So I will still sing the praises of Proton TV all day long and recommend it to everyone because it's the best and most stable service I've found, but recently Proton Hosting started reselling for Optimus as well so I bought a month package and here is my honest take on it.
Week one, when he originally advertised it to his current subscribers (I think mid December some time), it was awesome. No buffering, 60fps, lots of UK content, Canada/US was nowhere near Proton levels but still passable given I was more interested in the sports and live events. UFC event was flawless, didn't buffer a single time. There was a big boxing PPV on around that time too...not a boxing guy but I checked it out, 60fps stream, no buffering...and there were two events on at one time, so they had a split screen up on a separate feed which I've never seen anyone do before. Had a Santa Tracker up for Christmas. Little stuff like that...was really great.
Around week three, things started to go off the rails a bit. EPG all messed up, channel zapping slowed way down for anything other than soccer/football content and UK, sports still 60fps and solid so I'm happy but the rest of the service added a LOT of content maybe too fast.
This week, things are settling down, seem a bit more stable, and "Professor Proton" as we call him, has warned us Optimus is a new service and to expect some issues here and there until they settle in.
So I saw a review for them on here, and it seems to be from around the time I first tried it...in which case, good assessment. It's changed a bit since then and if you go in understanding what to expect, the sports content is insane and has the best feeds I've seen outside of actual cable. However, Proton is starting to get some 60fps feeds too it seems so I'm going to stick with them.
Both have VOD, Proton has more. Neither has catchup but if you know how to stream, who cares? Optimus comes with 2 m3u connections, no IP lock. Proton has up to 3 connections, IP locked (you can buy 1, 2, or 3 connections, 1 connection has no lock on it). Both support MAC, friend of mine tried both on his MAG device, both worked well on it.
Bottom line, if you're from the UK you'll love Optimus. US and Canada there's work to be done but supposedly improvements this week. In any event, you can get both Proton and Optimus from Proton Hosting, email him at proton.television@gmail.com
For all the hype some of these other services get on here, I don't understand how people aren't raving about these Proton guys because it's so dependable, EPG is the best there is, picture quality is great, I get no buffering, admin knows what he's doing, Proton gives honest to god the best service, which is unfortunately something some providers don't put any time into. You get treated like a valued customer with this guy, just do yourself a favor and try him. Been using him for 6 months now, posted on here about him maybe 3 or 4 months ago and nothing has changed, except the stream quality has gotten even better. I think he's still giving out free trials but don't hold me to that...bottom line, can't say enough, it will be my go to service until they cease to exist.
OPTIMUS: Try, don't commit long term, if improvements are what they're expected to be, could be something to invest in a bit longer term but personally, I would stick with month to month.
PROTON: Buy, I signed up for a year, no regrets. Not suggesting you do that, but buy with 100% confidence and you'll be happy.
Should mention he also sells OK3 I guess. Haven't tried it but he's got it, so there you go.
Anyway, thought it might be useful to hear if it's still as good as my original review a few months ago for Proton, and it is, if not better. And since Optimus was being talked about on here, figured an updated assessment was needed since it changed a bit from the time that review looks to have been posted.
Hope this was helpful to someone.
My needs for IPTV are very simple compared to most that I've read. I want local network channels, (which I can not pick up because I'm too low and can not add external hardware to my apartment), and US sports along with basic cable channels. Primarily US basketball and football. I need a way to record or catch up because of my work schedule conflicting with most live sporting events.In the end combining Vaders with Premium covered the most of my needs over any of the other providers that I tried.
Vaders: Offers hundreds of channels from all around the world, but my setup doesn't need 90%. So why Vaders? I'm able to turn off the groups of channels that I don't want from their web ui control panel. This is extremely helpful for me when I need to create a small custom playlist for Emby.
Their guide for US channels is 90% complete. For me, this is huge! I can't stand scrolling through a Swiss cheese guide with hardly any info.Also, the catch up feature on the most of the US channels means that I can go back up to 3 days, or to the beginning of a currently running program. This works great for my work schedule. Their catchup also works through their playlist. This is great if you do not like running independent apps per provider. I prefer MyIPTV App and Perfect Player which allow for catch up right in the guide without having to back out to a main menu and choose catch up.The quality of the channels varies. I'm not hunting for 8k, UHD, blu-ray quality. I just want to watch TV. I have seen a handful of grainy channels, but they are clearly labeled SD.Multiple connections, up to 5, allow me to DVR and watch multiple shows on multiple devices without fear of a disconnection.Multiple versions of channels may seem redundant, but it comes in handy when there's a popular sporting event, or when there's only one event for the day. It allows you to jump to another channel with possibly less lag.And speaking of lag, I rarely notice buffering on my setup which I will go into detail below. When/if I do encounter buffering, I refresh the channel. If that doesn't work, I'll either try clearing the app's cache, or try another channel if I have another to choose. If not, I go to my backup provider, Premium.
Premium: Offers thousands of VOD and 24/7 channels. It's quite impressive just how much they offer. I again, do not use their main feature, but it's worth mentioning from the get-go.What I use, is their huge selection of US channels and sports channels, as well as premium sports packages. For me, Premium fills in the gaps that Vaders is missing with US channels.Their selection of regional US networks is very vast. I live in the mid-west and they provide me with all but one local network channel. I keep a copy of the New York channels in my custom playlist so I can watch the basic network channels even if my locals are having issues.
