US SPORTS PERFECTION #3 - 08/07/2019
This is the third installment in my "US Sports Perfection" series of reviews. To remind everyone, 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 NCAA Football, Boxing PPV or NFL Preseason... 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". Additionally, I want all of my US cable channels and premiums (for the wife mostly). And I need a little catchup, particularly for MSNBC.
---- MY CURRENT PROVIDER MIX ----
In my last review, I had added a fourth provider in order to really seal the deal. This update finds me continuing that trend. Here is my current 4 provider mix:
- Hydrogen (bought from u/Jcast356) - I am very impressed with this upstart service. While their offering isn't nearly as large (number of channels) as some of the competition, almost everything is in blazing 60fps FHD/HD. And their channel mix contains all of the major US sports channels that I need (missing ESPN College Extra and Fox College Sports, for example). Channel surfing this monster is an absolute joy. Others have told me that their EPG is a thing of beauty, but I've not gotten it to display properly. Oh well, Xtreme-Editor to the rescue! Their latest apk adds the ability to display up to 4 streams simultaneously (NCAA Tourney, here we come!) Add to this lots of Catchup channels and extensive VOD for those who want it. Only time will tell whether the quality remains, but for now this is a required component of my mix.
- Jarvis (bought from u/Jarvis912) - Jarvis is a reseller of Primestreams. Great 60fps FHD/HD feeds of pretty much every US Sports network, regional and premium feed. These guys continue to impress me with some of the best pictures coupled with outstanding stability. Also, if you are a fan of VOD (not my thing, but probably some of you love it), Jarvis has an extremely inexpensive addon service called Hitman for just this purpose. Very highly recommended.
- Helix (bought from https://helixhosting.ninja/ ) - While they are a little inconsistent, the availability of multiple feeds for virtually every channel pretty much ensures that Helix has a HD/FHD 60fps stream of everything I'm looking for. Add to that the fact that they have Catchup on over 900 channels, and Helix becomes a necessary addition to my provider pool. There are multiple resellers of this service as well as the official page that I've listed, and I will move to a reseller version in September since the rebranded "Premium" service provides many "extras" for less money (talk to u/Jcast356).
- Cool As Ice (bought from u/Rwin01) - Since my last write up, CoolAsIce has added everything that I felt was necessary to call them a "Premium Provider". The channels are now there, in glorious HD/FHD 60fps! While CAI offers some Catchup channels, they are not nearly as extensive as Helix or Hydrogen... but they did add my MSNBC, so I'm thankful for that. u/Rwin01 has demonstrated that he cares about his customers, and after he introduced me to the primaries of this service, I can say that they want the same... and it shows!
NOTE: I've got three other services that I am currently preparing to evaluate for their suitability in my mix going forward. I will report back on them after I've had a real chance to put them to the test.
---- PRICING ----
My current monthly price for these 4 providers is approximately $37USD. I run them through TiViMate ($5USD/year), an app that I feel is easily the best IPTV player available anywhere (although it still struggles with catchup... so I use IPTV Extreme Pro for that). A subscription to Xtream-Editor still keeps the total price under $40/month and allows me to customize the lineup and folder groupings to my exacting standards. Your pricing may vary depending upon term lengths, promotions, etc. For this outlay, I get everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING) that I could possibly want out of "Live TV". This is probably over kill for some of you, but it suits me very well.
---- NOTES ----
- People ask me why I use 4 providers when this costs me as much as subscribing to mainstream services. The answer is simple, I cannot attain my objective of being able to watch any US Sports event by using nothing but mainstream providers. The need for ALL of the US Sports regional channels means that I need to use IPTV to provide the necessary exposure.
- I often see posts in this sub along the lines of "Why use a reseller when I can just go to the source?". Let me be perfectly clear... I far prefer using an honest, reputable and dedicated reseller. I can already hear you skeptics scoffing that this person doesn't exist, but I wholeheartedly disagree... all of the resellers that I've listed above have gone out of their way to work with me in ensuring that their product suits my needs. They have been stellar in supporting me, working with me on pricing and packages, and just being solid people that I truly enjoy working with. Thank you all!
- 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. Have I missed someone who provides a unique service? Have I completely missed the mark with my synopsis reviews? Is there just someone else that I really, really need to check out? Please help me figure out who belongs in my provider mix above! I would really love some ideas. BUT... if you are going to suggest a provider, please be certain to tell me WHY THEY WOULD IMPROVE MY IPTV WATCHING EXPERIENCE as it relates to my stated objective above.
- A word about "trials". I really don't believe that a 24-48 hour trial does much of anything to help you evaluate their suitability. Most of these trials aren't available for weekends or PPV events, making it very difficult to glean much useful data from the experience. In my opinion, you should do your research first (read reviews, gather channel lists, ask questions on Reddit), and then you should bite the bullet and subscribe for a full month. Take the time to integrate them into your watching environment (Xtream-Editor, TiViMate favorites, etc). Live with them... and then (and only then), make your decision as to their suitability. If they are close, but not quite there... perhaps contact your friendly and helpful reseller (see #2) and discuss it with them. You may be amazed at what can be accomplished when you work with your reseller to make things mutually beneficial.
- 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.
---- NOT FOR ME ----
Providers that have not worked out for me along with reasons why...
Crystal Clear / XStreamZ - This provider has drifted on and off of my radar several times in the last 2 years. As of this moment, they are off because they dropped all of their catchup channels. The feeds are pretty good, many in HD/FHD 60fps. Unfortunately, they are having some current problems with buffering and dead channels. I'm sure that I'll end up trying them again in the future (I always do).
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 - I no longer feel very comfortable with Twisted. Something happened when one of their official resellers (28statemedia) had a bad breakup with Twisted, and they "lost my account". The fact that they made me eat a remaining 5 month sub is inexcusable. I have had some users tell me that this was not Twisted's fault. But I got screwed, nonetheless, and so I sense bad juju there... regardless of who caused the problem.
Beams - After last time's writeup, I tried them again since so many people (who I really respect) speak highly of Beams... but I remain unimpressed. It isn't cheap, doesn't have great USA channel selection and has mostly 30fps feeds... but it is stable. Not good enough to remain viable in my provider pool.
Gears, Epicstreams - These are high priced providers with terrible video quality. I don't understand the crack that y'all are smoking!
Nitro, Beast, Inferno - Expensive providers with great lineups that just lack in the stability department. I can't watch a solid hour without some sort of glitch.
FAB, Flawless, ACE, Vader - R.I.P.
---- RESELLER NOTICE ----
A note to resellers/providers - I would absolutely love to evaluate your service... but please take the time to really read my post and then explain what makes your product a great fit for "US Sports Perfection". Please PM me with your details.
Thank you for the review of Jarvis Hosting! Very happy to have made your list again!
If anyone has any questions for me or would like the link to our discord, please feel free to reach out. My inbox is always open!