set top boxes from overseas

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beenz

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#223927 24-Oct-2017 16:21

I see there are quite a few set top boxes on ebay that can get multi channels, I know the risks associated with buying from overseas and this is noi a issue as the price point is quite low and I have bought a few things with varying levels of success.

The question for me is will they work here ?

I can see not reason why they wouldn't , has anyone bought or used one ?

Would be interested to know, and will they work on a Sky dish or do you need a special dish ?

Thanks

Bernard

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Awrrr
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#1888799 24-Oct-2017 17:17

Any satellite receiver will work fine here. I have had several over the years from China. They also work fine on a Sky dish. You just need to set it up correctly.

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beenz

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#1888847 24-Oct-2017 17:42

Rikkitic:
Any satellite receiver will work fine here. I have had several over the years from China. They also work fine on a Sky dish. You just need to set it up correctly.

Great thank you and what English language channels can you get...is there a list you can download ?
Thanks

Rikkitic

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#1888878 24-Oct-2017 18:15

The golden days are over. It has all moved onto the Internet. Most channels of interest are scrambled unless your interests are very specific. The ones that can still be viewed are mainly religious or foreign language. You can also watch any of the NZ Freeview channels.

What you can get depends on your installation. A regular 60 cm Sky dish can get Freeview without changing anything. The Freeview Channels are on the same satellite as Sky, Optus D1. There are two other satellites than can usually be received in New Zealand, depending on your dish and location. Those are Optus D2 and Intelsat. D2 has almost nothing of interest any longer, except a couple of English-language news stations like RT. Intelsat 19 also has a couple of European news channels. Things change from time to time but everything else is usually scrambled.

To get D2 or Intelsat 19, you need to add extra LNBs to your dish. The satellites are close enough to each other that they can be received by offsetting the LNBs. I don't know how well this will work on the standard 60 cm Sky dish. A larger dish may be needed to collect enough signal. Correctly positioning and mounting the LNBs is not easy. You will need someone with knowledge and the right equipment. I would not consider it worth the trouble these days.

Good luck.

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B1GGLZ

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#1889020 24-Oct-2017 22:40

Last year I bought an Android box from China with built in Sat and UHF tuners. Only cost $98 so I only bought it to experiment with and it works perfectly. Took only a few minutes to scan and tune all the FTA channels (and Sky's encrypted channels) on my Sky Dish and the UHF Tuner found and displayed all our NZ Channels (and Freeview EPG) no problem. The Firmware allows it to work anywhere in the world (except a very few strange locations) on all transmission protocols. Streaming from the Internet works perfectly too with Kodi and many other apps. It also records OK to USB HDD or SD Card.

richms

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#1889023 24-Oct-2017 22:46

I bought a really cheap LCD projector (trash resolution thing) which had DVBT2 built into it as well as HDMI and composite in. Works great on freeview and the software looks pretty much identical to a cheap LCD TV's menus.

Only thing missing is the annoying slow freeview EPG, it shows what is on, and thats all I really care about.

Richard rich.ms

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#1889034 24-Oct-2017 23:44

B1GGLZ:

Last year I bought an Android box from China with built in Sat and UHF tuners. Only cost $98 so I only bought it to experiment with and it works perfectly. Took only a few minutes to scan and tune all the FTA channels (and Sky's encrypted channels) on my Sky Dish and the UHF Tuner found and displayed all our NZ Channels (and Freeview EPG) no problem. The Firmware allows it to work anywhere in the world (except a very few strange locations) on all transmission protocols. Streaming from the Internet works perfectly too with Kodi and many other apps. It also records OK to USB HDD or SD Card.

@B1GGLZ: I might actually be interested in that. Can you give me the model?

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beenz

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#1891035 26-Oct-2017 21:52

Rikkitic:

B1GGLZ:

Last year I bought an Android box from China with built in Sat and UHF tuners. Only cost $98 so I only bought it to experiment with and it works perfectly. Took only a few minutes to scan and tune all the FTA channels (and Sky's encrypted channels) on my Sky Dish and the UHF Tuner found and displayed all our NZ Channels (and Freeview EPG) no problem. The Firmware allows it to work anywhere in the world (except a very few strange locations) on all transmission protocols. Streaming from the Internet works perfectly too with Kodi and many other apps. It also records OK to USB HDD or SD Card.

@B1GGLZ: I might actually be interested in that. Can you give me the model?

So this is the model I am getting

http://www.unblocktech.com/en/ubox4/

They are on ebay etc.

A friend of mine has one and he swears by it telling me how fantastic it is.

The only downside is you need a fast internet connection , he is using it on broadband with some buffering.

blakamin

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#1891037 26-Oct-2017 22:03

beenz:

Rikkitic:

B1GGLZ:

Last year I bought an Android box from China with built in Sat and UHF tuners. Only cost $98 so I only bought it to experiment with and it works perfectly. Took only a few minutes to scan and tune all the FTA channels (and Sky's encrypted channels) on my Sky Dish and the UHF Tuner found and displayed all our NZ Channels (and Freeview EPG) no problem. The Firmware allows it to work anywhere in the world (except a very few strange locations) on all transmission protocols. Streaming from the Internet works perfectly too with Kodi and many other apps. It also records OK to USB HDD or SD Card.

