Describe your perfect TV setup to watch games (also, YouTubeTV may show multiple games at once)
Another season of fat man chess is upon us. If you're like me, you like to watch a lot of games simultaneously. Unfortunately, every year I'm confounded as technology far outpaces my ability to keep up with it. So I thought I'd throw out into the MGoUniverse the following:
1. What is your preferred TV to watch games on? That is, 4K? 8K? QLED? OLED? Partial to any manufacturer?
2. What service do you prefer to watch games? FuboTV? Hulu? YouTubeTV?
This is a timely question. According to Protocol Magazine, YouTubeTV may (*may*) soon (whatever that means) provide something called "Mosaic" mode, which basically lets you watch multiple games at once on one TV screen. I think this would be great because I've always used multiple TVs that are awkwardly crammed together in a corner of the room. I'd prefer to have one big TV cubed into four games. The article seems to suggest that it may only be available on Samsung or LG TVs. It appears the only thing that is currently comparable is FuboTV, which has "MultiView", but that is only if you have an "Apple TV" box between your TV and your internet connection, for some reason. That said, Tom's Guide says that YTTV's "Mosaic" may not roll out for a couple of months, which would make it worthless for this season. No word from YTTV yet to clear things up.
There are a lot of quirks to the various streaming services. In my opinion, the best description of each service is RealCordCutters.blogspot.com.
TL; DR: If you want to simultaneously watch multiple games on one TV screen, you may be stuck with FuboTV (which requires an Apple TV dohickey), unless YouTubeTV manages to get their new "Mosaic" thingie out lickety-split.
(FWIW, NFL is stuck in the stone ages. Seems impossible to just pay the NFL money and get all the games on TV. Instead, I'm locked out of Lions games because the national networks refuse to acknowledge that the Lions are totally the best, and so they don't show almost any Lions games anywhere beyond Michigan)
August 23rd, 2022 at 11:40 PM ^
I use to have a house with a theater room. Giant projector, 7.2 setup. Miss it.
August 24th, 2022 at 8:51 AM ^
I have previously thought about getting a projector, but my worry is that it wouldn't be high enough quality. But I don't have a theater room. Seems that with a theater room would be perfect for Saturdays.
August 24th, 2022 at 9:26 AM ^
I've always thought this too until I went to my buddy's new house in NC and he just has a projector and a wall painted with special reflective "projector paint." They have come a long long way. Just as good as TVs nowadays if you get a higher end model.
Ambient light is the enemy of projectors but otherwise, the picture quality, refresh rates are as good as most TVs and the ability to change the projection size (do I want to watch this as a 65" or a 100" screen?) is awesome.
August 23rd, 2022 at 11:45 PM ^
A beer fridge makes a fine addition to any setup.
August 23rd, 2022 at 11:55 PM ^
I refuse to watch football at anyone’s house if they don’t have a kegerator with High Life on tap. I therefore watch a lot of football alone on my couch.
August 24th, 2022 at 9:41 AM ^
Do you have a kegerator with high life on tap that you drink alone on your couch? Maybe invite a friend over for some of that high life.
August 24th, 2022 at 11:29 AM ^
also looking forward to the invite......
August 23rd, 2022 at 11:56 PM ^
Before I got married, I actually ran 4 tvs, two of which had satellite receivers, specifically to watch as many football games at once as I could. It was pretty awesome.
Alas, I only do stuff like that when I have guys over for the NCAA basketball tournament now.
I'm married with kids, can't go to extremes and frankly don't have the same appetite for it that I used to. Usually it's just one tv with a remote to flip. When I choose to pay for it (which is almost always during football season) I use my trusty cable box with DVR, which provides ok picture but quick channel flipping and zero internet/network interruptions, as well as a very usable DVR feature that I will frequently use mid-drive to get a better look at blocking schemes and such on a play that has just occurred.
I finally got the cash together to get a good tv a few years ago. It's big. I love it. Looks great. Upscales most of the cable signals, which except for the major networks like Fox are lower-res.
I will occasionally do something different if there's a special option; I did stream a game or two in 4k when that was available and would probably do so again, but I get ansy not being able to flip during commercials.
