5 ms·

There is a big market of folks that install custom firmware on cheap Chinese media players/sticks - they charge a monthly fee (less than Netflix) and stream the

There is a big market of folks that install custom firmware on cheap Chinese media players/sticks - they charge a monthly fee (less than Netflix) and stream the pirated content from their own servers.

londons_explore 5y ago
These services tend not to last very long in my experience. After spending $50 on the hardware, you're lucky to get 2 months service. For that price, you might as well just buy Netflix.
- nisegami 5y ago
  The main users of such devices in my country: 1. lack access to credit cards or internet-purchase enabled debit cards (or banking altogether). they can purchase those devices with cash; 2. simply don't understand how it works or that it may stop working in the future; 3. can justify spending money on a physical device, but cannot justify spending money on digital goods or services (according to their value systems)
  - felipelemos 5y ago
    Another reason is that some media simply doesn't exist on Netflix or any other streaming platform in your country so you have no legal way to access it.
  - lou1306 5y ago
    I'd add 4. they either ignore, or are fine with, the fact that they are paying for pirated content, which IMHO is the worst form of piracy. Also, point 3. does not hold up if they pay a monthly fee on top of the cost of the physical device.
    - nisegami 5y ago
      The ones I've seen here don't feature a monthly fee. I'd also like to extend your point 4 (or perhaps add a point 5), that some of these people aren't even aware they're pirating content or that they're breaking a law somewhere.
  - skydhash 5y ago
    Also getting popular here: You pay around 5 dollars to get access to a US Netflix account per month. Credit Card infra is still bad here, and the local Netflix is not worth it even when you can pay. Also, no Access to the others.
- kunagi7 5y ago
  First of all, I'm not a user of this content since I mostly don't care about my own country media (southern Europe) or platforms like Netflix. But I know quite a few that use this kind of devices to get cheaper access to football matches, series and general paid television content. When the supplied configuration fails they just change to another dealer. For them it's cheaper to pay 50€ for the device and a few euros every 2-3 months than paying over 120€ a month for the full package (football matches access is only available at that price range). When services are cheap most people that want them just pay since they're convenient.
- millzlane 5y ago
  Some of them you don't have to pay anything for. Except to agree to ad traffic.
hbcondo714 5y ago
Would you mind posting some links to these devices? Just curious about the "custom" firmware and media player UX itself. Do they come with a remote control too?
- aspenmayer 5y ago
  Search for HDMI stick pc devices on eBay and you’ll find them. Anything compatible with Kodi will probably turn up the grey market Amazon Fire et al clones you and OP refer to.

londons_explore 5y ago

These services tend not to last very long in my experience. After spending $50 on the hardware, you're lucky to get 2 months service. For that price, you might as well just buy Netflix.

nisegami 5y ago
The main users of such devices in my country: 1. lack access to credit cards or internet-purchase enabled debit cards (or banking altogether). they can purchase those devices with cash; 2. simply don't understand how it works or that it may stop working in the future; 3. can justify spending money on a physical device, but cannot justify spending money on digital goods or services (according to their value systems)
- felipelemos 5y ago
  Another reason is that some media simply doesn't exist on Netflix or any other streaming platform in your country so you have no legal way to access it.
- lou1306 5y ago
  I'd add 4. they either ignore, or are fine with, the fact that they are paying for pirated content, which IMHO is the worst form of piracy. Also, point 3. does not hold up if they pay a monthly fee on top of the cost of the physical device.
  - nisegami 5y ago
    The ones I've seen here don't feature a monthly fee. I'd also like to extend your point 4 (or perhaps add a point 5), that some of these people aren't even aware they're pirating content or that they're breaking a law somewhere.
- skydhash 5y ago
  Also getting popular here: You pay around 5 dollars to get access to a US Netflix account per month. Credit Card infra is still bad here, and the local Netflix is not worth it even when you can pay. Also, no Access to the others.
kunagi7 5y ago
First of all, I'm not a user of this content since I mostly don't care about my own country media (southern Europe) or platforms like Netflix. But I know quite a few that use this kind of devices to get cheaper access to football matches, series and general paid television content. When the supplied configuration fails they just change to another dealer. For them it's cheaper to pay 50€ for the device and a few euros every 2-3 months than paying over 120€ a month for the full package (football matches access is only available at that price range). When services are cheap most people that want them just pay since they're convenient.
millzlane 5y ago
Some of them you don't have to pay anything for. Except to agree to ad traffic.

hbcondo714 5y ago

Would you mind posting some links to these devices? Just curious about the "custom" firmware and media player UX itself. Do they come with a remote control too?

aspenmayer 5y ago
Search for HDMI stick pc devices on eBay and you’ll find them. Anything compatible with Kodi will probably turn up the grey market Amazon Fire et al clones you and OP refer to.