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pulling the plug on cable tv |
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Ricky
Headbanger
3322 posts
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Posted - 10/17/2018 11:00:47 AM |
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pulling the plug on cable tv
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It's 2018 and it's about time for the cable and satellite tv providers to make like a tree and fuck off.
I recently learnt that the Amazon Fire TV is really nothing more than an android device and it is not tightly coupled to running its media only through Amazon. We've been installing other apps onto it and are working our way towards a new and huge world of entertainment for almost no monthly cost. Once we get everything running like clockwork, I'll be cancelling our cable tv and will save nearly $100/month.
My ultimate goal is for the Fire TV to be able to torrent any file on demand, which opens up any thing I want (even ppv events). I also will be setting it up to be able to stream NFL games on Sundays.
UPDATED 10/25/2018: I have everything working except for streaming games, which I will solve shortly and then update this forum post.
We are currently using our Fire TV for everything we need, and will be canceling Time Warner/Spectrum once we finish battle testing it over the weekend!
Here is the lowdown:
1. You can use any of the three Amazon Fire TV devices, and you don't have to be a member of Amazon in order to use them. The three device options are Fire TV Stick ($40), Fire TV ($70), and Fire TV Cube ($120). The differences between them come down to hardware capabilities and whether or not you need support for 4K and/or an ethernet port. You can see a comparison of these devices at Tom's Guide. We have the Fire TV ($70) version (Jax got it on sale for less) and are only using WiFi for the internet connection (and 1080p is no problem).
2. When initially setting up Fire TV, you'll be prompted to install various apps such as Firefox. Pick whatever ones you want, but be sure to also install Firefox.
3. Home > Settings > Device > Developer Options > turn on "Apps from Unknown..."
4. Go back to home screen and then Search > Downloader (it has an orange icon with a downward arrow on it). Install the Downloader, which has a built-in browser that allows you to go to specific web pages and download links (as opposed to having to go through the Google Play store). Installing files directly using the Downloader is what is called "side loading."
5. Open http://kodi.tv/download in the Downloader's browser and choose Android > ARM 32bit to download and install. This will be your main media player.
6. Install a VPN onto your Fire TV. We use NordVPN and purchased a 3 year plan for multiple devices (including phones) for $99 (about $3/month). If you use NordVPN, you can side load it onto the Fire TV by going to https://nordvpn.com/download/android/ and clicking on the tiny "Download .apk" link next to the Google Play button. A VPN will give you privacy, which is especially useful if torrenting.
7. Install any other media apps you want. I recommend Pluto.TV, for example.
------ the following section is for how to torrent files, which you really really really should do ---------
8. Create an account at https://put.io (I did this via my PC). This is the only thing that we are paying for going forward. You can get it for less than $10/month, but we opted for the plan that costs $16.58/month and grants us 1TB of storage space in the cloud. PUT.IO is a service that lets you paste in a torrent's "magnet" url link and then it will torrent that file for you and save it in the cloud to be able to be streamed on demand (with full pause, rewind, fast forward, etc.).
9. Side load PUT.IO onto your Fire TV by opening the Downloader and going to https://put.io/dl/putio.tv.apk After installing it, you'll need to sync your Fire TV with your PUT.IO account by going to https://put.io/link in Firefox and entering a six character code that is shown after installation.
10. Open up the Kodi app that you already installed onto Fire TV and go to its "Add-on" section/manager, and then choose Video Add-ons > Download > Video Add-ons. Find and select PUT.IO and it will add it to Kodi and give you another six character code to sync up via Firefox at https://put.io/kodi
11. I was never able to find a way to copy a magnet link using Fire TV's Firefox, and therefore we just use our other computers to load up torrents into PUT.IO. Here's one simple example: On a regular computer (or phone), go to https://zooqle.com and find a show you want to torrent. Drill into it and you'll see a magnet icon in various places. Copy that magnet url link and then go to https://put.io (assuming you are logged in) then New Transfer > Paste Link. Paste in the magnet url link and click the Start Transfers button.
12. At this point, your Fire TV's Kodi app should be synced up with PUT.IO and when your torrent is ready it will show in Kodi. All torrent'ed media files can be played anytime! You can even torrent UFC pay-per-views and anything else you can imagine.
In theory, PUT.IO can even support RSS feeds and you can create automatic subscriptions to regular shows, etc.
NEXT UP: Streaming NFL games.
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Posted - 10/17/2018 11:08:14 AM |
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Sounds great Keith. Keep us posted
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| I'm really interested to know how this works out. The more detail the better - I'm a complete novice at all this, though I do have a Roku device and would love to know if this may be transferable to that. |
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Posted - 10/17/2018 1:48:50 PM |
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that sounds both very technical and borderline illegal...