August 24th, 2022 at 9:01 AM ^
I feel like the more complicated the setup, the more likely there will be some hiccup during the game that will bring everything down. The really cool thing would be to have some sort of way to get the TV to sync up with the radio so that I can listen to radio broadcast while watching the game. I don't think anyone has figured that out yet.
August 24th, 2022 at 12:21 AM ^
Somewhat related question- what is the point of the B1G+ Streaming Service? I have been receiving the emails and saw for an annual School Pass (so you can concentrate on Michigan games) it was $79.95 which at first seemed very reasonable, but then I saw that "Live Streaming of Televised Games is not available on B1G+" So in other words, no live football or basketball games. It's been a bit of a challenge since I cut the Cable a few years ago...
August 24th, 2022 at 8:02 AM ^
As I understand it, its basically for all the non-revenue generating sports (wrestling, baseball, etc). I was a walk on wrestler, so I am usually forced to get it to watch several of the meets during the year when they aren't on BTN Prime Time.
August 24th, 2022 at 8:02 AM ^
As I understand it, its basically for all the non-revenue generating sports (wrestling, baseball, etc). I was a walk on wrestler, so I am usually forced to get it to watch several of the meets during the year when they aren't on BTN Prime Time.
August 24th, 2022 at 12:38 AM ^
My set up also includes reclining theater seats with cupholders, which are extremely important.
As far as TV, I have an old school Panasonic Plasma that has a tremedous picture at any viewing angle. I just haven't found a reason to buy a new one. I was involved in some 3D work related to ESPN at one time and it was the same TV' they used with the 3D crew. The Panasonic rep helped me score it at deep discount. It was fun watching 3D football footage on it. particularly the raw feeds coming directly from the cameras. It was mind blowing how realistic it was. I was able to get some footage of my son running around on a field so he could watch it on the TV. So it's a nostalgia thing now.
I learned a lot and even had a nice chat with Vince Pace, who did a little 3D movie you may remember called Avatar. Of course ESPN didn't listen to him or any of the rest of us, which is why we don't have such a wonderful thing now. Basically, you heard all the same whining that you hear now from the networks about infrastructure for 4K.
Now I simply stream via chromecast and have been using YTTV.
August 24th, 2022 at 2:17 AM ^
I saw 3D at the store and bought a tv because of it. It was amazing. Wtf happened? If you had a wing joint with that set up you couldve put BWW out of business. Im guessing 97% of football fans never saw it and that is why it failed.
August 24th, 2022 at 10:09 PM ^
It was interesting. It was a classic chicken and egg problem. ESPN needed to invest to get the shots that would have blown away the average viewer and driven them to their fledgling 3D channel and they didn't want to do it until they saw enough interest.
The networks are ridiculously reactive. When doing an event, they spend unbelievable sums on a "crisis". But, asking for small sums in advance to prevent a crisis is like asking for the moon. So, it was very hard to pry loose funds needed to really make it spectacular.
One issue is that you really have to change how you place and use the cameras. The spectacular stuff is from the cameras that are closest to the action. I was involved in demonstraing some shots from the cable suspended camera systems that you see flying over the field. It was the perfect camera for 3D. You literally felt like you were on the field with the team or in the middle of a video game.
The problem is that they simply don't think in terms of R&D budgets many months in advance, which is what was needed to make that system work due to the complexity. They are all adrenaline junkies living in the moment and they seem incapable of even modest R&D investments to solve problems in advance.
Instead, ESPN went with a traditional approach to shooting with sideline cameras, etc. which just wasn't enough to show off the capability.
I'm 100% convinced if they would have been willing to do some modest funding for about a year, it would have been a huge success. We were very close.
Instead, they nickel and dimed it and it never reached it's potential before they pulled the plug.
August 24th, 2022 at 6:50 AM ^
Dude this is so weird, I have the same TV. 2 actually, and love the pic. Everyone keeps asking me when I'm gonna get another one, but why would I throw away a perfectly good TV, even if it weighs 80 lbs. I did just switch to Youtube TV, but I'm only saving about $26 a month from my Uverse days. $55 a month for wifi and $65 for Youtube TV with no extra's. I'm really pissed at these prices but they have us by the sack.
