POPCORN TIME > Torrents made simple as Netflix?! (1 Viewer)

[Uwe Blab]

Intrigued by this Fire Stick / Kodi setup. Looks easy to configure. What is the selection/reliability like?

Movies and TV: If you install the better add-ons you can pretty much get every movie and tv show ever.

can you recommend addons? I have put Kodi on my laptop to play with it and have added some items so I know how to do it, I just don't know what specifically to add to give the most TV and movie exposure.

Thanks for the feedback Tony... Also curious about NRs question

Start with the fusion repo. Then install the addon installer. I think channel1, Genesis and Pheonix (three of the most popular add ons currently) are all in there. Enough info can be found at www.tvaddons.ag to do all that. I'll add more when I have more time and my tablet isn't about to die.

Hint: in the settings somewhere you can set it so the adult channels will show up in addon installer. They don't show up be default.

Ok cool, I added channel1 and Genesis already. I will add Pheonix.

Is there a lot of overlap in these addons in terms of what they offer?

Granted I've looked at everything relatively briefly, but there does seem to be a TON of overlap. That top 20 list from tvaddons has about 15 that are movie scrapers.

Veteran Kodi users> if I said I want to watch a popular movie that's been out for a little while like The Martian or some comic book flick, what would be your usual order of preference of the add-ons to snag it? Don't have any feel for that yet....

 

[tonydead]

Fire stick good for local streaming? Looking at replacing my WD TV.

For live local channels? No, not imo. Just use an OTA HD antenna. And, unless the newer models do, none of these devices have a co-ax input so you have to keep switching inputs on the tv to jump back and forth from the streaming options and OTA. One of my biggest complaints.

 

[tonydead]

Veteran Kodi users> if I said I want to watch a popular movie that's been out for a little while like The Martian or some comic book flick, what would be your usual order of preference of the add-ons to snag it? Don't have any feel for that yet....

I watched The Martian a long time ago on either Channel1 or Genesis. I'd have to look back, but, it was around the time it first came out in the movie theaters. When you open either addon go to movies, then search (in Genesis you have to scroll to the bottom to find the search, it's not at the top like it is in Channel1, took me a while to figure that out), then type in The Martian. Another thing is that it won't do any spell correcting, so if you are a bad speller like me and are looking for a movie with a weird name you need to make sure you have it spelled correctly. Also, try leaving out any apostrophes like in Daddy's Home.

 

[Bonzai]

Granted I've looked at everything relatively briefly, but there does seem to be a TON of overlap. That top 20 list from tvaddons has about 15 that are movie scrapers.

Veteran Kodi users> if I said I want to watch a popular movie that's been out for a little while like The Martian or some comic book flick, what would be your usual order of preference of the add-ons to snag it? Don't have any feel for that yet....

New to this as well, but I'm having the best luck with SALTS (Stream All The Sources). Especially after the Auto-Configure.

https://seo-michael.co.uk/how-to-install-salts-stream-all-the-sources-for-xbmc-kodi/

 

[lardonastick]

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Fire stick good for local streaming? Looking at replacing my WD TV.

For live local channels? No, not imo. Just use an OTA HD antenna. And, unless the newer models do, none of these devices have a co-ax input so you have to keep switching inputs on the tv to jump back and forth from the streaming options and OTA. One of my biggest complaints.

Meant local streaming as in torrents from Plex.

For the direct streaming from torrents, is this something a computer illiterate wife could figure out? It gets annoying always having to download her shows and add them to plex and she gets annoyed when I don't....

Also, is it any Kodi device that can do this? "Can't" get a FireStick in Canada.

 

[tonydead]

Meant local streaming as in torrents from Plex.

For the direct streaming from torrents, is this something a computer illiterate wife could figure out? It gets annoying always having to download her shows and add them to plex and she gets annoyed when I don't....

Also, is it any Kodi device that can do this? "Can't" get a FireStick in Canada.

If I understand you correctly, yes, you can directly stream anything on your network with Kodi. Kodi(xbmc) used to be the media center for xbox which was originally developed to do just that. You can also integrate plex into kodi if you prefer to use plex from your computer or NAS.

That's the beauty of though Kodi, you don't need to download anything and stream it through plex. You just watch a stream directly through the third party addons in Kodi. Kodi is only available on these operating systems, link.

 

[JMon348]

 

[mquinnjr]

I'm one of the rare few that doesn't prefer Plex, as it feels clunky to me on the HTPC and media player/Kodi end. I use Universal Media Server (formerly PS3 Media Server) and absolutely love it. Fire it up on my iMac when I want to watch something that I downloaded from BitTorrent and we're a go. My point being Plex is a crowd favorite and there are other alternatives as well for LAN media usage.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Meant local streaming as in torrents from Plex.

