GameCenter Live vs NHL Center Ice

[Trxjw]

Thumbs up for hockeystreams from me. Finally watched a game on my HTPC last night and it was phenomenal.

 

[nyr2k2]

I'm glad people are enjoying HockeyStreams. I had heard about it for years, but it wasn't until last season that I gave it a go. Then it was like, ****, why didn't I do this sooner?

I also saw they were randomly streaming some UFC event a few nights ago.

 

[68Forever]

Do you know if Hockey Streams will also carry Olympic games?

 

[nyr2k2]

Do you know if Hockey Streams will also carry Olympic games?

From the site:

Enjoy the Pre-Season, Regular Season, and the Playoffs with HockeyStreams™. We offer consistent streams for all of your hockey needs.

That's not all, we also broadcast the Trade Deadline, Free Agency, All-Star Game, Player Awards, World Cup, Olympics, and many more events.

Live NHL Pre-Season Games
Live NHL, AHL, OHL, QMJHL, WHL and more Regular Season Games
Live NHL, AHL, OHL, QMJHL, WHL and more Post Season Games
Live NHL© All-Star Game
Live NHL© Draft
Live NHL© Player Awards
Live Olympics
Memorial Cup
On-demand Games (NHL, AHL, OHL, WHL, QMJHL)
Trade Deadline on multiple stations
Video is streamed on based on your internet connection. The maximum bitrate for our streams is 3200Kbps (3.2MB/s), and the minimum is 800Kbps (0.8MB/s).
Plus much, much, more!

http://www.hockeystreams.com/

 

[the fife flyer]

I succumbed to HS the other night and the picture quality to my TV via laptop and HDMI cable was tremendous.
My TV said picture quality was 1080p. Who am I to argue?

No lag, no pixelating. Nothing. Just a perfect picture.

 

[Stasis]

HS is clearly superior to GCL at this point, for a variety of reasons.

My only concern in just grabbing a 6 month sub up front is whether or not it can last. I know it has been around for a few years now, but the more customers they "steal" from the NHL directly, the more attention they get. How solid is whatever loophole they're using? That's the question! I don't think using the word "donations" will cut it... but I admit to not really knowing how any of this works.

 

[Pistachio]

I succumbed to HS the other night and the picture quality to my TV via laptop and HDMI cable was tremendous.
My TV said picture quality was 1080p. Who am I to argue?

No lag, no pixelating. Nothing. Just a perfect picture.

Well let me argue for you

The signal from your laptop was 1080p, the video you streamed was still 720p. Doesn't matter what video you were playing, your laptop would still output the desktop resolution to your TV. You could be streaming a video in 100x100 and your TV would still say it was 1080p

 

[Clown Fiesta]

HS has been nothing but garbage for me.

 

[Fanned On It]

HS has been nothing but garbage for me.

Hahaha what stark contrast... you should back that up with some info for prospective buyers though, no?

 

[MeltingPlastic]

I was skeptical on HS and saw that there is a plug-in for XBMC which i have my HTPC setup with as well as my Raspberry Pi in my bedroom. The quality of the stream on my HTPC is great and I notice no issues. I also like that while I have the game playing in my living room, i can pull out my tablet/laptop/etc and watch more games with no issues.

I also travel a lot for work so its nice to be able to catch games ont he road (obviously haven't tried this yet but i dont see too much of an issue) The selling point to me is catching some AHL and CHL games as well as the archives... either way, i'm happy i spent the money on a year subscription over GCL/CI this year. If something happens, i understand it could get shut down but at this point, its not something i'm concerning myself over

 

[Gardner McKay]

When I lived in Nashville and had Dish and received MSG, I discovered that, by state law, they were only allowed to show a certain number of live out of markets sporting events on regional networks. Just because you get MSG doesn't mean you'll be able to watch Rangers games. You still have to get the Center Ice package.

Same thing when I lived in Valdosta a few years back. Had the MSG channel through direct TV. All pre season games aired so I thought I was good. Next thing I know the first 4 games of the season were blacked out. I had recorded the Direct TV guy telling me that there were 100% no blackouts when I originally ordered the service (I had been down this road before). When they tried to argue saying that a sales person would never say that there were 100% no blackouts, I played them the recording. Suffice it to say that manager felt like a dip****. They credited me the entire next bill and gave me MSG & the other channels in that package for free for the remainder of the subscription.

 

[the fife flyer]

I succumbed to HS the other night and the picture quality to my TV via laptop and HDMI cable was tremendous.
My TV said picture quality was 1080p. Who am I to argue?

No lag, no pixelating. Nothing. Just a perfect picture.

Well let me argue for you

The signal from your laptop was 1080p, the video you streamed was still 720p. Doesn't matter what video you were playing, your laptop would still output the desktop resolution to your TV. You could be streaming a video in 100x100 and your TV would still say it was 1080p

Whatever the picture quality was, it was perfect and as good as any HD picture my satellite provider puts out.
That`s good enough for moi.