@B1GGLZ: I might actually be interested in that. Can you give me the model?

So this is the model I am getting

http://www.unblocktech.com/en/ubox4/

They are on ebay etc.

A friend of mine has one and he swears by it telling me how fantastic it is.

The only downside is you need a fast internet connection , he is using it on broadband with some buffering.

Hope you're not paying much... I'd say that 90%+ of that content will be illegal and likely to disappear one day.

beenz

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#1891039 26-Oct-2017 22:10

blakamin:

beenz:

Rikkitic:

B1GGLZ:

Last year I bought an Android box from China with built in Sat and UHF tuners. Only cost $98 so I only bought it to experiment with and it works perfectly. Took only a few minutes to scan and tune all the FTA channels (and Sky's encrypted channels) on my Sky Dish and the UHF Tuner found and displayed all our NZ Channels (and Freeview EPG) no problem. The Firmware allows it to work anywhere in the world (except a very few strange locations) on all transmission protocols. Streaming from the Internet works perfectly too with Kodi and many other apps. It also records OK to USB HDD or SD Card.

@B1GGLZ: I might actually be interested in that. Can you give me the model?

So this is the model I am getting

http://www.unblocktech.com/en/ubox4/

They are on ebay etc.

A friend of mine has one and he swears by it telling me how fantastic it is.

The only downside is you need a fast internet connection , he is using it on broadband with some buffering.

Hope you're not paying much... I'd say that 90%+ of that content will be illegal and likely to disappear one day.

I am very interested in how you base your comments, specifically around it being illegal and likely to disappear one day.

I am sure Sky would like it that way but to me your comment is somewhat meaningless unless of course you can show me some hard facts to back it up.

Thanks

Rikkitic

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#1891040 26-Oct-2017 22:12

Okay, I thought you were talking about satellite STBs. This is something else altogether. Don't be surprised if it stops working at some point. Or you get an unfriendly letter from a copyright holder.

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beenz

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#1891045 26-Oct-2017 22:16

Rikkitic:

Okay, I thought you were talking about satellite STBs. This is something else altogether. Don't be surprised if it stops working at some point. Or you get an unfriendly letter from a copyright holder.

So again while I am not saying you are wrong, but what do you base your statement on.

As my understanding is that it is perfectly above board and "kosher" but interested to know why you think otherwise?

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blakamin

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#1891046 26-Oct-2017 22:19

Google "chinese android tv box illegal" or "kodi crack down".

It's a well known fact, and I really don't care if you find my comment meaningless... It's your money, do your own research.

beenz

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#1891051 26-Oct-2017 22:30

blakamin:

Google "chinese android tv box illegal" or "kodi crack down".

It's a well known fact, and I really don't care if you find my comment meaningless... It's your money, do your own research.

You can not say it is a well known fact without backing it up, and if you do research you will find that you are actually wrong as at the moment there is a case pending over the use of these boxes.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/95450190

and this article from the UK makes interesting reading.

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/kodi-set-top-boxes-illegal-9434317

So I am backing up my discussion with solid argument yours is based on fiction.

Thank you for the input though

Thanks

blakamin

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#1891057 26-Oct-2017 22:47

If you didn't have an attitude in your first reply to me, I probably would've helped you, and maybe even found you some links.

Now I hope it stops working a month after you buy it.

outta here.

Rikkitic

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#1891101 27-Oct-2017 01:17

Whatever you may want to think, there isn’t a lot of doubt about the illegality of fully loaded Kodi boxes. That is why trading sites have stopped allowing ads for them. The European court has also just ruled on this and the result is that these devices are now definitely illegal throughout Europe. There is no ambiguity about this. They are against the law. Not the boxes themselves, but having them set up to access pirate streams. It is illegal.

In Britain, a seller of fully loaded boxes was recently convicted. Judge Peter Armstrong said, "If anyone was under any illusion as to whether such devices as these, fully loaded Kodi boxes, were illegal or not, they can no longer be in any such doubt."

There has also been a major crackdown in Canada and there are legal moves to do the same around the world.

Anyone who isn’t completely blinded by greed and stupidity can see which way this is going. It has taken the copyright industry awhile to act, but the juggernaut is now well underway. Streaming sites are being shut down, sellers are being prosecuted, information is being collected on customers. Even where loaded boxes are not yet actually against the law, it probably won’t be long before they are. The days of this type of illegal streaming are numbered.

IPTV subscription services like the one you mention are in a slightly different category and they haven’t been targeted yet, but that situation may not last. Maybe no-one will get too bothered by those that just stream FTA content from different regions, but premium services covered by copyright are another matter. It seems foolish to kick that particular sleeping dog.

Apart from the legality of this, there is also a moral aspect. Although I am strongly opposed to current copyright law and the way it is implemented internationally, I do not believe in piracy. Content should be paid for. Those who freeload are ripping off those who do pay.

The above and plenty more that I have read on the subject are what I base my statement on. Here are some more links to ponder:

http://androidpcreview.com/paid-kodi-addons/7341/

https://torrentfreak.com/

https://torrentfreak.com/iptv-mass-piracy-thats-flying-largely-under-the-radar-161127/

https://thevpn.guru/kodi-crackdown-usa-uk-australia-canada

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