For the direct streaming from torrents, is this something a computer illiterate wife could figure out? It gets annoying always having to download her shows and add them to plex and she gets annoyed when I don't....

Also, is it any Kodi device that can do this? "Can't" get a FireStick in Canada.

If I understand you correctly, yes, you can directly stream anything on your network with Kodi. Kodi(xbmc) used to be the media center for xbox which was originally developed to do just that. You can also integrate plex into kodi if you prefer to use plex from your computer or NAS.

That's the beauty of though Kodi, you don't need to download anything and stream it through plex. You just watch a stream directly through the third party addons in Kodi. Kodi is only available on these operating systems, link.

I'd like to get away from downloading everything from on my desktop and steaming through plex if possible. Again, I want this simple enough for the wife to use and her going to a website to download a torrent is too much work.

So whats the recommended device to use? Can't order a firestick through amazon (not available in Canada).

 

[cstu]

So whats the recommended device to use? Can't order a firestick through amazon (not available in Canada).

If $200 isn't more than you want to pay - Nvidia Shield

 

[Cliff Clavin]

So whats the recommended device to use? Can't order a firestick through amazon (not available in Canada).

If $200 isn't more than you want to pay - Nvidia Shield

$200 is a lot more than I'd like to pay. Already have a PS3 and WDTV to stream. Just looking for another cheap one for in the bedroom that'll run Kodi. Lots of options for around $50-100, just wondering if any are recommended.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

why doesn't Amazon sell the FireTV or FireTV Stick in Canada?

 

[NewlyRetired]

So whats the recommended device to use? Can't order a firestick through amazon (not available in Canada).

If $200 isn't more than you want to pay - Nvidia Shield

$200 is a lot more than I'd like to pay. Already have a PS3 and WDTV to stream. Just looking for another cheap one for in the bedroom that'll run Kodi. Lots of options for around $50-100, just wondering if any are recommended.

Why not just buy the preloaded Kodi firestick from Ebay? I assume they would ship to Canada?

 

[Cliff Clavin]

why doesn't Amazon sell the FireTV or FireTV Stick in Canada?

I'm guessing because they do not offer their streaming service to Canada yet.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

So whats the recommended device to use? Can't order a firestick through amazon (not available in Canada).

If $200 isn't more than you want to pay - Nvidia Shield

$200 is a lot more than I'd like to pay. Already have a PS3 and WDTV to stream. Just looking for another cheap one for in the bedroom that'll run Kodi. Lots of options for around $50-100, just wondering if any are recommended.

Why not just buy the preloaded Kodi firestick from Ebay? I assume they would ship to Canada?

I'd rather buy new, load it up myself and have warranty.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

warranty? on a $25 item?

 

[Cliff Clavin]

warranty? on a $25 item?

Selling for around $65USD on ebay which will end up about $100CDN. Why give up warranty for something I can easily do myself?

 

[NewlyRetired]

So whats the recommended device to use? Can't order a firestick through amazon (not available in Canada).

If $200 isn't more than you want to pay - Nvidia Shield

$200 is a lot more than I'd like to pay. Already have a PS3 and WDTV to stream. Just looking for another cheap one for in the bedroom that'll run Kodi. Lots of options for around $50-100, just wondering if any are recommended.

Why not just buy the preloaded Kodi firestick from Ebay? I assume they would ship to Canada?

I'd rather buy new, load it up myself and have warranty.

I understand not wanting to eat the cost but it is so cheap, if it the right product for your situation, it may be worth not being able to return it.

 

[NewlyRetired]

warranty? on a $25 item?

Selling for around $65USD on ebay which will end up about $100CDN. Why give up warranty for something I can easily do myself?

The ~$65 is for the preloaded version.

You should check for a regular one and just buy that on ebay for a lower price.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

warranty? on a $25 item?

Selling for around $65USD on ebay which will end up about $100CDN. Why give up warranty for something I can easily do myself?

I agree it's dumb to pay the upcharge, but seems like you should be able to find a standard fire tv stick somewhere for much closer to cost.

 

[tonydead]

$200 is a lot more than I'd like to pay. Already have a PS3 and WDTV to stream. Just looking for another cheap one for in the bedroom that'll run Kodi. Lots of options for around $50-100, just wondering if any are recommended.

I've only done it personally on a firestick and a HTPC. You can find a list of devices here, the others are listed at the bottom of the page and you can click the links at the top to see a list for each OS.

You can get a raspberry pi on Amazon for around 100 Canadian dollars. That's what I'd do if I were in your situation, might even do it just for fun, as these are popular tiny computers people use for all kinds of things. If you've watched the series Mr Robot a raspberry pi was used to gain access to Steel Mountain's climate control system and pump heat in and destroy the backup tapes.

