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We've cut the cable (4 Viewers)

I have been using wifi for two weeks through fire stick for Vue and no major problems.

 
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Does titanium work on 16.1 and should I update to 16.1? Using with firestick

 
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Finally set this up with the titanium build. I've only been playing around on it for a few hours, but super impressed. Is there a reason I wouldn't call and cancel with directv tomorrow?

 
Looks like Playstation Vue has added the Boston local CBS affiliate (WBZ).  Looks like these will come in drips and drabs but hopefully once they sign up one local, the others might be willing to jump on board as well.

Has Playstation Vue signed any PBS locals in any city yet?

 
NewlyRetired said:
Looks like Playstation Vue has added the Boston local CBS affiliate (WBZ).  Looks like these will come in drips and drabs but hopefully once they sign up one local, the others might be willing to jump on board as well.

Has Playstation Vue signed any PBS locals in any city yet?
Click to expand...
Not mine rdu

 
Just some numbers for the folks questioning wireless ac/n speeds and wired...

I recently switched to cable innerwebs and signed up for 200MB speed. Bought an Arris Surfboard sb6183 and paired it with and Apple Airport Extreme with 2TB Hard drive for a little storage. Here's what I saw just now when running Speed Test:

Hard wired 206Mbps down / 20.5 up

Wireless (ac) MacBook  208Mbps down / 18.64 up

Wireless (n) iPhone 5 86-96Mbps down / 9-11 up

I did wire my house with Cat6 when we built it two years ago, but I haven't hard wired anything because of the speeds I've been seeing.

 
Cable bill just crept up again.  Wife has always been a barrier to changing anything..  Very particular about this station and that show....

Can someone write up a quick intro to get started here?  Assuming I would start with a service, such as sling.  What is the minimum hardware after that?  Already have a high-end router.

 
DropKick said:
Cable bill just crept up again.  Wife has always been a barrier to changing anything..  Very particular about this station and that show....

Can someone write up a quick intro to get started here?  Assuming I would start with a service, such as sling.  What is the minimum hardware after that?  Already have a high-end router.
Click to expand...
What channels is she wanting to keep?

 
I have decided to take an intermediate step.  I am going to start working on the infrastructure to test out our internet speed, install and test out Kodi, test out Playstation Vue etc before making any hard cord cutting decisions.

As such, the first step will be to purchase the main piece of hardware to do the testing.

Roku and Amazon Fire seem very similar to me but Amazon's Fire support of Vue will allow me to do some extra testing.   With this being said I have two questions:

1) I see the spec differences between Fire Stick and Fire TV but I am unsure how they practically will affect me when testing.  I obviously like the cheaper get started cost of the Stick but I also don't want to spend $40 only to quickly find out that I really needed the Fire TV box instead.

2) You guys have given a bunch of different links and recommendations for Kodi and I am unsure where to start.  Can you point to a single stable build, preferably with a youtube video to explain how to install?

 
Can't speak to Fire, but experience with Roku says get the box over the stick wherever you can afford it and it makes sense. In general, boxes tend to be better options for primary TV's where sticks make more sense for bedrooms and such.  It's just gonna be faster, more stable, and the ability to hardwire is important to me (especially for a primary TV).

 
DropKick said:
I have to make a list.  HBO, BBC, History Channel... she watches a bunch of shows and it seems everyone is on a different channel.
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BBC will be the tricky one. Maybe somebody else knows, but I'm not aware of a way to stream BBC live without cable. I do know a ton of BBC shows (like Downton) are available in Amazon Prime. BBCA is the same, but I'm fine just buying seasons of Orphan Black ($17 for a whole season is cheap compared to the cost of a cable package carrying BBCA). 

HBO is pretty simple. It's available as an add on with Vue, Sling, and others for $15/mo. 

History is on Sling. I don't see it on Vue, which would be surprising (Vue has more channels overall), so maybe I just don't see it. On Sling, it keeps episode of most shows on demand for a month. 

To get those 3 channels (though I know you need more), the Sling package will start at $35/mo to get HBO and you'd still be buying the BBC shows ala carte (except for older seasons on Prime). 

