Issues with Mecool KM7 and DRM in the UK

Streaming Devices / Hardware
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I described in a previous post how I intended to get a Mecool KM7 because I had grown frustrated with the work-arounds necessary to compensate for lack of Firestick storage.
It has now arrived after a couple of weeks and I have been setting it up with some problems.
As a U.K. resident being able to use the apps for the major U.K. tv channels is very important not just for live tv but for their extensive catch-up content. These apps are BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All4 and My5 and are all available to stream for free. These are the problems I have experienced:

  • No BBC iPlayer or All4 apps in the Play Store. I found the BBC one elsewhere and it works fine. I have yet to find an All4 app that will load, or does not immediately exit if it does.
  • ITV Hub is in the Play Store and installs ok. But when loaded a message appears that says that the producer has not purchased the rights to use it on this equipment. I can find no way round this.
  • Only the My5 app is in the Store and works correctly.
    I don’t know if anyone else has had these problems which renders this box useless for me unless they can be overcome (I am not holding my breath).
    Which is a pity because I otherwise like the unit. It is noticeably quicker at downloading and installing apps than my Firestick 4K and has streamed from Crewe, Stremio and Cinema with Real-debrid flawlessly, and not having to mess about with shuffling apps on to extra storage is a boon.
    I saw in Troy’s review of a Mecool box that he warned about the absence of Netflix rights. Unless there is a way round the issues I have raised then perhaps a similar warning should be given about mounting these U.K. based tv apps on it.
    Incidentally I found another oddity which I cannot explain. I downloaded apks to the download folder. Neither Xplorer nor MiXplorer (from techdoctoruk) showed these files but ES file explorer did - weird?
    I had thought about getting a Nvidia Shield but if the same issues apply it would have been a more expensive mistake - does anyone have experience of running these apps on one?
    I think my best bet will be the new Fire TV cube - not as much store as the Mecool and more limited connectivity but affordable - but the U.K. Amazon store is out of stock!
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Maybe I’m missing something here but why don’t you sign up for one of the many iptv services available?

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I don’t think the iptv services generally have catch up - maybe some of the paid ones do but why should I pay for something I now get free on my Firestick? Also the catch-up via the apps can go back many years as they were extended in timescale to help people in our lock-downs

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@Gumboil

You will run into problems with free live Channels eventually.

Catch up is not always available.

In my honest opinion I think you should just use tivimate with a provider it would probably solve your issues with live tv.

The km7 is not a Netflix certified box. And you can get around installing apps that tell you that you can’t.

Install from unknown sources and using apk pure instead of Google play store.

Infact alot of these apps should be installed away from the play store to avoid this so called licensing and legal issues.

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