What does it do? It's software you install on a PC that lets you stream your personal videos/music/photos to pretty much any device or gaming console other than Amazon Fire TVs. There's a free version you can try out that does the basic streaming, but the sale is $40 for a lifetime license which lets you record from streaming sites and has an ad skip feature. Normally it's $5 a month ($60 per year) which is crazy, but $40 for a lifetime license is a good value for something that lets you turn your PC into a DVR for streaming sites including NetFlix/Hulu/Amazon/HBO. So for example you could sign up for a free 1 month trial of HBO and record every episode of GoT. Or rather than paying for HuluPlus you can subscribe to a show on free Hulu and not worry that you only have one week to watch the latest episode because it recorded to your PC and you can skip the ads. It also lets you log into the major OTA and Cable networks that stream shows if you have a cable provider login.

I'm not really familiar with Kodi, maybe it does everything I'm talking about for free, but again, for $40 for a lifetime license, it's a very good value. LINK /

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Posted by Tortious

ATX

Member since Nov 2010

5140 posts

Posted on 1/6/16 at 9:31 am to TigerinATL

I have it and have the lifetime license which I got when first moving into the cord cutting arena. Couple of things, it will only give you access to things you already have so you need passwords for Netflix, etc. I have found the recording somewhat unreliable for sources(plus it is a record not a download so that 2hours for a two hour show) and not sure why I would record something off of Netflix. Anyway, Kodi can give you all of that and more and you can download rather than record from most sources. Honestly, I only use it now to stream videos on my media server to my roku, etc. In other rooms of the house. For the low price, it may be worth it even if limited because you will get upgrades.

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Posted by TigerinATL

Member since Feb 2005

61514 posts

Posted on 1/6/16 at 10:02 am to Tortious

quote:
Kodi can give you all of that and more

I figured as much, but I got Playon about 3-4 years ago to stream stuff to my PS3. I've paid about $20 total for lifetime pricing and access to a few major upgrades so I've gotten my money's worth out of it. Also, from what I've read Kodi isn't supported on Roku, so if you have a Roku, this is something to consider.

This post was edited on 1/6/16 at 10:03 am

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Posted by Layabout

Baton Rouge

Member since Jul 2011

11082 posts

Posted on 1/6/16 at 10:57 am to TigerinATL

I've had Playon since they first started out. That was before Apple TV and Roku and smart TVs. They've improved it over the years but it doesn't really measure up to what is available now. Save your money. It doesn't offer anything that isn't available on the cheapest Roku. The PlayLater feature is not ready for prime time.

This post was edited on 1/6/16 at 11:01 am

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Posted by TigerinATL

Member since Feb 2005

61514 posts

Posted on 1/6/16 at 11:01 am to Layabout

quote:
Save your money. It doesn't offer anything that isn't available on the cheapest Roku.

Such as? Kodi is the main media center I see people talk about here and from what I've read it's not on Roku.

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Posted by Doldil

The Ham

Member since Jan 2010

6214 posts

Posted on 1/6/16 at 11:18 am to TigerinATL

I pretty much use PlayOn now simply to access the custom channels for VIPBox (sports streaming) and OneChannel (basically anything you want tv wise). It's really easy to navigate once you figure out what is going on with all the different links available.

Occasionally I'll find something on my computer that I can't access through playOn and just set it up to cast to the tv. It's also really good for getting around device limits, which I used to have to do with VuDu because my brother and I both use our Mom's account, which has device limits. By using PlayOn it basically treats it as a web based login.

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Posted by chryso