IPTV & KODI - how to get yourself setup (UK and US channels in particular)

[Buffy Frobisher]

Like many members here, I've also just switched from 3BB to AIS fibre cable in north-east Bangkok, and the speed and reliability improvement is quite noticeable. It was a good decision, and enabled me to cord-cut TrueVisions and move over to IPTV via cable internet, which proves to be much cheaper and with a much greater choice of content. Being able to watch F1 races was the priority for me, and I finally found a great alternative in the dedicated Sky Sports F1 channel. I spent a few weeks researching the process, and so, for what it's worth, here's what I did, for anyone else considering the move. It's nowhere near as difficult as it seems.

 

The first thing you need is a really quick Android-powered IPTV box to run KODI, a streaming media player on which you add your IPTV service. You simply connect the IPTV box to your wi-fi, like a computer, and run an HDMI cable from the box into your TV.  There are many out there, and probably some available in Thailand (AIS even give you a box with some subscriptions though it's quite low-end), but this one got the best reviews on Amazon and other forums so I bought a LEELBOX Q3 unit from AliExpress, the Amazon-version of Alibaba in China. It includes an HDMI cable, a neat little remote, and comes pre-installed with KODI, Netflix and YouTube, and of course the Google Play store so you can add any other app to the box that you might have on your Android phone if you want to. The only other thing you might want to consider buying is a wireless keyboard, because the on-screen keyboard makes setup a bit slow, though it's not a deal breaker.

 

The supplier in Shenzen was really polite with his limited English and efficient with email queries about performance etc, and I took the DHL delivery option for an extra $6.84 and it arrived 3 days later with no Customs duty payable. I was a bit hesitant about using online purchasing and my credit card in China, but Alibaba are pretty solid I think, and it was a cheaper option that Amazon from the US considering freight charges. I notice that today it's advertised at $199 on AliExpress, but two weeks ago the supplier pointed me to AliExpress and sold me a couple of them through there for $68.00 each, and it's currently advertised on Amazon at $64.99, so email this address and ask him for the same price - he's clearly negotiable : [email protected]. The box is on AliExpress here: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Leelbox-Q3-Android-TV-Box-2GB-16GB-5G-2-4G-Dual-Wifi-bluetooth-4-0-Amlogic/1280496_32701502753.html?spm=2114.8147860.0.0.IOIsM5, and on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Leelbox-Q3-Bluetooth-Amlogic-Android/dp/B01H1H6OPO/.

 

I then started researching KODI, a streaming media player app for almost every platform (www.kodi.tv) and tried a lot of the add-ons simply by Googling "kodi f1". They all suffer from delay even with a hi-speed internet connection, but the best add-on I've found for UK, European and US channels is called Project Cypher, and you can download the repository (all the bits to make it run) at http://repo.run/cypherrepo.  Project Cypher has all the IPTV streaming channels, and Cypher TV has all the TV series and movies - they're in the same repo (repository) package. There are plenty of videos on YouTube which explain how to install these add-ons, and the clearest instructions I've found are here: https://seo-michael.co.uk/tutorial-how-to-install-the-project-cypher-tv-add-on-kodi/. You get a lot of free sports channels including all UK football and global F1 races, however because everyone on the planet uses the same resources through all the other add-ons - they all point to the same server group - you sometimes get a lot of buffering. That seems to be the problem most add-ons have if they offer free channels. It takes about 5 minutes to install the add-ons to KODI and get the thing working.

 

I've been talking with the guy who built Project Cypher via Facebook this week (he calls himself "Cypher" until you subscribe, when you'll find his real name on the bank details), and discovered that he has a Premium service called Cypher Media, which gives you 909 channels, mostly in HD with no buffering at all because they run on a dedicated server group, checked and updated daily, and you can get it for as low as £12 per month on a 6-month subscription. That's about 520 Baht per month for 909 channels at today's rates! AND he gives you a 24-hour free trial to test it. I did, and it's fantastic! You also get an EPG (electronic program guide) so you see what channel is currently screening what game/program, and future start times, just like the menu on TrueVisions.

