Android Boxes & Kodi

[Mistah Na1m4rk]

Decided to take the plunge into the streaming media miasma last week when I needed to replace the external BluRay player that I used to run my external hard drive videos through.  I decided to pick up one of these gizmos:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00W4ZN7PE/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1/181-8545746-2677641?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_r=1FCGFB3NGEBYEEZSM37P&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=1944687702&pf_rd_i=B00JDCO22I

 

So far I'm really enjoying the functionality of this little box.  It decodes every video format I have without issues and navigating the menus is easy and intuitive.  What surprised me was how much fun I'm having with the pre-installed Kodi media center, which gives access to all sorts of live and stored video and music content if you can get used to muddling through all the optional add-on programs.  I used it to stream the UFC this weekend and it worked surprisingly well.  It handles 4K too, not that I have a display that can handle that sort of heavy lifting.

 

Anyone have any experience with Kodi and the Android TV experience in general?

[misanthrope304]

I got one last weekend...so far ive watched the revenant (meh, great picture quality though), started the martian, and about 6 episodes in season 11 of supernatural, and this years royal rumble...star wars 7 is shit quality and in spanish i think...i havent gotten it really figured out yet and my 4k tv shit the bed on wednesday (fucking vizio, and wal mart dicking me around on the receipt so i can get it fixed).

So much shit i need to get caught up on..archer, flash, arrow...now at the push of a button...

It seems to work better during non peak hours of net usage (duh, streaming)

I dont think it is illegal as long as you arent downloading anything though right?

Oh, and music...so much music

[misanthrope304]

Also, ditch the remote. Hook up a wireless mouse and keyboard, you will thank me later

[Travis Sheldon]

I have a Nexus player running Marshmallow and have been using Kodi for about 4-5 months, now.

Took me a while to find the right settings to get it configured, but it works great since I did.

The menus can be a bit daunting, as you mentioned.

Have only used it for a few live sports streams and for catching up on some older series that aren't available in the states, but the quality was good enough for the price. 

[Gonzo]

We've had an Amazon Fire Box for a few months now and I side loaded Kodi on to it. I still don't have the hang of all the apps and add-ons and stuff, but my wife and I have been able to watch what we've wanted to, for the most part.

 

I keep hearing about how you can get live TV channels from the States and what not, which would be awesome, but I have no idea how to find them. Might need to upgrade my Kodi at some point here.

 

What sort of stuff are you all using for the live TV? I've been using Genesis a lot for shows we've wanted to watch (was using Project Free TV until they fell off the face of the planet).

[Serious Darius Bagfelt]

We've had an Amazon Fire Box for a few months now and I side loaded Kodi on to it. I still don't have the hang of all the apps and add-ons and stuff, but my wife and I have been able to watch what we've wanted to, for the most part.

 

I keep hearing about how you can get live TV channels from the States and what not, which would be awesome, but I have no idea how to find them. Might need to upgrade my Kodi at some point here.

 

What sort of stuff are you all using for the live TV? I've been using Genesis a lot for shows we've wanted to watch (was using Project Free TV until they fell off the face of the planet).

Genesis is dying off I have heard.  The Royal We is good as is SALTS.  Velocity is another one I use.  Forget the one I use to watch NBA and NHL

[Mistah Na1m4rk]

Also, ditch the remote. Hook up a wireless mouse and keyboard, you will thank me later

 

Have you used the official Android phone remote app, Kore?  I haven't yet.  I'm reluctant to hook up my wireless USB mouse because I only have one USB port on my box and I'd rather keep that connected to an external hard drive full of video content.  My keyboard is paired through bluetooth wireless and works find though.

[Mistah Na1m4rk]

Some weird things I've noticed is how the same link can work or not work based on which channel you access it through.  So for example I wanted to watch last week's Lucha Underground last night, but the Watch Wrestling channel wouldn't load the Daily Motion link for some reason.  I jumped over to We Watch Wrestling and it loaded up in glorious 1080p without any problem.  

 

The dead links are another big issue in general, but the fact that I can get different results from the same link using two different channel is worrisome, because I don't know if my link is bad or if I'm accessing it wrong.  

[Mistah Na1m4rk]

 

 

I keep hearing about how you can get live TV channels from the States and what not, which would be awesome, but I have no idea how to find them. 

 

I was fiddling with that function last night.  There was a channel (am I using this term correctly?) called something like "eCloud TV" that had a heap of TV channels, most of which I was able to get working.  The usual issue of there being nothing but crap on TV remained, of course.  

 

I watched a Chinese children's show where a little girl beat up some goons, that was pretty fun.

[misanthrope304]

I have not used that app, but I did watch dead pool today.

I might have to look into the wrestling stuff

[Mistah Na1m4rk]

Update to the topic!

I decided to get another streaming video box in addition to the one I mention above and went with an Amazon FireTV box ("as recommended by Gonzo") when it went on sale for $85, figuring that it's combination of solid hardware and integrated access to the Amazon Prime video library would make it a nice option for a mere $35 above what I paid for a generic Android streaming box.

