We've cut the cable (3 Viewers)

[East Coast Bias]

Got Kodi set up last week. Going to attempt the VPN and NFL thing this weekend.

 

[NutterButter]

With game pass do you need to be connected to the vpn when subscribing or just when trying to watch the games?

 

[tonydead]

Got Kodi set up last week. Going to attempt the VPN and NFL thing this weekend.

The only hiccups I ran into were:

1- Credit card was denied the first time, credit card company wanted to make sure it was me trying to make the purchase probably because of the IP address

2- You do have to use the vpn while watching the games, not just during sign up.

3- I never got it to work with any of my apple mobile devices because apple sucks.

4- I haven't yet got gamepass to work in Kodi. Not sure why and if it's because of the VPN or not. I'm on a HTPC and streaming through a browser until I have time to figure it out.

 

[tonydead]

With game pass do you need to be connected to the vpn when subscribing or just when trying to watch the games?

Both.

ETA: if you don't know already PIA is super easy, $3/month when you buy a year and you can install it on 5 different devices. They have apps for all mobile platforms etc.

 

[NutterButter]

With game pass do you need to be connected to the vpn when subscribing or just when trying to watch the games?

Both.

ETA: if you don't know already PIA is super easy, $3/month when you buy a year and you can install it on 5 different devices. They have apps for all mobile platforms etc.

Yeah, PIA seems to be the consensus. I already started a trial with Game pass this preseason which i cancelled before the subscription kicked in. you think i can just use that account or i'll need to create a new account?

 

[tonydead]

With game pass do you need to be connected to the vpn when subscribing or just when trying to watch the games?

Both.

ETA: if you don't know already PIA is super easy, $3/month when you buy a year and you can install it on 5 different devices. They have apps for all mobile platforms etc.

Yeah, PIA seems to be the consensus. I already started a trial with Game pass this preseason which i cancelled before the subscription kicked in. you think i can just use that account or i'll need to create a new account?

My guess is that you would be able to use the same account. From what I could tell they are only checking the location of your IP address. For all they know you just got deployed to that country. I'd also wager that they know a lot of people are getting around the restrictions using this method and they probably don't care because the IP check they do probably satisfies the contract they have with Direct TV. And in the end it's just more money in their pocket.

 

[tonydead]

Interesting fact in reading stuff about Direct TV: When AT&T acquired Direct TV last year ($48.5 Billion); if Direct TV would have failed to renew their contract with the NFL for this year and beyond, AT&T could have walked. That's big business and big money. AT&T and Direct TV pay the NFL $1.5 Billion a year.

 

[tonydead]

College Football Available (non-Kodi):

Sling TV:

ESPN

ESPN2

+$5

ESPNU

ESPN News

SEC Network

ESPN Goal Line

Roku:

Livestream app has access to a lot of Div II and III schools

Big Ten and Big 12 don't offer streams for games not on the big networks but most games are on ESPN or OTA.

 

[tonydead]

Roku's hidden (private) channels.

 

[Tick]

NFL:

Free legal streaming NFL games this year that don't require a cable provider:

http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/02/media/nfl-streaming-games/

2 from CBS in regular season (through CBS app)

1 from Yahoo in regular season (not sure if this is through an app or a website)

1 from NBC in regular season (not sure if this is through an app or a website)

https://www.reddit.com/r/cordcutters/comments/3i9dni/nfl_20152016_guide

Guide to getting NFL games for cord cutters - includes tonydead's method and a few others.

 

[Andrew74]

Here's a summary of my setup right now. It's evolved to this point and isn't ideal, but I'm still saving a lot and am happy.

Internet: Cable modem through Time Warner. Speedtest says it's at 57 MB download speed right now, but the kids are watching a streaming movie and I've got a lot of windows open - I don't know how much that affects it.

Antenna: I've given up. I installed a monster in the attic, but the reliability wasn't there for my location. I'm something like 50 miles from the antennas and it was more aggravating to have something cut out on me than to not have it at all. I'm not willing to put a huge antenna on the roof for various reasons.

Subscriptions: Netflix and Amazon Prime. Amazon isn't for the streaming, it's for the shipping.

TV setups:

1. Main TV with a Fire Stick, Xbox360, and Wii.

2. Smart TV in the basement, only connected to wifi. It streams Netflix and Amazon Prime and is in front of the treadmill.