August 24th, 2022 at 8:24 AM ^
Same here. Bought a Vizio 3D hoping for football n hockey. Now TYTV w 3D content and I do my own videos n pics. Interesting to read your background. You ever hit the Detroit Stereographic Society meetings? Always looking for 3D guys w your resume.
Go Blue
August 24th, 2022 at 10:22 PM ^
I'm actually in the pacific northwest now and completely out of the business.
It was interesting, but I'll say I really did not enjoy the sports broadcasting side of things. Dirty, chaotic, dog eat dog is probably the best way to describe it.
August 24th, 2022 at 9:09 AM ^
+1 for plasma. Too bad the tech has been discontinued.
August 24th, 2022 at 10:26 PM ^
They have their issues, but picture quality sure isn't one of them. I love watching blu-rays on it. Watching Avatar in 3D on that TV is pretty awesome.
August 24th, 2022 at 5:48 AM ^
I have a dedicated media room. I recently redid the room and now have a 7.2 high end sound system. I took out a projector and replaced it with an LG 83" G2-series OLED which is 4K and moved seating a few feet forward. I wanted the quality of an OLED more than I wanted the larger size of a projector. I have DirecTV in part because my football insanity level includes NFL games and DirecTV has the NFL Sunday Ticket, although that will become a streaming item next season. As far as streaming, I have Prime, Netflix and HBO MAX and have 1 gigabit fiber to the premises.
August 24th, 2022 at 7:15 AM ^
LG oled is the only reason I ever agreed to sell my old pioneer kuro plasma TV. 4k is nice, but black levels are more important for a quality image. Do you love the 83? Any issues with it?
August 25th, 2022 at 12:52 AM ^
Exactly why I keep the Panasonic plasma. I keep in in a naturally dark TV room and opt for other TV in the bright living area, but the richness of the picture is great.
August 24th, 2022 at 8:22 AM ^
You don't need gigabit to stream, even in 4k. Not sure about your situation, but a lot of people needlessly upgrade their speed when they need to upgrade their router/modem.
August 24th, 2022 at 9:34 AM ^
step one, unplug the crappy modem/router combo unit that comes with your Spectrum/Xfinity etc. and put it in a closet somewhere.
step two, go buy a high quality modem, and then a high quality router, from best buy, amazon, wherever.
step three, enjoy way faster internet speeds
August 24th, 2022 at 11:56 AM ^
Fantastic advice. I used to run my own modem/router. Unfortunately, the only way to get unlimited from Xfinity is by using their gateway as a modem. I still have an Asus tri-band router setup, but that Xfinity modem is definitely an issue. I never had network issues with my own modem.
August 24th, 2022 at 7:03 AM ^
Like the old ESPN Zones with the Barca lounger (with cup holder and tray), large screen and multiple small screens. Lose the crowd, keep the waitress.
August 24th, 2022 at 7:10 AM ^
I married a wonderful woman and she loves college football when we move 2 or 3 TVs to the living room.
We have YouTubeTV and Amazon Firesticks on all of our TVs (fast internet, streaming has been very reliable). We have all Samsung in our house.
For the first 3 weeks, we go 3 TVs. TV #3 has the volume off the entire time. Always the third best game that is on.
For TVs #1 and #2, we set them up and I MUTE one of them.
This way, when TV #1 goes to commercial, I can simply hit MUTE and it'll mute TV #1 and unmute TV #2. One button and I never have to move.
After week 3, there aren't enough games going on at the same time to justify the full command center, so we go back down to 2 TVs where I can continue to use MUTE to flip the sound.
#3 comes back out during the CFP because ESPN does the megacast and we'll put #3 on SkyCam or one with the live in-game stats.
...I love that woman.
(I wouldn't like mosaic unless it's easy to change the sound, but I wouldn't like it because I want the game to fill the screen, what's the point of a big TV if you're watch small boxes?)
August 24th, 2022 at 7:19 AM ^
One more note on the wife.
When we were broke, post-college.
We would get my living room TV (tube), my bedroom TV (LCD), she would bring over her 32" LCD, and I'd have my laptop.
