[Side Note: Damn, the last post here was made in 2020!]
Moving on…
Some folks have been asking me about using Real Debrid for streaming movies, TV shows and more. Now that Blockbuster is dead and buried, streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV and Disney+ are now dominating how we access digital entertainment. And considering that the costs of these services continue to climb – and a good amount of content is exclusive to certain platforms – it’s gotten more than a bit ridiculous. In the USA, the monthly costs for just a handful of these services are as follows:
Netflix Standard: $15.50
Disney+ Without Ads: $13.99
Hulu Ad-Free: $19
Max (formerly HBO Max) Ad-Free: $15.99
Amazon Prime Video (ad-free): $11.99
Up until last year, we had Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+. That’s around $42 a month right there. Add higher definition (4K) for each service, and you are nearly doubling that. And while subscriptions are admittedly cheaper in the Philippines, that’s still a heck of a lot of pesos to be shelling out every month. Plus, having to meander through these disparate services (which don’t play well with certain IP addresses/geolocations), it can turn into an expensive headache.
Enter Real-Debrid/Torrentio/Stremio.
People have been telling me to check out Real Debrid (RD) for years. Up until mid-2024, I didn’t, and that is a shame as RD works very well, doesn’t have geographic restrictions and – as long as you have decent internet – you can stream all day and night in brilliant, stutter-free 4K. (We have Starlink 100 DL/20 UL, and it works fine.) Best of all, the premium version of Real-Debrid only costs us about $2.60 a month. As they say in the Philippines, that’s pretty damn sulit (a good bargain). And for that $2.60, you get access to EVERYTHING that is available on EVERY service.
The only downside is that Real Debrid can be a bit of a chore to set up. It’s one of those things that you need to brew up a nice kettle of chamomile tea, cue up Dark Side of the Moon and just slowly and methodically go through all the steps. Once you are done, however, you will find it has been well worth your time and patience.
First up, a short FAQ
What exactly is Real-Debrid/Torrentio/Stremio: Real-Debrid (RD) is a paid service that organizes everything behind the scenes. Torrentio is a simple handshake program that links it to Stremio, which is a popular media player for Android, IOS, Windows and just about anything else you can install apps on.
Is this a rug-pull scam? Nope. Real Debrid is a French entity that has been providing this service since 2012. And even if it were to suddenly shut down, you wouldn’t lose your shirt ($18 for a six month sub).
Will it work on my smart TV: Yup, as long as it has the Google Store/Playstore and the Stremio app is available.
Will it work on the really cheap Chinese Android Box I bought on Shopee? Probably not – those things are underpowered garbage. Your best bet is to get a Chromecast, NVIDIA Shield or 4K Firestick. Better yet, just pick up a Onn 4K stick from Wal-Mart for 20 bucks. That is what we use, and it is GREAT for streaming 4K RD content.
Is RD illegal? No. You are not filesharing with others on a PNP network, so it is not (technically) illegal.
Do I need a VPN? No. Traffic is AES-256 encrypted, so even if you are in the USA, you won’t be getting any DMCA violation warnings.
What else does Real Debrid provide other than streaming movies/TV shows? Super-fast downloads of MEGA, RapidGator, Uploaded, Filchier and …. gasp!! …. Torrent links. Now, keep in mind that I am an upstanding and honest, corporate-profit-loving family man, so I would never suggest or endorse downloading torrents with RD, even if it is 100 times faster than using your typical torrent app.
But Ned, I like my Netflix app interface. I did as well. But you won’t miss it, because RD/Stremio looks just like the Netflix interface – Continue watching where you left off, search trending movies and TV shows, etc.
So with all that in mind, let’s get down to the installation.
ONE: STREMIO
Download Stremio to your PC: Head over to the STREMIO WEBSITE and sign yourself up for a free account. Download the software and install. (Later on, you can install the Stremio app to your smart TV/phone/tablets/streaming box/stick.)
Once you are logged into Stremio, move your mouse up to the top right puzzle icon and click on My Addons.
