Never had Sky (even before the interwebz), never wanted it, never missed not having it.

DarthKermit:

 

Never had Sky even before the interwebz), never wanted it, never missed not having it.

 

How can you miss it even if you never have had it? (Not a criticism, an observation. )

Ive had it for ages. Ditched it when we moved as no dish, and I am the only one that watches it. (F1, MOTOGP, rugger, and docos) Got it back as it has value for me. Convenient.

surfisup1000:

 

Rikkitic:

 

We don’t watch sports

 

 

Holy heck, this is the only reason to have sky in the first place. 

 

Wrong the first time you said it, and every single time since. Curated content isn't the same on any other platform. Try finding something like FoodTV anywhere else.

mailmarshall: A very encouraging post - I am wanting to cut the Sky apron strings also. Can I ask what "all in one" Kodi /Freeview device you folks are using? Ideally Satellite and UHF. Thanks

Isn't Kodi illegal?

Pumpedd:

 

mailmarshall: A very encouraging post - I am wanting to cut the Sky apron strings also. Can I ask what "all in one" Kodi /Freeview device you folks are using? Ideally Satellite and UHF. Thanks

 

 

 

Isn't Kodi illegal?

 

Nope. Unfortunately lots of people using perfectly legal stuff to break the law.

Pumpedd:

 

mailmarshall: A very encouraging post - I am wanting to cut the Sky apron strings also. Can I ask what "all in one" Kodi /Freeview device you folks are using? Ideally Satellite and UHF. Thanks

 

 

 

Isn't Kodi illegal?

 

Kodi is a media player, with a simple user interface.

Yes it can run certain addons, but the core product itself isn't illegal.  Kinda similar to the guns don't kill people discussion, in that it's tool that can be used for illegal stuff, but can also be used legitimately without that.

Even the addon's are direct downloads, so aren't necessarily subject to the peer to peer sharing of copyright material law either.  It's all another conversation really.

Re Sky is only for sports etc, you have to admit that's the major unique selling point they have, as in you can't go anywhere else to get live coverage.

However, Sky also presents an easy user interface with access to lots of content, and they can deliver this without the requirement for broadband or near line of sight proximity to a UHF freeview terrestrial transmitter.

Their box is apple simple and they offer a good back catalog of content.  If someone else can step up to that then all good, but no one else has the depth they offer in one place at the moment. 

I think it's a rip and I don't see them moving with the times, but I do get why they were successful, even for those without a desire for live sport.

networkn:

 

surfisup1000:

 

Rikkitic:

 

We don’t watch sports

 

 

Holy heck, this is the only reason to have sky in the first place. 

 

 

Wrong the first time you said it, and every single time since. Curated content isn't the same on any other platform. Try finding something like FoodTV anywhere else.

 

HGTV, Foot Network etc are available on Hulu streaming (notwithstanding region restrictions).

For broadcast FreeView you can record, pause, fast forward with a recording DVR (is that what FreeviewPlus is?)

I could ditch Sky if not for sports. I watch cricket, rugby and golf on it and have yet to find any alternative. But everything else - documentaries, TV shows etc I can find on a streaming service. And some of it I either can't get on Sky, or it's on Soho, or it's many seasons behind.

kryptonjohn:

 

networkn:

 

surfisup1000:

 

Rikkitic:

 

We don’t watch sports

 

 

Holy heck, this is the only reason to have sky in the first place. 

 

 

Wrong the first time you said it, and every single time since. Curated content isn't the same on any other platform. Try finding something like FoodTV anywhere else.

 

 

HGTV, Foot Network etc are available on Hulu streaming (notwithstanding region restrictions).

 

For broadcast FreeView you can record, pause, fast forward with a recording DVR (is that what FreeviewPlus is?)

 

I could ditch Sky if not for sports. I watch cricket, rugby and golf on it and have yet to find any alternative. But everything else - documentaries, TV shows etc I can find on a streaming service. And some of it I either can't get on Sky, or it's on Soho, or it's many seasons behind.

 

 

 

Food TV in NZ and a number of the other channels, have content from all over the world, whereas, unless it's changed recently, FoodTV has American shows only. One of the things I like about FoodTV (Which is less apparent the last few months), is the NZ content as much, interspersed with the overseas content.

Just a thought - have you looked into improving your 4G (3G?) signal?

Assuming you have the Huawei B315s, do you have an external antenna? if not, get one of these and an appropriate length cable, if you already have one, consider getting a second one and experiment with mounting locations, often having both at opposing 45deg angles could be best.

wratterus:

 

Just a thought - have you looked into improving your 4G (3G?) signal?

 

Assuming you have the Huawei B315s, do you have an external antenna? if not, get one of these and an appropriate length cable, if you already have one, consider getting a second one and experiment with mounting locations, often having both at opposing 45deg angles could be best.

 

Are you referring to the issues I have posted about elsewhere? If so, I do have the B315s and I have two external antennas of the type linked to by you. I experimented extensively with placement and LTE configuration but the best result I could get was with them vertically stacked. As far as I can tell, my problem is not related to reception, but to congestion at the Vodafone mast, which badly needs an upgrade.

mailmarshall: A very encouraging post - I am wanting to cut the Sky apron strings also. Can I ask what "all in one" Kodi /Freeview device you folks are using? Ideally Satellite and UHF. Thanks

I see no-one answered your post so I will. I am not using an all-in-one device. I have a cheap Chinese satellite receiver for satellite, and a separate UHF device for terrestrial. However, my Sony TV also has a DVB-T tuner and I am using that at the moment. Many modern TVs have their own tuners built in, either for satellite, UHF, or both. Someone sent me this link for a combo receiver. I can’t say anything about it.

Kodi is not a device, just software that runs on any platform. I have it installed on Android and Windows. It is very solid and works very well. Essentially it is just a very good media player, but it also works well as a streaming device. It has had a lot of bad press because it has been misused for pirate streams but it also has many legitimate uses and is excellent for those. I am not into sports or blockbuster films and the legal sources available from the official repository and elsewhere are more than enough to satisfy my viewing needs. There are also many legal paid subscription sites that work well with Kodi. It is certainly worth having.

Don’t even bother trying to watch pirate streams on it, though. There is a major crackdown underway at the moment and many of the streams no longer work. You also run a real risk of being identified as a consumer, with possible legal repercussions now or later. A VPN may or may not give you some protection, but why bother? If you are willing to shell out for a VPN for this purpose, and also pay to subscribe to a shady provider who may well take your money and run, why not just pay for a legal subscription in the first place? There is plenty on offer with a lot more value for money than you can get from Sky. But there is also a lot of good free stuff.

I have had some streaming issues, but that has to do with my RBI connection and mast congestion. It will not be a problem for most people. I mainly use Kodi for streaming from local and overseas public broadcasting and FTA sources as it is the best and most convenient way to do this. Since I have a data cap on RBI, I also use UHF and satellite for Freeview. Obviously you need a UHF aerial and/or satellite dish set up to do this but I already had these.

Rikkitic:

 

Are you referring to the issues I have posted about elsewhere? If so, I do have the B315s and I have two external antennas of the type linked to by you. I experimented extensively with placement and LTE configuration but the best result I could get was with them vertically stacked. As far as I can tell, my problem is not related to reception, but to congestion at the Vodafone mast, which badly needs an upgrade.  

 

Sorry, I was just referring to this thread. You've got that side of things all covered though, so no problems.