There's ways to get most of what you need for a hell of lot less than you are currently spending. The main part will be helping your wife get over the fear of the input button. Switch inputs to Fire or Roku and the world is her oyster.

I don't know if you watch much Netflix/Prime/Hulu at the moment, but I'd suggest getting a Fire or Roku to put on the primary TV and let her get a sense of what life is like with these streaming devices. It's far simpler than she probably imagines with loads of great content. Doing that for a bit, while still carrying a cable package, will help you get closer to convincing her. Even if you never cut cable, streaming devices are still nice to have.

 
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NewlyRetired said:
I found this link which seems like an easy way to get the base Kodi on to my Fire TV.  Now I just need to understand how to get the Titanium Build on to the Kodi once it is on the Fire TV.  

http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-sideload-apps-like-kodi-onto-the-fire-tv-using-nothing-but-the-fire-tv/

Does anyone know of a single link that explains how to get both the base Kodi and the Titanium build on to the Fire TV?
Click to expand...
Titanium

He does load Titanium via a PC, but inside Kodi, Titanium is loaded the same way, whether its on a PC, Firestick or other android capable device

 
BroncoFreak_2K3 said:
Titanium

He does load Titanium via a PC, but inside Kodi, Titanium is loaded the same way, whether its on a PC, Firestick or other android capable device
Click to expand...
Right, that was the same link provided earlier.  Ok I think I get it now

So just to make sure I understand

1) Use these steps to first download the base kodi onto firestick

http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-sideload-apps-like-kodi-onto-the-fire-tv-using-nothing-but-the-fire-tv/

2) And then follow the video you linked to load Titanium on to the firestick (using the same method as on windows).

Thanks!  If I am wrong please let me know.

 
NewlyRetired said:
Right, that was the same link provided earlier.  Ok I think I get it now

So just to make sure I understand

1) Use these steps to first download the base kodi onto firestick

http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-sideload-apps-like-kodi-onto-the-fire-tv-using-nothing-but-the-fire-tv/

2) And then follow the video you linked to load Titanium on to the firestick (using the same method as on windows).

Thanks!  If I am wrong please let me know.
Click to expand...
yep. you should be on the right track..

I have the titanium build loaded up on both my Firestick and my Home Theater PC and I loaded it on both the exact same way.

 
BroncoFreak_2K3 said:
yep. you should be on the right track..

I have the titanium build loaded up on both my Firestick and my Home Theater PC and I loaded it on both the exact same way.
Click to expand...
I'm going to try this on my raspberry pi 2 as well, will report back.  Should be the same way there as well I would think.

 
Got the Surfboard hooked up this weekend and ran speed test. Better speeds that what I had with the Comcast rental. :thumbup:

Then hooked up the Archer C7 router, and got slightly worse speeds than the low-end ASUS router I was running. :unsure:   I'm going to run some more tests though. 

Overall still improvement and saving the monthly rental fee though. :thumbup:  

 
Nathan R. Jessep said:
Got the Surfboard hooked up this weekend and ran speed test. Better speeds that what I had with the Comcast rental. :thumbup:

Then hooked up the Archer C7 router, and got slightly worse speeds than the low-end ASUS router I was running. :unsure:   I'm going to run some more tests though. 

Overall still improvement and saving the monthly rental fee though. :thumbup:  
Click to expand...
What are the speeds?  Same cables? 

 
JoeSteeler said:
roku also has something called "my feed". I haven't tried it yet, but sounds like it might be what you are looking or...
Click to expand...
Thanks I checked that out and it is limited right now but it sounds like they are expanding the capabilities in the near future.

Seems like the software hasn't quite caught up to what I want (queuing alerts for new episodes from traditional cable/satellite channels).  This Roku feed seems like the most promising in the works.  I'll keep an eye on improvements.

 
Nathan R. Jessep said:
Got the Surfboard hooked up this weekend and ran speed test. Better speeds that what I had with the Comcast rental. :thumbup:

Then hooked up the Archer C7 router, and got slightly worse speeds than the low-end ASUS router I was running. :unsure:   I'm going to run some more tests though. 

