OT: Poll on streaming games online, during Saturdays

Submitted by karpodiem on

I few questions for those of you who watch the football games over the internet on Saturdays this Fall (before I commit 10-15 hours to implementing a streaming setup, I want to see how big of the market of this would be)

How many of you watch ESPN3 for the games?

How many of you _are_ able to watch ESPN3, but because of blackout restrictions (living in Michigan when the games are on ABC) are unable to watch the games

How many of you are unable to watch ESPN3 and have to find a justin.tv/ustream/other flash stream online?

How many of you are watching streams on mobile devices, such as iOS or Android?

How many of you use VPN's to watch the games?

 

Thanks. Any info that you can provide would help me get a better understanding of the streaming demographic and will yield a better live-streaming product for MGoVideo.

 

jaggs

August 16th, 2011 at 9:56 AM ^

I typically follow whatever stream is mentioned on the cover-it-live be it justin.tv etc...I would definetely be interested in a reliable stream for games. That is assuming its free or close to it. 

CRex

August 16th, 2011 at 9:56 AM ^

ESPN 3 but I live in Michigan so I get blacked out from time to time.

I have a VPN setup to get a Korean IP and get that overseas deal BTN offers.  

I own an Android device but don't watch games on it currently.  

a non emu

August 16th, 2011 at 6:25 PM ^

How did you get the Korean VPN? I have looked into setting up something like that to get the BTN overseas package, but no luck yet. I have friends in other countries that I could probably talk into installing a proxy server on their machine, but I still their upload speeds would be too slow to make this worthwhile.

Desmonlon Edwoodson

August 16th, 2011 at 10:11 AM ^

I'm stuck at work on random Saturdays throughout the year, and hence am confined to my android device(no espn3).  I've had sporadic good luck with atdhe, but if you are willing to share your stream I would be much appreciative.

Mitch Cumstein

August 16th, 2011 at 10:01 AM ^

I usually watch games that are on ESPN 3 and I'm out of market so never really get blacked out unless the game is on national TV.  

Basically I have to find a stream for BTN and non-espn/abc games (or I will go to the bar).

jbibiza

August 16th, 2011 at 12:19 PM ^

I live in Spain and use the following:  

ESPN 3 is  good for all games on espn or ABC (last year it was not available in Italy for some reason but OK elsewhere).  This covers most of the important games with good quality video and you also get to watch many other great games.   The cost is reasonable at 15 euros per month - start early in Sept. and you can go right through the bowl season.

For the BTN games there is no direct streaming (why?) so try Justin TV or ATDHE.net but it seems like some of those are being restricted lately......

Mgoblue.com always has the live radio feed which is a good backup when a stream cannot be found.

beaglehusky

August 16th, 2011 at 3:15 PM ^

I was using a slingbox and a slingcatcher to watch here in Norway from my box in Texas.  The quality was so crappy that I'm surprised I didn't hang myself off my balcony.  Just about anything better than that would be greatly appreciated.  I tried justintv and atdhe but neither was reliable.

 

jblaze

August 16th, 2011 at 10:04 AM ^

just connect an hdmi wire from your computer to TV, or get one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0040722Q4/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000VBBPPM&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0V50H128S2JPMBB0Y8PT

There are other brands, btw.

If you don't have a laptop, buy a cheap netbook, with HDMI out or buy a cheaper netbook and use the above product.

kenfizzle

August 16th, 2011 at 10:14 AM ^

First fall here, I'm not sure what I'm going to do and I'm freaking out.

I'd do ESPN3, but I feel like it's going to be hit or miss whether our games are on there.

I do get BTN, but I doubt I'll ever get Michigan feeds and we don't get the BTN alternate channels like I used to have in AA.

I usually do some scowering of a few sites I know (atdhe.fm, atdhenet.tv) but those feeds are usually terrible, if they are even available at all.



I have an iPhone with the HDMI out adapter and watch MLB.tv on it all the time, it's awesome so iOS would be a bonus for me.

I would be willing to donate a decent amount of money if there were a high quality feed that was reliable.

simonsays

August 16th, 2011 at 10:58 AM ^

Are you precluded from watching at a bar? The M alumni club of Boston has 2 game watching sites that are very popular. It's a lot more fun than streaming at home.