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| In other words, what we would all expect from Keith! |
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Alicia
Scout
98 posts
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Fu: 91.96 |
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Posted - 10/18/2018 5:48:20 AM |
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Sunday morning game
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| Since there is a stupid ass London game, shouldn't free agency resolve at say 9:00am so in case anyone is foolish enough to pick up a Titan or a Charger they can be added to the roster before game time? |
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Posted - 10/25/2018 1:10:01 PM |
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big update regarding cutting the cable cord
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I updated the original post with all of the details for how to get running on Fire TV.
I also discovered a whole new world of android tv devices which are not Fire TV. I'm pretty sure that all of the aforementioned installation instructions would apply to a non-amazon android tv as well. I think if we set up a second TV in a similar fashion, I may choose something like the H96 Hexa-Core. |
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Posted - 10/28/2018 1:13:58 PM |
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I'm watching any NFL game I want to today!
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| I put the last piece of the puzzle into place this morning, and I'm now watching live NFL games for free on my living room tv. I'll post the remaining details this week. |
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Posted - 10/28/2018 2:42:03 PM |
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final notes on pulling the plug on cable tv
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I've learned a few things since getting the first pass up and running...
A) Amazon is launching a new generation of Fire TV hardware on October 31, and there will be two options: Fire TV Stick ($49) and Fire TV Cube ($119). These new versions offer better hardware and better support for 4K and more.
B) I spent hours and hours comparing other Android TV devices and I came full circle back to Amazon Fire TV for my final decision. I ordered the Fire TV Cube to be delivered this week, and that way I'll have Fire TV in both living rooms. Instead of a different tv device, I decided to go with the new generation of Fire TV because a) I already verified that it can do everything I need (vs misc limitations with other devices), b) I don't have to order anything from across the Pacific Ocean, and c) it has a non-IR remote (no way in Hel that I'm going to settle for using an IR remote).
C) To get streaming set up, go to: howtomediacenter.com and get Plexus and Acestream set up for Kodi. Note that before you can get Kodi / Plexus to stream something, you have to manually launch Acestream and THEN launch Kodi.
D) Copy any acestream:// url link into Plexus and then watch the show. It's that simple!
E) Go to https://www.reddit.com/r/nflstreams/ for acestream:// links.
F) Go to the settings in Plexus and optimize some of them for better performance: http://acestreamguide.com/buffering/
G) I wasn't able to copy an acestream:// link from within a Fire TV browser, so for today I just manually enter the link one time for each game that I want to watch (you can switch between games, and even watch the Red Zone channel). Someday I'll figure out how to copy and paste.
H) When watching these types of streams, you do want to use a VPN.
That's it! |
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Posted - 10/30/2018 10:06:56 AM |
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i did it. i cut the cable.
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| just got off the phone with the evil overlords and i terminated the TV service. i'll be saving $121.00/month by cutting the cord (and i had a no-frills TV package). |
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Coach Cowher Tomlin
Football Freak
997 posts
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Fu: 100.96 |
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Posted - 11/4/2018 9:08:50 AM |
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Math is hard, but apparently English is harder.
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| As someone that takes pride in writing his Scribbles I find it frustrating that the site does not understand the concept of indentation of paragraphs, and now we seem to have lost the ability to capitalize as well. |
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Posted - 11/7/2018 7:23:58 PM |
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math is hard
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| especially when cursed to an 0-9 record. that's just ridonkulous. |
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Posted - 11/14/2018 8:18:16 PM |
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over the air HD TV DVR with no-subscription
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Out here in Elfland we're still refining the ol' go-fuck-yourself-cable-tv approach, but it's continuing to get sweeter as we get learnt on siance and electro-pixies and stuff.
One thing that is more harder after cutting the cable cord is to find easy network TV programming that you can view and DVR just as if you had cable or satellite tv (meaning, it has a channel guide, you can pause live TV, and you can record live TV). We recently got the ChannelMaster STREAM+ for our living room, combined with an over-the-air HD antenna. It's basically a fancy Android device that taps into Google TV for the schedule info and listings display. And you can pause live over-the-air TV. And you can schedule full-on DVR recordings for all of the over the air programming. It's the easiest, bestest way to get all those main cocksucker networks like NBC, CBS, ABC, ArenaTrucks, and FOX, with full DVR capabilities and without having to pay any subscription to anyone.
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Posted - 9/16/2019 9:33:48 AM |
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streaming NFL games is easier in 2019
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| during games, simply go to Reddit and find a link to the game you want to watch (even the Red Zone is available). last year, i had to copy an "acestream" link into a video add-on (Plexus) within Kodi. this year, I just click a link and then hit Play on the video. i was able to watch the Vikings/Packers game yesterday (and also the Red Zone) using this approach. |
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Posted - 9/16/2019 11:25:41 PM |
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Streaming worked perfectly
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| Thanks Raiden! |
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