Having used the box for a month now I have to say I am very favorably impressed. There are a few annoyances that are entirely related to Amazon's obvious desire to create a closed "walled garden" for their own content and manipulation - you can't access Google's PlayStore for apps, so if it isn't on the Amazon store you're forced to sideload your apps which isn't particularly difficult but it isn't the one-click breeze it would be otherwise. Amazon apparently just started adding banner ads at the top of the screen when you browse the "apps" and "games" sections of their bootup homepage. And you can only use an external drive for video content if it's formatted in FAT32, which limits you to 4GB file sizes (so my big Blu-Ray rips have to be broken into chunks if I want to enjoy them in all their high-bitrate glory).

But if you can live with that...well it's a pretty sweet piece of gear. The Amazon front-end is nicely arranged and the speech-to-search function works extremely well, so much so that I've never used my remote keyboard with it. You can press a button and say, "Documentaries about wrestling" and you will indeed get a list of documentaries on wrestling. The menus are quick and responsive and the streaming works extremely well - shows start playing almost immediately, and the video quality ramps up over the course of the first 10 seconds or so to stabilize at your best sustainable video quality. Streaming 1080p over a wireless connection has been a breeze. 

If you want to explore beyond the Amazon functionality, that's where you see what a true cord-cuttting monster this box can be. Sideload Kodi, install a few channels, and you have a universe of content available unlike anything I'd ever seen before. I love documentaries so of course there are huge archives dedicated solely to that programming, but I've been surprised at how seductive other niche programming can be. I watched livestreams of fashion shows from Milan, the Israeli adaptation of "The Golden Girls", massive libraries of animation stretching back to the 1920s, and 24/7 channels that do nothing but stream random episodes of popular TV shows from any era - I Love Lucy, Columbo, Sanford and Son, Benny Hill, you name it. All these features are supplemented by official streaming applications from many popular cable channels like HGTV, DIY, Food Network, Bravo, Travel Channel, and AMC, and even show-specific official applications like South Park. 

And of course the content you have access to isn't typically geo-locked, so if you like to waste some time watching newscasts from Indonesia or Bollywood musicals or Canadian hockey updates it's all there for you once you figure out where to find it. 

Liked it so much I bought one for my father-in-law for his birthday.  Between the nature shows and the official Fox News channel I think it'll be a hit.

[Mistah Na1m4rk]

So if you pumpkins care about such things....

I've been enjoying a lesser-known addon to the Kodi environment, "FilmOnTV", which has a wide and esoteric list of broadcasts and content from literally around the world (there are entire sections for Africa, Greece, Italy, etc) but their "SPORTS" channel is my main landing point when I open up the application.

Of interest to you yokels it that this sports channel contains no less than 5 pro-wrestling channels streaming content 24/7:

1) FilmOn Wrestling shows mostly old Texas wrestling from the 80s, Southwest Championship and Texas All-Star promotions most frequently.  I've enjoying seeing some of this stuff since I had only very limited exposure to the territory as a kid.  You guys might be most interested in the enormous amount of early Shawn Michaels matches they've been showing the last couple of weeks, but I'd rather watch all the Bruiser Brody, Dick Slater, and Tully Blanchard.  Guys like Adrian Adonis, Killer Brooks, Gino Hernandez, and The Guerreros also get plenty of face time.  On occasion this channel shows other wrestling but Texas seems to be the primary focus.

2) Galli Lucha Libre has their own channel broadcasting full-time.  I've only watched a bit of it, seems pretty low-rent but I'm not crazy about the lucha style in general.  

3) Masked Republic AAA Lucha shows mainly AAA lucha libre matches starting in the early/mid-90s up through the most recent Triplemania.  Lots of fun stuff here, including some very entertaining matches between Rey Mistero Jr and Psicosis and Rey vs Juventud Guerrera plus frequent appearances from La Parka, Hijo del Santo all the way up through current shows featuring, most horribly, Jeff Jarrett.  On occasion when I turn on this channel they are showing some low-rent lucha from small gyms, I don't know if it's AAA proper and of course all the commentary is in Spanish.

4) NWA Wrestling is all NWA all the time - current NWA.  I was a little disappointed because I'd love a channel of 70s-80s NWA but I don't look gift horses in the mouth.  Lance Archer, DBS Jr, Adam Pearce, Colt Cabana, that sorta thing.  It ain't Dick Murdoch and Harley Race but it has it's own charm.

5) Fighting Athletes Network shows a mix of indy stuff from around the country, none of which I'm familiar with.  They've also shown some old MMA but that doesn't seem to be a common occurrence.  

If you're keen on boxing there are even more boxing options available, including a Pugilism TV channel that seems to only show vintage fights from 1920-1960 or so.  Dempsey, Louis, Armstrong, Robinson, Marciano, Patterson, all good stuff.  Several other boxing channels show stuff ranging from current low-profile fight cards back through bigger events from the early 2000s or so, I've seen plenty of Ricky Hatton.  

Lots of other sports stuff to wade through, a Fantasy Football channel, heaps of soccer, and most perplexingly a 24/7 EA Sports stream showing the developers doing...stuff.  

So check it out if you're so inclined.  Don't say I never gave you nuttin'.

[NikoBaltimore]

Trying it out now and it's definitely a helluva lot more convenient than Kodi since everything's on there.  NWA wrestling is on the newer side but can be a fun time-killer.  I'll have to check Filmon Wrestling later on because at the time it was showing some fairly recent indy show that looked awfully low-rent.  But this could be quite worthwhile.