1 month review of iptvsubs.is

by fuzzy8balls

I signed up for a 1 day free trial and then decided to pay for a 1 month subscription from April 9 until May 9, 2016.

I'm using Openelec running KODI on my raspberry pi.

Setup: 3 out of 5 (intermediate) You need to add the iptvsubs repo to kodi and install 2 addons. You must install the video addon first and then the epg updater. But before you install the epg updater, you need the PVR IPTV Simple Client and adjust the EPG time shift to your time zone.

EPG: 4 out of 5 (good) Mostly correct programming and it updates daily. In KODI when you go to the channel list or guide, all the programming is laid out pretty well for you. This is really nice.

Stream Quality: 2.5 out of 5 (meh) I noticed most channels are not 720p, even though KODI displays the 720p branding. I looked at the statistics overlay and see that video is actually at 1024x576 resolution (not 1280x720). The overall bitrate averages around 1.5Mbps.

Programming: 4 out of 5 (great channel lineup) I mainly watch sports and noticed that there's even PPV events -- this is a great bonus! However there are some channels that never work like BBC NEWS. If the US channel for the event is flakey, then I'll try and find the same program from the UK -- this has worked pretty well sometimes.

Rush hour / heavy utilization: 1 out of 5 (poor, lots of buffering) If there's a big event like NBA playoff games or Premiere League games, there's constant buffering and it's very annoying. Sometimes the audio will cut out or the stream will just stop completely. This never recovers until the event is over.

Channel hopping: 1 out of 5 (poor) This is very poor, it takes at least 10 seconds to load a new channel. I analyzed what is going on in the background and what happens is that the first request is to server called http://2.welcm.tv:8000 (with your username/password in plain text in the HTTP GET url request). Then it takes about 10 seconds for that response to come, which will then redirect you to another site where the video actually plays from. Once the redirect response is received, the loading of the video is actually quite fast. I'm guessing this is how they make sure you can only use 1 client at a time to access their service.

Suggestions for improvements: If iptvsubs can actually deliver 1280x720 video @ 3-4Mbps and have enough bandwidth for live sporting events so that clients don't buffer, that would be great -- I wouldn't even mind paying more. Currently I resubbed another month only because I don't think there's anything better.

In my opinion my priority would be:

no buffering! increase datacenter bandwidth
higher quality video stream
faster channel loading times
correct the last bit of EPG that seems off

pigfarmermc

Have you had a look at smoothstreams? I'm using it predominantly for sports and find it awesome

throwww6

Thanks for the review. My biggest issue with iptvsubs.is is the stuttering some channels suffer from, missing channels (most of the sky channels dont seem to work), and slow channel switching. Most of the time, it takes 5-10 seconds for each channel to load.

chaismus

I agree with several portions of your assessment.

Here's my review.

I have had IPTVSubs for about 1.5 Months. I have renewed because it is the best bang for the buck I have found. It also works well with my DVR system.

Setup: Kodi was easy, but my PVR setup was a pain. I don't really care, because it is the first provider I was able to get working with my PVR

EPG: ?/? I use a different provider for EPG.

Programming: 5/5 Excellent. I agree with you, it provides all the content I need. Hopefully it will provide the NFL Games like it does the MLB Games right now.

Stream Quality: 3.5/5 Correct this is not 720p, but at 1.5Mbps, I've found it passable. Its excellent compared to the alternatives (.5Mbps IKS66) at this price range. HD IPTV content is rare on the channels that I'm willing to pay for. SportsAccess provides higher quality, but its mostly sports, and with no EPG. Although 3-4 Mbps would be awesome.

Rush Hour: 3.5/5 I found earlier this month that the service was lagging during peak watching hours. GOT, and some highly watched sporting events. That said, it improved last sunday, and worked excellent this weekend. They seem to still be new, and working out some issues.

Channel Hopping: 3/5 I don't mind waiting for a couple seconds to switch channels. I record most things I really want to watch anyways.

Suggestions: Add a second stream to watch videos on. I'd really like to record 2 streams at once.

joyikee

hopefully with theyre new updates things will be fixed for people having issues

cyrusdoge

Biggest problem so far is that for some reason when I use simple client, the channels are so bad quality...but if I use the add-on, for some odd reason it works flawless.

They need to have 720p, 576p is alright and better than NFPS but still.

jdmjohn

What form of payment did u use? Im thinking of signing up too

coolspot18

IPTV Subs works a lot better using a MAG 254 box - the Kodi plugin is flakey.

ramonrey209

I use it with the STB emulator works flawless.

texh89

how can i use http://2.welcm.tv:8000/ links on ios devices?