On the main TV:

-Wii: We already had it for the games. It has been our primary Netflix streamer for the most part.

-Xbox 360: I bought it because at the time, it was the only way to get any form of ESPN. It was when the ESPN3 app was a little better than it is now - more was available. Recently, I've found the ESPN3 app pretty useless and have let my Live Gold membership lapse, so the 360 isn't getting used at all.

-Fire Stick: I bought this to try out the free streams. I installed Kodi on it and added some streams. The kids are watching Jurassic Park right now... pretty cool.

The biggest change has been that we pretty much stopped watching TV, which has been fine with everyone - we don't miss it. I miss the sports, nothing else. I'm hoping I can figure out a good way to get NFL games... I'd pay for Sunday Ticket over Fire Stick or something.

Which cell service do you have?Verizon has the NFL Mobile App included with their data plans. It gives you TNf, SNF, MNF and select Sunday games. Get a cord to connect phone to the TV and bam, football is back.

I have this app. Is there a cable that works with iPhone?

 

[Tick]

http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD826AM/A/lightning-digital-av-adapter is the expensive one. Many others on Amazon/ebay. I'm holding off until I get a new phone, since my iPhone 4 has the old charging cord, not the lightning style.

 

[PinkydaPimp]

With game pass do you need to be connected to the vpn when subscribing or just when trying to watch the games?

Both.

ETA: if you don't know already PIA is super easy, $3/month when you buy a year and you can install it on 5 different devices. They have apps for all mobile platforms etc.

Yeah, PIA seems to be the consensus. I already started a trial with Game pass this preseason which i cancelled before the subscription kicked in. you think i can just use that account or i'll need to create a new account?

My guess is that you would be able to use the same account. From what I could tell they are only checking the location of your IP address. For all they know you just got deployed to that country. I'd also wager that they know a lot of people are getting around the restrictions using this method and they probably don't care because the IP check they do probably satisfies the contract they have with Direct TV. And in the end it's just more money in their pocket.

Been doing this for a few years. you can likely use the same account. Also, you really only need to turn PIA or any vpn on for with you lauch the streaming app, once opened and you have a game on, you can turn it off and it usually buffers much faster.

Also to add to this method, for those using plex there is a gamepass app. basically, i stream the games directly to my TV using Plex via AppleTV. So i dont need to watch on my computer.

 

[matttyl]

So Direct TV is offering a streaming option only (no satellite dish required) for NFL Sunday Ticket. Cost is $200 and the catch is you have to live in a place that is impossible to have a satellite dish, like an apartment building. If I plug in my address it says I am required to subscribe to a Direct TV package. If I plug in a random apartment building downtown streaming option is available. Oh, and if you want to stream it on a xbox or roku that will be an extra $60. Also, locally aired games are blacked out.

These cable/satellite companies try to squeeze out every penny they can. Glad I don't have to deal with them anymore and I'm glad my IP lives in Turkey where I get the whole NFL package for $129.

Also, I see that fire stick prices have dropped $5 to $34.

I got it for less, legally. From that very same provider. It's another offering they have this year.....

How so? Tell me how you get NFL in the US without going through Direct TV, legally speaking, since they pay the NFL $1.5 billion every year for exclusive rights in the US.

I did go through directv. They have a deal this year for college students. 100 for Sunday ticket, streaming.

 

[East Coast Bias]

Anyone have any experience with torguard? Both PIA and torguard seem to be on sale.

 

[tonydead]

Been doing this for a few years. you can likely use the same account. Also, you really only need to turn PIA or any vpn on for with you lauch the streaming app, once opened and you have a game on, you can turn it off and it usually buffers much faster.


Also to add to this method, for those using plex there is a gamepass app. basically, i stream the games directly to my TV using Plex via AppleTV. So i dont need to watch on my computer.

Do you have to VPN for the Apple TV too or just the Plex server?

 

[PinkydaPimp]

Been doing this for a few years. you can likely use the same account. Also, you really only need to turn PIA or any vpn on for with you lauch the streaming app, once opened and you have a game on, you can turn it off and it usually buffers much faster.

Also to add to this method, for those using plex there is a gamepass app. basically, i stream the games directly to my TV using Plex via AppleTV. So i dont need to watch on my computer.

Do you have to VPN for the Apple TV too or just the Plex server?