For sports, there's actually too many for me. I remove most of them aside from the ESPN/TSN's and the premium packages for basketball, football, baseball, and hockey. They provide channels for each individual team as well which is pretty cool if you know your team is playing right now, but don't want to look to see what channel it's on. It's not great however for DVR purposes as there is no guide to go by on the team channels.
Both offer a web-player, which is convenient when I'm away from home, or at work.
I'm getting both combined through one provider at a discount through https://tvservice.club/
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IPTV-EPG: With both providers, I have roughly 300 channels that I manipulate through IPTV-EPG.com's playlist editor. I have Xtream Editor for a year as well, but I've found IPTV-EPG to be superior in channel accuracy, availability, and if they don't offer it, you can easily request for it in their forum. I've requested probably 12 channels and each time they've been added within 24 hours. This is great for local affiliate channels that your provider might not have.I also get the ability to combine the above providers into one custom playlist which I can then use with any app that uses .m3u.They have tiers of pricing for how many playlists you wish to create, and how many channels you are trying to get guide information for. I'm using their 5 playlist, 500 channel option which gives me room to grow, and have specific playlists for specific needs and apps.
Emby: I mentioned above that I have no need for Premium's VOD and 24/7 channels, and that's because I have my own digital library and Emby handles all of it. Most movies I can procure on my own and the same with TV series. Emby brings it all together nicely, but with their IPTV options, it brings my collection and my IPTV into one program. And unlike Plex, Emby incorporates their IPTV into their program, instead of a clunky plugin.I use Emby for the DVR function with my .m3u playlists. Emby can record, schedule record and automatically convert the files to .mp4 for me and then send them to my tablet at work, all automated. Emby can only record if their is guide information, which is another reason I use IPTV-EPG to insure I can record.There are more often than not issues with recording sporting events, but I can't pinpoint if it's Emby's fault, my server's limitations, or one of the above providers buffering too much, but I'm still making changes to my setup and getting better results, so I'm hoping I can eventually get this ironed out to work most of the time. Recording daily news and game shows has been successful quite often.
-ETC-
MiBox 3: It's older, it's not a power horse, but compared to my previous Firestick HD, (which handled IPTV just fine) it's producing a decent quality picture and my streams rarely buffer, so I'm very pleased with it.It's Android TV powered so there's some fun when it comes to installing some apps, but there's also some perks of apps that are Android TV only, so it's kinda a toss up.
Network: I have 300Mbs down 25Mbs up. My Emby server is connected via LAN cable, my Mibox is using WiFi. I have a Google Asus router which is very limited compared to most routers, but it handles my needs without too many workarounds.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with my setup. The cost is around $25 a month with everything IPTV related included. I'm sure there's more economical options out there, and I'd be willing to hear them, but please keep in mind my main needs are catch up, sports, and local networks and I have backups for most of mine.
What I'm missing: The ability to watch catch up sports on premium channels. If the game airs on a major network or ESPN I can usually use catch up, but I miss a lot of sports due to the Emby recording buffering out, or the channel the game aired on does not offer catch up.
*EDIT* Added provider URL
Over the holidays, specifically on 25 December, I found a deal on https://subscription-iptv.com.
They had a deal for the holidays.
I just paid for 7 days trial, although I was very close to take the deal for one year.
Now, I am extremely happy I did that.
Anyway, I paid through paypal (which I am very happy I did, and didn't use the credit card).
I paid 4$ only , and submitted my MAC address and the device type I am using.
And for the record, while I was paying through paypal, I made sure that their website is opening a legitimate paypal forms from paypal website. So, I was sure it is through paypal.
But the seller name on paypal was not the company name, but a person name "Mohammad El Melh".
Anyway, since that day, I didn't receive any URL or any guide on how to sign up my device to their server.
I sent three emails so far, and tried to do a live chat on their website, with no reply at all.
The funny thing, is the live chat on their server, for 3 different times, every time I use it, it says that I am number 3 in the queue, and then after 30 seconds, a message will show that they are busy, and it is better if I contact them through email.
Anybody tried that website or service before?
This is my first time buy an IPTV service, so I am not sure if that is normal or not
I've been using a new service called Optimus Streams, and thought I would get up a review since I don't see one on here yet.
Right off the bat I will tell you it's the best service I have ever seen for sports, ever. No buffering, full 1080p, and for UK football fans, all the 3pm kickoffs are on here, Club Channels, Euro Match Pass, Red Button, LeSports, B/R Live,etc. All North American sports, full 1080p. All major networks, PPV events, etc. Adult channels available also, and can be shut off by request. I don't have a full channel list here but for me at least, nothing is missing. Decent VOD section too.
Edit: Sports are 60 fps!!!
Runs well with our without a VPN. All accounts come stock with 2 connections and no IP lock.
If there's a con, it's minor... Couple of Canadian channels say they're one thing but are actually another. Same in the US side. It's only one or two channels on each side, I'm sure it will get fixed.
Support is really good. Emails get responded to quickly, usually within 30 minutes to an hour.
Payments by Paypal, there's talk of adding Bitcoin down the line.
Free trials for 24 hours and I never did this but I believe there's 48 hour trials available for a small fee.
I pay $15 USD per month, and for what I'm getting I am really happy with it. I have referred a couple of friends to them so I will recommend these guys to you as well.
optimus.streams@protonmail.com is the contact, as far as I know, no website but may be being worked on as he mentioned a web player was coming at some point.
Overall, I would say 4.5/5 stars, have to take half a star away for the few mislabeled channels on the North American stuff, and well, my rating system isn't an exact science so whatever, LoL. I'm really happy with them and I bet you would be too. Give them a try.