 

[blueshirtbolt]

im looking to get GCL for the first time so i can watch games through xbox. just wondering what the whole 'blackout' thing means. i dont want to be getting GCL if i'm not gonna be able to view Ranger games. sorry but im from ireland and don't really get the blackout term

 

[nyr2k2]

im looking to get GCL for the first time so i can watch games through xbox. just wondering what the whole 'blackout' thing means. i dont want to be getting GCL if i'm not gonna be able to view Ranger games. sorry but im from ireland and don't really get the blackout term

If you live in the local market of the team you're trying to watch (e.g. in Queens trying to watch the Rangers, Philly trying to watch the Flyers, etc.) then you're "blacked out": you'll be unable to watch the game. You can only watch out of market games. If you live in Ireland, you shouldn't have to worry about local blackouts.

The only other time blackouts occur is if the game you're trying to watch is also being broadcast on one of the national networks--NHL Network, NBC or NBC Sports. Again, though, I don't think that applies to folks living outside of the US. On that, you'll need to check the fine print!

 

[blueshirtbolt]

If you live in the local market of the team you're trying to watch (e.g. in Queens trying to watch the Rangers, Philly trying to watch the Flyers, etc.) then you're "blacked out": you'll be unable to watch the game. You can only watch out of market games. If you live in Ireland, you shouldn't have to worry about local blackouts.

The only other time blackouts occur is if the game you're trying to watch is also being broadcast on one of the national networks--NHL Network, NBC or NBC Sports. Again, though, I don't think that applies to folks living outside of the US. On that, you'll need to check the fine print!

thanks for clearing that up, really appreciate it. so basically if you would likely have other means of watching the game, it wont be on GCL. Yeah not too many tv stations over here with Ranger games

 

[blueshirtbolt]

Hahaha what stark contrast... you should back that up with some info for prospective buyers though, no?

ive used hockeystreams before and had nothing but bother with them. a lot of the streams simply dont work and trying to get it working on xbox needed a doctorate. also the 'staff' were quick to blame you if the stream didn't work

 

[nyr2k2]

thanks for clearing that up, really appreciate it. so basically if you would likely have other means of watching the game, it wont be on GCL. Yeah not too many tv stations over here with Ranger games

Yep, that's basically it.

The problem us Yanks run into is when there's a cable provider battle going on, and we don't actually get the local/national channel that the game is on. So we can't watch it on TV or on GCL, and we're ****ed both ways.

 

[Walk With Lias]

hockeystreams is going to get shutdown sooner or later. I'd be skeptical about using it.

 

[nyr2k2]

hockeystreams is going to get shutdown sooner or later. I'd be skeptical about using it.

Well, it's been around since 2008 at least. Maybe earlier. Every year people say it will get shut down. Maybe some day, but who knows?

 

[Trxjw]

The skepticism plays in their favor. It will keep the user base down to the diehard fans, and won't poach enough users from GameCenter to make it worth it to the NHL to start any litigation.

 

[charlie460]

I find it odd how much trouble some people have with HS... flawless for me.

 

[Clown Fiesta]

Hahaha what stark contrast... you should back that up with some info for prospective buyers though, no?

Read my previous post it explains everything I've gone through and done to try and fix the issue.

My ISP is coming Monday to replace my modem, come to find out the speeds I should be getting with the boosted internet are about the max my current modem can handle. Which probably explains the buffering/stuttering issue I've had with HS. I live in a small town and should get 30mb speeds the other night I was getting 1.7mb for a time and then 7mb. It's since gone back up to what it should be, roughly 25mb but it's not strong enough to stay consistent. If you're streaming and your connection fluctuates a little it screws the entire thing up. I was having consistent speeds for about 30 minutes most nights and then it cratered. Something definitely wrong with my modem. Which is annoying because when I upgraded to the boosted internet I asked if I needed a new modem and they told me no.

I knew it was something on my end, because when I got consistent speeds HS was excellent.

The skepticism plays in their favor. It will keep the user base down to the diehard fans, and won't poach enough users from GameCenter to make it worth it to the NHL to start any litigation.

Limiting traffic is also an advantage for current members.

 

[doncherrysgrill]

Purchased 1 year at HS the other day. So far the only issues I've had were occasionally the feeds on some CHL games would go out for about 10 seconds and then come back in, I'm assuming that's more on the end of the broadcasting in small-town Western Canada arenas than HS though. I'm a huge fan of it so far. Haven't tried streaming it through my PS3, mostly because I have a good desktop and like having the game on one half of the screen and whatever else I'm doing on the other half. I'd recommend HS if you have a good computer and good internet connection!

 

[Khelvan]

So here's a tip if you do use GameCenter Live - to get around blackout restrictions, you can use a proxy/VPN service (the one I use is http://www.unblock-us.com/) to hide your location.

 

[Clown Fiesta]

Purchased 1 year at HS the other day. So far the only issues I've had were occasionally the feeds on some CHL games would go out for about 10 seconds and then come back in, I'm assuming that's more on the end of the broadcasting in small-town Western Canada arenas than HS though. I'm a huge fan of it so far. Haven't tried streaming it through my PS3, mostly because I have a good desktop and like having the game on one half of the screen and whatever else I'm doing on the other half. I'd recommend HS if you have a good computer and good internet connection!

Streaming to PS3 is a nice feature and works pretty well, actually had better luck with that. Really like the CHL games, and you're assumption is right. Happens from time to time with them. Quality isn't very good on some of them but it's still watchable.

Convinced I'll be happy once my modem gets replaced.