OT: Streaming Sports Broadcasts Thread

Submitted by UMProud on

Comcast internet & an attic digital antenna...so I broke down and bought Playstation Vue $34.95 package that has BTN, FS1/FS2 & ESPN.

If you're a streamer please discuss your opinions on:

SlingTV - if you subscribe has it gotten better?  It was bloody awful when I last tried it

Why are so many NFL preseason games on Fox Sports and why the hell isn't Fox Sports on any of these packages?  FS1 & FS2 carried Michigan gams last year as I recall

Is NFL Redzone worth it?  $39.95 or so on PS Vue I'm thinking about it....

Michigan schedule has alot of games with no broadcaster announced yet which sucks...I think the only ringer last year was CBSN ?

I will say I'm watching CLE/TB game right now in Vue and it looks almost as good as my digital antenna signal.

Another neat thing about SlingTV & Vue is alot of the channels (ESPN, AMC, Bravo, etc) you can log in using your Sling or Vue subscription to see the content on the stand along Roku channels.

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Gob Blueth

August 26th, 2016 at 9:03 PM ^

This is also relevant to my interests.  About to subscribe to SlingTV on AppleTV to watch tonight's Cal/Hawaii game, so I'll see how that goes.  Am trying to find a way to catch BTN games though (in California).  Is BTN available on PS Vue all throughout the US, or are you in Big Ten Territory?

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SLS

August 26th, 2016 at 9:09 PM ^

PS Vue does a phenomenal job; in my opinion it's much better than Sling. PS Vue is a viable cable replacement for sports- it's has all the ESPNs and BTN.

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PinballPete

August 26th, 2016 at 10:20 PM ^

Yes, you can record. It's cloud based and saves 'my shows' for 28 days. I've heard that there is a 500gb limit but can't confirm. The controls (I'm using the ps4 controller) allow for x4, x8, x16, and x32 speed fast forward and rewind.

The dvr isn't perfect. You can't adjust recording time, like adding time, for an event so I don't know yet if it will record a whole game or cut it off at the appointed time



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SLS

August 26th, 2016 at 9:09 PM ^

PS Vue does a phenomenal job; in my opinion it's much better than Sling. PS Vue is a viable cable replacement for sports- it's has all the ESPNs and BTN.

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Texagander

August 26th, 2016 at 9:12 PM ^

Had Sling TV last year for CFB. It was terrible. Basically just gets you a password to unlock ESPN app. Have PlayStation Vue this year. Miles better. Won't go back. Better on our Roku stick than the PS3 ( but my console is about 8 yrs old so it likes to overheat when on for more than 30 mins).



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PinballPete

August 26th, 2016 at 9:43 PM ^

I signed up for sling to get a discounted roku 3 last year. I cancelled after 6 months because it's was poorly executed. It was choppy and cut out pretty often and I pay for better internet (50 down).

Two weeks ago I signed up for Vue and its definitely better. Better interface, better stream, and better value (especially with a dvr). However, if you don't have a ps4 then you're not getting the best interface available. I have a PS3 in addition to the roku and ps4. Oh and the mobile app is better too



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WirlingDirvish

August 26th, 2016 at 10:37 PM ^

I'm watching the Hawaii game right now on Vue. Looks pretty good so far. I remember Watch ESPN from 5ish years ago, very choppy, cutting out alot. This is nothing like this. If i didn't know better, I'd say it was live cable TV. Slightly worse than cable HD (it's 720P, I think most cable broadcasts are in 1080P). Just tested by DL/UL speed, right around 10 Mbps each way. Of course I'm streaming the game at the same time, so thats probably a bit slow. Only annoyance so far is everyonce in a while instead of showing a commercial, it will just display "commercial airing" or some such. I think its during the normal local commercial time slots, NBD tho.

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ats

August 26th, 2016 at 11:53 PM ^

IIRC, ABC/ESPN/Disney are ALL 720P.  Also the actual broadcast options are basically 720P or 1080i.  No one AFAIK is actually broadcasting TV in 1080P (roughly 2x the bandwidth of 720P and 1080i). 

Basically, back when the standards were set, the options were 720P and 1080i.  Both used roughly the same bandwidth.  ABC/EPSN chose 720P because it is generally better for faster action than 1080i since it is running at ~60 FPS vs ~30 FPS for 1080i (actually 60 fields per second with each field being 1/2 the display).  1080i works better for things like tv shows and movies. 

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jschmidt22

August 26th, 2016 at 11:36 PM ^

It looks like it picks up the major broadcast networks (abc, nbc, etc). Does it just take the local affiliates based on your location? Trying to anticipate and plan for football season in South Florida... UM shouldn't be an issue. The Lions? Doubtful.

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UMProud

August 27th, 2016 at 9:04 AM ^

Anyone have NFL Redzone?  Is this worth $40/year?  Assuming every single Lions game will be available if it's broadcast within the Sunday Noon to 8 pm window?

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