[iKayChow]

Hey guys,

my mom was asking me where can she get one of these pvr things that connect to the internet to watch dramas and such on tv. anyone know the name of these things? or where can i get one?

don't know what to google either besides chinese pvr wifi but not sure if those boxes i see randomly are good or the right thing. anyone have any experience with these things? she isnt computer friendly so letting her use a computer is out of the question :okay:

[hiGh_RollA]

my parents have one..I think it's called MyPad and they got it from public market

[Veleno]

TVpad

[iKayChow]

how much is a reasonably priced one? don't want to get some junky one... but dont want to blow the wallet either. any specific specs i should be looking out for.. since some chinese things sometimes just magically aren't able to do some stuff

[jackmeister]

theres this bright yellow box called kylin or something?

[JackAss]

TVpad

try Parker place.. they have it

[!Kodamu]

tvpad. i bought mine in ebay from a local seller. Cheapest you can get locally
Posted via RS Mobile

[Ikkaku]

there is a large variety of streaming capable media players. tvpad has gained a lot of hype recently, especially with the bigass thread on rfd iirc.

we have a variation that is pretty decent, with lots of different streams available, but it was brought over by relatives from Toronto (which have many more smaller shops that carry these things)

Ebay would probably be cheapest as per kodamu. Otherwise, check malls like parker place or crystal mall. They have a few electronic/media shops.

[Sky_High]

Depends if you need to watch shows from TVB, etc.
If not....just any one of those android tv boxes....no need to get the TVpad. A lot cheaper.

[bcedhk]

I got the tvpad for my parents. I would buy it online cause parker/crystal mall charges a lot more for it.

Works well 90% of the time.

[GLOW]

holy crap i just ebay searched and those things are going for $200

[iKayChow]

Depends if you need to watch shows from TVB, etc.
If not....just any one of those android tv boxes....no need to get the TVpad. A lot cheaper.

don't even know what tvb is lulzzzz

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Mini-Android-4-1-Dual-Core-TV-Box-WIFI-HD-Cortex-A9-8GB-Wireless-Keyboard-Mouse-/400332535397?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var&hash=item5d35adb665&_uhb=1#ht_5228wt_1024

this thing doesnt look bad.. looks really cheap though..

[death_blossom]

theres this bright yellow box called kylin or something?

KylinTV is strictly for mainland China programming only I believe.

[FerrariEnzo]

don't even know what tvb is lulzzzz


unless you dont watch HongKong Dramas, otherwise, how do you not know TVB? :suspicious:
Its a large HongKong based t.v. production group. like Disney, Paramount over here.


anyways, I heard ParkerPlaces sells these units for $300+, thats too much $$$$$

[DJ Milk]

It is a lot of money but cheap compare to what the satellite company in the USA is charging for all the TVB channels. Since November of 2012, Americans can add TVB to their package for an extra $40/month :high:

[Iceman_2K]

go to GreenNet at Parker Place or on Kingsway near Knight, they have a few different boxes. $128 was the price of one of them.

[willystyle]

If you're getting it strictly for Live TV broadcasts, such as for TVB (assuming that you're interested in Cantonese broadcasting), then it sucks. Unless you want to wake up at 4AM in the morning to watch the HK primetime shows. It's not worth getting. It has no PVR function, most of the Live TV programs that u can watch at our hours are mostly variety and news programs at HK time.

With that said, the Video on Demand programming is not bad. MyPad is the only media box that can fetch TVB programming, and it can be shut down anytime as they are getting their feed illegally.

I know this cause I thought about getting this box but decided not to.

[Sky_High]

If you're getting it strictly for Live TV broadcasts, such as for TVB (assuming that you're interested in Cantonese broadcasting), then it sucks. Unless you want to wake up at 4AM in the morning to watch the HK primetime shows. It's not worth getting. It has no PVR function, most of the Live TV programs that u can watch at our hours are mostly variety and news programs at HK time.

With that said, the Video on Demand programming is not bad. MyPad is the only media box that can fetch TVB programming, and it can be shut down anytime as they are getting their feed illegally.

I know this cause I thought about getting this box but decided not to.

