Ad hoc entertainment, Apps, Devices and Cable Alternatives

[Tornicade]

Ive been without cable for almost a year now so I thought a catch all type thread might generate some interest. Ill bullet point some topics here.
Services
Hulu.... Hulu butchered their queue and replaced it with a more primitive watchlist.. I posted previously what a crock this was but it seems to be part of a Plan of Hulu to offer live TV like PlayStation Vue and SlingTV. Other changes made is that Hulu has removed cable subscription content access and sold their bas free hulu content to a service that is now Yahoo View.
In addition Hulu recently parted ways with CW who offers everything on their own app as well as an agreement with Netflix to air complete season within 2 weeks from the seasons end ( Binge watchers dream). Hulu is currently securing rights to offer local tv to wherever you live/


Netflix with the previous CW deal in hand now has a precedent to establish deals with other networks. to publish after the season instead of a couple weks before the new season..

not sure how this impacts services like Vudu and Amazon Prime. personally I find Amazon Prime lacking free content wise with subscription with the value on free shipping moran the actual video service.

so my subscriptions are still AD free Hulu and Netflix.

Currently I bought a nice tv that did not have smart tv and instead got an android box called GBox 2 that's currently runs Lollipop. This box has served me well for the 80 bucks I paid for it and plays 4k as well as H2.65 if it ever goes mainstream.
In the other room I have an old TV that doesn't even have a digital tuner. I wa able to find a DTV tuner at the thrift store for 4 bucks so I Have all my local channels and a Neomax that can play hulu and Netflix there.

In addition I have playon on my pc server so I can stream live television there if I need to.
The really nice benefit of playon that I personally don't get to use much is that you can stream from it anywhere. Nice to have if you go camping or travel a lot and need a tv fix.


I also have a Wii and a playstation three. I currently have emulaters on the wii ( using homebrew) and the android box. that lets me play old games like sega, Nintendo, even playstation. ( lots of emulator sites with rom collections.) Although I don't get to play them as much as like.

I do have peripheral cost for controllers, SD cards, and usb sticks but these are reasonably priced but ive found if your patient you can find this stuff at flea markets, yard sales and the thrift store for a cheap price.

I have two powered indoor antennas for example that I picked up for around 10 or 15 bucks.

for the emulaters I am stil looking for either bt controllers for the android box and classic controllers to attacj to the wii but I don't have them more out of a matter of what I'm willing to pay than availability.


We should be getting a 3rd TV soon and I have a neomax prime with an in and out HDMI that will I can throw onto there. ill probably hook one of the gaming systems into it.

ill get into apps later.

 

[Tornicade]

Must have Apps for SmartTV or Android STB
-Fake GPS - If your box is wired in and doesn't have location services. Many apps will not work without this enabled(FOX SPORTs GO I am looking at you)
-MKR Multi Keyboard Redefiner - allows you to customize your remote
-Crackle, Pluto TV, CW, Snagfilms
-VLC player
- SPMC or Kodi
- Flash browser ( Dolphin, Flashfox,Puffin Photon)
-Yahoo Video Guide
-Es File Explorer

One thing I suggesr is when your looking to upgrade your default video player or DLNA media. Try simple first. the less permissions the lesss resource usage the app will require and there are a lot of useful apps that are fully functional and do not contain adds.

If you find a good app let us know about it.

 

[Tornicade]

I wanted to move onto controllers.

You have two types of controllers typically. one that uses IR and one that uses BT. very few offer both. My android box came with a very crappy controller. I swapped it with a BT controller from my Neomax

App compatibility can be a pain here. apps like Hulu and Netflix can sometimes not want to scroll and remoted with touch mouses don't come wit a scroll wheel.

a USB wireless mouse can often solve these problems otherwise you have to send angry messages to the app devs and box manufacturer to get these navigation controls updated

It is a pet peeve of mine that pluto TV doesn't use the pc controller patterns that are universal or add a channel up and down function.

When dealing with old devices. I got a Craig DTV tuner for 4 bucks without a remote. I went and got a 10 dollar universal controller from family dollar and although I couldn't a match. I did find a code that let me set up the menu , channel scan then control the channels using the 8 and 0 buttons.

point is. going the cheapskate route can be aggravating at times.

 

[kevinoc0]

Quick question re: Roku / FSO app.

My sister lives up in Chicago and has been upset with missing all of the Cavs games. Any chance I can buy her a Roku and give her my Spectrum/FSO sign in information to watch? I haven't bought the Roku for her yet, so thought I'd ask before buying.

Thanks.

 

[el_capitan]

Quick question re: Roku / FSO app.

My sister lives up in Chicago and has been upset with missing all of the Cavs games. Any chance I can buy her a Roku and give her my Spectrum/FSO sign in information to watch? I haven't bought the Roku for her yet, so thought I'd ask before buying.

Thanks.

You should be able to, but to test it out you should have her use your sign in information to log onto the Fox Sports Go website during a Cavs game to see if she can watch the Cavs that way. If she can, then you should be fine using the app on Roku. You can also buy a Firestick which is probably a cheaper route.

 

[Ren]

Quick question re: Roku / FSO app.

My sister lives up in Chicago and has been upset with missing all of the Cavs games. Any chance I can buy her a Roku and give her my Spectrum/FSO sign in information to watch? I haven't bought the Roku for her yet, so thought I'd ask before buying.

Thanks.

No, this will not work. The FS app geo-locates, so unless she sets up a VPN to northeast Ohio, it won't show the Cavs game on it.