 

It's all done through the standard KODI app, and he has his own custom build of KODI with lots of other features if you want it when you subscribe. I've finally broken the shackles of Thailand's monopoly cable provider which I only ever needed for F1, and the Sky Sports F1 feed on Cypher Media  is a dedicated 24-hour channel with way more race coverage than you get through Fox Sports out of Singapore. His Facebook page is here: http://facebook.com/cyphermediaiptv, and he said if you mentioned me (Buffy) he'd personally look after any other expats in Thailand messaging through the Facebook page from TVF. He might even be open to giving you a couple of quid off if he gets enough enquiries from TVF and if you ask, though I didn't get a discount. The minor hassle is that he accepts Skrill or bank transfer to the UK only, so it adds just a few more Baht to the cost for bank fees which is why I did the 6-month subscription. It's £15 per month on a monthly basis, plus transfer fees, still a good deal for 909 channels I guess. It gets cheaper as you subscribe for longer.

 

I have no business or financial relationship with any of the sellers mentioned. I'm just sharing the experience and recommending them because of the superb service and products I bought from them at the prices I quoted, and the freedom of choice I now have, having finally figured out how to crack the IPTV solution. I hope this helps you if IPTV, and F1 or football games (and the best TV series and movies), are of interest. You're welcome to message me if you need any assistance.

 

[Chicog]

Flawless is about 6 quid a month, and I don't know what "transfer fees" are but they don't charge any.

 

If you just want their sports package it's 52 quid a year.

 

[mikebike]

Thanks, good to know!

[Anthony5]

Some people are made happy easyly it seems.

 

Cypher media doesn't have even close to 900 channels, and even then half of them are Arab channels.

 

https://www.freewebstore.org/cypher-media/page/channels

 

The so called best box in the world Leelbox Q3 is a soc S812 with Android 5.1 installed,  for which there is no support from Amlogic. So good luck with that.

 

Plenty of reliable IPTV subs available for 5 gbp per month.

[Chicog]

The Flawless channel list is here:

http://pastebin.com/3vprHNLb

 

I have the "Full" subscription which is Multiroom (two subs), Entertainment and Sport. It runs on everything.

Works out at 4 quid a month per sub.

 

So I run it on a Fire Stick in the office, an Avov and a Mag at home, although I can run it on Kodi as well obviously.

 

[Phuket Man]

Flawlessly works great unless they are under a ddos attack as they have been the last few days.

[Chicog]

1 hour ago, Phuket Man said:

Flawlessly works great unless they are under a ddos attack as they have been the last few days.

 

I never noticed it.

It didn't sound like a particularly sophisticated attack, as it didn't take the streams down..

They reckon one of the people who's lost the most customers to them was behind it, but he's only reselling stalker so no loss there.

 

[Phuket Man]

Chicog. I am guessing their servers are in UK.
Why does it work so much better than outfits with servers in Thailand?

[Anthony5]

26 minutes ago, Phuket Man said:

Chicog. I am guessing their servers are in UK.
Why does it work so much better than outfits with servers in Thailand?

 

For the same reason that CCcam lines from China work so much better than those from Thai suppliers, and that is because the Thai suppliers always oversell their capacity.

 

In one word, GREED

 

 

[Anthony5]

2 hours ago, Chicog said:

The Flawless channel list is here:

http://pastebin.com/3vprHNLb

 

I have the "Full" subscription which is Multiroom (two subs), Entertainment and Sport. It runs on everything.

Works out at 4 quid a month per sub.

 

So I run it on a Fire Stick in the office, an Avov and a Mag at home, although I can run it on Kodi as well obviously.

 

 

Is it correct that the Flawless IPTV already exists a whole 2 months?

 

If that's correct, please report back about their consistency in 6 months or so.

[Anthony5]

1 hour ago, Phuket Man said:

Flawlessly works great unless they are under a ddos attack as they have been the last few days.

