Purchasing an Android TV box or anything that can stream HBO, Showtime, ETC

[sandrabbit]

1 hour ago, Mooner said:

So Allstar charges for his build? There are loads of free builds out there.

It takes only a short time to learn how to install builds.

Lots of youtube videos. Watch the tutorial on your phone and install on your android box.

Easy and free

I understand what you are saying and I learnt about setting up android boxes on my own but I do worldwide field service on control systems. I have never seen anyone complain on Thai visa about buying a box through Allstar, in fact all I see are compliments so I think he's doing something right for everybody who's new to this. He doesn't hide his knowledge and is helpful on the forums and just asks people to pm him if they need more info or want a box set up by him. I agree there are a lot of tutorials but I didn't use youtube I read up on specific websites on my own and made a lot of mistakes initially but I had plenty of time to learn from them.

[Allstars]

30 minutes ago, Mooner said:

Some builds have atomatic updates.

So if you are so proud of your product could you please let us know the cost of your service?

The one thing that drew me to you was your insistence to private messages.

 

 

 

Every addon receives auto updates.

 

But updates doesn't include change of repo server address, this only can be done manually. If the repo server address changes your addon will not update any more and stop working.

 

I should also be noted that change of repo address is some frequent issue these days, because the servers get shut down for obvious reasons and have to move on to better horizons.

 

Also many builds have a main repo that contains hundreds of addons instead of the repo from the original developer of each addon because installing all those repos is very time consuming..

 

The problem with that is that this repo often contains outdated version, so your addon stops working while it still should be fully functional, or even has some malicious code written in that removes competing addons from your system. Been there, got the T-shirt.

 

And again, if the server address of that repo changes all your addons top updating at once.

 

Auto updates also doesn't include newly released addons obviously, and nobody informs you about that.

 

Forum rules prevent me to publish my services on the open forum, but everyone is free to ask.

 

Sceptical people better refrain.

Edited March 17, 2017 by Allstars

[sandrabbit]

1 minute ago, Mooner said:

Ok no need to answer. If you have a android box guys just download Showbox for movies and series and mobdro for sports and news and live channels.

All free!

 

for all tv series + movies it's Exodus but for sports I use cricbox online as it's streams are usually better than those on mobdro but I love the channel buckle up on mobro for flying documentaries. for live tv I use filmon on my laptop as I don't like the android version of it.

[Allstars]

Sure Mobdro is indeed a valuable option, I even include it in all my Kodi builds, though the picture resolution is sometimes pretty low.

 

For movies Exodus, Specto or a few other Kodi addons are far superior in quality, options and content over Showbox.

 

Full HD movies and the latest screeners of Logan or the uncut version of fifty shades darker in HD, and to all movies are subtitles in whatever language you prefer automatically added.

 

I recently had a friend who swore by Showbox, because he didn't know Kodi, until he had my build installed. Now he wonders why he didn't go for Kodi earlier. He never looked back at Showbox

 

I also like the Filmon addon in Kodi, as it automatically integrates with the program guide which contains every UK and US tv and sports channels.Other addons can also easily be added to that program guide.

 

For sports there are plenty of addons in Kodi, some with 1080P streams of all major sports channels, and other that only list live sports events.

 

Cricbox is include in a few Kodi addons

 

For documentaries there is of course HBO or National Geographic documentaries in Kodi.

 

Convenience of Kodi is that everything is in one place just one click away, and you don't risk any malware or adware as with online versions.

 

Oh, and don't forget, everything I mentioned and what you see in the screen shots, and much more, is all FREE.

 

 

 

Edited March 17, 2017 by Allstars

[Scott]

Some offending posts have been removed.   Please post in a civil manner and exercise care in how you word your posts.   Advertising is reserved for sponsors.  

 

 

[Jeffrey346]

There are some very sophisticated free builds available. Just Google Best 2017 Kodi Builds.

[Mooner]

2 minutes ago, Jeffrey346 said:

There are some very sophisticated free builds available. Just Google Best 2017 Kodi Builds.

Exactly. As for updates. I probably change a build every 4 months. Mainly just to check out new builds.

Use Exodus for tv and series.

Live tv is pointless on Kodi if you are based in Thailand because of the time difference.

 

[Jeffrey346]

8 minutes ago, Mooner said:

Exactly. As for updates. I probably change a build every 4 months. Mainly just to check out new builds.

