBC games! Hopefully this lasts all season. No need for antenna.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by TheSutterDynasty

Good news - sportsnet now is streaming both CBC games! Hopefully this lasts all season. No need for antenna.

Based on what sounds like close proximity to the broadcast transmitters, I'd really recommend you trying a dirt cheap or DIY indoor antenna anyway. HD quality of OTA broadcasts is outstanding. You should get CBC, CTV, Global, CityTV, and OMNI (which broadcasts some games in Punjabi, I think).
I got that outdoor antenna to pull in the American channels here in Montreal, so we get 24 OTA channels (including french) but regardless of the number, it's fantastic broadcast quality. And free is good

[TheSutterDynasty]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

Based on what sounds like close proximity to the broadcast transmitters, I'd really recommend you trying a dirt cheap or DIY indoor antenna anyway. HD quality of OTA broadcasts is outstanding. You should get CBC, CTV, Global, CityTV, and OMNI (which broadcasts some games in Punjabi, I think).
I got that outdoor antenna to pull in the American channels here in Montreal, so we get 24 OTA channels (including french) but regardless of the number, it's fantastic broadcast quality. And free is good

Thanks for the advice.

Shaw and sportsnet/rogers support are so mindbogglingly terrible. If you have shaw and try to stream sportsnet flames on sportsnet now or freerange tv - sorry, you're out of luck and we have no idea if/when it might work. Such crap.

[kermitology]

I was fully expecting that the Flames game would have been blacked out on NHL.tv, but it wasn't. Isn't SN Flames a regional broadcast? I saw in other threads that it wasn't available on SN Now.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by TheSutterDynasty

Thanks for the advice.

Shaw and sportsnet/rogers support are so mindbogglingly terrible. If you have shaw and try to stream sportsnet flames on sportsnet now or freerange tv - sorry, you're out of luck and we have no idea if/when it might work. Such crap.

Live sports is one of the things that keeps cable subscribers on the books, so you'd think that all parties would ensure that these games are available digitally to paying subscribers.

Sports is the only thing keeping cable in my life, but if they aren't going to provide all Flames games on SN Now and/or Shaw Freerange, I've got one less reason to keep it.

[DoubleK]

I've been following this thread for a few months now...

What is the consensus on the best android Kodi box? GooBang or Nvida Shield?

[Ragz]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

I've been following this thread for a few months now...

What is the consensus on the best android Kodi box? GooBang or Nvida Shield?

the NVIDIA GameStream for Nvida Shield is pretty cool if you play PC games!

[EldrickOnIce]

If you plan to use any box exclusively for Kodi, you might find better bang for the buck with something other than the Shield. That said, it definitely is the best of the bunch, from what I understand.