DDos attacks are another word for, we can't keep up with our service.

 

Dexter, OTTTv, Stealth streams and many others are under constant DDos attacks.

 

 

[Chicog]

28 minutes ago, Anthony5 said:

DDos attacks are another word for, we can't keep up with our service.

 

Better tell that to Twitter and the likes then.

 

 

 

[Anthony5]

1 minute ago, Chicog said:

 

Better tell that to Twitter and the likes then.

 

 

 

 

I don't deny that DDos attacks exist, but with the pirated stream iptv's it is mostly a poor excuse because they can't deliver on their promises.

[Chicog]

21 minutes ago, Anthony5 said:

 

I don't deny that DDos attacks exist, but with the pirated stream iptv's it is mostly a poor excuse because they can't deliver on their promises.

 

I'd agree with you if they didn't return to service so quickly.

 

Most of the time when they are overwhelmed they stay like it for a while or fold.

 

Mind you, I'm almost wishing this bloody cricket wasn't working.

 

[Phuket Man]

 
I'd agree with you if they didn't return to service so quickly.
 
Most of the time when they are overwhelmed they stay like it for a while or fold.
 
Mind you, I'm almost wishing this bloody cricket wasn't working.
 

A great series. A shame we are not up to beating Bangladesh

[Buffy Frobisher]

On 30/10/2016 at 0:06 PM, Anthony5 said:

Some people are made happy easyly it seems.

 

Cypher media doesn't have even close to 900 channels, and even then half of them are Arab channels.

 

https://www.freewebstore.org/cypher-media/page/channels

 

The so called best box in the world Leelbox Q3 is a soc S812 with Android 5.1 installed,  for which there is no support from Amlogic. So good luck with that.

 

Plenty of reliable IPTV subs available for 5 gbp per month.

 

I guess you're an expert in the field, Anthony5, but to put the record straight, the S812 *is* an Amlogic SOC and fully supports Android 5 and beyond, though the Leelbox 3 comes pre-installed with 5.1, so I'm not sure what what you're dumping on. And if you look at the comparison of the S812 against the S905 (BOTH Amlogic chips, by the way), you'll see that in almost every test the S812 chip is superior. See: http://www.cnx-software.com/2016/01/29/amlogic-s905-vs-s812-benchmarks-comparison/

 

Each to his own mate. If you're happy with what you've got then there's nothing to worry about; and as always it's probably best to buy what you can afford with hardware and services, and leave everyone else to make their own decisions. And if you're not looking at a Leelbox Q3 then I'm not sure what qualifies you to comment otherwise. By the way, because I *am* looking at it and the Cypher EPG, I can tell you that the channel list you looked at online is by no means complete. Cypher has 909 channels (just counted 'em), albeit a lot of Arabic, French, Dutch and Italian content along with the same UK and US channels that everyone else has.  Cheers!

 

[Anthony5]

42 minutes ago, Buffy Frobisher said:

 

I guess you're an expert in the field, Anthony5, but to put the record straight, the S812 *is* an Amlogic SOC and fully supports Android 5 and beyond, though the Leelbox 3 comes pre-installed with 5.1, so I'm not sure what what you're dumping on. And if you look at the comparison of the S812 against the S905 (BOTH Amlogic chips, by the way), you'll see that in almost every test the S812 chip is superior. See: http://www.cnx-software.com/2016/01/29/amlogic-s905-vs-s812-benchmarks-comparison/

 

Each to his own mate. If you're happy with what you've got then there's nothing to worry about; and as always it's probably best to buy what you can afford with hardware and services, and leave everyone else to make their own decisions. And if you're not looking at a Leelbox Q3 then I'm not sure what qualifies you to comment otherwise. By the way, because I *am* looking at it and the Cypher EPG, I can tell you that the channel list you looked at online is by no means complete. Cypher has 909 channels (just counted 'em), albeit a lot of Arabic, French, Dutch and Italian content along with the same UK and US channels that everyone else has.  Cheers!

