THE RELIABILITY OF XBMC T.V. LINKS V`S IPTV SERVICE PROVIDED LINKS

Dear Folks,

Let me start by saying I am an ardent fan of XBMC and have been for many years,indeed my preference is to always use XBMC on Media Servers I provide to my customers.

I currently use at home 2 devices to get all the channels I want...a Blade HD IPTV box and a Prism Ruby XBMC Satellite box.

http://www.customcinema360.com/iptv/

http://www.customcinema360.com/prismcube-ruby-xbmc-satellite-receiver-with-1tb-drive/

The Blade is used for all the FTV Channels that were lost during the switch of BBC,ITV channels to the narrow beam Satellite...and is the ONLY IPTV box at current with true HD for BBC,ITV,Channel 4/5 ETC...

The Prism is used for SKY HD channels..

I do not use XBMC for live t.v. channels because it depends on links that can be taken down arbitarily by the "owner".

The XBMC community is a community of enthusiasts essentially who create their own Repositories-for example FTV is found in Kinkins repository and is his feed of Filmon..

Invariably the live t.v. channels are below true standard definition quality and suffer from numerous picture artifacts..some t.v. channels do not exist at all,some are INCREDIBLY unreliable even when other channels are working..BBC 3 for example...

Nevertheless,for an enthusiast that enjoys XBMC it can be good fun finding things to watch- albeit arduous sometimes.

In my view based on having both boxes,t.v. channels need to be as reliable as possible and always available..instantaneously..simply...quickly...

Not being able to meet this criteria disqualifies XBMC as a reliable t.v. solution for the masses-but not as a fun enthusiast product for the few..and XBMC is great fun IF you are prepared to spend time on things like Navi X and Mashup..great for Movies and older Box-sets..

The problem comes when dubious sellers tout XBMC and/or Android as "T.V. CHANNEL SOLUTIONS"...and tout as a selling point..."NO SUBSCRIPTION"...of course there isn`t..XBMC is free and open source firmware..there is no cost as such....

So what do these sellers do?...they stick XBMC on a 40 euro Android box with generic firmware and charge 200....

That`s a rip off in my opinion...invariably perpetrated by illegitimate sellers or Ebay sellers....with either you have little recourse when there is an issue..

At Projectiondreams-after extensive trials,we knew it was better for our customers in selling a good reliable IPTV box with an agreed Service provision for reliability and great firmware.. and let`s be clear here-IPTV is now in ALL the top hotels with service provision contracts BECAUSE reliability is paramount..

The cost for this service provision..?..with Projectiondreams-about 60 cents per day...so the only question one considering a t.v. solution should think of ..

"Shall i pay 60 cents per day for guaranteed t.v. channel provision...or not pay the 60 cents and opt for a less reliable solution."...

At present,Android as a platform for IPTV is nowhere near as reliable as Linux..of course that may change in the future..XBMC + Android is still very new and quite a few bugs need to be ironed out..my guess is in 2/3 years time they will have it cracked..hopefully sooner...  I am testing different boxes all the time..so shall keep you updated on this..

My opinion and the current industry position as well,is that there are few service providers that support Android boxes..all the larger professional service providers support Linux..ALL support the Mag 250 and derivatives.(*Our newest box the Blade HD 360 is still based on the Mag 250.)

I would also like folks to know that the 60 cents per day buys the support through Projectiondreams of a major service provider-as well as continued R & D,continued Firmware evolution,the ability to demo the product you buy and the ability to have support from professionals in the event of a rare issue-and the ability to cost effectively upgrade...

The price of excellence is seldom "cheap",though I`m sure folks will agree that 60 cents per day for peace of mind is certainly not expensive especially when compared to chaps selling Chinese Android boxes via the back door of bars- who may not be around next week...:-)