Off Topic Is this too good to be true?

Kodi is basically just an app you can download on Google play store. I've had an android box for about 4 months with the app pre installed. It's bloody excellent. Stream just about anything. Watched the box office boxing on Saturday. My box was 35 quid from eBay.

 

Yes, it was me posted original thread on this. I now have three boxes, living room, bedroom and kids room - all different models, and all work well - the better models have an inbuilt buffer which is good for watching live sports.

The benefit of the box over having it installed on your Mac or PC is I have no personal data stored on the box so if there is a backdoor, no data can be swiped.

I've been running my boxes for nearly 2 years, and once they are set up and you get used to the OS, they seem to run pretty seemlessly. It was great when the club were in the PL as every game was available.

The system should work world-wide, so would be perfect for anyone overseas. I would advise on splashing out a bit extra and getting an air-mouse remote, which makes it a bit easier to operate.

Also, install an app called Showbox - loads of TV series and films - this is an app that can also be installed on Android phones - it's a bit easier to navigate around than
XBMC.

I cancelled my Sky Sports and Movies packages over a year ago, and save over £40 a month!!

 

Thanks for the info very helpful, as I don't like the kids messing with my PC and if they can just watch stuff from the box that's all well and good for me, plus I get to watch loads more footy without any of the annoying pop ups!

 

What sports app do you use?

 

I've got my box blocked for "adult content" - have already caught my 13yo on pornhub and redtube - but you can unblock for full hardcore porn, if that's your thing!!

 

Sports Devil mainly. A new one appeared a couple of weeks ago called Woody (has a Woody Woodpecker icon) which seems to work well too

 

$35 on Amazon here in the US

 

Hello mate.
I'm going to order a Kodi box and connect it to my TV via an HDMI cable.

Can you tell me, how does one then navigate the menu? I see there are also some hand held controllers that seem to be sold with them. Do I need one of these?
Here's the link : http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/huc/view.html?ie=UTF8&newItems=CQFB78UEOR2QD,1

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I'm not too good with this stuff!!

 

o, assistance required. I have a raspberry Pi box which has exodus by kodi. It's hard wired into my cable modem for better speed.... And apparently it's all I need. BUT

How do I use it? How do I get sky sports, by etc? And movies?

 

Bob, once the box is connected to the TV do you need anything else to access the menu? How do you control the menu etc?

 

Steel will know better but you need to download Addons like Sportsdevil or the Beast to it. It's not so simple if the box isn't preloaded, Google search 'how to install xxx on raspberry Pi Kodi ' and you will get guidance, and probably a few YouTube video guides.

 

The box should come with a remote that connects to it Col. Then it's point and click. But I'm told it's a bit slow for typing stuff in, which is why some people get the wireless keyboards.

 

I'm going to order the box that you've ordered. It says it's pre-loaded, so is there anything else needed?

 

Cheers. For an extra tenner I may order a keyboard with it.

 

I don't think so, but you may want to install other stuff on it after you've played with it for a bit. Mine is on the way, should have it by Saturday latest, I'll let you know how it goes. I'm still gobsmacked by the desktop version, but as Steel says the background security is a bit of a concern if you have anything else on the computer, so I'll be deleting it when the other one is set up. Then when we upgrade the house computer I'll clear everything off the old Mac and it becomes another telly.

 

Thanks for that, sounds like a weekend job for Melbourne Jnr. He'll need something to do on the weekend now he has some time off football - ankle damaged in preseason friendly last Sunday. Not a happy boy.

 

Just ordered it.
Should be here by Saturday so we can compare notes.

 

Will watch this space with interest.......

 

I'll try to answer most of your questions!

You don't NEED to buy anything else, the boxes that come from Amazon come with a small remote that has a numerical keypad and a Directional pad, similar to your TV remote. You then navigate using the D pad, which you can turn into a cursor using one of the option buttons, but you'll soon get bored using this, and will want to get one if the wireless keypads with an inbuilt air-mouse. Apart from that, everything is normally pre-loaded (has been on the last two that I bought) - once you've hooked up to your TV using the HDMI cable, connect to your wi-fi and that's you ready. The on-screen display is similar to an Android tablet, just open up the apps, and select XBMC/Kodi. On first start up, it'll download a lot of set-up files, but after this it'll start fairly quickly. In the Videos option, select Add Ons, and a list of apps will be there - use Genesis for films and TV programs, and Woody for Sports. You can add extra apps like Sports Devil, which is the one I would recommend - there are loads of great tutorials on youtube.

The box normally comes with iPlayer/youtube/showbox pre-installed, but if not, add them yourself - if you've got am Android phone, you'll get the hang of this within 5 minutes. I don't use Google Play to install the apps (you have to register with Google to use the app store, and if you want to remain anonymous you won't want to register) - using the pre-installed browser, search for Aptoid which is used for installing apps, including those that are not hosted on Google Play, including Showbox and Mobdro (both recommended).

The boxes do stream HD, but this is dependant upon how popular that live stream is - for example, Real Madrid v Barcelona would probably be a bit choppy due to the amount of people trying to watch it, whereas QPR v Rotherham would probably be excellent quality. Unfortunately, only PL games are guaranteed to be shown - we are reliant upon Sky showing Championship games, then we would be able to get a stream (it's no different than getting streams on your PC). Films and TV programs that aren't being streamed live are generally very good quality using either Showbox or Genesis.

As for the Rasberry Pi box Ian - sorry, can't help there, but I would assume there's tons of stuff on youtube to help you out!

Any other questions guys, just drop them here - happy streaming