Cable Cutters: The Hockey Conundrum

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dmiles2186
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Cable Cutters: The Hockey Conundrum

Post by dmiles2186 »

So I've been thinking long and hard about cancelling my cable just because the cost is outrageous and I only watch sports. The problem being that I live in the FSMW viewing area, so obviously I'd be blacked out on Gamecenter for Blues games. I know there are some, ahem, ways around that. And really, sports are the only reason I still have cable. Probably a lot of us are in that boat.

So those who have taken the plunge, is it worth it? If I have to miss a game, can you watch it on repeat? Am I better just staying with cable for the time being so I can watch all the games? Any advice in this area?

I'm just really not wanting to sacrifice any of my Blues games but I know that's part of it. Stupid cable. Wish we all could just buy a season pass to the Blues and get all their games regardless of how/where they air. That's too easy and someone doesn't get rich off of it.
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Re: Cable Cutters: The Hockey Conundrum

Post by ecbm »

That's a tough one. It's been easier for me to go without cable as I don't live in StL area anymore and only get blacked out by national coverage (that said, about 1 in 5 seemed to get blacked out last season...thanks for being watchable, Blues...). But I think the principle is too important, and cable companies are starting to take notice of their flatlining profits (thus the recent push to starve the likes of Netflix for access to bandwidth unless the service pays 30 pieces of silver and more generally to kill the concept of net neutrality). Plus, I've learned that not having the games on cable gives one an excuse to hit the local pub more frequently...win-win! :thumbsup:

And there's nothing you can't watch in real time if you can live with substandard picture quality (though sometimes pretty damn good) and the ethics of pirate streaming...

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Re: Cable Cutters: The Hockey Conundrum

Post by gaijin »

I've subscribed to NHL GameCenter the last 2 seasons, and found it to be acceptable. I would probably get more of my money's worth out of it if I watched more than just the Blues games, but ain't nobody got time fo dat. Of course, I live out of the StL viewing area, and even spent most of this NHL season in Bahrain, so having GameCenter on my computer (and iPhone) was a big plus. It's not cheap, but it is cheaper than cable.
As far as blackouts go, I only recall a couple games being blacked out, because they were being broadcast on national TV. It sucked to miss them, but think of the money you are saving by not paying for cable.
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Re: Cable Cutters: The Hockey Conundrum

Post by big d note »

Has anybody tried Hockeystreams? http://www4.hockeystreams.com/ I'm curious about their quality and how this service is even legal and whether the NHL will shut it down. It seems like a good alternative to GameCenter.

I bought GameCenter for the end of this season, and I give it a mixed review. The experience depends on which platform you are using with it. The web interface is much better than the Roku channel, for instance. I wanted to use it with Roku, but the channel sucks.

I want to use GameCenter the way I use the DVR to watch a game. I start recording the game at say 7:00, and I start watching from the beginning at 8:00 or 8:30. After fastforwarding through commercials and intermissions, I'm almost caught up to the live broadcast by the end. ROKU CANNOT DO THIS! And it pisses me off. This is what you get with Roku:

1. Watch the game real-time. (I don't have time for this shit. I'm trying to put my kids to bed when the game is starting.)
2. Start watching the game around 12 hours after it started. (Seriously, WTF is this shit? I'm not going to watch the game at 7:00 the next morning!)

What seems to happen is that when the game ends the stream disappears from the Roku list. During this time, the NHL is stripping the commercials out and also making a "condensed" version of the game which is 10-15 minutes long and includes all the goals and big plays. While they are doing this, the game is unavailable for streaming for like 12 hours. Hey NHL, THIS SUCKS! This is not Roku's fault - it's just the way the NHL manages the Roku channel.

If you use the web interface, you can go back and watch the game from the beginning while it is still recording, just like with a DVR. With my older computer though, the quality of the stream was not as good as the Roku, and it would freeze a lot. If I plugged my laptop in, it would stream pretty well, but that means I can't sit there and use my laptop for something else while watching the game, which I could do if the Roku channel worked.

The Hockeystreams option has a Roku channel too, so it looks like it has potential assuming you can start streaming a game from the beginning while it's still happening, unlike GameCenter. I'm out of market, so blackouts aren't an issue for me, and I don't know Hockeystreams or GameCenter handles them.
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Re: Cable Cutters: The Hockey Conundrum

Post by dmiles2186 »

It just sucks, it really does. I hate paying for cable. The wife hates it more than I do. But they've got me by the balls. I'm hoping we're not far away from an a la carte option where we can select our program. I don't see why I can't pay for an NHL app that lets me stream every game, from local, to national, to playoffs without a blackout.
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Re: Cable Cutters: The Hockey Conundrum

Post by ComradeT »

dmiles2186 wrote:It just sucks, it really does. I hate paying for cable. The wife hates it more than I do. But they've got me by the balls. I'm hoping we're not far away from an a la carte option where we can select our program. I don't see why I can't pay for an NHL app that lets me stream every game, from local, to national, to playoffs without a blackout.
I use unblock-us.com. It's basically a paid proxy service and it's fast. For $4.99 a month, I watch all the games. So it's another $50 on top of Gamecenter if you subscribe for the entire season but no black-outs.
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Re: Cable Cutters: The Hockey Conundrum

Post by gaijin »

ComradeT wrote:
dmiles2186 wrote:It just sucks, it really does. I hate paying for cable. The wife hates it more than I do. But they've got me by the balls. I'm hoping we're not far away from an a la carte option where we can select our program. I don't see why I can't pay for an NHL app that lets me stream every game, from local, to national, to playoffs without a blackout.
I use unblock-us.com. It's basically a paid proxy service and it's fast. For $4.99 a month, I watch all the games. So it's another $50 on top of Gamecenter if you subscribe for the entire season but no black-outs.
Interesting. I hadn't thought of using GameCenter service over a VPN. I guess you could select your "location" to be an area where the Blues game is not blacked out.
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