Overall still improvement and saving the monthly rental fee though. :thumbup:  
Click to expand...
I had to turn off the 2.4GHz network to get the faster AC speeds on the Archer C7 and I think I forced n/ac mode on the 5Ghz so that it couldn't have devices connect at the slower b/g speeds. I will check this when I'm home and try to upload screenshots of how I set mine up to get 170Mbps down on my 150Mbps Comcast Blast! connection.

 
DropKick said:
Cable bill just crept up again.  Wife has always been a barrier to changing anything..  Very particular about this station and that show....

Can someone write up a quick intro to get started here?  Assuming I would start with a service, such as sling.  What is the minimum hardware after that?  Already have a high-end router.
Click to expand...
First over the air channels (OTA).  You can get, and maybe already do, all the local channels OTA in high definition.  You’ll also get more than you suspect if you haven’t tuned in to OTA for many years, most places have at least 40 channels available.  All you need for this is a HD antenna and a 21st Century tv.  Very few flat panel tvs were ever made without an HD receiver so the only tvs you would have to buy a HD receiver box for are the old CRT tvs if you still have any.  To help you find out how strong your OTA signals are and where to point your antenna go here: Link..  the strength of the signal will help you determine what type of antenna you need.  Follow the directions at the bottom of the website page after you've found the signals for your address.

Recommended Roof mount models: Vinegard

Recommended Indoor models: Mohu Leaf

When you have everything hooked up, connect the antenna coax to the coax input to each tv and scan for channels.  A couple of notes about coax; the longer the runs the more your signal degrades and you’ll also lose another 9db every time you go through a splitter.  High quality cable and connectors count too.  If you use a roof antenna where cable runs are long and have more than one split look into amplifiers for the signal.

Everything Else:

For everything else you’ll need a secondary devise to stream the streaming services that are vailable. Let’s take a look at your choices:

Home Theatre Personal Computer (HTPC).  This is the best device because it can do everything, however, it will cost more and takes some tech savvy to set up.  The advantages are Personal Video Recording (PVR) OTA, movie and show streaming over your home network and will include a OTA channel card.  (Most people overlook this last advantage.  If you use OTA with any of the tv devices like Roku or Firestick they do NOT come with a coax-in so you end up having to switch inputs to switch back and forth from OTA and your other channels/services.)  You can build your own HTPC, convert an old computer you might have on hand or find one of the many that are commercially available. 

Roku 3, this is probably your best bet for a plug and play devise.

Firestick.  These are Android and they are left open for 3rd party development and applications.  You can “sideload” any .APK application, even those not found in the google store.

TV Boxes.  There are many boxes that offer a nice in between HTPC and Roku/Firestick including Amazon’s Fire TV and Roku 4 both available supporting 4000K.  These add some additional features like limited internet access and games.  Generally speaking the sticks are wifi only and sometimes not as responsive as the Roku/Fire boxes.

XBOX/Playstation.  If you’re a gamer most of the popular services are available to stream through your gaming console.

Streaming devices update:  Roku 4 and new versions of Fire TV available.

Streaming Services:

Playstation’s Vue.  For $30/month (unless you are in one of the role out cities where you get local channels, but have to pay $10 more a month)  you get around 60 channels including espn, espn 2, amc, Discovery, several news channels, etc.  Plus you can buy higher tier packages with more channels up to around 100 channels.  Vue, though, unlike Sling TV below is limited to playstaion and amazon fire devices currently. 

Sling TV. For $20/month you get 23 channels and counting including espn, espn2, amc, food network, A&E, history channel, TNT, HGTC, etc.  Plus you can buy packages for an additional $5/month whose categories include news, kids, or movies to add more channels.  You can also get a firestick for free or a Roku for cheap with a prepaid 3 months.

Netflix.  Netflix huge database of available movies still towers over anything Hulu or Amazon Prime offers.  Surprisingly though where Hulu and Amazon once might have an edge for tv shows Netflix is excelling with its Netflix Original Series that are prime time quality shows available only on Netflix.

Hulu and Amazon Prime.  For past shows and movies these two services are about equal.  However, if you order more than once or twice a year from Amazon the $99/year for free shipping includes a subscription to Amazon prime and makes this a choice a no-brainer.

