Better than DroidTV and no monthly fees?

[BirdOPrey5]

My uncle called me about this combo, I hadn't personally noticed before.

This: Amazon.com Matricom G-Box Q QuadOcto Core XBMCKodi Android TV Box [2GB16GB4K] (Rev 1.2+) Electronics

Plus This: Amazon.com BlazeBox BlazeKey G-Box Q and Kodi Key Electronics

Apparently that $20 stick enables "normal people" to get their hands on the Kodi Add-Ons that only level 1 geeks could access. Included are plenty that have recent televisions programs for streaming, beyond the limited library of DroidTV.

We'll see I guess. If I didn't have an Amazon Prime account and a FireTV I would be very tempted with the G Box.

 

[Brock]

better than android tv, but droidtv is an app that acts like a virtual dvr

DroidTV

 

[frank_c]

someone on the local buy/sell/trade page sells hacked FireTV's. Says they can get free PPV etc.

 

[BirdOPrey5]

It's not called PPV anymore. That's only for people with cable. Cable companies have pretty much won the war on cable piracy, it's non-existent as far as I am aware. However digital media is as lucrative as pirated cable ever was, maybe more. Just nothing is live.

 

[skeptic]

You don't need to be a "level 1 geek" whatever that means to get all this stuff.

DroidTV is questionable in legality, they rely on a technicality meant to allow friends and family to share stuff (watch HBO at a friends, borrow a DVD from someone, that kind of thing). If they ever end up in court I suspect they will go the way of Aero who at least one supreme court judge said was following the letter of the law. The Kodi/XBMC plugins that pull from essentially pirate sites are even more suspect. Watching a stream is questionable (legally speaking) as long as it's not a P2P service which is illegal as you then are sharing instead of just watching. I'm not aware of anyone being prosecuted for watching a stream from an illegal source. It's possible, but unlikely you'd get into trouble unless laws change.

Even though I know how, and have played around with it in the past, I stay legal. Lifetime membership with DroidTV, upgraded Hulu and Netflix accounts, Amazon Prime... Dirt cheap, generally higher quality, easier to use, never lacking for something good to watch and completely legal.

Now that that is out of the way, it's pretty simple to do this with Kodi. This is just one of many ways: Install SuperRepo - Worlds largest Kodi addons repository Another option is to go with a full Kodi customization wizard like The Beast: How to Install The Beast and Beast Build Review for Kodi

It's not called PPV anymore. That's only for people with cable. Cable companies have pretty much won the war on cable piracy, it's non-existent as far as I am aware. However digital media is as lucrative as pirated cable ever was, maybe more. Just nothing is live.

Live TV is available through Kodi add-ons as well. This includes PPV events such as UFC.

 

[BirdOPrey5]

DroidTV uses the same pirate sites to get its content. there is no way it is any more legal than a pirate site. In fact it's probably more illegal as someone is making money off DroidTV subscriptions where as pirate sites don't make money, at least not directly.

 

[skeptic]

DroidTV uses the same pirate sites to get its content. there is no way it is any more legal than a pirate site. In fact it's probably more illegal as someone is making money off DroidTV subscriptions where as pirate sites don't make money, at least not directly.

That certainly used to be the case, and probably still is even though I haven't seen a Hulu icon or warez watermark or foreign subtitles in while. It's unlikely but possible their so-called "distributor" gets everything legally.

However, I wasn't referring to where they get their media, just the method they use to distribute it.

 

[Jeepnut28]

Trash all that stuff , leave the idiot box turned off and read a damn book.

 

[Brock]

DroidTV uses the same pirate sites to get its content. there is no way it is any more legal than a pirate site. In fact it's probably more illegal as someone is making money off DroidTV subscriptions where as pirate sites don't make money, at least not directly.

bullshit. they pull the show direct from the distributors. The HBO shows were gotten directly from HBO and only taken off after HBO came out with the HBO now show.

 

[Brock]

Trash all that stuff , leave the idiot box turned off and read a damn book.

It's ironic every time your uneducated ass post this

 

[BirdOPrey5]

bullshit. they pull the show direct from the distributors. The HBO shows were gotten directly from HBO and only taken off after HBO came out with the HBO now show.

Oh- they legally got the first 4 episodes of Game of Thrones the season before last before the first episode aired?

 

[Brock]

Oh- they legally got the first 4 episodes of Game of Thrones the season before last before the first episode aired?

yep. distribution channels for media outlets. How do you think all the reviews of the movies/shows are out before the airing of the show?

 

[BirdOPrey5]

 

[skeptic]

yep. distribution channels for media outlets. How do you think all the reviews of the movies/shows are out before the airing of the show?

I seriously doubt they get their shows through proper sanctioned approved channels. Using the HBO Game of Thrones example, HBO did NOT approve of anything being released to the public and after those episodes were released they changed their policy and no longer send copies of anything before the broadcast date. Companies like Showtime are not going to sign off on giving episodes of Shameless to DroidTV long before you can buy them on Amazon. DroidTV does not have special agreements with media companies that let them have TV shows you can't get anywhere else other than your cable/sat provider.

That doesn't necessarily mean they or their "distributor" get the shows illegally, but they are using a legal technicality to provide the service. They are not paying to re-distribute content, something that is required for companies like Hulu and Netflix.

Here is what they say about it being legal, draw your own conclusions:

"The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld that, just like with your home DVR, individual recordings of potentially copyrighted TV episodes and similar material be legally copied at your request and for your own personal use using technology such as that used by DroidTV, when made under the control of you, the consumer."

It's curious that they claim to go through a distributor, when they also claim:

"Episodes are captured from TV network and other web sites. When you request than an episode be recorded, one of our servers "watches" the episode for you in a browser and captures the video using one of our virtual multi-terabyte DVRs.

Each user that records an episode has a unique, encrypted instance of the episode. This is automatically downloaded to your phone and stored on your phone's SD card for viewing."

It's also curious they claim each recording is unique and captured from watching the show. They occasionally have problems with an episode, and when they do EVERYONE has the same problem.

 

[Brock]

Captured is a recording from the network or its affiliates sites. Same as a dvr

 

[skeptic]

Captured is a recording from the network or its affiliates sites. Same as a dvr

Right, captured. Not from a distributor. Not paying for the right to sell the service. Just captured, presumably under my control and for personal use. I would guess it's legally similar to if I put a DVR in a friends house and paid him to take care of the hardware and/or help with the cost of cable. At least that's the angle I think they are going for. What I don't get is why they describe the process as recording videos from various websites in the FAQ part of their app, but on their facebook page they claim they get the shows from a distributor.

Either way, it doesn't change the fact that in the past they got at least some of their shows from pirate sites. I'm not complaining, as long as it stays legal, technicality or not, I'll keep using it.

 

[Brock]

Some watched for you, some from distributors

 

[skeptic]

Some watched for you, some from distributors

Why do you think that?


I doubt we will ever know the 100% truth.

 

[Brock]

Meh. I've had literally 20 people buy subscriptions because of me. That $50 lifetime deal paid for itself in 2 weeks

 

[BirdOPrey5]

I spent the $15 on the download only version of BladeKey and come to the conclusion this free youtube video is better.