New to IPTV? A word of Advice

by fooali

I've been using IPTV for quite some time now and i feel like i need to explain a few things to those who are just finding out what all this is about.

Rule #1 - resellers are not your friends. it all starts very rosy, u buy a sub from them things are going great the support is good etc. wait till you start to complain about a few things and see how all that changes.

Rule #2 - AVOID any website or reseller claiming to have 700+ channels. more often than not anyone who uses iptv will prob watch around 10 channels some less so its most likely a scam.

Rule # 3 - for the love of god please do not buy yearly subs. i can't stress this enough. 3 months is prob ok but just go month to month, IPTV providers are dropping like flies so u don't want to commit and regret later

Rule # 4 - Please please do as much research into the technical aspect of IPTV as you can before setting up anything. i can guarantee any questions you ask has been asked a million times before. it's not your fault, u just want answers but thats when you end up buying a box for £200 when in reality your broadband is shit. search box is ur friend

Rule # 5 - In my personal opinion the legitimate apps such as iplayer, itv hub etc are still your best bet for terrestrial content. The only real advantage for me is the football and other sports. nothing more frustrating than settling down to watch a movie on the VOD and it stops working. just download movies from https://zooqle.com/ using qBittorrent.

Rule # 6 - Be mindful that the best IPTV providers are usually private and invite only communities. the ones you see on reddit and other public forums are just looking to get as many users as possible, make a bit of money for a few years and then move on to the next. so don't stop taking trials and looking for better options. there's no loyalty in this game.

Rule # 7 - to buffer or not to buffer. you're going to have issues with connectivity at some stage and there's no point crying about it and creating multiple posts. "well my netflix works so why isn't this working" ... see rule # 4

Rule # 8 - The customer isn't always right. if you're expecting top notch customer service you've come to the wrong place. there's no customer retention department here or don't expect to receive a month free due to your channels not working over the weekend.

Rule # 9 - You get what you pay for. IPTV is very cheap. i mean if you can't afford £10 a month on a sub then ... anyway my point is looking for cheaper alternatives won't make things different. it annoys me when i see people asking for a "cheap sub" so u want to pay £7 instead of £10. if price is an issue then maybe this isn't the place for you.

Rule # 10 - Make sure things are working for you before you bring in your friends and ur gran. doing referrals can be a headache so i'd say give it 6 months before you start telling people about this amazing thing you've just found. you'll end up avoiding people in the pub when things go bad.

Rule # 11 - ... and my personal favourite. IPTV has a shelf life, when that is who knows. the authorities won't just sit back and let you enjoy this ride that easily. There's billions invested in their content and i'm sure they don't mind spending a few quid hiring the best people to stop this or even coming up with new technology to combat this illegal trade. All i will say is enjoy it while it lasts.

johny696969

great post... The only issue how do you find private servers. I been searching forever. I only know of one kinda of private

mundial86

Rule #11 - Have a couple of providers, chances are that if yours goes kaput you can still carry on watching your all important game in a matter of seconds if you have a backup provider.

fjuman

I was going to downvote u when I started reading #1 and #2 but then you started to make sense :)

WRT to your point #2, when I tell customers I have services offering up to 4,000 channels, they usually exclaim saying stuff such as...what do I need so many channels for...I only watch like 10 or so. My response to them is usually that these services were not custom designed for just ONE person. They are usually international and have customers from all over the world, so they need channels and content from all over the world. Just cause you dont watch a particular channel, doesnt mean there arent hundreds who do watch it.

WRT point #1, yes resellers arent really your friends, its a business...like any business its to make money and time is money. We really dont make a fortune off of one sub, so the name of the game is to get many subs in order to make it worthwhile. How much time would you spend on a customer to make $3us or so? Not all resellers are made equal, I pride myself in having mostly repeat customers and no longer actively seek out new ones as I get enough referrals. I honestly try to answer all queries my customers have, whether they have been with me 3 months or for 3 years. But there are some customers who expect the same customer service whether they pay $15 or $150/mo, which just isn't realistic.

Sepa28

Hey there. Good tips, and after a month and trial and error, I agree with 100% of them. One thing I am definitely wary of is hype and a service that sounds too good to be true. While I don't think 700+ channels ((including languages) is an unreasonable pitch, I would be wary of anything over that. The less a service offers, the better the service as a rule. In fact, I have learned to avoid anything with VOD, because Live TV is what we're really after. Sometimes (oftentimes) a stripped down, specialized, service is both cheaper and more effective. As you rightly say, better to get 10 awesome channels than 5000+ garbage ones.