Hulu Update:  Hulu has launched several of its own Original Series tv shows.  They also claim to have more of a movie library than Netflix now.

HBONOW.  Hbo became the first major cable subscriber channel to offer streaming services without a cable provider subscription.  It is available through SlingTV for $15/mo or you can get it stand alone for the same price.  Showtime and others have quickly followed suit.

Streaming Services Update:  Directv and Youtube television streaming services coming soon. 

Plex: 

Plex is a server for your computer that if you have anything recorded; tv shows, movies, music, home movies you can stream them to your Roku, firestick, phone or ipad through the Plex app.

FreeTV:

Maybe you’ve heard about something called Kodi.  Kodi is open source home theatre software that you can install on computing devices like a HTPC.  Being a home theatre software it allows for installation of third party streaming apps like the streaming services noted above.  But, there is something more.  There are other addons out there that find an abundance of streams that are available on the internet.  With the right combination of addons the availability of streams for previously recorded tv shows and movies is unlimited.  There are also addons for live tv and sports, however, the live tv streams quality and reliability seem to vary more than the previously recorded content so your mileage may vary.

Currently the most popular and reliable addon for tv shows and movies is Exodus.  Follow this guide to install Kodi and then Exodus onto a firestick.

1- Download the ARM version for Android here.

2- Sideload it onto your firestick by following this.

3- Install the fusion installer by following this.

4- Then addon installer.

5- Currently the best addon is Exodus.

Kodi Update:  There is an easier way to install and update Kodi without having to sideload.  Follow the first half of this video: Link

There are also custom builds available that make customizing Kodi and installing all the addons you’d ever want in one single installation.  There is one on the second half of the video above and another popular one showed in this video: Link

Hardware Update:

Recommend minimum wifi router of 802.11n specifications for wireless streaming.

Recommend cable modem of DOCSIS 3.0 or later mainly because most internet service providers don’t support anything less.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I've been keeping the above as sort of guide because I know it's hard to find everything in a thread like this and how much info is out there when you try to google it all yourself.  If anyone has any updates or changes (I'm sure I missed a lot/have some stuff wrong) I'd appreciate any corrections or additions.

 
tonydead said:
First over the air channels (OTA).  You can get, and maybe already do, all the local channels OTA in high definition.  You’ll also get more than you suspect if you haven’t tuned in to OTA for many years, most places have at least 40 channels available.  All you need for this is a HD antenna and a 21st Century tv.  Very few flat panel tvs were ever made without an HD receiver so the only tvs you would have to buy a HD receiver box for are the old CRT tvs if you still have any.  To help you find out how strong your OTA signals are and where to point your antenna go here: Link..  the strength of the signal will help you determine what type of antenna you need.  Follow the directions at the bottom of the website page after you've found the signals for your address.

Recommended Roof mount models: Vinegard

Recommended Indoor models: Mohu Leaf

When you have everything hooked up, connect the antenna coax to the coax input to each tv and scan for channels.  A couple of notes about coax; the longer the runs the more your signal degrades and you’ll also lose another 9db every time you go through a splitter.  High quality cable and connectors count too.  If you use a roof antenna where cable runs are long and have more than one split look into amplifiers for the signal.

Everything Else:

For everything else you’ll need a secondary devise to stream the streaming services that are vailable. Let’s take a look at your choices:

Home Theatre Personal Computer (HTPC).  This is the best device because it can do everything, however, it will cost more and takes some tech savvy to set up.  The advantages are Personal Video Recording (PVR) OTA, movie and show streaming over your home network and will include a OTA channel card.  (Most people overlook this last advantage.  If you use OTA with any of the tv devices like Roku or Firestick they do NOT come with a coax-in so you end up having to switch inputs to switch back and forth from OTA and your other channels/services.)  You can build your own HTPC, convert an old computer you might have on hand or find one of the many that are commercially available. 

Roku 3, this is probably your best bet for a plug and play devise.

Firestick.  These are Android and they are left open for 3rd party development and applications.  You can “sideload” any .APK application, even those not found in the google store.