We would go 4 screens...TVs all off cable using a splitter. Coax heaven.
The laptop was key, because this is before DVR...so no rewind. The laptop would lag enough that you could watch replays on the laptop of whatever game (Michigan) that was on the big TV.
We would blow up an air mattress in the living room and sit and watch college football all fucking day. Noon to midnight.
To this day, Week 1, I always pull out the air mattress. More space to lay around and watch football. Fun for other activities as well. And after the Hawaii/LA Tech matchup that ends at 1:30am ET...you can just fall asleep right there for the night.
(she never makes it past the ABC primetime game, so she's knocked out on the couch, I'm the only loser on an air mattress, drunk chatting on MGoBlog in the Night Games thread, watching WAC football after midnight
...at least now we have dogs, they join on the air mattress and they don't judge me, so neither should you!)
August 24th, 2022 at 7:26 AM ^
Last comment, I've got my own thread! This is great.
Can you tell this is my favorite thing in the world? (it truly is)
Now that we're adults (and because everything is streaming), we've shifted to moving the 3:30 games to the backyard and moving all TVs out there.
We usually move it all back inside at halftime of the ABC primetime game.
Anyone have an outdoor set-up?
For us it was a nice way to get out of the house and still do the same thing we did inside the house. Plus it was closer to the grill and I love to grill.
August 24th, 2022 at 8:26 AM ^
I've done outdoors for the last 2 years during the first weekend of March Madness since we've had insanely good weather in Michigan.
I'm planning to try it out this weekend. Will depend on the angle of the sun and how much I'm protected from it on my deck. TV only gets so bright...
August 24th, 2022 at 8:40 AM ^
We just moved into an older house this past year and after the main house is renovated, we'd like to put in a pool and do a cabana/lounge area for grilling and watching sports. Would love a heated pool with a swim up bar. My dream.
August 24th, 2022 at 8:48 AM ^
For years I’ve wanted an outdoor space. We finally made it happen this spring. I will be watching football from a hot tub on cool fall nights this year.
I just moved an old Samsung 55c8000 outside. If it dies, it dies. I use YTTV with a roku stick.
I also enjoy using my 2k 32” curved monitor to watch and boring 24” to follow twitter and game thread here. I did this last year if family wasn’t home.
August 24th, 2022 at 8:55 AM ^
Just to clarify, do you ever MUTE one of the televisions, and do you love your wife?
August 24th, 2022 at 1:50 PM ^
MUTE!!
August 24th, 2022 at 7:22 AM ^
I watch on my tablet and get a pirated stream. Just not a tv guy.
August 24th, 2022 at 7:28 AM ^
I use YTTV and have been pretty satisfied with it sans mosaic mode. At last check you could have three streams running simultaneously, which works with my not very luxe 2x50" TV and Chromebook setup. I can drag out bedroom TVs / additional chromebooks if there are games worth watching on ESPN+ or elsewhere but that's rarely the case, three is usually enough.
Bought the second living room TV specifically to watch multiple games and I have ended up using it a LOT more than I ever expected to.
August 24th, 2022 at 8:29 AM ^
If it's Michigan I watch on the big TV - no distractions. For non-Michigan casual watching I usually run a PC in the kitchen with YoutubeTV in multiple browser windows showing whatever games are off interest.
The tiling on TV would be the same effect - will be watching for that.
August 24th, 2022 at 1:42 PM ^
This is what I do as well. When Michigan plays, I'm on the big TV in the living room. Everything else, I got two monitors for my computer and with YouTube TV (formerly used Playstation Vue, RIP) and I just open 4-8 browser windows for a Matrix-esque viewing experience, turning the sound on whichever game is the most interesting. I can also pause or fast forward (I DVR every game because storage is basically unlimited on YTTV) while games are playing so I'm not impacted by commercials.
Tiling on the actual app itself will be nice for the living room experience but I'm not dependent on it if I wanna watch multiple games at once without gathering several TV's in 1 area. Love it.
August 25th, 2022 at 3:15 PM ^
that...exactly...week zero will be all kitchen
August 24th, 2022 at 8:42 AM ^
I have a 60 inch Vizio connected to Xfinity.