 

 

Each to it's own mate, and no I'm not an expert, but I'm involved in the Kodi scene since long before you even considered purchasing a "box", so I may have learned a thing or two since.

 

And I can afford a bit better than Leelbox, since that is considered a low budget box.

 

I never denied S812 is an Amlogic soc, so no idea why you are confused about that. What I said is that Amlogic doesn't support Android 5.1 for the soc S812.

 

And no, regardless of what you claim. Amlogic doesn't support Android 5.1 on the S812, and that is also the reason why Minix don't upgrade their firmware for their S812 boxes to Android 5.1

 

Because a manufacturer installs a Android 5.1 firmware on their S812 box doesn't mean it is supported by the chip manufacturer.

 

Now may be you should learn to read the benchmark you posted, because you will find that the S905 is superior to the S812 in the most important spec.

 

S812 also doesn't support HDMI 2.0 so no 4K.

 

Good luck with your 500 Arab and Italian channels, hope you learn the language quickly.

[Buffy Frobisher]

Anthony5, you're right, you're clearly not an expert, and as much as I don't really have time to get into a pi##ing match with you, you do need to be better informed about a few things in relation to your "KODI scene". Even though most TVs will eventually carry the Ultra HD capability (what you still call 4K), unless you have yourself a huge house or like sitting with your nose against your TV, and a reliable 25Mbps or faster downstream internet connection which is faster than most people have at the moment, or a Ultra HD Blu-Ray player, or a lot of home movies shot at 3840 x 2160, it's as useless as t&ts on a bull. And that in itself pretty much renders Ultra HD on a KODI box a redundant argument, particularly for anyone watching the pirated TV add-ons on KODI which barely work in SD at the best of times.

 

If it was that easy to implement UHD content you'd have seen a general adoption of it by media companies worldwide, but that hasn't and won't happen because a cost/benefit analysis kills the idea whenever anyone props it; and in fact the UHD Premium specification was only finally agreed on in January this year so any TV bought before perhaps March/April doesn't even meet that spec now. You can learn more about that here: http://www.whathifi.com/advice/ultra-hd-premium-what-are-specs-which-tvs-support-it

 

It's impossible for free-to-air channels to broadcast so much data from a digital multiplex at this time - in a decision about number of channels on a multiplex vs the amount of data for each channel, the number of channels wins every time - and if everyone adopted Ultra HD or Premium UHD (best you learn those terms because "4K" is extinct in the media industry) and tried to stream it via their ISP, it would literally break the Internet's back. Yes, Sony, Netflix and Amazon are streaming SOME titles (I think Netflix has about 150 hours available now) but it will be a long time before everyone can reliably watch it. Ultra HD is literally 4 times the amount of data that HD is, and internet infrastructure and DTV muxes are not built to handle that much data streaming yet. SKY, BT and Virgin in the UK have launched a few dedicated UHD channels via cable requiring a special box to handle it, but don't expect to see every channel doing it. Worth more attention if you're looking for better picture quality is High-Dynamic Range, Quantum Dot and OLED panels. Look them up.

 

As for your ridiculous statement "Amlogic doesn't support Android 5.1 on the S812", I conclude that you really aren't all that well informed at all. Refer to the Kodi Wiki here: http://kodi.wiki/view/Android_hardware and note the line "Kodi v16 requires Android 4.2 (Android 5.0 or later is recommended)". Then look at the Amlogic boxes all in GREEN below., including the S812 and note  that "A "Yes" mark indicates that SoC (System-on-a-Chip) chipset should be able to decode those codecs at least 1080p in Kodi without issues."

 

I may be slow getting to KODI because I'm busy working with many other new technologies, but I have been working in the media industry for 40+ years so I'm pretty confident that I know what I'm talking about. And the biggest problem of all is that 2160p UHD only becomes noticeably different to the human eye on an average 80" screen at a distance of 5 feet, or even with a massive 150" screen at a distance of around 9.5 feet. Anything outside that and you're saying"wow" because someone told you that you should. See the chart below.

