Cut The Cord: New Years Edition

It's been a while since I discussed cord-cutting, so for all those interested here's an update.

I still swear by Trakt as my go to for keeping track of all the TV shows that are watched throughout the house. If you have never used Trakt check out my previous post here.

Recently I started using RealDebris, an unrestricted downloading service which will alleviate buffering for most serve on-demand content such as movies and tv shows. While it's not a perfect solution, it really does help with finding solid online content as well as minimizing buffering. However, something to consider with RealDebris is that it's not a free service! While it is quite reasonably priced, I bought a 6 month subscription for about $24CDN, working out to be just under $4CDN a month, it's still an added cost. I may check out other services in the future, and if anyone has a suggestion to other similar services, leave a comment.

Recently I've been using both Typhoon TV, and TVZion as my main TV and Movie watching android app. I switched because both Typhoon TV and TVZion integrates well with both Trakt and RealDebris, so I can get solid streams, and keep track of the shows I watch.

Now, I do want to say they are both awesome, and each in its own unique way, however they both lack a feature I've grown to love with my other android apps, That feature is the ability to have an embedded Trakt progress option, which lists the episodes you're behind on, in chronological order. Fingers crossed it's something that will be implemented.

You can download the files directly from my Google drive
TyphoonTv
TVZion

Trakt.Tv

One of the first things people realize when "cutting the cord", or more accurately the moving away from conventional sources of TV or Movie viewing, is the lack of commercials. Yes, one of the many benefits of cord cutting is no longer having you're TV show or Movie interrupted by commercials. Initially people rejoice at the thought of how much time is saved by not having to watch commercials. However this bliss of being able to truly binge watch TV or Movie's soon brings with it other problems. Hold on a second Mass, what kind of problems can we possibly encounter by not watching commercials? Well, for starters, without commercials you don't really know what new Movies are coming out, you don't know when your favorite TV show is playing next or when it starts up again. Heck you don't even know what new TV shows are coming out. 

Wouldn't it be cool if there was a service that could integrate with the streaming programs and add-ons you use, and notify you when your favorite TV show was starting up again, or tell you new episodes are available. How about if it could also keep track of all the Movies you've watched, and let your Facebook friends know. Well not only does Trakt.TV offer a free service to accomplish the above mentioned issues, but it allows for that information to be shared between all the devices associated to that account. No longer, will you be in bed, having re-watched the first ten minutes of a TV show episode only to realize you already watched it in the living room. As if that wasn't enough, Trakt.TV will analyse your TV and Movie viewing habits and make recommendations as to future shows or Movies that others with similar tastes have recommended.

How much does all this cost? Well you can get all the features I've mentioned above with a free account, however that's just the tip of the iceberg. Check out Trakt.TV's website here for a full list of features available and costs associated with being a VIP member.

So to everyone I say, stop wasting your time and head on over to Trakt.TV to sign up for a free account. Then when you're done, creep some co-workers so as to keep the water cooler talk fresh and flowing.

Terrarium TV

When I first tried Terrarium TV, over a year ago, I had absolutely no success in getting it to work. The interface was slow, and unresponsive, and I just couldn't be bothered fiddling with this new program when I was already quite satisfied with KODI. I've been a devoted KODI user since, well, before it was even called KODI. My history with cord cutting goes back to the days of XBMC (X-Box Media Centre), which is what KODI was formerly known as, way back in 2002. 

You have to take intro consideration, that, when Terrarium TV came on the  scene, KODI 16.1 was the must have application for the cord cutting community. However as KODI moved past Jarvis (16.1) to Krypton (17.0) some machines were now being rendered useless, as the new KODI now required Android 5+ as a minimum requirement. This seemed to maybe indicate the beginning of the end for KODI, not only was it losing touch with its target base of users (by requiring new Android TV Boxes), their developers were scrambling, forced to keep up with these changes. Many of these KODI add-on developers were also beginning to feel the pressure, as the outside world focused all its eyes on KODI and the question of it's legality. It would seem this one-two punch may have been enough to bring the mighty KODI giant to it's knees, and as a result, many developers (wanting out of the public spotlight) branched out and away from KODI. The giant that had ruled the cord cutting realm for the past 15 years had been toppled. In its wake, the cord cutting community eagerly awaits as a plethora of new streaming applications have begun flooding the scene.

It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I first went back to try experimenting with Terrarium TV, and boy was I astonished. The Terrarium TV I had now started using was a completely different reincarnation than the original. It was completely redesigned, looked impressive, was very responsive and most importantly it worked very, very well. What was most shocking was the ease and simplicity of Terrarium TV when comparing it to how complicated it had been to set up KODI. Yes, folks, it would seem we have a valid up and coming contender for the championship title of best cord cutting application. Only the future will tell for certain, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.

If you're interested in trying out Terrarium TV, then you should be able to download it through Aptoide TV, or Google Play Store. You can also download it directly from this link.

** Now while I've praised the new Terrarium TV application, it isn't without its shortfalls, and the most notable in my eyes is the omission  of TRAKT watch-lists (For those unfamiliar with TRAKT, I will have an upcoming article on it). While Terrarium TV does integrate with TRAKT, it only sync's  some information like Watched TV, Watched Movies and Favorites. According the Reddit forums, work is being done by Terrarium TV developers to implement more TRAKT information, with Watch-lists hopefully coming soon, and maybe even a calendar (fingers crossed).

Aptoide TV

While there is nothing wrong with using the Google Play Store, if you're looking for a slightly easier to use alternative, then may I suggest Aptoide TV.

So what makes Aptoide TV so good that I list it first? Well for starters, you don't need to have an account to begin downloading applications onto your Android TV Box. For most of us, we are all to familiar with the GMail login process that follows us around from device to device. The Android TV Box is usually used as a shared family device, do you really want everyone having access to your Google account? What if you don't have a GMail login account (I'm specifically referring to the IPhone users), do you really want to create one just for you Android TV Box? 

If the above mentioned reason wasn't enough motivation to get you to switch, then maybe this will. Unlike the Google Play Store which was designed to be used with a touch screen interface, Aptoide TV can be completely controlled by the Android TV Box remote. That's right, no more need to hook up a mouse and keyboard, or spring for a fancy air mouse. Aptoide TV was specifically designed with Android TV Box remote users in mind, which means Smart TV owners also get some love now.

Installation is pretty straight forward, just click this link and follow the instructions. 

KODI, WTF?

A little while back I informed everyone that I would be starting a KODI section, with updates on builds,add-ons and such. Well since those days it seems every time I got around to writing up a segment on what is the best KODI build to use, or what was the must have add-on, no sooner then did pen touch paper (figuratively) that the build or add-on would die. This little charade went on for a few weeks, and I've finally come to the point of realization that KODI, the all around, most useful tool to traverses and navigate the cord cutting realm, is simply too broken and volatile to use. Sure I still use KODI, but it's become much too difficult to maintain for the casual enthusiast. Stay tuned as I bring you some alternatives

KODI: Update

Due to recent litigation surrounding the legality of KODI and it's add-ons, I will be holding off on posting. Many of the add-ons I've been using have either shut down, or gone on hiatus. Once this matter is resolved I will continue to post tips on KODI.

KODI

Just thought I'd put together a new category focusing on information around KODI software, and my personal top suggestions of getting it to run smoother. While I'm no expert, people often reach out to me with questions, and I'm more than happy to share my experiences. 

With this new category, I'll try to answer the most common problems and solutions. So send me feedback.