Uninstall everything there except Cinemata, Open Subtitles and Local Files.
TWO: REAL-DEBRID
Now head over to REAL DEBRIB and sign up for an account. Once done, click on Premium Offers and select one of the offered plans. The one-month plan costs about $4 USD, but if you opt for a six-month subscription, it will only cost the aforementioned $2.60 a month. You can pay with a credit card (as I did) or crypto or whatever options they are now offering. Be sure to mark the expiration date on your calendar as they will not remind you of that expiration. Do me a favor, if you opt to buy a plan, use this REFERRAL LINK to sign up. Doing this will give yours truly a free month of RD.
THREE: TORRENTIO
Now head over to Torrentio by clicking HERE. There are a number of options, but I went with these:
Providers: Select all of them
Sorting: By quality then size
Priority foreign language: Torrentio defaults to English so only change this if you want a different default audo language
Exclude qualities: I checked screener and cam because they have garbage quality. If you don’t have or want a 4K stream, you can exclude that as well.
Max results per quality: I leave this blank.
Debrid provider: Select Real-Debrid.
RealDebrid API Key: Click here then copy and paste your API key into Torrentio
Debrid options: I selected the first two options and left the third option unchecked.
Once you are configured click on INSTALL. Doing this should open Stremio, which will prompt you to INSTALL again. Do it.
Congrats, my friend. You should now be able to populate links for all your streaming needs. But, let’s just add one more step for a big Quality of Life upgrade.
FOUR: CYBERFLIX
This simply adds a cool category list to your Stremio homepage.
Go to the CYBERFLIX PAGE to begin.
Click Setup. Select the categories you would like to add. I myself selected Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney +, HBO Max, Apple TV+, Hulu, Starz, Peacock Premium, Curiosity Stream, Paramount Plus and Magellan TV.
Once your selections are made, go to Next and hit INSTALL. As with Torrentio, this will open a prompt within Stremio and you will click INSTALL one more time.
Now start up Stremio and you will see all the catalogs laid out just like the Netflix app home page.
OPTIONAL
Instead of Cyberflix, you might want to install Bootstrapper instead. In fact, I would recommend this for new users with fresh accounts. To do this, simply click HERE and follow the instructions. (https://stremio-account-bootstrapper.vercel.app/)
Also be sure to add the Stremio USA TV add-on. This gives you access to USA TV provides access to local news channels, sports, entertainment, premium, lifestyle, kids’ shows, documentaries, and much more. Click HERE to install the USA TV Stremio addon.
CONGRATS! You are now ready to take advantage of the greatest streaming service ever. Now you can install Stremio on any device your want. Once you are logged in to the Stremio app on that device, all the original configurations you already made on your PC will be reflected on all of those devices.
WARNING: Do not – I repeat – Do not use Read Debrid on more than one IP address at a time. Any number of devices can be connected to RD in your house if they are all going through the same router (IP address), but if you use it from two different locations (IP addresses), you will be terminated (with extreme prejudice). Real Debrid is pretty brutal in enforcing this policy, so don’t share out your access credentials with anyone else. No streaming for you!!
TROUBLESHOOTING
If you screw up any of the steps (like I did), just uninstall everything, reinstall Stemio and go through the steps again. Remember the chamomile tea and Dark Side of the Moon recommendation I made earlier? That’s what it is for.
Note, that if you have an older SMART TV, you may have to ‘sideload’ Stremio. To do this, get the Downloader and a File Manger app on your TV. Permit unauthorized apps in settings and then install the Android APK ARM from the Stremio website. To avoid having to do this, simply use a streaming box or stick attached to your ‘dumb’ TV.
Congratulations, You’re Ready to Stream!
Good job, cowboy! You’re all setup and ready to go. The best part about this process is that you only have to do this once. The addons and all the configurations we just made are synced to your account and you can log in to any device and they will all have the same configuration.
Now the only problem will be trying to figure out what to watch. With all the amazing content available on Netflix/Amazon/Apple TV and the like, prioritizing what to watch and when will become your next headache.