 

 

 

[Anthony5]

I know, Minix is not the manufacturer of the best box in the world, like Leelbox is, but I take their word for granted.

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Seems like a lot of the same US and UK channels would be available for free via the Android app Mobdro.

 

https://www.mobdro.com/

 

I'm certainly no expert on that particular app, but it does seem a fair number of other folks on TV have been using it, based on a search of pertinent threads.

 

[WorriedNoodle]

11 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Seems like a lot of the same US and UK channels would be available for free via the Android app Mobdro.

 

Mobdro is a good fallback if all else fails. The channel resolutions are generally lower than what you can get with Kodi tho.

[AJBangkok]

Forget the I'm more tech savvy than you debate I am genuinely interested in a Kodi iptv service. I don't mind paying if the quality is good and the links are consistent.

 

Right now I use Kodi for all my TV shows and movies and ilikehd to watch F1 as that's all I need. During the f1 season I pay 450 baht per month for ilikehd. For my Kodi I have a real dibrid account which I link to for priority links I think that costs 9 euro for 3 months or so. I use exodus and SALTS as my go to addons and I link a free Trakt.tv account so all my favorites are saved and I never lose them if I update Kodi or set up a new box. 

 

For my box I use a Intel NUC mini computer running Windows 10, I run Andy's build 7 as my Kodi build which is an older version of kodimaster 3.0 and my ISP is Ais 50/20 broadband or fiber optic whatever it is. I never have buffering in Bangkok but when I take the box to Hua Hin or phuket a lot of my standard links don't work but lower quality sd links work fine without buffering.

 

as I said I would be happy to pay for a good iptv system but to date what I have found is that everything I look at isn't really better than ilikehd in terms if the programming I want to watch and the price I pay. 

 

 

[Chicog]

What I would say is that if you are in the market for any media player, make sure it supports H265 (HEVC).
 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, WorriedNoodle said:

 

Mobdro is a good fallback if all else fails. The channel resolutions are generally lower than what you can get with Kodi tho.

 

I have and use Kodi. But the problem I have with it, at least for me, is the seeming totally instability and unreliability of relying on the platform. Add-ons that work one day and then weeks later are dead. Playlists that don't play. Stream links that don't stream. And everything spread out and replicated over many different add-ons.

 

Trying to find a stable, functional, centralized source for content on Kodi seems to me to be quite a challenge.

 

That's why I liked Mobdro when I played around with it in terms of being a solution for streaming live channel content. Perhaps the service will be dead and gone in a couple weeks/months. But it's simple, easy to use, has the ability to save favorites within the app, is quite broad in terms of the geography of its streams, and seems to do a better job than Kodi in general at keeping links that actually work.

 

 

 

[clokwise]

Just for reference, the new Xiaomi Mi Box runs Android TV 6.0 and has gotten some great reviews. Free shipping to Thailand. Mine is on the way now..

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Xiaomi-MI-BOX-Streaming-Media-Player-Android-TV-6-0-Quad-Core-64Bit-Set-top-Box/32746852141.html

[Anthony5]

23 minutes ago, clokwise said:

Just for reference, the new Xiaomi Mi Box runs Android TV 6.0 and has gotten some great reviews. Free shipping to Thailand. Mine is on the way now..

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Xiaomi-MI-BOX-Streaming-Media-Player-Android-TV-6-0-Quad-Core-64Bit-Set-top-Box/32746852141.html

 

I looked at not less than 15 sites offering or reviewing the Xiaomi Mi box, including the official Xiaomi site, and there is not a single one which says which processor it has. A-53 is not a processor model it's a processor type, and almost every site had different spec for the same box.

 

I would stay very clear from this box for the time being, because since it runs Android 6.0 I suspect it has a Amlogic S912 processor, and every box on the market at the moment running Kodi 6.0 on a S912 processor has the same issues, and they are not just a small issue.

