Stream + from Channel Master

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My Stream + arrived yesterday and it is Fantastic! I’ve never been crazy about the Android TV platform, but I love this streaming appliance, nonetheless. The Channel Guide is great. As an ancillary benefit to the OTA guide / grid, you can configure it to include Live online content, all on the same grid.

I set this up with Pluto TV, for example, and it’s great! Once you’ve added all your desired sources, you can then go in and trim it down to the specific channels you wish to appear in the guide (Important, because Pluto has a gazillion channels).

No Netflix means nothing to me. I’ve got my Hulu, Movies Anywhere, Kodi and Google Play Accounts set up (and Fire TV dongle/box for Amazon prime). I’ve added VPN and IPTV services to augment this (through sideloading). The main point of this (for me) was to explore DVR capabilities for my OTA channels and a way to view them on a nice guide, so these other things are ancillary benefits.

Apps. The Live TV / VOD apps from A&E, HGTV, BBC America, Travel Channel, etc. all work, using my Philo subscription to unlock & validate, even though I don’t have the Philo app on this.

Plugged in a 2TB external hard drive for DVR storage and it’s working like a charm. This is a fantastic product at a fair price and I am thankful to have gotten a nice $40.00 discount with Cord Cutters coupon (Thank you Cord Cutters News!).

Bought this as something of an inexpensive experiment ($109 plus shipping). It is worth every dime. I am having so much fun with this.

**** Side Note: Ironically, Tablo app works beautifully on this, and the Interface is a little different from that on the Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Kodi. It’s a lot like the Tablo Preview app for Fire TV, and the colors are much deeper & richer.

It had not occurred to me to load Tablo to this, nor did I even think to look for an app (stumbled upon it) … but I can now switch back & forth between the DVR on my Tablo AND this DVR with one click and without leaving the GUI! Meaning I’ve doubled my recording capacity without even knowing it. Huge (accidental) bonus. ***

***Thanks to @KirkH for the Heads-up on the $40.00 coupon … Thanks to @Dewi for info, insight and for providing additional incentive to buy. ***

……

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Glad you like it. I had gotten so busy that I forgot to order it. If it was regularly $109, then I’d buy it. Netflix is what my wife uses a lot (aside from Tablo) so that also held me back.

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I guess you don’t miss cable…:rofl:

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I’m now checking in with Cord Cutters News regularly, they aggregate (and sponsor) great savings opportunities such as this, for example.

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One thing I miss from Cable world (and Tivo) is the immediacy of it all. Click one button and DONE. I’m in the process of adjusting to the 2-5 second “spin & load” of the OTA world. All things considered, worth the adjustment.

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On sale for just $99 dollars today

Great, inexpensive gift for somebody with simple watch & record needs, still doubles as an excellent Android TV box. Very fair price.

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Channel Master Stream + is available for $99 tonight and will run for two or three more days. Use Code: SAVE50 when you go to shopping card and it will be deducted at check out.

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I got my Stream+ and now I don’t have any problem with my Tablo.

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Is the remote IR or RF?

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It’s IR, very nice remote too but they charge too much for extras / replacement remotes.

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This is close, I want a hybrid tablostream I guess. I want OTA dvr, watch on more than just one place via my home network - not requiring internet access and having my activity monitored …after paying for a device and a subscription.
thanks for the info

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Doesn’t the Stream + have an HDMI port in the back for connecting to the TV. If so I would guess it may not support home network based connection.

And these sounds very user friendly.

I can do more then that with Rokus and a private LAN.

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It’s not “network friendly”, it’s a one-box / one-display device. The OS is Android TV, which also isn’t great. Tablo works well, so you can switch back & forth between native DVR and that of Tablo. Though I don’t use the DVR much, it’s been great for the times when I just want to watch (while the Tablo records, whatever I might want to view later). Switching back & forth between stations is very fast.

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One benefit here, is that you don’t have a subscription and though it is tied to one specific TV, you can toggle back & forth between this and the Tablo app without leaving the GUI. I like that “Tablostream” analogy.

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I’m not paranoid about tablo knowing my activity. Especially when compared to Google’s Android TV OS and Live channels. They probably scrape the data and hold it until there is internet access.

Some of Live Channels permissions are:

approximate location
access all TV channel/program information
access watched TV program information
view network connections
full network access

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It’s not necessarily paranoid. With “free”, no out-of-pocket, services I know it’s costing me ‘something’. For example, gmail users become the commodity. You use the service and they aggregate your demographic data and sell it for a profit. Here, I’m paying for the service, and they never actually disclose what they “may” collect, until I actually paid for a subscription.

As for the examples we’re told about the info gathered, it’s just an easy to understand glimpse of how much giant corporations now about your daily routine. I understand it’s part of life in today’s world.

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I get the one tv, In my happly place I see the tablostream sharing dvr’d shows from the drive over my network.

My overall set-up is somewhat dated I suppose. I have a pc connected to my tv via hdmi and use a browser for different streaming services… so I just change windows or tabs. Have a nice little logitech keyboard/touchpad K830 and just click and tab constantly. (ok, I do have 2 tv’s mounted on the wall, for when I’m answering this I can still watch a show - they can both be computer monitors or OTA as needed) Then I have a shuttle pc mounted behind the (1) tv in the bedroom.

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Stream+ going on sale tomorrow for just $89. The DVR is tethered to one dedicated set, but you can pull up your Tablo app on it and watch your recorded content there as well. Also a great streaming device and for those times when you’re just watching it is very good (instant channel changes, no transcoding, etc.).

StreamPlusSale
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I bought one of these for my cabin home and it serves as an excellent streaming device there. The DVR does a great job of recording my OTA feeds at the cabin and though I would not use this as a primary device, it is a fantastic augment.

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Hi Ben1,

I am trying without success to get my VPN to work with my Stream +. I am in Canada and you are not allowed to use the channel guide (without this it’s useless as a DVR) but I have heard of success with people using a VPN from the States to get around this issue. Can you tell me how you set up your VPN? Thanks