Android Set top boxes - The future of IPTVs?

**icebergx** · 9th October 2013

Hi all,

My interest in IPTVs has recently piqued so I thought I'd get myself a new MiniX Neo X7 Android box, which just arrived.

Up until now, I've been air-playing/airplay-mirroring to my Apple TV3 and had XBMC on my old Apple TV1. The openness and flexibility of the Android platform makes me think this could be the way forward for IPTVs. The X7 is a quad core model and should be able to run 1080p streams pretty well, with a few tweaks.

This being the case, why would anyone want to buy something like a Mag250? It appears less powerful and less flexible.
Ultimately, is there any need for these "single purpose" boxes anymore when you can get an Android box for similar money, which is far more versatile?

One thing I'm not so familiar with are various iptv apps available on the Google Play store. Does anyone know how they work and what they do?

Thanks.

**Goldberg** · 9th October 2013

Hello,

I am new to this and have a MAG250 which I collected from the post office on Monday. Hoping to have a play this weekend and I will mainly be using it for the footy.
I am always a sucker to buy equipment/gadgets so if the Android Boxes take off and are better then I will jump on board that ship.

In my current Arsenal I have an ATV2 (official FireCore installed), Now TV Box, Skybox F5s, MAG250 and Internet enabled TV.

To be honest the TV does most stuff and the F5s is in another room for when I want to watch footy, the other devices just sat collecting dust and I will add to that collection. I have read you can watch IPTV on the Samsung with some Developer Apps which is something else I will get involved in.

This game is always going to be cat and mouse, the problem is if you move away from it for a while like I have in the past, you quickly find yourself having to claw your way back to the top/current solutions again.

**icebergx** · 9th October 2013

Yeah, I agree mate. I have a feeling that IPTV has some legs though.
BB connecions are getting faster and faster and, becuase there's not as much physical work involved (putting up a dish, etc.) I think it's the way forward. I even think that, before long, so many streaming services will be available illegally, that the PL will cave and offer TV rights for all EPL games (including the 3PM games.)

**Geko** · 9th October 2013

The reason people are buying MAG250s is that they are better supported than anything else.

**beerman** · 9th October 2013

Originally Posted by icebergx

Yeah, I agree mate. I have a feeling that IPTV has some legs though.
BB connecions are getting faster and faster and, becuase there's not as much physical work involved (putting up a dish, etc.) I think it's the way forward. I even think that, before long, so many streaming services will be available illegally, that the PL will cave and offer TV rights for all EPL games (including the 3PM games.)

They are bound by law not to show the 3pm games. It goes back to the sixties when some twat of a football chairman thought no one would go to the games on Saturday. He complained and got the law passed. The law states you can't televise a 3pm Saturday game so hence Monday night football, 12:30 and 5:30 Saturday etc games televised instead.

I have a mag 250 with a futubox sub that's now relegated to the bedroom. After the honeymoon period of thinking it's the best thing since sliced bread I've realised that iptv is just too expensive at the moment for me to bother. I only really watch the Chelsea games so I'm not really bothered having all matches live, it's nice having a flick through the channels on match day but the cheapest I could find a jsc sub was �25 which for me is too much. Once prices fall I'll bother with a jsc sub again until then I'll just use up my year of futubox.

I really think Iptv is the future, I just think I jumped on the bandwagon too early.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

**icebergx** · 10th October 2013

Originally Posted by beerman

They are bound by law not to show the 3pm games. It goes back to the sixties when some twat of a football chairman thought no one would go to the games on Saturday. He complained and got the law passed. The law states you can't televise a 3pm Saturday game so hence Monday night football, 12:30 and 5:30 Saturday etc games televised instead.

It's not illegal mate, there's no law against televising football at 3PM, the FA, PL, etc just all agree to a blackout. If they ever change their mind, and I think they will eventually, we will be able to subscribe to view all matches, regardless of time of day.

Originally Posted by beerman

I have a mag 250 with a futubox sub that's now relegated to the bedroom. After the honeymoon period of thinking it's the best thing since sliced bread I've realised that iptv is just too expensive at the moment for me to bother. I only really watch the Chelsea games so I'm not really bothered having all matches live, it's nice having a flick through the channels on match day but the cheapest I could find a jsc sub was �25 which for me is too much. Once prices fall I'll bother with a jsc sub again until then I'll just use up my year of futubox.

I really think Iptv is the future, I just think I jumped on the bandwagon too early.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

I pay $19 per month + $5 for Overplay, which I also use to get other english channels because I live in Denmark... It's had a few teething problems but it works OK at the moment. I could also save an additional $4 per month if I paid upfront, ($20p/m in total) which I think is decent value.
It seems to me like, The legal route is pretty expensive, if you also want a variety of channels but, it you don't mind the illegal iptv route, �4.99 of OSS, €7.95 for Futu or €20p/m for Ntv is decent value for money.

**beerman** · 10th October 2013

Yep you are correct, it isn't law. I'd read before that it was.

From Wikipedia:

3pm "Blackout"

In the 1960s, controversial Burnley F.C. Chairman Bob Lord successfully convinced fellow Football League Chairmen that televised matches on a Saturday afternoon would have a negative effect on the attendances of other football league games that were not being televised and as a result reduce their financial income.

As a result The FA, Premier League and Football League do not want English matches to be televised live between 2:45pm and 5:15pm on a Saturday afternoon within the United Kingdom. Until recently, the FA Cup Final was an exception and had been broadcast on 3pm on a Saturday afternoon in May; however, in 2012, the FA Cup Final was moved to 5pm.

In February 2011, Advocate General Kokott of the European Court of Justice opined that the "closed periods" did not encourage match attendance at other league games.