NHL.tv Launching Feb 1 (GameCenter Replacement)

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by fundmark19

I agree MLB.TV is awesome I have been using it since it first came out and gets better every year. Hopefully their glitch for blackouts works the same since Jays games aren't ever blacked out.

i think blackouts are a league thing, not a provider thing. MLB doesn't care about it, they don't even care if mlb.tv people share accounts. To them the more eyes the better.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

i think blackouts are a league thing, not a provider thing. MLB doesn't care about it, they don't even care if mlb.tv people share accounts. To them the more eyes the better.

MLB is notoriously bad for blackouts in the US. Not sure about Canada.

But there are places in the US that have six teams blacked out as 'local' market.

Mike Bates
‏@MikeBatesSBN
Running count: Yesterday 6/16 games were blacked out on http://MLB.TV in Iowa. Overall, 258/800 (32.3 percent) on the season.

[Coach]

If I get this, and change my DNS ala what I do for US Netflix, does that bypass the blackouts?

[socalwingfan]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

MLB is notoriously bad for blackouts in the US. Not sure about Canada.

But there are places in the US that have six teams blacked out as 'local' market.

Mike Bates
‏@MikeBatesSBN
Running count: Yesterday 6/16 games were blacked out on http://MLB.TV in Iowa. Overall, 258/800 (32.3 percent) on the season.

Yeah, Vegas is blacked out for all the California teams and the DBacks

[JohnnyB]

Using a VPN works well for avoiding blackouts on game center. I'm assuming it will also work for avoiding blackouts on this.

Edit: Also, with a vpn on game center, you don't have to be a rogers customer to use the service and watch any feed you want.

[HotHotHeat]

Amazing that people pay for Internet and not DNS/VPN

[accord1999]

Originally Posted by polak

I don't think so. Would be an excellent play by them. They'd pretty much kill cable.

Edit: Looks like it's not in their plans
http://awfulannouncing.com/2015/netf...ve-sports.html

They couldn't afford it anyways, at least the big TV sports in the US; NFL, college football, MLB and NBA.

[Passe La Puck]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

Amazing that people pay for Internet and not DNS/VPN

For me it's because it's a pain to maintain. Had it working great with the AppleTV3 but with the new 4 I have to use the new Rogers app since the old one isn't there anymore. Got tired of messing around with it and just cancelled Game Center and instead use Reddit for my streams.

I'm happy to pay if it's available, but it's so easy to not pay that I'm not going to pay for a worse experience. Not sure why these businesses can't figure that out.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by polak

My cheap cable is up this month. I wonder how good this stream is cause I really don't want to sign up for cable again. Zero need outside of sports.

Phone up the cable company's retention dept and tell em you're thinking of moving to the competitor and see if they will give you another deal.

[curves2000]

I know this question sounds like someone who has lived in a cave but what is the benefit to someone such as myself who lives in Calgary and has Sportsnet?

Is this suppose to replace the Center Ice package from years ago? I am seeing if I am missing out on anything of significance or if I could save some additional money.

I usually just watch Flames games and some odd general games and only on a tv. I have no use or want to watch hockey on tablets, phones or desktops.

Thanks

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

It has no benefit to you if you only watch Flames games.

I'm all for this if it improves the service and I don't have to give my money to Rogers. Now to figure out a way to get a decent internet connection and eliminate my connection to Telus also...

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

It has no benefit to you if you only watch Flames games.

I'm all for this if it improves the service and I don't have to give my money to Rogers. Now to figure out a way to get a decent internet connection and eliminate my connection to Telus also...

They don't have 3rd party internet in Alberta? There's a fair number of companies in Ontario that buy access from Rogers/Bell at a wholesale rate and then resell it. Typically better deals than you can get direct from Rogers or Bell (don't have Telus or Shaw Internet out here).

[browna]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

i think blackouts are a league thing, not a provider thing. MLB doesn't care about it, they don't even care if mlb.tv people share accounts. To them the more eyes the better.

Not a glitch, Rogers, in a rare feat of common sense, lifted the blackout ban for Blue Jays games for all of Canada as of a couple seasons ago.

Had mlb.tv for the last half of this season, and it's fantastic on all platforms, apps and PC. Though almost drove off the road when glancing over and seeing JB club the Game 6 3-3 HR in the ALCS.

As Snet is available on the Shaw Free Range app (and the Snet App), I expect that there won't be Flames blackouts (as long as they fix it so that Snet Flames gets added to the mix) for this service if you have an active Snet cable subscription. And, they'll have to make it work on PC's as well.

[accord1999]

Originally Posted by curves2000

I know this question sounds like someone who has lived in a cave but what is the benefit to someone such as myself who lives in Calgary and has Sportsnet?

These types of services are meant for fans who are outside the local market and normally wouldn't be able to watch their favorite teams. As a Flames fan in Calgary, the NHL and the Flames rather you watch on Sportsnet as that provides them the most revenue.

[Bandwagon Surfer]

That Rogers deal is going to come back and bite the NHL hard. The switch to streaming is only just starting to gain momentum. 11 years to have your product tied to a dinosaur who will try to use it to prop up an outdated delivery model is a long time.

It would have been a much smarter long term play to have taken less money now and kept the blackout free streaming rights for themselves. Maybe partner with YouTube, or Netflix, or some company that does not exist yet.

I still can't get over the length of that deal. Like 11 years ago we did not have smartphones. Who knows what will be happening in the next 11 while we wait for that deal to expire.

[Chingas]

How is the MLB tv with regards to different connection speeds? Quite often my Internet is fairly slow/poor and Game Center works really well for me on low setting. I hope the access to poor Internet is the same.

[billybob123]

I'm frustrated as I use a Blackberry and had to patch the stupid GC app to get it working (which works great btw). Now have to repatch and hope it works.

[HotHotHeat]

Reading around the web this morning, all indications are that the launch was a disaster.

Some of the issues were likely due to scaling the platform, but it appears the largest problem was blackouts.

My guess is that the new service attempts to restrict VPN/DNS unblocking more effectively than the old one, and whatever they tried to use ended up just breaking it for everyone.

Corporate America really needs to get over the Internet.

Check out @NHLTVSupport on Twitter to get an idea of how last night went.

[foshizzle11]

I would say it was as disaster. I tried logging in on my PC, that worked fine. I could watch the Coilers game and others no problem. I tried the app on my PS3, looks way better and would be nice to use but every single game was blacked out. Tried my phone and tablet, all blacked out. All connected to the same router in our house.

Why would one platform work just fine and the others don't? I don't really get it. I hope they can fix it soon.

[codynw]

Disaster is an understatement. I couldn't watch a single game on any device.