So, as those who frequent this place know, I periodically post updates on my current IPTV strategy. I try to update these if and when I make changes. And so I am providing my updates.
My previous strategy required some changing up after Vader bit the big one and died. That meant that I needed to replace Vader, but also as a result of the shake up, two of my erstwhile solid providers are no longer very solid... Beast and Xstreamz.
Beast is the biggest loser with this update. My previous BEST server is now pretty much unwatchable and buffers a horrendous percentage of the time. It is not salvageable. Xstreamz, on the other hand, has simply started to give me headaches. But to clarify, I haven't had a clean night from them in a week. They are, therefore, also on the chopping block.
To remind people, my goal is NOT to have the cheapest set up. Rather, it is to be able to watch any and every US Sports or Premium event in 60fps FHD/HD when I choose to watch it. This could be NBA playoffs, Boxing PPV or GOT final episode... but I want perfect feeds every time. The fact that no one could possibly provide perfect feeds every time simply means that I need a collection of providers that between them, ponies up a perfect feed every time without having to go through "heroic measures". I also occasionally need the ability to have reliable Catchup feeds, particularly of MSNBC.
So, my current provider pool, after losing Beast and Xstreamz, looks like this:
- Jarvis - Great 60fps FHD/HD feeds of pretty much every US Sports network, regional and premium feed. These guys are good and getting better. I buy this from u/jarvis912. ###note: it has been brought to my attention that Jarvis is actually a resell of Primestreams. Thank everyone who made me aware.
- Helix - My absolute go to for Catchup now gets double duty providing backups to Jarvis for many Sports and network regionals. Helix sometimes includes several feeds, but only one is 60fps... so it takes a fair amount of jiggling the lineup to get this just right. But, many/most of my required 60fps FHD/HD feeds are here and stable.
- Inferno - This was a new name to me that one of my trusted resellers (u/jcast356) brought to my attention. While the lineup is still in a little flux, it is clear that they offer some very nice feeds, particularly of US Sports. 60fps baby!
- another TBD??? - Probably will need another service. The good news is that things got a lot cheaper with this latest incarnation. The bad news is that I still think it's a little bit incomplete/immature. I've looked at a few other services for this slot (Proton, Beams/BBTV, Twisted [see note below]), but I haven't found anything that really works. The other good news is that I have time to figure this out since my summer watching slump is currently kicking in (I just fucking hate baseball and golf!)
My Twisted note is that ever since the 28statemedia debacle occurred, I no longer feel very comfortable with Twisted. The fact that they "lost my account" in the sale is very bad. The fact that they made me eat a remaining 5 month sub is inexcusable. Bad juju there.
For those who kept accusing me of never saying bad things about providers, re-read this and eat your words... I simply state the truth (or my current and honest view of it) and really don't worry much about it. It all becomes transparent over time.
YOU CAN HELP ME... look at my desirements above. Look at what I have. Look at who I've liked (and why). Look at the "Not For Me" list below. Please help me figure out who belongs in the TBD box above! I would really love some ideas.
"Not For Me" - Providers that have not worked out for me along with reasons why...
Eternal, Area51, TNT, GE - all cheap services that work, and in some cases offer reasonable stability... but the picture isn't good (terrible frame rates) to the point that they give me a headache.
Twisted - see the note above
Beams - it isn't cheap, doesn't have great USA channel selection and mostly 30fps... but it is stable.
Gears / Epicstreams - High priced providers with terrible video quality. I don't understand the crack that y'all are smoking!
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A note to resellers/providers - Do NOT post a bunch of PM me links below without explaining WHY I should want your service in the context of my post above. Do NOT say contact me for pricing. Do NOT tell me to waste my time on your fucking product by taking a trial that may or may not even come close IF you can't even be bothered to read my post and explain your rationale. You guys shoot yourselves in the foot way, way, way better than I ever could!
The earlier post could have been referring to DSTVhosting.com which I wrote about below. I think DS stands for Dedicated Server. Bottom line so far is this service is meeting my needs and looks like it might serve many of yours.
Unfortunately, I chose to subscribe to the MAG service option so I can only evaluate what I see using my particular emulator - STBemu (pro). What I see is high quality, stable streams.
I plan to switch to the M3U option at the end of my monthly subscription so I can look at their APPS and see if they implemented a good CATCHUP feature.
I have no horse in this race but I do think you should give them a look. $2.99 for a day trial. Definitely pick the M3U option.