it blows my mind that the archive doesnt even require a cookie authorization.

Just a heads up don't get the cheap android boxes on eBay. I got one for $42 and it is horrible.. Skips all the time and I have a fast internet connection.

Like others have said stick to firestick, shield TV, Nexus TV etc..

So Fish:

You know I bought the Gbox MX2 a few years back. It's serviceable. The main issue I have is with latency on high quality streams. I really noticed this when I tried to watch the NFL on the Pro Sports app. I'm hardwired and on a good internet connection, so I'm wondering if it's something with my video acceleration or processing on the MX2. Basically, the sound is fine, the picture is crytal clear, but the video is either slow motion or jerky.

I should add: there's no buffering on these streams (which makes me think it's not buffering). It's just a poor quality of video. Often, if I let it keep playing (in slow/stutter motion), it will eventually crash the box.

Are there some settings that I should look at to try to help with this?

You know I've been thinking of honestly just getting an HDMI cable and hooking it up to my TV and watching the movies like that.

I've had 0 buffering problems watching movies with KODI on my laptop and it seems like an easy solution instead of buying a box or the Shield TV. I think in a few years we will see some nice boxes but right now I keep seeing bad reviews for pretty much all of them so personally I think I am just going to wait.

yep, it warrants repeating.

Thanks ragedogg69.. I should have looked earlier in the posts..

FireStick Is by far the best cheap Kodi purchase.. Don't get scared by the word "jailbroken," it's incredibly easy to install Kodi on the firestick.. Which is what "jailbroken," in this case really is...

I did it tonight in 45 mins.. As long as you are patient, not computer illiterate and can follow step-by-step instructions you will be fine.

Okay, I am not at all familiar with these units. I don't have the slightest idea what Kodi is.

Better than Roku?

Enlighten me. :)

Different. Not nearly as hassle free as paid streaming services, but they allow you to access pretty much everything if you're willing to put in the work.

I actually pay for netflix and prime and use those the majority of the time. I really only use my kodi box when I have something very specific that I want to watch and can't find it via other channels (redbox, netflix, prime, etc..). Oh, and I use it for sports, though most sports fans in the day of HD probably wouldn't be satisfied with the quality of the streams I usually end up watching for sports. My needs are simple, though.

Kodi is a media player that runs on a variety of different devices. Works best for local media... like all those DVDs you backed up on your hard drive wink wink. However, its most popular feature is the ability to have add ons. These are where people can view stuff from the web, easily on their computer. Both legal and illegal sites.


If you are wanting to use stock apps like netflix etc? Roku. The fire UI is terrible. I replaced mine with firestarter. If you want to use the 1000s of addons? Kodi on a stick or rasp pi would be fine.

Thanks

Thanks

Yes, I'd guess video acceleration settings. Are you using the most recent version of KODI? If you haven't updated KODI itself in a while, I'd do that first. Then check your hardware acceleration settings. Go to System\Video. Look in the bottom left corner(Confluence skin) for "Settings level". Click that and change it to "Advanced" or "Expert". Then click on the new Acceleration tab that is only visible at those settings levels. Under Acceleration, there will be two main settings you'll need to worry about. "Allow hardware acceleration - libstagefright" and "Allow hardware acceleration - MediaCodec".

First, I'd try it with libstagefright on and mediacodec off. That's generally the most compatible setting with most Android devices. But if that doesn't work, then try different variations to see what works best for the videos that are giving you problems.

The Gbox MX2 is capable of some hardware decoding. But that's good and bad. Hardware decoding is a lot more hit and miss than software decoding. Gbox MX2 can hardware decode H.264, MPEG, VC1. But it can't hardware decode H.265. So it may just be crappy out trying to hardware decode H.265.

Another useful test is to turn on the codecinfo overlay. Plug in a keyboard, and find a video that's giving you bad performance. While the video is playing, hit the "O" key on the keyboard. This will give you all kinds of info on hardware usage and codec info. See what codec it's using, and try to identify if its one specific codec that's killing it.

Also, check audio settings. Make sure you don't have something turned on that shouldn't be. It sounds crazy, but sometimes that can be a source of video stuttering.

Hope that helps.

I tried to load the "castaway" spot add on yesterday on the siting. Followed all the steps and was unable to get it. Not sure why.

Any tips/tricks?

Well, this is a bit outside of Kodi, but they did have Kodi Add Ons. Ballstreams and Hockeystreams just bit the dust. Of course this was the first season I decided to subscribe the full season. I kept freezing my accounts because ProSports addon was so awesomesauce. I had like 300 days left on each account. Oh well, live and learn the fun of the black market.

Check out the new Exodus addon. It's essentially the next generation of Genesis. From the same developer. Not sure why he didn't just port this into Genesis instead of creating a new addon. But whatever, it works well.

GVideo sources are being resolved again, and that's a very good thing. GVideo is one of the best free sources with almost no buffering ever.

Instructions: https://www.tvaddons.ag/exodus/