When i first learned about IPTV i thought it was hogwash, and that the cable companies wouldnt let people do something like this without serious repercussions. I was proved wrong though.
I started out with what I had, an Apple TV 4. I sideloaded kodi on it, and tried my first iptv provider, DexterTV. And i was amazed i was getting tv that looked better than vue. i was very curious about this. However on the Apple TV you have serious buffering issues and it doesnt play well with kodi. So i quickly looked for another box option.
Enter the NVIDIA shield TV pro. I went all out and got the Pro, and the tv remote and everything. And it was night and day from the apple tv. SO fast. didnt buffer or pixelate near as much, still on occasion though. I was hard wired, and everyone told me that i must be having issues due to my streaming provider ( i have 80mb internet so that was ruled out too) So that i when i started my hiatus of providers. You name it i tried it. Ace, ipguys, gears tv, dexter tv, nero, jinx, vader streams, torula, iptv subs, just off the top of my head those are the ones i can think of. And i was just never happy with the buffering and pixelation. It happened alot, and i am a bitch about quality. So i kept looking for what i could do. I did the echo wizard nvidia shield buffering thing, had all the clear cache and stuff set up. I knew my shit. I tried it. And i always still had some pixelation and buffering.
Enter T1 dreamlink. I had heard of it forever thanks to acaoacao and stokedcrf. They were always ranting about it. But i always told myself theres not way that cheap box could be better than my all powerful godlike shield. Its just them trying to strum up stalker service. But then a week ago i took the plunge.
EVERYONE WHO HAS ANYTHING OTHER THAN AN T1 OR MAG254 DOESNT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE MISSING. Its night and day man. Channels load in half the time. Pixelation? nonexistent. Buffering? havent seen it once. The best way i can describe the difference between a stalker service and a kodi or web based one is one word. Color Saturation. kodi based services have horrible matte color saturation that just takes away all vibrancy of the product. And honestly i noticed a little before, but after getting the t1, i was like holy shit. The colors are infinitely more vibrant. Colors are not matted or muted, they are vibrant and full, very cable like. And that to me is the key difference. And its what you dont get with kodi. or with stb emulator. you just dont. and if picture quality is important to you, then admit your mistake and get the t1 or mag254. youll thank me.
I hope this helps some people. I really do. Happy to answer any questions. I just know how hard it can be to think ill of your android based device or fire tv, but im telling ya, for iptv? this is what works best. I didnt believe it. But now i do.
Just to clear up it up. I just ordered a Dreamlink T1 today. I am excited though. All credit goes to /u/stokedcrf While you are at it.. give him a upvote. He likes upvotes.
All kidding aside. Thanks for the review and confirmation for buying dedicated IPTV hardware.