Use Exodus for tv and series.

Live tv is pointless on Kodi if you are based in Thailand because of the time difference.

 

The one I am using now is from Team Magic...[ No Limits Magic Build ]  It has everything you will ever need.. Check it out when you have some time... 

[Allstars]

15 minutes ago, Mooner said:

Exactly. As for updates. I probably change a build every 4 months. Mainly just to check out new builds.

Use Exodus for tv and series.

Live tv is pointless on Kodi if you are based in Thailand because of the time difference.

 

For European and US Live tv the time difference can instead be an inconvenience, unless you know how to time record the streams of course.

 

Every major sports event worldwide, in whatever sports discipline is also available in replay on Kodi, and many of the major tv channels have their version of catch up tv

Edited March 18, 2017 by Allstars

[Jeffrey346]

1 minute ago, Allstars said:

For European and US Live tv the time difference can isntead be an inconvenience, unless you know how to time record the streams of course.

 

Every major sports event worldwide, in whatever sports discipline is also available in reply on Kodi, and so does have many of the major tv channels their version of catch up tv

Good point. That's why I bought a box with a built in hard drive bay.  I can record anything anytime.. 

[Allstars]

16 minutes ago, Jeffrey346 said:

Good point. That's why I bought a box with a built in hard drive bay.  I can record anything anytime.. 

 

Of course to time record you need the addons that enable time recording at times that you are not able to watch, and this only make sense for live tv, because all the other content is on demand at your convenience any way.

 

Personally I'm not a proponent of the few boxes with a drive bay that are available, because they are quite bulky, and the limited selection available also limits you in the choice of specs for your box.

 

Every Android box has the possibility to attach an external HDD through the USB slot.

Edited March 18, 2017 by Allstars

[Jeffrey346]

4 minutes ago, Allstars said:

 

Personally I'm not a proponent of the few boxes with a drive bay that are available, because they are quite bulky, and because of their limited availability you are also limited in the choice of specs for your box.

 

 

Yes they can be larger than the palm sized TV Box but a lot smaller than let say a True TV Box.

As for availability, you can get them on most reputable online sites.  

[Allstars]

52 minutes ago, Jeffrey346 said:

There are some very sophisticated free builds available. Just Google Best 2017 Kodi Builds.

 Sure there are very nice builds available for free, in fact EVERYTHING on Kodi is free for all.

 

Many people however are noobs regarding Kodi and appreciate the help with set up and the follow up support and whatever else is be needed.

 

All that can also be found from websites and YouTube, if you know where to look, but is very time consuming and in my experience many people have even then a difficult time to follow the instructions.

 

As far as I'm aware there is no free service available online that holds your hand through set up and afterwards.

[Jeffrey346]

18 minutes ago, Allstars said:

 Sure there are very nice builds available for free, in fact EVERYTHING on Kodi is free for all.

 

Many people however are noobs regarding Kodi and appreciate the help with set up and the follow up support and whatever else is be needed.

 

All that can also be found from websites and YouTube, if you know where to look, but is very time consuming and in my experience many people have even then a difficult time to follow the instructions.

 

As far as I'm aware there is no free service available online that holds your hand through set up and afterwards.

Kodi is like anything else. If you want to be proficient on Windows or MAC, you need to use it everyday.  Same goes for Kodi. It's not rocket science and no need to pay anyone...

[craigt3365]

21 minutes ago, Jeffrey346 said:

Kodi is like anything else. If you want to be proficient on Windows or MAC, you need to use it everyday.  Same goes for Kodi. It's not rocket science and no need to pay anyone...

I use windows every day and I'm far from proficient on it.  Drives me crazy at times.  But windows is a relatively well known commodity, with lots of support, years of experience and millions of users who offer help.  Kodi is a different beast.  And the addons come and go.  Work then don't work. Etc.

 

Like that build recommended above.  I tried it, and couldn't get it to work.  Did some research and found out they were having problems.  Recommendation was to wait a few days to see if they got it resolved.  Right....

[Jeffrey346]

16 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

I use windows every day and I'm far from proficient on it.  Drives me crazy at times.  But windows is a relatively well known commodity, with lots of support, years of experience and millions of users who offer help.  Kodi is a different beast.  And the addons come and go.  Work then don't work. Etc.

