As a refugee of Ace, like many, I was forced to do research again across multiple subreddits in a short amount of time. This time I would like to share my experience on Ultrabox (Epicstream)

The timing of my research coincided with the big PPV event today that allowed me to evaluate the response times of resellers and streaming experience. Overall there was plenty of information available between the two options, channel lists, and reviews included. I hope mine will help you address the same questions I’ve had and save you some time.

Both Ultrabox and Ace were comparable in price point, with the initial difference you’ll notice is the channel list and both are comparable for what I was after across UK/US channels. Ace had a slight edge here with 24/7 and larger range of VOD. My next criteria was to look at the range of SD/HD/FHD channels. Don’t get caught out here - if you are on lower bandwidth or have the need to conserve data or are mostly accessing channels on the go, having SD and HD options isn’t a bad idea. With more HD channels, Ultrabox seems to be ahead if are not constrained by bandwidth or data caps.

In terms of availability of information from resellers, those who are newer and less familiar with configuration of the service, I found Epic resellers had a more human touch in elaborating the configuration process better and making it seem less daunting to new users. As this was not my first time, I navigated this without any problems. Your needs will likely vary in terms of the device and method you would be using to watch. Overall, if you are already familiar with the setup, do not dismiss the lack of information to support newer users, as transparency is often a criteria that is considered when evaluating providers. There was a higher level of activity on Ultrabox, with a dedicated forum of community users. If you ever get stuck or encounter issues, this would a good place to start with a fair amount of user activity at time of this post.

As for the experience, I applied the same thought process against the providers and the reviews mentioned in search engines, reddit, along with my uncertainty level based on the amount of information available by resellers or the public posts. Again, don’t completely discard negative reviews on Epic resellers or forum posts like Ultrabox as you would normally see a healthy range of comments. I found Ultrabox to be the closest to Ace TV, with the same process in the ordering/provisioning, configuration, similar policies on multiple connections, configurable channel lists (with/without adult channels), and overall support. The knowledge base available was useful and reminiscent of Ace and I recalled how useful that was this was a great value coupled with a support forum.

Access was provided manually with Ultrabox, however it was not too much of a wait, so don't panic after your order is completed. The account management is detailed and flexible with the same interface that you might come across from Ace. I will try next to do a mid-term change with support and report on the experience back. Overall, there is a dashboard that helps you navigate the account management screen and every menu item on screen has a purpose and marked clearly.

Operational aspects - Video quality is amazing as others might report similarly. The selection of HD and FHD channels are higher although the number of overall channels are not to what you would have seen in Ace. The experience that bothered me somewhat is the grouping of channels, although logical, is not as what I was familiar with - for example, Movie Networks are combined across regions. While this behaviour can be address manually by editing the playlist, I am open to try this new grouping. The stand out here above everything else, is all channels (including sports) begin streaming immediately as I tried my very best to find a stream that was either down or would buffer - and was unsuccessful in the process (It is worth mentioning I’ve not tried non English channels and that I am on a fast 1000/500 fiber connection). No such luck in my attempts to find faults in the streams, and I’ll update this as the weeks go. So far it has been impressive.

Pros:

• Reliable channels and streaming experience. There is nothing worse than finding out the channel you are interested is not able to stream or buffers - I could not fault them so far on this.

• Great for newer users (not just Ace), with knowledgeable how-to start off

• Prompt service in consideration of manual provisioning

• Transparency of information and discussion, when compared to alternatives. The forum ultrabox.site will be useful in gauging the quality and responsiveness of the service

• Dedicated discussion forum with a community of users who are willing to help out

• KODI add-ons available to quickly get started along with specific instructions to set up on Enigma2, MyIPTV Player, PerfectPlayer, iOS / Android, or your Smart TV (m3u8 for SmartIPTV)

• Similar browser access (unsecure and not officially documented) handy for remote situations or devices that are used temporarily to watch streams. Only use on VPN or trusted network. Needs Videolan plugin.

Areas of opportunity or improvement:

• VOD selection is good and with room to grow

• 24/7 channels not available (yet)

• Trial period not available from Ultrabox

Given I was comfortable with what I observed and rely on my past experiences, I just went ahead without concern after stepping through the above thought process, confident with my choice. You may wish to evaluate your needs based on the above information first.

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