 

[Polish Hammer]

Can any of this be done on a Chromecast? (I already have two of the first Gen of those.

 

[top dog]

Can any of this be done on a Chromecast? (I already have two of the first Gen of those.

You can install Kodie on an android tablet and cast to the Chromecast using Allcast or localcast..

http://www.alphr.com/google/google-chromecast/1002065/chromecast-with-kodi-how-to-install-kodi-on-google-s-streaming

 

[RUSF18]

Installing on Firestick...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv7OTNN0ifo

Pretty wild. Had it up and running in about 15 minutes. Thanks.

Just did this as well. Piece of cake. Thanks for posting.

 

[Mr. Ected]

Do any of these apps work on the new Apple 3 so you wouldn't have to jailbreak it?

 

[tonydead]

Do any of these apps work on the new Apple 3 so you wouldn't have to jailbreak it?

 

[Mr. Ected]

Do any of these apps work on the new Apple 3 so you wouldn't have to jailbreak it?

Is that something that hasn't come out yet, or something that Apple won't let happen?

 

[[icon]]

why doesn't Amazon sell the FireTV or FireTV Stick in Canada?

Have yet to establish a real currency

 

[tonydead]

Do any of these apps work on the new Apple 3 so you wouldn't have to jailbreak it?

Is that something that hasn't come out yet, or something that Apple won't let happen?

Apple. Apple sux.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

Do any of these apps work on the new Apple 3 so you wouldn't have to jailbreak it?

Is that something that hasn't come out yet, or something that Apple won't let happen?

Apple doesn't like giving up control of their devices.

This is why the firestick is so great.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

When choosing a stream, is it better to choose one with a lot of views or one with less views (or is it complete hit or miss?)

Depends. Usually more. Soon you figure out which ones by website name are more reliable, then they'll open a second stream when the first gets saturated. I can post the ones I have most success with later too. All this has been discussed in the cut the cable thread, but, yeah it's hard to find in there for sure.

I looked in that thread but couldn't find a reference to this.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Went with a GooBang Doo MXIII.

Fired it up at work on a 5/1 wireless connection and was streaming Mad Max flawlessly in about 5 minutes from out of the box. Watched for about 30 minutes and only once did it pixelate a bit. Quite impressed.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I have been finding the quality of the streams from 1 Channel to be kind of meh at best and that is on a small tablet screen. I fear they would look awful on a full screen.

I may just be picking the wrong ones. They are usually titled {DVD} but they are far from 480p quality.

I really want to cord cut but if I can keep getting the great deals from Direct TV, I think I am going to hold from the cut until I can click on any stream and get a very good quality with no buffering issues.

 

[Mr. Ected]

Do any of these apps work on the new Apple 3 so you wouldn't have to jailbreak it?

Is that something that hasn't come out yet, or something that Apple won't let happen?

Apple doesn't like giving up control of their devices.

This is why the firestick is so great.

I understand that this sux, I just like having all of my stuff in one universe.

 

[[icon]]

I have been finding the quality of the streams from 1 Channel to be kind of meh at best and that is on a small tablet screen. I fear they would look awful on a full screen.

I may just be picking the wrong ones. They are usually titled {DVD} but they are far from 480p quality.

I really want to cord cut but if I can keep getting the great deals from Direct TV, I think I am going to hold from the cut until I can click on any stream and get a very good quality with no buffering issues.

This is my biggest concern. I have VERY low tolerance for tech bull####... buffering and pixelation would rapidly push me to "#### this garbage" territory.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

How do you edit a kitkat home screen? Looks like this and I can't figure out how to remove and replace tiles.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I have been finding the quality of the streams from 1 Channel to be kind of meh at best and that is on a small tablet screen. I fear they would look awful on a full screen.

I may just be picking the wrong ones. They are usually titled {DVD} but they are far from 480p quality.

I really want to cord cut but if I can keep getting the great deals from Direct TV, I think I am going to hold from the cut until I can click on any stream and get a very good quality with no buffering issues.

This is my biggest concern. I have VERY low tolerance for tech bull####... buffering and pixelation would rapidly push me to "#### this garbage" territory.

I love the certainty of Blu Ray and Direct TV. You pretty much know every time you watch, what the quality will be.

When cord cutting/streaming gets to that consistent quality level, I will be very happy because I like the general model.

Of course I also figure once all of the small issues with streaming are fixed, the combined cost will likely be the same as what we have today with cords.

 

[NewlyRetired]

For those that stream local media (I do a ton of this from torrenting and ripping), the best solution I have found is the PS4 with the new Plex app they released for it recently.