 

Like that build recommended above.  I tried it, and couldn't get it to work.  Did some research and found out they were having problems.  Recommendation was to wait a few days to see if they got it resolved.  Right....

Yeah..  tend to agree.. Windows is a horror show for many.. I'm a MAC guy, and MAC is dream compared to Windows.. JMO

[craigt3365]

7 minutes ago, Jeffrey346 said:

Yeah..  tend to agree.. Windows is a horror show for many.. I'm a MAC guy, and MAC is dream compared to Windows.. JMO

Perhaps.  But I just spent a day at a friends house trying to get stuff to work on his Mac.  NO luck.  It's a closed system.  But yes, in general, a mac has an OS that's easier to use if you work within it's boundaries.

[Naam]

3 hours ago, Jeffrey346 said:

Good point. That's why I bought a box with a built in hard drive bay.  I can record anything anytime.. 

i don't see any advantage of a box with the drive in a bay over a box with an external drive.

[Naam]

Quote

Kodi

is a phantastic "invention" coupled with hundreds of utmost shitty details. but... i love it

[Jeffrey346]

3 hours ago, Naam said:

i don't see any advantage of a box with the drive in a bay over a box with an external drive.

Some of the boxes with drive bay have setup options for recording when a HD is installed

[Jennyau]

Just thought i'd add to this thread about my Kodi experience. I had a build before and was having problems. Got in contact with Allstars and have been blown away with the amount of help he has been. Now have so much more to watch than i did before. Would totally recommend him to anyone that wants great addons and help at every turn...i know....i needed it....lol

 

thanks heaps Allstars!!!!

[sandrabbit]

On ‎18‎/‎03‎/‎2017 at 11:49 AM, Naam said:

i don't see any advantage of a box with the drive in a bay over a box with an external drive.

only speed of read and write to the hard drive as all boxes I have are usb 2, all made in Thailand but I have one expensive one with a built in sata interface ( it was about 4000 baht).

[Allstars]

4 minutes ago, sandrabbit said:

only speed of read and write to the hard drive as all boxes I have are usb 2, all made in Thailand but I have one expensive one with a built in sata interface ( it was about 4000 baht).

USB2 supports 480 Mbps transfer speed, lets say in real life it's only half of that, so 240 Mbps.

 

The purpose of the HDD is to either transfer a movie file to the media player, and there is no format even 4K that requires such a speed, or to save a downloaded movie file.

 

I still have to see the first internet connection in Thailand that is able to deliver a download speed from international server of 240 Mbps.

[sandrabbit]

2 minutes ago, Allstars said:

USB2 supports 480 Mbps transfer speed, lets say in real life it's only half of that, so 240 Mbps.

 

The purpose of the HDD is to either transfer a movie file to the media player, and there is no format even 4K that requires such a speed, or to save a downloaded movie file.

 

I still have to see the first internet connection in Thailand that is able to deliver a download speed from international server of 240 Mbps.

I'm not going to get in an argument over read speeds and you're right but usb falls off badly over time as the controller finds something else to do, just watch a usb to usb transfer using usb 3 fall off. I love usb 3 by the way but it for continuous running it doesn't match sata which reminds me I have an unused SSD I brought from the UK the last time I was back. I'm not upto date on actual figures but my own experience is that usb is way slower.

 

We have TOT fibre to the house and it was brilliant when it was first installed but now the full speed only seems to work  internally to Thailand, I read that one submarine cable was destroyed so I don't know if this makes a difference. We have a new cable receiving station at one end of the beach so hopefully we will get great international speeds again ....

[Allstars]

3 minutes ago, sandrabbit said:

I'm not going to get in an argument over read speeds and you're right but usb falls off badly over time as the controller finds something else to do, just watch a usb to usb transfer using usb 3 fall off. I love usb 3 by the way but it for continuous running it doesn't match sata which reminds me I have an unused SSD I brought from the UK the last time I was back. I'm not upto date on actual figures but my own experience is that usb is way slower.

 

We have TOT fibre to the house and it was brilliant when it was first installed but now the full speed only seems to work  internally to Thailand, I read that one submarine cable was destroyed so I don't know if this makes a difference. We have a new cable receiving station at one end of the beach so hopefully we will get great international speeds again ....

 

Please don't misunderstand my comment, I didn't try to argue, as I'm well aware that USB degrades over time.

