Best source for home theater and music

L

Linda Barzini

Enthusiast
I cut the cable with Comcast but I did get a Tivo for the 2 shows I watch. The OTA video is uncompressed HD and very nice. Do most of these OTA HD streams carry surround 5.1?

Does Netflix and iTunes HD also stream 5.1 surround?

My friend has something called Kodi on a Firestick. Do any movies on the Kodi Apps stream 5.1 surround?

How is the quality rated of FM radio, CD players, streaming MP3s, and Pandora or Spotify for streaming? Any of these too compressed to enjoy?

(my system is 5.1 in a medium sized room plus 2 speakers in each of kitchen, bedroom, and roof deck.)
 
2

2channel lover

Audioholic Field Marshall
I cut the cable with Comcast but I did get a Tivo for the 2 shows I watch. The OTA video is uncompressed HD and very nice. Do most of these OTA HD streams carry surround 5.1?

Does Netflix and iTunes HD also stream 5.1 surround?

My friend has something called Kodi on a Firestick. Do any movies on the Kodi Apps stream 5.1 surround?

How is the quality rated of FM radio, CD players, streaming MP3s, and Pandora or Spotify for streaming? Any of these too compressed to enjoy?

(my system is 5.1 in a medium sized room plus 2 speakers in each of kitchen, bedroom, and roof deck.)
Congrats on cutting the cord.

Kodi...I don't have one, but my brother n law has a Kodi loaded Firestick and from my experience watching his...yes, movies typically are in 5.1

SQ of FM Radio, etc...without knowing the makeup of your 5.1 system it's really hard to say how critical you might be, but for casual listening I think all will suffice.

For more critical listening, CD will be the best of the options listed.
 
TheWarrior

TheWarrior

Audioholic Ninja
Haven't had cable in over a decade - *High five!

My wife loves iTunes and until we get an AppleTV we enjoy mildly reduced resolution by using the HDMI out on our laptops.

To my knowledge all the major streaming services offer 5.1 Dolby unless its an older movie that hasn't been updated.

CD is still my favorite, I have zero problems getting up to change a disc. But an iPad sure does make a large library convenient!
 
2

2channel lover

Audioholic Field Marshall
Haven't had cable in over a decade - *High five!

My wife loves iTunes and until we get an AppleTV we enjoy mildly reduced resolution by using the HDMI out on our laptops.

To my knowledge all the major streaming services offer 5.1 Dolby unless its an older movie that hasn't been updated.

CD is still my favorite, I have zero problems getting up to change a disc. But an iPad sure does make a large library convenient!
Dbl congrats to you!...just doing some quick math, you guys have pocketed $20k+ in savings!

I'm trying to get my wife to see the big picture now...my biggest TV "need" is NFL. Last year I streamed the season to catch all of the Steelers games after killing DTV and the Sun Tkt in favor of a cheaper Comcast option. It shows at maybe 720p, a littler choppy at times, but for $40 for the season, all games, I can work with it.

Now I'm trying to go the next step and dump cable...we have android TVs that have web browsers. I think once she gets comfortable realizing it's a minor inconvenience that we'll quickly get used to, I think she'll be on board by the time this "teaser" promo is over with Comcast.

I do like setting the playlist, or Pandora and just "go" for house whole music, but when I'm listening to the main system...I like the spinner...expensive, but the Oppo 205 is an awesome unit.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
I have Kodi and it does stream in 5.1. I've had it only a few months, but it's pretty cool. A little buggy sometimes tho. I have it on my lappy. Don't have a firestick.
 
panteragstk

panteragstk

Audioholic Warlord
I use Plex on an android TV (Shield TV to be exact) and it streams my movies totally uncompressed. These are full blu-ray rips from the original discs. You can also use Kodi, but I prefer plex for a number of reasons.

The Android TV box also supports recording of OTA. Add a compatible tuner and external HDD and you are in business. It also has most if not all of the streaming apps I use so I only need the one source.

Very nice. I have some other Android TV boxes including it being built into my Sony 4k TV, but none are even close to the Shield TV.
 
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