OP already mention he doesn't even have a clue what TVB is.
What he needs is just an Android TV box / usb drive that could be easily fetch for $40-100 locally or online. It will be enough for his parents to watch most Mainland shows.

[GLOW]

but if he has said android TV Box, what app/program would he use on it to be able to stream chinese/TVB shows? or are you implying he has to download and watch via USB?

[Cassijon]

my buddy has a android tv box that gets everything from PPV events, movies (even ones still in theatre), hindi/chinese/other ethnic shows, everything...

thats prob what you are looking for right?

[bcrdukes]

Been using TV Pad since it came out.

[skyxx]

This is interesting. So the quality of the stream is based on your bandwidth right? It'll optimize the stream for your network?

[GLOW]

so what android apps do you guys use with your droid boxes to watch tvb, etc shows?

[bcrdukes]

This is interesting. So the quality of the stream is based on your bandwidth right? It'll optimize the stream for your network?

Sort of, I think? I'm not a primary user but regardless, my family in Los Angeles got one recently but they're limited to I think a or 7MB downstream cap as per their ISP. They also tie up bandwidth downloading videos, music and whatnot so that kills the quality and by that, I mean it will buffer or miss frames etc.

We have a 15MB downstream cap from Telus. We also have 2 TV boxes running simultaneously and usually 3 computers surfing the web. No problems so far but in terms of visual quality - I don't know.

[willystyle]

This is interesting. So the quality of the stream is based on your bandwidth right? It'll optimize the stream for your network?
It's based on your bandwidth as well as what the provider can provide.

so what android apps do you guys use with your droid boxes to watch tvb, etc shows?
None. TVPad is the only box that can stream TVB as they have their own "proprietary distributor". It's a LIVE FEED, not Ondemand, so unless you enjoy waking up at 4AM in the morning to catch their primetime shows. It's not worth it at all.

[ddr]

It's a LIVE FEED, not Ondemand, so unless you enjoy waking up at 4AM in the morning to catch their primetime shows. It's not worth it at all.

^^ this. but if it comes with other apps that can provide on demand content then that's not bad. not $200 good tho. i.e. pps/qvod stuff like that but an andriod variant

[willystyle]

^^ this. but if it comes with other apps that can provide on demand content then that's not bad. not $200 good tho. i.e. pps/qvod stuff like that but an andriod variant
It provides other ondemand content likes movies, but none of the TVB dramas I don't think.

[MarcusLaw]

@iKayChow
@OP

Just an idea but this is what I bought for my mom and she LOVES it.

Get an iPad and use the free app called PPStream. You can take a look at it, theres a PC version. Its 100%, you can watch shows and movies with no advertisement at all!

Its also great because even on its off time, you can use it too! Its extremely versatile, and she can use her finger (or a stylus) to write in chinese on the iPad to find shows/ movies she enjoys. It's extremely easy! Rewind, pause, play, you name it. Also when she goes out, when shes in like a starbucks she can bring the iPad and watch it as well. Or when you guys go traveling like in the airport where theres wifi.

The app is 100% free.

What you can do is buy a Refurbished ipad 2 16gb wifi for around 250$ from apple when they have it in stock or from someone. Or for even more portability, you can buy a brand new iPad mini for 329$.

You can check out the PPS before you buy it on your PC, heres the link. PPSÍøÂçµçÊÓ¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾ - PPSÅãÄã¿´ÊÀ½ç (http://www.pps.tv/)

and i THINK, i googled TVpad (their site is not loading for me atm idk y) but its 299$ for it. iPad would be easier to use, more versitile, and better.

down side is you have to buy a lighting -> hdmi (or component) or 30 pin -> hdmi (or component) and it'll play on your tv. or you can get apple tv and stream it wirelessly to the Tv.

theres also the even cheaper solution. buying a nexus 7 or nexus tab (any cheap android tab really), and you can download pps on the android and then buy a connector to the tv and play it. I had the nexus with pps and my mom absolutely hated it. she loves her iPad 2 that i bought her 2 years ago. We cancelled our cable because she prefers PPS over cable tv lol.

ps. theres also another free app just like PPS that my grandma uses, I forgot what its called but if you do go this route and u like it, let me know and i'll find out what the app is called.