 

What I tried to point out is that a HDD connected internal or external to a Android  box has the only purpose of transferring a media file from the HDD to the media player installed on the box, or save the media file downloaded from one of the Kodi addons on the box, and in that case there is nothing that the USB2 can not handle.

 

It is of course a totally different matter if you're talking about transferring files from your PC to the HDD or vice versa, or downloading torrents on the PC with a super fast internet connection, then nothing goes above SATA III and SSD

[Jeffrey346]

8 hours ago, Allstars said:

 

9 hours ago, sandrabbit said:

I'm not going to get in an argument over read speeds and you're right but usb falls off badly over time as the controller finds something else to do, just watch a usb to usb transfer using usb 3 fall off. I love usb 3 by the way but it for continuous running it doesn't match sata which reminds me I have an unused SSD I brought from the UK the last time I was back. I'm not upto date on actual figures but my own experience is that usb is way slower.

 

We have TOT fibre to the house and it was brilliant when it was first installed but now the full speed only seems to work  internally to Thailand, I read that one submarine cable was destroyed so I don't know if this makes a difference. We have a new cable receiving station at one end of the beach so hopefully we will get great international speeds again ....

 

8 hours ago, Allstars said:

 

Please don't misunderstand my comment, I didn't try to argue, as I'm well aware that USB degrades over time.

 

What I tried to point out is that a HDD connected internal or external to a Android  box has the only purpose of transferring a media file from the HDD to the media player installed on the box, or save the media file downloaded from one of the Kodi addons on the box, and in that case there is nothing that the USB2 can not handle.

 

It is of course a totally different matter if you're talking about transferring files from your PC to the HDD or vice versa, or downloading torrents on the PC with a super fast internet connection, then nothing goes above SATA III and SSD

@sandrabbit you are absolutely correct. There are huge advantages to having a HD connected via SATA over USB.

It is evident where the emphasis is as more and more manufacturers are including either SATA interfaces or complete enclosures for a hard drive.

In these days of online streaming having a large built-in storage is seen as a cost issue that is not necessarily needed.

Streaming online is the way most of us get our content,  having your own HD space to store your favorites is a nice option. This includes movies, photos, files or just about anything you would ever want to display to your TV screen. And let's not forget the NAS possibilities.
It is also good for those rare times when the internet is down and nothing can be streamed to your box.

To say a "HDD  connected internal or external to a Android  box has the only purpose of transferring a media file from the HDD to the media player installed on the box, or save the media file downloaded from one of the Kodi addons on the box, and in that case there is nothing that the USB2 can not handle,"  seems a bit short sighted. 

[Allstars]

13 minutes ago, Jeffrey346 said:

To say a "HDD  connected internal or external to a Android  box has the only purpose of transferring a media file from the HDD to the media player installed on the box, or save the media file downloaded from one of the Kodi addons on the box, and in that case there is nothing that the USB2 can not handle,"  seems a bit short sighted. 

May be you want to tell us then what the other purpose is,but wait, I think you told us already.

 

13 minutes ago, Jeffrey346 said:

In these days of online streaming having a large built-in storage is seen as a cost issue that is not necessarily needed.

 

 

Edited March 21, 2017 by Allstars

[Naam]

10 hours ago, sandrabbit said:

only speed of read and write to the hard drive as all boxes I have are usb 2, all made in Thailand but I have one expensive one with a built in sata interface ( it was about 4000 baht).

i disposed of one because two tiny cooling fans made a high pitched noise and inspite of the "cooling" the whole box heated up to an unacceptable temperature.

[Jeffrey346]

2 minutes ago, Allstars said:

May be you want to tell us then what the other purpose is,but wait, I think you told us already.

 

In these days of online streaming having a large built-in storage is seen as a cost issue that is not necessarily needed.

 

 

 

That's correct some may find the additional cost unnecessary, while others embrace technology. 

I do believe I pointed out some pros and cons that should be considered when buying a new box.

 

[Naam]

17 minutes ago, Jeffrey346 said:

Streaming online is the way most of us get our content,  having your own HD space to store your favorites is a nice option. This includes movies, photos, files or just about anything you would ever want to display to your TV screen. And let's not forget the NAS possibilities.
It is also good for those rare times when the internet is down and nothing can be streamed to your box.

an external drive does same same, not different