I bought the Vizio before last football season from Target because it was on sale. Without checking I have no idea what "k" it is or what "*led" it is. In fact, without checking, I don't even know what *led I should have let alone if I have it. That being said, I am happy with the picture. I would love to dump Xfinity (don't ask what I pay for it) but haven't figured out an easy way to catch the Michigan and other Big 10 games without it.
Generally watch the Michigan game by itself. Other games I might flip from one to another but don't watch multiple games at the same time.
August 24th, 2022 at 9:39 AM ^
dumped Xfinity cable, kept the internet, and went to YouTube TV (also netflix and hulu) and I got way more sports options ... i hated xfinity
August 24th, 2022 at 9:10 AM ^
I have an older projector, a Panasonic PT AE-4000, and about a 96" pull-down screen. Dish TV allows picture-in-picture for up to 4 games. I have a trilevel and the setup is in the basement. We have blackout shades. The light from the stairwell is the only thing not making this the perfect setup.
I can monitor a 5th game on my tablet
August 24th, 2022 at 9:21 AM ^
I have a 65" 4K in the man cave. Bathroom, food, theater seating ideal for the games and Movies.
I have a 65" 1080P Samsung upstairs. Processor just too slow although a "smart" TV. However because so few games are broadcast in 4K the picture is too good to upgrade.
Lastly there are (2) more TV's in bedrooms for the times we have guests that are not into football and need their own space.
Sound for the game is very under-rated. Sound Bars are fine for everyday but on game day the Bose surround sound (I went wireless - hate wire management) was worth every penny I struggled to spend.
Lastly- Although satellite has some game day risk with a severe storm or blizzard I like that Direct TV does not rely on a wire to my home and provides incredible picture quality and a great 4K offering. It costs me an extra $20 a month but having a single, reliable source with so many games is worth it.
In my location I have only had one game get cut off in my 8 years with DTV and I lost 15 minutes.
August 24th, 2022 at 9:41 AM ^
YTTV on my 70 inch TV in the living room for game of interest #1. game of interest #2 on tablet, and monitor other games/scores of interest on ESPN app on phone. can quickly switch either tablet or TV to another game if something cool is going on elsewhere.
August 24th, 2022 at 9:43 AM ^
If you do it right spectrum charter is the cheapest and best quality of feed compared to youtube which selects what's in 720, 1080 or whatever.
I paid 35 dollars a month to add the entire sports package plus 15 other channels of my choosing plus local for adding cable back with my internet package
August 24th, 2022 at 9:48 AM ^
8K is actually a thing? I guess it is. Had to look it up on Samsung's website.
Gotta say, since pretty much all major networks aren't broadcasting in 4K anyway, doesn't that render almost anything beyond HD to be useless anyway? At least as far as watching live sports. We have a 4K TV, would love to watch Michigan in 4K, but unless they play on Fox that's not an option. And even now it seems like Fox is deciding to axe broadcasting in 4K.
I'm sure they have the money for it, but I'm guessing they figure they can cut down on their own costs and still have suckers like us continue to watch anyway with very minimal lost viewership.
August 24th, 2022 at 10:31 AM ^
65" LG OLED, Bose surround with bass tube.
Spectrum internet, Hulu, Netflix, Paramount + and every other network out there...we share passwords with a few family members.
It's a solid enough combo.
Coaching my son's 8 year old football team so there'll be a few games watched on my phone...I get too hyped to watch it prerecorded.
August 24th, 2022 at 10:33 AM ^
Route the sound through an older stereo sound system, quality is good to me.
Follow twitter feed on phone to see what the "experts" are saying, but just on breaks so it doesn't distract from the game.
August 24th, 2022 at 10:58 AM ^
I have a Bonus Room upstairs in the house that is rarely utilized....except football Saturdays. That room has a 70" TV and then I carry a 50" and 43" (?) up there to watch the games. I stream on YTTV via Firesticks. I try to dedicate two channels per TV so I can follow up to six games at a time (very important in October and November!).
My biggest problem is trying to turn the TV's on and controlling the volume. It's hard to keep two TV's on Mute while the main TV plays because any of the remotes impacts all three TV's.