MAG254 New Purchase

[Happyhotspur]

I am about to purchase a Mag254 along with a subscription. I know I have enough Broadband speed for the box to work well and the subscription is because I am new to iPTV and wasn't skilled enough to go independent.

My question is can anybody out there give me further advice as to what I can do with my new Mag254 that is not including in the subscription if that is possible?

The subscription is giving me around 140 UK channels that I currently do not get with my free to air satellite box.

Also what is the difference between the Mag254 and an android box?

I have been using KODI for some free streaming but found the quality poor and difficult to navigate to the actual programs I want to watch hence the Mag254 and subscription, as I wanted plug and play to make it easier for the family to find their channels.

Thanks

[manfredz]

you're on the right track. I too gave up android for a MAG 254 and a paid subscription. NFPS/iptvrocket makes a good service that gives good bang for the buck. The MAG 254 can handle more subscriptions so you might want to look into adding a second subscription from elsewhere to fill gaps (in my case was German channels)

[sat-junkie]

Kodi hard to navigate?? you can't get any easier then Kodi..i have the best of both worlds with my android box running the STB Emulator is just like having a Mag box..for me i look at the hardware specs when choosing a box..espically if you're running kodi with a full build installed like silence rom i found out just having 1 gig of ram is pushing it to the limits..the new MXIII android box with the quad core cpu w/ the octo core gpu with 2 gigs of ram runs Kodi and everything else i threw at it..its almost as fast as my pc...and the box was only 50 bucks ,,, The mag is good but for what you get it's a bit over priced,,If they were like 30 bucks i would buy one

[Happyhotspur]

Thanks both of you. My issue with KODI is very simple I am not technically minded enough to fully understand how to access programs easily. You have to find a feed then choose which option then the picture is of poor quality, however this is my experience with using the free services only I would assume if I used a purpose built Android box then finding a channel to watch would be easier. However unless there is a listing and then you click on the program you want my family would never understand any other way of getting it to work.
So for me KODI is not user friendly. All I want is a system like Sky programme listings and choose what you want, not have to search the Internet etc.
For anybody technically minded then I would think KODI is good.
Thanks again

[psycon]

Kodi, hard to navigate? your doing it wrong... you need to set it up properly onces with a good skin.. this one is called Mimic, all the menus are custom made by moi and link to genesis menus.. once you set up one device.. u just copy the org.xdmc.kodi fodler from your apps/data folder and you can copy it to new devices to have instant setup with all plugins and settings..
http://iptvtalk.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1303&d=1449080058
http://iptvtalk.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1304&d=1449080071
http://iptvtalk.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1305&d=1449080083
http://iptvtalk.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1306&d=1449080104
doesnt get any easier than that..


as for if you should get a mag, or kodi.... if you want it set up out of the box with no frills AND want the VOD.. go with the MAG (after all the server is Meat for MAG devices)... if you want something customizable and future proof, go with an android box with at least 2 gigs of ram and 8 gig HD. I have a mag for testing purposes.. and thats all i will ever use it for..

Also it seems you art thinking Kodi can only access the free crappy streams... yeah those are a mess.. use pvr.stalker.nfps along with your donation and you will have everything jsut as good as a MAG in a much nicer interface

[Happyhotspur]

Thanks for that, but I still cannot get these zip files to appear on my Kodi page, so obviously I am doing something wrong but don't understand what I a doing wrong. Oh well as I said obviously not the right thing to try for a numpty like me, but thanks for your help.

Just tried again and kept getting a dll file corrupt message, have uninstalled and reinstalled but still cannot get it to work, do you think that Windows 10 is causing my problems?

Or is there a simple guide to download and set up KODI?

[manfredz]

I gave up my android for a MAG 254 and am very happy i did so. NFPS/Rocket make a good subscription to use as base, but there are all kinds of others to give you additional channels.

[tallman]

i love my mag 254 ,all i need is a proper channel list with good quality picture and my mag give me that, so i would say that's a good box.