TV Boxes.  There are many boxes that offer a nice in between HTPC and Roku/Firestick including Amazon’s Fire TV and Roku 4 both available supporting 4000K.  These add some additional features like limited internet access and games.  Generally speaking the sticks are wifi only and sometimes not as responsive as the Roku/Fire boxes.

XBOX/Playstation.  If you’re a gamer most of the popular services are available to stream through your gaming console.

Streaming devices update:  Roku 4 and new versions of Fire TV available.

Streaming Services:

Playstation’s Vue.  For $30/month (unless you are in one of the role out cities where you get local channels, but have to pay $10 more a month)  you get around 60 channels including espn, espn 2, amc, Discovery, several news channels, etc.  Plus you can buy higher tier packages with more channels up to around 100 channels.  Vue, though, unlike Sling TV below is limited to playstaion and amazon fire devices currently. 

Sling TV. For $20/month you get 23 channels and counting including espn, espn2, amc, food network, A&E, history channel, TNT, HGTC, etc.  Plus you can buy packages for an additional $5/month whose categories include news, kids, or movies to add more channels.  You can also get a firestick for free or a Roku for cheap with a prepaid 3 months.

Netflix.  Netflix huge database of available movies still towers over anything Hulu or Amazon Prime offers.  Surprisingly though where Hulu and Amazon once might have an edge for tv shows Netflix is excelling with its Netflix Original Series that are prime time quality shows available only on Netflix.

Hulu and Amazon Prime.  For past shows and movies these two services are about equal.  However, if you order more than once or twice a year from Amazon the $99/year for free shipping includes a subscription to Amazon prime and makes this a choice a no-brainer.

Hulu Update:  Hulu has launched several of its own Original Series tv shows.  They also claim to have more of a movie library than Netflix now.

HBONOW.  Hbo became the first major cable subscriber channel to offer streaming services without a cable provider subscription.  It is available through SlingTV for $15/mo or you can get it stand alone for the same price.  Showtime and others have quickly followed suit.

Streaming Services Update:  Directv and Youtube television streaming services coming soon. 

Plex: 

Plex is a server for your computer that if you have anything recorded; tv shows, movies, music, home movies you can stream them to your Roku, firestick, phone or ipad through the Plex app.

FreeTV:

Maybe you’ve heard about something called Kodi.  Kodi is open source home theatre software that you can install on computing devices like a HTPC.  Being a home theatre software it allows for installation of third party streaming apps like the streaming services noted above.  But, there is something more.  There are other addons out there that find an abundance of streams that are available on the internet.  With the right combination of addons the availability of streams for previously recorded tv shows and movies is unlimited.  There are also addons for live tv and sports, however, the live tv streams quality and reliability seem to vary more than the previously recorded content so your mileage may vary.

Currently the most popular and reliable addon for tv shows and movies is Exodus.  Follow this guide to install Kodi and then Exodus onto a firestick.

1- Download the ARM version for Android here.

2- Sideload it onto your firestick by following this.

3- Install the fusion installer by following this.

4- Then addon installer.

5- Currently the best addon is Exodus.

Kodi Update:  There is an easier way to install and update Kodi without having to sideload.  Follow the first half of this video: Link

There are also custom builds available that make customizing Kodi and installing all the addons you’d ever want in one single installation.  There is one on the second half of the video above and another popular one showed in this video: Link

Hardware Update:

Recommend minimum wifi router of 802.11n specifications for wireless streaming.

Recommend cable modem of DOCSIS 2.0 or later mainly because most internet service providers don’t support anything less.
Click to expand...
like x 100!

Thanks for all of your work in this thread!