Nope just on the plex server. Pia gives you 5 simultaneous logins

 

[East Coast Bias]

I was able to get the Sunday Ticket student deal using my wife's name. She graduated over 10 years ago but passed the eligibility check.

 

[squidrope]

blackdot

 

[JoeSteeler]

I was able to get the Sunday Ticket student deal using my wife's name. She graduated over 10 years ago but passed the eligibility check.

what was the check?

 

[JoeSteeler]

http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD826AM/A/lightning-digital-av-adapter is the expensive one. Many others on Amazon/ebay. I'm holding off until I get a new phone, since my iPhone 4 has the old charging cord, not the lightning style.

cool, thanks!

 

[lumpy19]

I was able to get the Sunday Ticket student deal using my wife's name. She graduated over 10 years ago but passed the eligibility check.

what was the check?

I entered my .edu email and selected the university i'm attending and was immediately approved

 

[matttyl]

I was able to get the Sunday Ticket student deal using my wife's name. She graduated over 10 years ago but passed the eligibility check.

what was the check?

College students can get Sunday Ticket streaming for $100

 

[JoeSteeler]

I was able to get the Sunday Ticket student deal using my wife's name. She graduated over 10 years ago but passed the eligibility check.

what was the check?

I entered my .edu email and selected the university i'm attending and was immediately approved

they didn't send a confirmation email to the .edu address?

 

[Synthesizer]

Don't have cable. Do have Roku. And Verizon Wireless.

I want NFL RedZone on my television. I know that NFL Mobile has a deal with Verizon Wireless, and I think I can order RedZone for a few bucks each month. But I've read that it's not easy to stream to your television. I've also read that there's an app called Kodi that might be able to stream it to the television. Anyone able to do this?

 

[lumpy19]

I was able to get the Sunday Ticket student deal using my wife's name. She graduated over 10 years ago but passed the eligibility check.

what was the check?

I entered my .edu email and selected the university i'm attending and was immediately approved

they didn't send a confirmation email to the .edu address?

They did send an email but I don't think I had to click anything in the email to confirm.

Email below

Dear XXX,Congratulations! Your account has been successfully created.

You can access your account on Sundays to watch the package that you've purchased at NFLSUNDAYTICKET.TV

 

[matttyl]

Don't have cable. Do have Roku. And Verizon Wireless.

I want NFL RedZone on my television. I know that NFL Mobile has a deal with Verizon Wireless, and I think I can order RedZone for a few bucks each month. But I've read that it's not easy to stream to your television. I've also read that there's an app called Kodi that might be able to stream it to the television. Anyone able to do this?

What kind of phone do you have?

 

[East Coast Bias]

I was able to get the Sunday Ticket student deal using my wife's name. She graduated over 10 years ago but passed the eligibility check.

what was the check?

It asks for school name, student name and date of birth. I guess it's supposed to check against something provided by the school. Here's the link.

 

[Drifter]

Umm - I graduated over 20 years ago, just put in my own information and got access.

 

[East Coast Bias]

Hopefully the streams are good quality.

 

[JoeSteeler]

Umm - I graduated over 20 years ago, just put in my own information and got access.

Same here!

 

[Synthesizer]

Don't have cable. Do have Roku. And Verizon Wireless.

I want NFL RedZone on my television. I know that NFL Mobile has a deal with Verizon Wireless, and I think I can order RedZone for a few bucks each month. But I've read that it's not easy to stream to your television. I've also read that there's an app called Kodi that might be able to stream it to the television. Anyone able to do this?

What kind of phone do you have?

HTC One M8.

 

[East Coast Bias]

I was able to get the Sunday Ticket student deal using my wife's name. She graduated over 10 years ago but passed the eligibility check.

what was the check?

It asks for school name, student name and date of birth. I guess it's supposed to check against something provided by the school. Here's the link.

This worked great this week. No streaming issues.

 

[cstu]

I was able to get the Sunday Ticket student deal using my wife's name. She graduated over 10 years ago but passed the eligibility check.

what was the check?

It asks for school name, student name and date of birth. I guess it's supposed to check against something provided by the school. Here's the link.

It's really only a check against morons. If you are a football fan and can't find the birth date of college student you have problems.

 

[NutterButter]

I was able to get the Sunday Ticket student deal using my wife's name. She graduated over 10 years ago but passed the eligibility check.

what was the check?

