Hello PieFed! I feel there's not enough content in regards to tech or self-hosting focused on us Canucks, so I started writing a blog last year. A lot of it fits into anywhere as it's all centered on self-hosting and cybersecurity but I specifically write some posts & chunks of posts, directly for my fellow Canadians!
Welcome to Core Lab =) Operated & Self-Hosted in Canada, by a Canadian.
I personally 'cut the cord' back in 2012 , tired of the high costs and limited options of Canadian cable. Over the last 14+ years, I’ve moved from trying basic OTA antennas (Mohu Leaf anyone?!) to advanced automated self-hosted setups using Plex/Jelly and/or Real Debrid integrations!
I wrote this guide to save you the trial and error. It filters out the outdated advice and shows you exactly which hardware and streaming protocols actually work for reliable, high-quality streaming in Canada in 2026. Let me know if you have any questions or if this guide helped you out!
Disclaimer: This post does contain some affiliate links, but no ads ! I'll never have popup or in-line ads...
13 Comments
CocaineShrimp@sh.itjust.works · 14 pts · 223d
Your article points out the main reason why I haven't gotten into sports; even though I'd like to follow a bit of hockey, F1, and UK soccer. It's complicated and expensive as fuck. $50/month for a subscription, and it doesn't even cover all of the games for the same team? I'm interested in putting something on, once in a while; but it's not worth $50 to maybe use it once a month or two
Thank you though for putting together these highly detailed instructions that are only for educational purposes!
jackal@infosec.pub · 3 pts · 222d
You didn’t ask for this but I’m just going to leave this FMHY link here for anyone to browse.
CoreLabJoe@piefed.ca · 2 pts · 222d
OOhh very nice! ...
I've been hesitant to include links for this on the blog / guide but, this is quite the 'educational resource' you've shared!!!
illusionist@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 223d
I guess they think that you watch with friends anyway
DieserTypMatthias@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 223d
The only logical solution is to sail the seven seas.
CoreLabJoe@piefed.ca · 1 pts · 223d
Yes sadly there's a bit of a stranglehold on the market regarding sports. It's the one thing that is held very close to the chest by the large Corps & broadcasters.
Thanks for taking a read through! Lots more to come ;)
otter@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 222d
This is so detailed, especially the ISP bit. Thank you!
Feel free to cross post to !canada@lemmy.ca :)
CoreLabJoe@piefed.ca · 3 pts · 222d
Glad you read & enjoyed it! I aim for comprehensive coverage of a topic so some of the posts can be a bit long, but in the end cover a lot of ground.
Thanks - Cross-posted over there!
IratePirate@feddit.org · 3 pts · 223d
Seeing that cable management, I know why you'd want to "cut the cord". (Scnr! 😁)
CoreLabJoe@piefed.ca · 3 pts · 223d
Hahaha yes... I agree... I was very hesitant to include this as my header pic but I was like, eehhh, it's realistic at least! The key is it shows certain 'apps' running on that Google TV. 😆
IratePirate@feddit.org · 2 pts · 223d
True that! I'm running plenty of those apps myself (though on a dumb display powered by a Linux machine), so I can appreciate the setup! Since you're running Google TV: have you tried running Newpipe? Imho, it's a no-brainer replacement for the YouTube app and blows it out of the water both with regard to the features it packs and the privacy advantages it brings.
CoreLabJoe@piefed.ca · 2 pts · 223d
OOhhh I didn't know about this!!! Thanks so much, I'll be playing with that later...
studentofarkad@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 219d
This was amazing, thank you!