I'm pretty tech savy (I installed my own network and am currently in college for CS) and seem to get the basics of what is going on (I buy a IPTV box and then stream online channels???) but am not sure where to start gathering information. Any help would be awesome.
Can buy an android box and download Kodi and install some free addons to get some free content - this is sometimes hit and miss with regards reliability/stability. Or you could sign up for a paid IPTV service (have a look in the sticky at the top of the page for a list) and use it with your android box (either by their own android app or through Kodi - whichever the service uses). Some services may have offer other options for other types of boxes that act more like a standard set top box (ie. MAG254, Enigma2) which you could sign up for either.