It asks for school name, student name and date of birth. I guess it's supposed to check against something provided by the school. Here's the link.

It's really only a check against morons. If you are a football fan and can't find the birth date of college student you have problems.

Interesting, out of curiosity, I tried checking for eligibility using my name, school and the birthday 2/7/1999 and it said it couldn't find my student record. I could verify my status by uploading student documents. Maybe its actually integrated with some schools.

 

[Johnnymac]

Mohu Leaf 50 on sale at Amazon today for $37.99. I purchased one. I have basic cable so I'm hoping I can pick up the locals with the leaf and then buy sling.

 

[Ray Karpis]

So pissed off at AT&T regarding my U-Verse Internet. I'm about to take it out on them via cancellation of services.

I currently have:

- UVerse Pro (6.0 mbps) - $50

- DirecTV Choice Plus - $114

- Netflix - $8

and a Samsung SmartTV.

Thinking about going to:

- Xfinity Blast (50 mbps) - $68

- Netflix - $8

- Sling TV (for sports) - $25

Not cutting off a huge chunk of the cost, but I can drastically increase my internet speed, cut ties with AT&T, and trim away all the unnecessary bull#### I pay for with DirecTV.

Do I need anything like AppleTV if my Smart TV is adequate with streaming apps? Is Roku or Hulu worth my time? The kids primarily are going to Netflix for their TV watching. If not for missing out on ESPN, I could probably avoid Sling. Any better options for watching college football? HD antenna the way to go for local programming?

 

[tonydead]

So pissed off at AT&T regarding my U-Verse Internet. I'm about to take it out on them via cancellation of services.

I currently have:

- UVerse Pro (6.0 mbps) - $50

- DirecTV Choice Plus - $114

- Netflix - $8

and a Samsung SmartTV.

Thinking about going to:

- Xfinity Blast (50 mbps) - $68

- Netflix - $8

- Sling TV (for sports) - $25

Not cutting off a huge chunk of the cost, but I can drastically increase my internet speed, cut ties with AT&T, and trim away all the unnecessary bull#### I pay for with DirecTV.

Do I need anything like AppleTV if my Smart TV is adequate with streaming apps? Is Roku or Hulu worth my time? The kids primarily are going to Netflix for their TV watching. If not for missing out on ESPN, I could probably avoid Sling. Any better options for watching college football? HD antenna the way to go for local programming?

Here is kind of what I found for college football:

College Football Available (non-Kodi):

Sling TV:

ESPN

ESPN2

+$5

ESPNU

ESPN News

SEC Network

ESPN Goal Line

Roku:

Livestream app has access to a lot of Div II and III schools

Big Ten and Big 12 don't offer streams for games not on the big networks but most games are on ESPN or OTA.

Roku and Hulu are two different things. Roku is a streaming device and Hulu is a streaming app-service (you'd use the Roku to connect to the internet and stream Hulu or Netflix). It all depends on what you watch as Hulu/Amazon/Netflix all have different show and movies that are available exclusively and at different times. I'd stay away from anything apple and if your tv doesn't work the amazon fire stick is very cheap and will take any app. I have Roku too and they are fine. There are websites that show you how strong your signal is where you live so you can figure out what type of HD antenna you will need. When you cut the cable go in to a xfinity store (you'll have to return your equipment anyway). They won't give you crap like the phone people will and I was able to get the 50Mbps for $44 after the first month, no strings, no contract.

 

[T.J.]

Any footballguys doing this:

http://mediacube.co/

if so how u like it?

 

[tonydead]

Any footballguys doing this:

http://mediacube.co/

if so how u like it?

It's an Android TV box with some pretty good hardware, especially the video card. Some people in here have used different android tv boxes and can tell you which ones they like better than I can. But, I just wanted to let you know this is just a computer that is getting it's content from the same place everyone else is: Kodi. Unless you want the extra PC power of a tv box you can do the same thing and install Kodi and all the other apps on an Amazon firestick for $35. Also, I just don't like companies that try to make a buck off pirating, it's kind of against the pirating code. As an example: while I was surfing around, and on that link you posted, the chat box popped up so I asked a few questions:

Media Cube: Sound too good to be true, right?

Me: No, sounds like an android tv box with Kodi installed and your claims on the website are over exaggerated.