[Happyhotspur]

Thanks all.

I have been comparing all my options. I tested the free Kodi content versus free streaming and on every occasion the free streaming gave me a better quality picture, on my laptop.

So I will forget about Kodi etc and stick to iPTV via a subscription with a Mag254 box, which will give me the quality of picture along with easy to negotiate listings. I still think for the average viewer Kodi is just too complicated.

Not sure if the Kodi instruction are compatible with Windows 10 laptops as none of the easy to follow steps actually are the same in reality to what the instruction tell you to follow.

Thanks again to all

[maird57]

i love my mag 254 ,all i need is a proper channel list with good quality picture and my mag give me that, so i would say that's a good box.

I just bought a Mag 254 and the picture quality on HD is not even close to IKS. I'm still trying different settings etc. I may even try a new server. Isn't testing fun!!!

[manfredz]

on IKS were you getting full 1080p HD? Much of IPTV is still SD but more going 720p, and some services starting to dabble in full 1080p

[maird57]

on IKS were you getting full 1080p HD? Much of IPTV is still SD but more going 720p, and some services starting to dabble in full 1080p

Most IKS channels are awesome HD quality. I couldn't tell the difference compared to Shaw cable HD

[Happyhotspur]

What is IKS? Sorry am new to this format and really don't understand a lot of the stuff.

I look on the internet for alternative boxes to the Mag254 but all I get is Android boxes which apparently are not the same as the Mag is based on Linux.

So what are the realistic alternative's, as tallman said I want a proper channel list with good quality picture and catch up with a program guide and I cannot see that in the KODI system no matter what I do with it.

[Capt.Kangaroo]

What is IKS? Sorry am new to this format and really don't understand a lot of the stuff.

I look on the internet for alternative boxes to the Mag254 but all I get is Android boxes which apparently are not the same as the Mag is based on Linux.

So what are the realistic alternative's, as tallman said I want a proper channel list with good quality picture and catch up with a program guide and I cannot see that in the KODI system no matter what I do with it.
Internet Key Sharing. For satellite television reception. You need satellite dish(es) to receive it

[Happyhotspur]

Thanks Captainkangaroo for explaining IKS.

I already have a 1.9 metre Satellite System but its part of our community installation and is set at 28.2. I wanted to watch the football but the only way would have been with a Sky subscription and at 75 euros per month way over my price, hence looking at an alternative and iPTV was what I was looking at, knowing the picture quality would never be as good as a Sat system.

Hence looking at the Mag254 or alternatives.

Thanks again

[Elmaschingon]

Thanks Captainkangaroo for explaining IKS.

I already have a 1.9 metre Satellite System but its part of our community installation and is set at 28.2. I wanted to watch the football but the only way would have been with a Sky subscription and at 75 euros per month way over my price, hence looking at an alternative and iPTV was what I was looking at, knowing the picture quality would never be as good as a Sat system.

Hence looking at the Mag254 or alternatives.

Thanks again

That's pretty much what you need Mate to watch Real footie!....Lots of SKY english ch's in their lineup!

[maird57]

I changed my hdmi cable over the weekend and the quality is much better. Not as good as IKS. I'd say depending on the channel 80-90% as good.

[K00lKatT]

the mag 254 has a very good SD pic....IMO

[horseboy]

for me i have a mag 254 love it

[tallman]

the picture quality is good for sd, love my mag254.

[BAMB]

I have a MAG 254, works great with a rocket subscription, picture is great. My wife uses it too, very simple and straight forward. Had free to air for years and loved it to, no more dish or computer to fool with.

[Elmaschingon]

If You have unlimited internet, IPTV is the way to go, but If you have High speed DSL with limited bandwidth/month like I do, then IKS is more suitable for less consumption and get to use your satellite dish. My mag is great as a backup when IKS is down and still get to watch some other programming not available on IKS.