Cutting the cord

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by gottabekd

Yea, there is a 7 day free trial. I tried Sportsnet NOW and it was acceptable. Definitely better quality than the free ad-ridden sports streams sites that I have come across.

For baseball only, MLB.TV is a much better product. Better device support, and definitely better picture quality (though MLB.TV has had some issues this year where games keep getting cut out). But for hockey, Sportsnet NOW standalone seems like a very reasonable option for the upcoming season. The one caution is that there will still be region blackouts. Yes, people living in Calgary can watch the Flames on the service, but just like TV, you won't be able to watch say the Canucks on Sportsnet Pacific.

Yeah, this is my problem. If I get Sportsnet Now, I'll be stuck with the Canucks and no Flames games from what I imagine.

[gottabekd]

I think the location is based on your billing location. So ya, one would have to jump through some hoops and potentially commit fraud in order to trick them into billing you for a different region.

EDIT
Nevermind, I could have sworn they used to say it was based on billing location, but maybe they updated it.

This page has lots more info about blackouts: http://www.sportsnet.ca/sn-now-support/

Regional blackouts are determined based on your location at the time you are streaming the content, not based on your billing address. In addition, the use of a VPN, proxies, or other services meant to mask or change your location, may result in you not being able to stream content you normally would be eligible for.

[mrkajz44]

Thanks for the info everyone. Looks like I am actually still in my TV contract from when I moved to Telus from Shaw, so I can't really cut the cord right now. Seems like its a viable option for Jays / Flames though, which is good news for once my contract runs out.

[rubecube]

What are you cord cutters using for internet connection speeds? Is a 30/5 connection good enough or is it worth it to bump up to 60?

[EldrickOnIce]

Using 60 now, used to have 30. I don't see any difference. We just may have 2 TV's and at least one other device streaming something, so wanted more just in case.
More important is unlimited bandwidth.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by rubecube

What are you cord cutters using for internet connection speeds? Is a 30/5 connection good enough or is it worth it to bump up to 60?

I used to have 100/20 from Telus, but when I moved it wasn't available, so I grudgingly went to 50/10.

It would be fine, but I work from home with some pretty hefty bandwidth requirements, and on occasion if I am running a few streams, while working and doing video chat, it can get a bit bogged down.

It really boils down to how many users of high bandwidth items there are, and how much you can tolerate a little latency. Right now in my house we typically have 5-6 devices in that category during peak times, with one person gaming online. If you had 1 or 2 streams and don't do much online gaming, you should be laughing at 30GB.

I totally agree that the unlimited data is the most important thing, but it isn't a game breaker without. Telus made a mistake and didn't have it enabled at my new place, and with 3 days left in my billing cycle, I just got a notice yesterday that I hit 75% and that was caused by me installing a good chunk of steam library in a PC for my kids to use. I really appreciate not having to worry if the older kids flip on Netflix and watch a couple HD movies on the TV while the other is watching Fuller House on the iPad whereas before I was unlimited, I had to set their Netflix profile to limit the bandwidth used.

[rubecube]

^^Yeah, I'm thinking 30/5 should be fine for me. I live in a bachelor apartment, and I'm the only guy there, so there isn't usually more than one stream going at a time. I'm wondering if I could get away with 20/1, but I do a bit of online gaming on the PS4 and would rather just not worry about the possibility of lag. Seriously looking into VMedia though. $80 for a TV/internet combo with all the Sportsnet and TSN HD channels seems reasonable enough to me.

[EldrickOnIce]

$28.95 a month for all TSN and Sportsnet, plus whatever other odds and ends is an excellent deal. I don't suppose one can get it without the Vbox though, which adds to the cost.
I'm going to look into it more as well

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

$28.95 a month for all TSN and Sportsnet, plus whatever other odds and ends is an excellent deal. I don't suppose one can get it without the Vbox though, which adds to the cost.
I'm going to look into it more as well

It comes out to $32.90 for me, but that's still a great deal in my books. The Vbox at $129.95 isn't a dealbreaker for me because I'm in the market for Android set-top box anyways, but I could see it being hard to justify if you already have one kicking around.

[rubecube]

So I ordered VMedia and cancelled Shaw and then two days later Shaw announces their 150 plan. I don't think I need 150 for what I do and I'd still rather have real HD sports channels as opposed to the hassle of streams but it's still funny.

[Jimmy Stang]

VMedia sounds intriguing. Does anyone know if the "Sportsnet Flames" companion channel is included with Sportsnet One in the Calgary region, just as it would be with traditional cable?

[Stealth22]

Originally Posted by rubecube

So I ordered VMedia and cancelled Shaw and then two days later Shaw announces their 150 plan. I don't think I need 150 for what I do and I'd still rather have real HD sports channels as opposed to the hassle of streams but it's still funny.

Is that 150 plan any good? We're paying like 70 something for unlimited usage on 25 Mbps with Telus.

[Rathji]

$80 for 150/15 for 2 years. Since you are switching from Telus, first year is $50

[Stealth22]

Originally Posted by Rathji

$80 for 150/15 for 2 years. Since you are switching from Telus, first year is $50

What's the catch, though? It seems too good to be true.

[Rathji]

2 year commitment, $15 per month cancelation penalty. I know wrought about Shaw's service that I am not overly worried about it.

$135 a month after those 2 years, but you can cancel/renegotiate depending on what Telus/Teksavvy/whoever has available at the time.

[Fuzz]

Your first born becomes indentured to work at the Shaw mansion.

[stampsx2]

Sorry this cutting the cord thing sucks.

I've missed, hockey games, nfl games, I can't channel scan to see what's new out there that might interest me, I don't have cnn or bbc to with all the events going on everywhere (us elections, events in nice, brexit, turkey etc etc), even a bit of local news from time to time. Cartoons for kids. Even some soccer.

Cutting the cord sucks. I'm going back.

[fundmark19]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

Sorry this cutting the cord thing sucks.
Cutting the cord sucks. I'm going back.

I've Solved,

hockey games - NHL Game Center
nfl games - NFL App
I can't channel scan to see what's new out there that might interest me - CP Thread About what to watch then use KODI to watch
cnn or bbc - Both have accessible apps and can be used on KODI
even a bit of local news from time to time. - All news have apps and KODI channels
Cartoons for kids- Netflix and KODI has all the cartoons
Even some soccer- Can't help you here soccer is lame

Since installing KODI on my Apple TV 4 last week it has solved everything for me and I am sure I am not using it to it's fullest extent

[stampsx2]

Originally Posted by fundmark19

I've Solved,

hockey games - NHL Game Center
nfl games - NFL App
I can't channel scan to see what's new out there that might interest me - CP Thread About what to watch then use KODI to watch
cnn or bbc - Both have accessible apps and can be used on KODI
even a bit of local news from time to time. - All news have apps and KODI channels
Cartoons for kids- Netflix and KODI has all the cartoons
Even some soccer- Can't help you here soccer is lame

Since installing KODI on my Apple TV 4 last week it has solved everything for me and I am sure I am not using it to it's fullest extent

This is the point. I don't want to play the search and sign up game every time I want to watch tv. Plus you're paying fees for a lot of those so how much am I saving? $40?

Forget it.

[Vulcan]

I wouldn't consider cutting the cord unless I had the local HD channels with an antennae. I can't get them here so I just follow along here to see how others are copping.