Shadowbox

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

Anyone know about this product and is it as good as they claim?  I have no TV hook up at this time, fired Netflix, three Roku out the door, have no other subscription services, and get a lot of DVDs from the local library (who need to can their computer people and get a decent website operating).  My land line phone system will vanish on the 15th of January.

 

My only reason to keep a cable  hookup of any kind at all is so I can have access to the internet.

 

Any help will be appreciated.

[Sixgun Sheridan]

 

My land line phone system will vanish on the 15th of January.

 

Uh-oh. Looks like the 21st Century is finally creeping up on Forty Rod before he's even fully embraced the 20th.

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

I have never heard of "Shadowbox TV" until I read your query.

 

Curious, I spent some time noodlin' about the Net to see what I could find.  Oddly, nothing really clear to be found.  This in itself raises doubts.  

 

But when I queried reviews, the nugget below popped up.  Note, I could not find it sold through Amazon, but there is a review that was pretty scathing.  Makes me wonder if Amazon dropped it as a product?  

 

I'd be cautious.  But then, this from a fella who has bunny ears antenna and occasional streaming to a Roku TV.  

 

The below is a quote from Amazon (note: there is actually nothing in the text of this review that definitively states it's "Shadowbox."  However, it did pop up on a Google query of "Shadowbox TV Reviews.")

 

Customer Review

R. Lewis

1.0 out of 5 stars Do Not Buy -- This is a scam.

Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2016

 

Do Not Buy This Product.

To start off with, no I have not bought this product. I don't need to buy this product. As pretty educated tech-wizard I know exactly what this product is and how it functions and why you should avoid this scam.

This is an "Android TV Box" disguised as a "WiFi Cable Box". This is a basic Rockchip SoC (System-On-a-Chip) with unknown specs (since the seller/manufacturer don't want to reveal their secrets they keep this hidden from consumers). What this is, is a re-branded Android TV box at a price 15x more than it should be. Yes, FIFTEEN times. You can buy this same exact system (maybe even better because specs are unknown) for $35-50.

What this product is, is a scam. Why? Because you're not only buying a box for $300+ more than it should be (search Amazon for CS918 and you'll see a bunch of boxes just like this but at more affordable prices), but you're not actually gaining the ability to legally watch the movies they are guiding you to do. They claim it will "cut your cable box" out of your life. But, you still need your cable box to legally watch the movies this box is trying to get you to do. Because your cable box also, generally, includes subscription access that you pay to your cable provider so that your cable provider can legally buy the rights to stream movies. This box does not do that. The extra $300+ that the seller/retailer profits from you goes into their pockets and nothing else. They don't pay the rights so that you can watch the movies. Instead, you use the apps they have pre-installed. Those apps are just browsers that fetch movies that are posted on illegal movie streaming websites. How this works is this: There's many websites out there that "host" links to file hosting services. Those "links" are generally illegal copies of movies being hosted (these range from BluRay/DVD rips to Cam recordings). So what you're doing with those apps that browse those sites that host the illegal links, is you're illegally streaming movies. Illegal. Do you think Tiger Stream will pay your court fees, legal fees, bond fees, and such when your ISP gets a Cease and Desist request? Nope.

Avoid this product like the plague. Get a real android tv box for under $50, buy/rent the digital copies and just either save them to your not-tiger-stream device or use apps on the Android market that DO offer REAL On-Demand services that won't throw you in federal prison.

 

 

 

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

 

I have never heard of "Shadowbox TV" until I read your query.

 

Curious, I spent some time noodlin' about the Net to see what I could find.  Oddly, nothing really clear to be found.  This in itself raises doubts.  

 

But when I queried reviews, the nugget below popped up.  Note, I could not find it sold through Amazon, but there is a review that was pretty scathing.  Makes me wonder if Amazon dropped it as a product?  

 

I'd be cautious.  But then, this from a fella who has bunny ears antenna and occasional streaming to a Roku TV.  

 

The below is a quote from Amazon (note: there is actually nothing in the text of this review that definitively states it's "Shadowbox."  However, it did pop up on a Google query of "Shadowbox TV Reviews.")

 

Customer Review

R. Lewis

1.0 out of 5 stars Do Not Buy -- This is a scam.

Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2016

 

Do Not Buy This Product.

To start off with, no I have not bought this product. I don't need to buy this product. As pretty educated tech-wizard I know exactly what this product is and how it functions and why you should avoid this scam.

This is an "Android TV Box" disguised as a "WiFi Cable Box". This is a basic Rockchip SoC (System-On-a-Chip) with unknown specs (since the seller/manufacturer don't want to reveal their secrets they keep this hidden from consumers). What this is, is a re-branded Android TV box at a price 15x more than it should be. Yes, FIFTEEN times. You can buy this same exact system (maybe even better because specs are unknown) for $35-50.

What this product is, is a scam. Why? Because you're not only buying a box for $300+ more than it should be (search Amazon for CS918 and you'll see a bunch of boxes just like this but at more affordable prices), but you're not actually gaining the ability to legally watch the movies they are guiding you to do. They claim it will "cut your cable box" out of your life. But, you still need your cable box to legally watch the movies this box is trying to get you to do. Because your cable box also, generally, includes subscription access that you pay to your cable provider so that your cable provider can legally buy the rights to stream movies. This box does not do that. The extra $300+ that the seller/retailer profits from you goes into their pockets and nothing else. They don't pay the rights so that you can watch the movies. Instead, you use the apps they have pre-installed. Those apps are just browsers that fetch movies that are posted on illegal movie streaming websites. How this works is this: There's many websites out there that "host" links to file hosting services. Those "links" are generally illegal copies of movies being hosted (these range from BluRay/DVD rips to Cam recordings). So what you're doing with those apps that browse those sites that host the illegal links, is you're illegally streaming movies. Illegal. Do you think Tiger Stream will pay your court fees, legal fees, bond fees, and such when your ISP gets a Cease and Desist request? Nope.

Avoid this product like the plague. Get a real android tv box for under $50, buy/rent the digital copies and just either save them to your not-tiger-stream device or use apps on the Android market that DO offer REAL On-Demand services that won't throw you in federal prison.

 

 

 

I'll take that as gospel.  Thanks.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

 

 

Uh-oh. Looks like the 21st Century is finally creeping up on Forty Rod before he's even fully embraced the 20th.

Just because my computer is kerosene powered and my phone has vacuum tubes and weighs over 60 pounds........

 

Wait!!! There's a twenty FIRST century?  When did that happen?