 

Kicking out of Kodi every few minutes, flashing screen, green glance on the screen and no DTS-HD sound are just a few of the known issues.

 

Been there, got the T-shirt already with the Mecool BB2 box, but each and every brand has the same problems.

 

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=s912+issues&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-ab&gws_rd=cr&ei=OnkYWOz3C8KLvQSmnbSwAw

 

 

[Chicog]

28 minutes ago, clokwise said:

Just for reference, the new Xiaomi Mi Box runs Android TV 6.0 and has gotten some great reviews. Free shipping to Thailand. Mine is on the way now..

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Xiaomi-MI-BOX-Streaming-Media-Player-Android-TV-6-0-Quad-Core-64Bit-Set-top-Box/32746852141.html

 

I hope it's an improvement on the previous one, many hoops through which I had to jump in order to get it to English, including rooting by sight!

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

28 minutes ago, clokwise said:

Just for reference, the new Xiaomi Mi Box runs Android TV 6.0 and has gotten some great reviews. Free shipping to Thailand. Mine is on the way now..

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Xiaomi-MI-BOX-Streaming-Media-Player-Android-TV-6-0-Quad-Core-64Bit-Set-top-Box/32746852141.html

 

Interesting that they're selling it for $100, while Walmart in the U.S. is selling what appears to be the same device for $69.

 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mi-Box-Android-TV/54827138

 

[clokwise]

1 hour ago, Anthony5 said:

 

I looked at not less than 15 sites offering or reviewing the Xiaomi Mi box, including the official Xiaomi site, and there is not a single one which says which processor it has. A-53 is not a processor model it's a processor type, and almost every site had different spec for the same box.

 

I would stay very clear from this box for the time being, because since it runs Android 6.0 I suspect it has a Amlogic S912 processor, and every box on the market at the moment running Kodi 6.0 on a S912 processor has the same issues, and they are not just a small issue.

 

The official site is http://www.mi.com/en/mibox/. The $69 US price is a great deal, they're obviously trying to undercut everyone else to grab market share. $99 to Thailand is still not a bad deal though, just hope I win the customs lottery this time.

 

While sourcing a retailer for the Mi Box, I noticed that there are older models of the same unit still widely available for sale, often at a higher price, and the basic specs and product name and description are VERY very similar, so yeah, be careful. The link I posted for aliexpress is the latest model, however.

 

I can't speak to the technical specs, but it doesn't matter to me, if it's a new architecture I accept there could be some teething issues. If people are just having problems with Kodi on the S912 maybe it's a compiler issue or a bug that'll be fixed in a later build. On the plus side, I haven't found any reviews of the Mi Box specifically pointing out processor issues - as yet. Regardless, I'm willing to have a go as I'm in need of a new box and it's inexpensive enough, might as a well go for the latest technology and hope to get a longer lifespan out of it.

[Anthony5]

4 minutes ago, clokwise said:

 

The official site is http://www.mi.com/en/mibox/. The $69 US price is a great deal, they're obviously trying to undercut everyone else to grab market share. $99 to Thailand is still not a bad deal though, just hope I win the customs lottery this time.

 

While sourcing a retailer for the Mi Box, I noticed that there are older models of the same unit still widely available for sale, often at a higher price, and the basic specs and product name and description are VERY very similar, so yeah, be careful. The link I posted for aliexpress is the latest model, however.

 

I can't speak to the technical specs, but it doesn't matter to me, if it's a new architecture I accept there could be some teething issues. If people are just having problems with Kodi on the S912 maybe it's a compiler issue or a bug that'll be fixed in a later build. On the plus side, I haven't found any reviews of the Mi Box specifically pointing out processor issues - as yet. Regardless, I'm willing to have a go as I'm in need of a new box and it's inexpensive enough, might as a well go for the latest technology and hope to get a longer lifespan out of it.

 

Several boxes with the same chipset but higher spec available for $60 include shipping to Thailand.

 

Look at Geekbuying.