 
DropKick said:
I have to make a list.  HBO, BBC, History Channel... she watches a bunch of shows and it seems everyone is on a different channel.
Click to expand...


pollardsvision said:
BBC will be the tricky one. Maybe somebody else knows, but I'm not aware of a way to stream BBC live without cable.
Click to expand...
You can stream past shows of BBC that air on PBS through their free app (PC, Roku, and I think Firestick) just by signing up with your FB or google account.  

 
tonydead said:
I've been keeping the above as sort of guide because I know it's hard to find everything in a thread like this and how much info is out there when you try to google it all yourself.  If anyone has any updates or changes (I'm sure I missed a lot/have some stuff wrong) I'd appreciate any corrections or additions.
Click to expand...
Looks great, other than me being a grammar/spelling nazi in a few places.  Keep up the great work.  Oh, and at the very end I think you mean DOCSIS 3.0 modem.

 
matttyl said:
Looks great, other than me being a grammar/spelling nazi in a few places.  Keep up the great work.  Oh, and at the very end I think you mean DOCSIS 3.0 modem.
Click to expand...
Do you think that is the consensus?  2.0 can do 38Mbps down and 3.0 is 152Mbps down and I was listing minimums as not to get into the same debate we did about N vs AC.  Xfinity only lists three 2.0 versions that they still support so I suppose 2.0 is at the end of it's life.   

 
tonydead said:
I've been keeping the above as sort of guide because I know it's hard to find everything in a thread like this and how much info is out there when you try to google it all yourself.  If anyone has any updates or changes (I'm sure I missed a lot/have some stuff wrong) I'd appreciate any corrections or additions.
Click to expand...
GREAT STUFF!! Thank you for putting that altogether.  Wish we could get that pinned at the beginning of this thread.

 
tonydead said:
Do you think that is the consensus?  2.0 can do 38Mbps down and 3.0 is 152Mbps down and I was listing minimums as not to get into the same debate we did about N vs AC.  Xfinity only lists three 2.0 versions that they still support so I suppose 2.0 is at the end of it's life.   
Click to expand...
Hmm, I haven't seen a list but I remember one of their desk ladies telling me to be sure if I don't use theirs to use a 3.0.  I'm not sure you can still buy a new 2.0, but you can get a refurbished 3.0 for like $30.

Here is the one I've used since 2009 - used for under $30.

You can do a Docsis 3.0 modem and a very good N router (and have wired and wireless capabilities of more than enough) for under $100 total. 

 
Can some one explain to me the difference between an addon like Exodus, and something called the Titanium build for Kodi?  I think I am getting confused as to what I want for the Amazon Fire.

I am going to download the titanium build today on windows to see if I can educate myself more on what this is.

 
NewlyRetired said:
Can some one explain to me the difference between an addon like Exodus, and something called the Titanium build for Kodi?  I think I am getting confused as to what I want for the Amazon Fire.

I am going to download the titanium build today on windows to see if I can educate myself more on what this is.
Click to expand...
Exodus is just one add on for Kodi.  By far my favorite one, but just one.

The "titanium build" is a build of lots of add ons, as well as skins (the look of the menus) and other settings all set up for you already.

 
matttyl said:
Exodus is just one add on for Kodi.  By far my favorite one, but just one.

The "titanium build" is a build of lots of add ons, as well as skins (the look of the menus) and other settings all set up for you already.
Click to expand...
Yea, the build organizes all your addons, like Exodus, automatically into nice neat categories.  Makes Kodi feel more like a media center (like a Home Theater setup).

 
NewlyRetired said:
Do you guys know if the Fire TV box is also as slow as the stick?
Click to expand...
From my experience a resounding no. FireTV is my regular device I use with wifi. I wound up getting the box about 1 year ago because both sticks (Roku/Fire) sucked so bad with buffering. Maybe they've improved since then but I wouldnt recommend any stick just based on my experiences with them (Roku/Fire/Chromecast). Well worth the extra ~$40. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
For anyone who has recently installed the Titanium build for Kodi, I have a question.

I am following the video linked earlier

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b7Qh-2fMCMM

at time 3:39 he clicks on Team eXpat Builds and is then presented with numerous builds, one of which is the titanium build.

when I click, I am presented with fewer build choices, none of which is labled titanium.

The choices I have are as follows

TeameXpat Build, USA Canada Build, Blue Box Media Build, Simply Pr v1.0, and AMObox v3.0 lite

I don't think I did anything wrong but I am unsure what to do now......any suggestions?

I wonder if the base Kodi I have is the wrong version for this build maybe?

 
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