Media Cube: The media cube doesn't use Helix, Kodi or XBMC due to stability issues. We use a far more stable, customized branch of the software on our devise customized, blah, blah, blah.

So they are using Kodi. Kodi is open source so they can take it and change one piece of code and call it their own improved version.

Me: So how much use is that 4K getting?

Media Cube: The Media Cube is capable of playing up to 4kx2K UHD. 4K is four times the high definition resolution of 1080p.

Me: I get that, I was asking how many channels/shows are you actually getting streamed in 4K?

Media Cube: Right now there isn't really much 4K out there and since it's new, figuring out the proper way to stream will take some time, but, we are confident that there will be plenty soon enough.

Me: Right, but, you don't actually say that on your website where you are advertising 4K tv to people who don't actually know any better.

Median Cube: We do have 4K tv but there is not much 4K content available. Whatever is available you can access with Media Cube.

Again, this is just a tv box that can stream whatever content is available with Kodi. It might work out great for your needs, but, it won't deliver everything they claim on their website at first glance. Hope this helps.

 

[Brady Marino]

That's kind of the impression I got from MediaCube as well. I have an Android box that pretty much does the same thing...right down to the triangle light in front.

That said, I'm repurposing what used to be my main PC (that needs a fresh stall anyway because something is janky with the operating software that I'm not qualified to fix) into an HTPC this weekend. It'll be nice to watch YouTube videos without the farking ads!

 

[Ray Karpis]

Just cancelled DirecTV after being with them since 2004. The guy offered $5 off my bill and free Sunday Ticket without me asking.

I told him, "I'm not like the guys in the other thread who are threatening to cancel to try to get free Sunday Ticket...I really do just want to cancel."

 

[tonydead]

Just cancelled DirecTV after being with them since 2004. The guy offered $5 off my bill and free Sunday Ticket without me asking.

I told him, "I'm not like the guys in the other thread who are threatening to cancel to try to get free Sunday Ticket...I really do just want to cancel."

Bravo

 

[Johnnymac]

Can a guy turn a 5 year old laptop into an HTPC?

 

[Tick]

New Fire stick - is the only difference that voice control comes with it now?

 

[tonydead]

Can a guy turn a 5 year old laptop into an HTPC?

Maybe. Depends on what you want. What type of video (monitor) outputs does it have? Ideally you'd want to add a TV tuner card for over the air antenna and a video card with HDMI out. When I built mine I just bought a motherboard with on board video and HDMI. Do you know the model number of the motherboard?

 

[Mister CIA]

Hate to be that guy and not read a little history in this thread, but what are people paying for Internet only with Comcast? Counting the $10 for modem rental and assorted taxes and fees I'm paying $85/month for internet only. Comcast girl basically said no soup for you, internet-only guy.

I could shave about $20 off the bill by dropping to a 6MB pipe (two Netflix users in the house), plus I'd have to go stand in a very long line to swap hardware. ... Not gonna happen.

It sucks, I hate Comcast, yada yada, but my slim silver lining is that if they can no longer offer me a "deal" then they must be circling the drain.

 

[tonydead]

Adapters for digital video out (the white monitor connection, not blue) to HDMI are very common.

 

[tonydead]

Hate to be that guy and not read a little history in this thread, but what are people paying for Internet only with Comcast? Counting the $10 for modem rental and assorted taxes and fees I'm paying $85/month for internet only. Comcast girl basically said no soup for you, internet-only guy.

I could shave about $20 off the bill by dropping to a 6MB pipe (two Netflix users in the house), plus I'd have to go stand in a very long line to swap hardware. ... Not gonna happen.

It sucks, I hate Comcast, yada yada, but my slim silver lining is that if they can no longer offer me a "deal" then they must be circling the drain.

50Mbps for $44 a month. No string, no contract. Was the Comcast girl on the phone?

1- Go into a xfinity store. Don't call and don't go to Comcast warehouse. Xfinity store is a completely different part of their company and will deal.

2- Get your own modem. You can get a top of the line referbished on Amazon for around $40.

 

[ILUVBEER99]

Hate to be that guy and not read a little history in this thread, but what are people paying for Internet only with Comcast? Counting the $10 for modem rental and assorted taxes and fees I'm paying $85/month for internet only.

$85/month for internet only is ridiculous. Call them.