One thing I didn't see you suggest is a decent VPN. This probably goes without saying, but get that VPN set up. Most VPNs have an android app that will protect the device specifically.

(Btw, on behalf of my Canadian brothers and sisters: Most of us would gladly pay for a legal Canadian version of Sling TV or equivalent if we could. We have few options, they are outrageous in price and garbage in quality.)

JohnFckinWick

how does one get invited to the private ones?

Wokmeister

no.10 is probably wrong, for the same reason those that said file sharing like bittorrent was going to die, if something can be broadcast, it can be copied and restreamed, even moreso with things moving more and more online.

rule 5 is the key, if I could just find one of those proper good providers that was a lot more hidden than the ones around here then I would be sorted, would rather pay a bit more for that instead of <£10 for the rubbish you get advertised on here.

natlor

Good post bar rule 2, 700+ channels is the norm with most services advertised and rule 10, IPTV is going nowhere. Shut down 1 and 6 more take it's place.

Rule 11 As already mentioned if you are cutting the cord for IPTV get at least 2 services as no service will give you 100% up time

besty148

So true. I love the one about avoiding people n in the pub !

WdM690419

Very well said ! Should you ever decide to run for iptv presidency , you will have my vote!!!

Thank you

bobjameshelix

Give this guy a round of applause!

zool99

Definitely agree with going for a small private service. The one I currently use is shared purely via family & friends referrals only no ads or Facebook just a telegram group and has been excellent for the last six months offering great quality and support was previously a ace customer. If a supplier is well known advertising here or on Facebook personally I’d avoid them only a matter of time before there shut down especially the big providers. Won’t be sharing the name of my service as I respect there rules but keep searching there’s plenty out there.

Nerosutton

u/fooali

This is quite possibly the best post for beginners I have read on IPTV. I started 'testing' way back with FTA and the Big Ugly Dish. What you have said here has been true for my 30+ years of this kind of hobby. I found your post a few weeks ago and it inspired me to build a master reference of providers and options. It's way to big to post here but I would really appreciate your review and opinion. May I PM you with a link? I'd welcome any comment you may have.

Thanks for the great post and the time you spent putting it together.

Regards

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johny696969

Really maybe they closed it already

johny696969

Go to billing

HarryWHU

For Rule 4, what’s the minimum broadband speed you’d recommend?

biglew177

I agree with most of your points except points 1 and 3 and 9. For example I paid 60.00 for a year sub for the most popular iptv on here based on posts and good comments . Yes I have been nervous about it month by month but I am in my 4th month and that puts me even with the 15.00/month subs for the same iptv have seen elsewhere.

bvenkat86

What is the best app for watching IPTV in Firestick?

WoodenDoorbell

Try as I might...I cannot find any providers with less than 3000 channels.

BrahCheese

Great post thanks

kombinatsi40

For uk sky streams is the same fucking horrible 5fps source the same 5 paunds banknote goes to hands of everyone . Myself never watch football on sky sports. Portugese spanish polish full HD fluid streams 50fps a joy to watch football . Maybe dificult for english people to hear a foreign languagge but then get a official sky package 70-80 paunds a montj

Jonnythebull

Rule 11. Unfortunately I've come to learn in life that all good things really do come to an end eventually and IPTV will be no different. As you say, enjoy it whilst it lasts.

popbabylon

So my provider set me up with the mobile app for iPhone. It has been working great. I want to try and find a way to cast it to my Samsung TV. I've got the Samsung casting app on the phone and TV, but do not know how to get the iptv smarters app to connect to it. I've become stuck. Anyone get a tutorial or youtube video that will walk me through it?

down_R_up_L_Y_B

Right now I'm using stbemu. It's there a better app out there for IPTV?

Thademan

Okay, so if i wanna check premier league and swedish television, what iptv should i consider?

Thnx for a great post!

prowler81

Don't forget when downloading from https://zooqle.com/ to make sure you have a VPN setup.

HorribleHank44

700+ channels? I've got just over 4000 to choose from...

totodee

I disagree with rule # 1. I have been with my reseller for some time and he could not be better. He has helped me out several times with issues. In fact, I ran across another reseller who charged a little less per month but I am staying with my reseller because I have had such a good experience with him.

Rule # 2- I watch many more than 10 channels. If that's all I watched I'd subscribe to one of the legal IPTV services.

I could quibble with some of your other points as well but let me make this brief. You presume to "explain" things. Perhaps somebody should explain some things to you Mr. Know-it-all.