Cable is dead. Here are your three paths to freedom. Whether you just want to replace cable with apps, or build the ultimate "Cloud Streamer" with Stremio and Real-Debrid, this guide covers the hardware, software, and ISP tricks you need in Canada.

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 It filters out the outdated advice and shows you exactly which hardware and streaming protocols actually work for reliable, high-quality streaming in Canada in 2026.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…

  • ikidd@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    22 hours ago

    I’m surprised there’s no mention of Kodi and addons like Umbrella. I find the Jellyfin/arr suite a pain in the ass compared to that setup with a Premiumize debrid account.

    I have to change addons once in a while, but it is very little trouble to maintain overall.

    was constantly fighting with Arrs and just ditched that whole mess, Plex especially, years ago.

    • CoreLabJoe@piefed.caOPEnglish
      1·
      12 hours ago

      I haven’t used Kodi since about 2014 so I wouldn’t feel comfortable giving advice about it to be honest. That and IMO it became cumbersome to manage with a higher barrier technically, for entry compare to plex at the time, and now we have jellyfin as an option of course.

      The last person I know using Kodi switched to jellyfin about 2-3 years ago.

      I have a step by step guide on how to deploy the aarrrs and even a docker compose generator =)

      https://corelab.tech/arr-stack-docker-compose-guide/

      • ikidd@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        5 hours ago

        I’ve built a stack like 4 or 5 times in the last decade or som using various guides/AIO stacks, but the WAF for that mess was pretty low.

        When Kodi w/addons finally gets shut down, maybe I’ll give it another shot.