There is lots of fooling around in order to find reliable Kodi USA Live TV links, but USTVNOW is the undisputed option for the major cable channels that are reliable and high quality!
May 19th Update: If you are a fan of USTVNow Plus, you may have noticed that the add-on has stopped loading streams for you. This is because the official website has changed some of their security. To fix your streams, go into the USTVNow Plus settings and make sure that under Advanced Settings, your Live Stream Options is set to ‘Default’ and give it a try after that.April 10th Update: USTVNow Plus has been updated to v14.3.3, with support for “comped” USTVNow accounts.
March 15th Update: USTVNow Plus has been updated to version 14.3. After a few minor versions, the latest update adds the ability to integrate USTVNow Plus streams into any TV guide Kodi add-on.
USTVNow Plus v14.3.0 Change Log
- Added support for internal USTVNow accounts.
- Added full DVR support for Legaxy Nittany accounts
- Fixed issue with HD/SD indicators showing correctly
- Added strms for users wanting to integrate with TV guides.
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The official USTVNow Kodi add-on has been discontinued as far as development goes, but mhancoc7, a user over on the TVADDONS forums has created a custom fork of the add-on with a ton of great new functionality called USTVNow Plus. First, read he has added and then find out how you can download the new version! If you still don’t know what USTVNow is, read the original post below for details on the service. For no cost, you get 7 of the main USA live TV networks!
Mhancoc7’s USTVNow Plus v1 Features
- Added movies and sports sections to view channels by categories.
- Set the DVR recordings to rtsp or rtmp. RTSP allows for fast-forward, re-wind and resume, while RTMP has better quality.
- Set the Live streams to rtmp only. I could never get the live streams to work with rtsp so it seemed like they should just be set to rtmp.
- Added ‘Plan HD + DVR’ to the setup process with an option in the settings to toggle DVR package on and off.
- I have the addon setup so that the DVR recordings are limited to no greater than 1024kbps. I have found that if the quality is set to HD the recordings would not play. So now if you have the quality set to HD the recordings are set to 1024kbps otherwise the recordings are set to whatever the quality setting is set to.
- Added a link to the addon settings on the main addon page.
- Updated messaging and the addon id and name.
- Fixed duplicate channels (credit: https://github.com/ddurdle/XBMC-ustvnow)
- Fixed issue with & (credit: https://github.com/ddurdle/XBMC-ustvnow)
- Set channel description to the show title
- Set quality to 400kbps for all plans. I think this is a good idea since that will ensure less issues with the streams to start and with the Settings option now available from within the addon you can quickly change it.
- No more setting the account type from Free to Paid. I have found the proper endpoint for determining this. (json for the win!)
- Updated the Recordings/Schedule section to display the correct Show Poster if that option is enabled.
- You can setup recurring recordings
- Tons and tons of bug fixes and GUI improvements!
As you can see, in addition to some playback and cosmetic fixes, this version of the add-on adds full DVR functionality to record TV shows using USTVNow. The cost for DVR is $30 per month, but for those who have cut the cord and are looking for a reliable HD streaming service with DVR, this is probably the best option available right now!
If you are interested in trying out this new version of USTVNow Plus, follow the guide below!
Kodi USTVNow Plus Install Guide
- From the Kodi main menu, navigate to SYSTEM > File Manager > Add Source
- Select None and type the following: http://fusion.tvaddons.ag and select Done
- Highlight the box underneath Enter a name for this media Source & type fusion
- Select OK and go back to your Home Screen
- To install the VinMan java files: Select SYSTEM > Add-Ons > Install from zip file > fusion > xbmc-repos > English > repository.xbmchub-x.x.x.zip
- Wait for Add-on enabled notification and then select Install from repository
- Select TVADDONS.ag Addon Repository > Video Add-ons > USTVNow > Install
- Wait for the add-on enabled notification and then you are done! Phoenix can be found under your video add-ons.