It has handled every single container and codec I have thrown at it with zero issues so far.

I have tried a bunch of local streaming devices and all have had some drawbacks until the PS4/Plex combo.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Hint: in the settings somewhere you can set it so the adult channels will show up in addon installer. They don't show up be default.

Going to need you to be a little more specific here. For a friend, of course.

 

[top dog]

Installing on Firestick...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv7OTNN0ifo

Pretty wild. Had it up and running in about 15 minutes. Thanks.

Just did this as well. Piece of cake. Thanks for posting.

 

[tonydead]

I have been finding the quality of the streams from 1 Channel to be kind of meh at best and that is on a small tablet screen. I fear they would look awful on a full screen.

I may just be picking the wrong ones. They are usually titled {DVD} but they are far from 480p quality.

I really want to cord cut but if I can keep getting the great deals from Direct TV, I think I am going to hold from the cut until I can click on any stream and get a very good quality with no buffering issues.

Which movies? I don't recall titles having DVD in them and in the stream list they are listed as HQ, MQ or LQ. The only medium or low quality movies on there are the ones that aren't out on DVD, haven't leaked yet and only the cam version is available.

 

[tonydead]

Hint: in the settings somewhere you can set it so the adult channels will show up in addon installer. They don't show up be default.

Going to need you to be a little more specific here. For a friend, of course.

If you go to addon settings you will see that adult is not highlighted by default. Click it to turn it on. Go back to addon installer and an adult addon button should now be there.

ETA: They should also show up under video, addons, get more now too.

 

[cockroach]

For those that stream local media (I do a ton of this from torrenting and ripping), the best solution I have found is the PS4 with the new Plex app they released for it recently.

It has handled every single container and codec I have thrown at it with zero issues so far.

I have tried a bunch of local streaming devices and all have had some drawbacks until the PS4/Plex combo.

If you have a PS4, the Media Player on there in conjunction with Universal Media Server (free) is the best for me. Plex was okay but it was like a $35 lifetime subscription I think?

 

[James Daulton]

I have been finding the quality of the streams from 1 Channel to be kind of meh at best and that is on a small tablet screen.  I fear they would look awful on a full screen.

I may just be picking the wrong ones.  They are usually titled {DVD} but they are far from 480p quality. 

I really want to cord cut but if I can keep getting the great deals from Direct TV, I think I am going to hold from the cut until I can click on any stream and get a very good quality with no buffering issues.

So just installed on a firestick and was playing around with it.  I saw the list of movies and tried to access a couple still in the theater, but the stream would not connect.  Do I just have to keep trying different locations for a reliable stream?

 

[NewlyRetired]

So just installed on a firestick and was playing around with it.  I saw the list of movies and tried to access a couple still in the theater, but the stream would not connect.  Do I just have to keep trying different locations for a reliable stream?

yes, it is hit or miss.

Sometimes it takes 1 try, some times it takes 5 tries.  

One good thing I have seen in my limited use was once I connected, I stayed connected (ignoring the quality which remained steady if not great)

 

[James Daulton]

yes, it is hit or miss.

Sometimes it takes 1 try, some times it takes 5 tries.  

One good thing I have seen in my limited use was once I connected, I stayed connected (ignoring the quality which remained steady if not great)

You watch current movies with it?

 

[NewlyRetired]

You watch current movies with it?

you mean as currently in the theaters?  No.

To be honest, the quality is so iffy I likely will not use it anymore even for older tv shows.  I can get perfect quality by torrenting and I prefer that even if it takes a little work ahead of time.

 

[RUSF18]

So I have the Fire Stick and wanted to move it from the bedroom where we have it set up (non-smart TV) to the living room TV for a little bit to watch some of these streams out there. Since it's kind of a pain to unhook the stick from behind the dresser we have it set up at, I was thinking of just buying a second one. But then hooking the stick up to that living room TV leads to the Fire Stick cord being stretched to a surge protector in order to get it plugged in. I looked into a cord that will hook the stick up to the USB port of my Samsung TV and power the stick that way. But it looks like it's not drawing enough power from the TV to keep the stick powered on. 

Are there any other options to either draw more power from the TV or provide more power to the Fire Stick through some kind of booster cable? First world problems, I know. 

 

[James Daulton]

you mean as currently in the theaters?  No.

To be honest, the quality is so iffy I likely will not use it anymore even for older tv shows.  I can get perfect quality by torrenting and I prefer that even if it takes a little work ahead of time.

So I've used it to watch 2 or 3 movies either on dvd or on-demand.  Quality was ok.  First run movies seem horrible though.

Anybody here use PIA as their vpn?