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ESPN signs 7 year deal with the NHL

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timorous me

timorous me

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eddygee said:
The picture quality should be fine as someone who's also a MLS fan the game quality is crystal clear for the MLS game in full HD. I'm guessing now that NHL has a full deal with ESPN they'll upgrade or work on any picture quality issues i.e upgrade the streaming quality in house vs just taking the local feed and slapping it on TV. You'll notice the interlacing pic quality will first come in a bit blurry for a sec or two then upgrades to full HD. This happens with MLS games on ESPN+ whenever your switch from game to game. Hope that instills some confidence, I think you guys will learn to love ESPN+ its good shit.
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The picture quality is adequate, not blurry, and I haven't noticed it being worse on ESPN+ for soccer (I've watched some of the English cups, Bundesliga, a little MLS) than anywhere else.

But after the NHL news came out in the spring I did a test and watched parts of a stream of a game on NHL.tv, and then watched that same replay on ESPN+, and in that case the difference was striking. I think it might just be that hockey is the sport where the difference between 720 and 1080 is most noticeable (and I know that ESPN+ does take a minute to get going, but this was well beyond that). And this is only really noticeable on my newer 4K UHD TV, not my older one.

So my big question is whether or not ESPN+ will get a big upgrade just because of the NHL--both in terms of picture quality but also in terms of not showing the full time of the event when replaying it, of allowing you to start from the beginning if you jump in from the middle of a live broadcast, and allowing you to jump forward a minute (or 10/30 seconds) at a time with the press of one button on your device's remote.

I'm skeptical and wish they'd just keep the old app, since it already has these things, and allow you to log in through your ESPN+ credentials or something. But I doubt that would happen.
 

eddygee

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Mar 12, 2018
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timorous me said:
The picture quality is adequate, not blurry, and I haven't noticed it being worse on ESPN+ for soccer (I've watched some of the English cups, Bundesliga, a little MLS) than anywhere else.

But after the NHL news came out in the spring I did a test and watched parts of a stream of a game on NHL.tv, and then watched that same replay on ESPN+, and in that case the difference was striking. I think it might just be that hockey is the sport where the difference between 720 and 1080 is most noticeable (and I know that ESPN+ does take a minute to get going, but this was well beyond that). And this is only really noticeable on my newer 4K UHD TV, not my older one.

So my big question is whether or not ESPN+ will get a big upgrade just because of the NHL--both in terms of picture quality but also in terms of not showing the full time of the event when replaying it, of allowing you to start from the beginning if you jump in from the middle of a live broadcast, and allowing you to jump forward a minute (or 10/30 seconds) at a time with the press of one button on your device's remote.

I'm skeptical and wish they'd just keep the old app, since it already has these things, and allow you to log in through your ESPN+ credentials or something. But I doubt that would happen.
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Hmmm now I'm curious because I've always been able to rewind to the beginning and jump forward I access it via Roku Ultra. My understanding ift can depend on your OTT device it completely changes your viewing experience. The Roku Ultra for example will deliver in 4k and has HDR on it Prior to that I had a Roku Streaming stick+ up until last winter with basic 1080p. My picture quality is top notch the games on ESPN+ via my Roku are better than what ESPN or FS1 has. You say you have a 4k TV but make sure you have a top notch streaming device to match unless you are just using your smart TV ala Samsung Smart TV or Amazon Fire TV. I have a 4k LED 55' Insignia Amazon Fire TV that's connected to a Roku Ultra 4k. Let me know what you have cause I'm curious now. Have heard of folks having completely different viewing experiences on Peacock and ESPN+ and your viewing experience all depends on device hardware.
 
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Reaser

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May 19, 2021
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eddygee said:
Have heard of folks having completely different viewing experiences on Peacock and ESPN+ and your viewing experience all depends on device hardware.
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Depends on live and replay, too. Streaming a replay, or a movie or show on streaming services, good to great quality. Live sports, very hit or miss and particularly NHL, on espn+ it's not great, illegal streams always better and NHL.tv obviously much better, and better than all of that is via regular (for me, DirecTV) TV.
 
timorous me

timorous me

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Apr 14, 2010
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eddygee said:
Hmmm now I'm curious because I've always been able to rewind to the beginning and jump forward I access it via Roku Ultra. My understanding ift can depend on your OTT device it completely changes your viewing experience. The Roku Ultra for example will deliver in 4k and has HDR on it Prior to that I had a Roku Streaming stick+ up until last winter with basic 1080p. My picture quality is top notch the games on ESPN+ via my Roku are better than what ESPN or FS1 has. You say you have a 4k TV but make sure you have a top notch streaming device to match unless you are just using your smart TV ala Samsung Smart TV or Amazon Fire TV. I have a 4k LED 55' Insignia Amazon Fire TV that's connected to a Roku Ultra 4k. Let me know what you have cause I'm curious now. Have heard of folks having completely different viewing experiences on Peacock and ESPN+ and your viewing experience all depends on device hardware.
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So it appears I was mistaken about jumping ahead. I just put on Game 5 of the Final to test it out. I see you can jump ahead 10 seconds at a time on Roku. I'd prefer 30/60 seconds, but that's nitpicking. I'm much more concerned about the "spoiler" of the game time when watching replays.

I do have the Roku Ultra--sounds like the same progression as you through devices. And my TV is an LG OLED. I can't say I've had any problems with Peacock or anything, and watching this game, it's certainly not bad. There's just a slight sharpness that's missing when I compare it to the NHL.tv feed. I'm no technical savant when it comes to this stuff, so maybe it's a frame rate thing?
 

Reaser

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May 19, 2021
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Joe from Maine said:
Yes, it appears the Kraken's home opener on a Saturday night will be on ESPN. I have it in included a link below that confirms that. If true is does make sense as it is a special event on this years calendar.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...hj4QQ4JWqLpia5Lnd&ampcf=1&cshid=1627148996993
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No, Seattle's home opener will be exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu.

If you need a link, can use ESPN's own: Lightning and Kraken to Highlight Historic NHL Opening Night Doubleheader on ESPN - ESPN Press Room U.S.
 
BKIslandersFan

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Voight

Voight

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20210726-085910.jpg


Noticed today that ESPN now has the NHL featured on their front page when you visit the site. Previously, you had to use the drop down menu and even then, it was almost buried at the bottom.

I know you can have preference on what sports/leagues you want to see at the top if you're logged in, in this case I wasn't logged in & was a random visitor.
 
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