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Huntingwhale · 09-20-2018, 10:31 AM

I've been a GC subscriber for the past 3 seasons. And I will say that it is a great idea on paper, but executed quite poorly and IMO is a garbage product.

First of all, the blackouts for local Flames games is 100% stupid and ridiculous. It's 2018, and we still have to adhere to blackouts? F'ing ridiculous I'm forced to use a VPN which lags the game to the point of often being unwatchable. I used the XB1 app which gives you a smooth 60fps viewing, but again if it's a local Flames game (ie not on CBC), you can't watch it.

However I was willing to suffer for it for a while to get my hockey fix and cut the cable. It's nice to be able to watch the game an hour later and skip commercials. But the real deal breaker for me this past spring was during the playoffs when I went to London and thought I'd be able to watch some playoff hockey in my hotel room. Imagine my anger when I discovered that games in London England are ALSO blacked out because of some stupid agreement the NHL has with some local London sport's channel. That's right. My GC subscription I had purchased in Canada was blacked out in my hotel room in London because I needed to subscribe to some UK sports network, which obviously the hotel didn't have.

I was pretty furious at that point. I'm a guy who has always used pirated streams and videos for all media, but recently have wanted to shift to paid services. But IMO if you have the choice between CI or GC, it's CI and it's not even close.

I think GC is really only a good option if you live in a region/country without ANY connection to an NHL team and that doesn't have some kind of contract with the NHL and their local sports broadcaster. I won't be renewing my GC subscription this season after the debacle in my London hotel room. I tried my best to do the right thing and pay for the service. However GC has way to many issues for me to even consider going back to them.

-No 60 fps stream on chrome/edge

-Local blackouts

-Have to use a VPN to get around blackouts, which results in laggy streams

-Unstable, outdated media player which often crashes or skips ahead without notice

-I've actually watched some games where I click ahead to skip in the commercial, and suddenly the game skips to live stream, which ruins the surprise. Nothing like having the game ruined for you because the damn media player sucks balls

-Overseas blackouts in some regions

-Sometimes the hide score button doesn't work

-Slow, laggy menus

Overall, I won't be renewing GC this season and will be going back to what's always worked for me; pirated streams. My only regret about doing it this way is that it's doesn't physically deduct money from the NHL's bank account.

IMO if you have the choice between CI or GC, it's CI and it's not even close.

09-20-2018, 10:31 AM	#32
Huntingwhale Franchise Player Join Date: Sep 2008 Exp:	I've been a GC subscriber for the past 3 seasons. And I will say that it is a great idea on paper, but executed quite poorly and IMO is a garbage product. First of all, the blackouts for local Flames games is 100% stupid and ridiculous. It's 2018, and we still have to adhere to blackouts? F'ing ridiculous I'm forced to use a VPN which lags the game to the point of often being unwatchable. I used the XB1 app which gives you a smooth 60fps viewing, but again if it's a local Flames game (ie not on CBC), you can't watch it. However I was willing to suffer for it for a while to get my hockey fix and cut the cable. It's nice to be able to watch the game an hour later and skip commercials. But the real deal breaker for me this past spring was during the playoffs when I went to London and thought I'd be able to watch some playoff hockey in my hotel room. Imagine my anger when I discovered that games in London England are ALSO blacked out because of some stupid agreement the NHL has with some local London sport's channel. That's right. My GC subscription I had purchased in Canada was blacked out in my hotel room in London because I needed to subscribe to some UK sports network, which obviously the hotel didn't have. I was pretty furious at that point. I'm a guy who has always used pirated streams and videos for all media, but recently have wanted to shift to paid services. But IMO if you have the choice between CI or GC, it's CI and it's not even close. I think GC is really only a good option if you live in a region/country without ANY connection to an NHL team and that doesn't have some kind of contract with the NHL and their local sports broadcaster. I won't be renewing my GC subscription this season after the debacle in my London hotel room. I tried my best to do the right thing and pay for the service. However GC has way to many issues for me to even consider going back to them. -No 60 fps stream on chrome/edge -Local blackouts -Have to use a VPN to get around blackouts, which results in laggy streams -Unstable, outdated media player which often crashes or skips ahead without notice -I've actually watched some games where I click ahead to skip in the commercial, and suddenly the game skips to live stream, which ruins the surprise. Nothing like having the game ruined for you because the damn media player sucks balls -Overseas blackouts in some regions -Sometimes the hide score button doesn't work -Slow, laggy menus Overall, I won't be renewing GC this season and will be going back to what's always worked for me; pirated streams. My only regret about doing it this way is that it's doesn't physically deduct money from the NHL's bank account. IMO if you have the choice between CI or GC, it's CI and it's not even close.