Tavern in the Square - Porter Square, Cambridge (sit down sports bar/restaurant feel, family-friendly)

The Place - 2 Broad Street, Boston, near Faneuil Hall (crowded bar feel)

AlbMichFan

August 16th, 2011 at 10:13 AM ^

I cant use ESPN3 because im out of US and i have to find streams that work with an older version of apple OS. It would be really nice if there was a realiable stream that i could bookmark.

XxNoRemorsExX

August 16th, 2011 at 10:17 AM ^

Many Saturdays I am stuck at work and if the game is not on ABC/ESPN, then I have trouble being able to see it.  My employer disabled all P2P ports so I can't use a lot of the more reliable streaming services out there. Justin.tv and the like are too unreliable.  So yes, I would love for you to do this and enrich the lives of fellow Wolverines everywhere.

umfan323

August 16th, 2011 at 10:25 AM ^

I thought the government shut it down ..well last I checked  when I tried to watch a pre season NFL game

nickexperience

August 16th, 2011 at 11:08 AM ^

I concur regarding myp2p.eu. Can be a little labor intensive at first because some of the streams require separate software to be downloaded, but I've never had a problem with anything being shady.

wolfman81

August 16th, 2011 at 10:43 AM ^

I do ABC on my TV when available.  I only have rabbit ears though, so I must resort to ESPN3 or other dark corners of the internet when games are not on ABC.  Usually this works well, unless my internet is crappy...sometimes it just doesn't work :(  Then I resort to the radio.  The big trouble is when the games are on BTN...that doesn't usually work so well for me.  But if I can take it, I'll suggest we head down to my in-laws for the weekend (aren't I terrible?)

Between the Michigan game and the Lions game on Sunday I try to get my football fix in for the week.  The wife and kid keep me busy sometimes.  Can't wait for the day when I can afford cable/satellite.  (Sometimes you have to live like no one else so later you can live like no one else!)

buddhafrog

August 16th, 2011 at 10:54 AM ^

I fully support more UM streams!  

I watch EVERY week, from my computer.  ESPN3 won't work overseas, and I live in Korea.

Honestly, I'd probably be looking only for higher quality streams of games.

No VPN, but I'm trying to figure what that hell that is and how it could help me.  So far, I don't understand at all.

ixcuincle

August 16th, 2011 at 10:59 AM ^

Last year I mainly listened to the games on the radio through online links. This year, I'm going to start actually watching games on ESPN3 now (unless it's an ABC game which seems to be blacked out) 

I used to hate ESPN 3 but when I found out they were several seconds ahead of cable, I changed my mind. 

goblue7612

August 16th, 2011 at 11:24 AM ^

Hate to hijack the thread. But for the EMU game this year I'll be on a 24 hour layover in Amsterdam. What's my best chance to watch the game? Most likely I'll be relying on a webstream, as Sopcast or whatever other software they use now doesn't run on a Mac. I've heard atdhe.com is no longer very reliable, justin.tv better? Will an internet cafe provide me with the necessary bandwidth to watch the game?

Brewcityitalian

August 16th, 2011 at 11:58 AM ^

all michigan football, basketball and hockey streams would be awesome.

need more streams of wolverine hockey for sure !

Mr. Blue

August 16th, 2011 at 12:15 PM ^

The dark pirate internet sites are great, but they get shut down after a while by the department of Homeland Security of all things. Just something reliable with staying power is all I want.

BlueCE

August 16th, 2011 at 1:01 PM ^

Stuck in California and with no cable so I am interested in streaming all games... Would be love for a good alternative as long as it is not too expensive. I was planning to rely on justin.tv this season.

twest

August 16th, 2011 at 1:19 PM ^

YES YES YES for football and then how about Basketball and Hockey also, Too much time on the road lets do it!

All of you efforts will be most appreciated!!

Thank you

Do use espn 3 when we can.

Rico616

August 16th, 2011 at 1:35 PM ^

I live in Michigan, last year I used Justin TV or ATDHE.net but this year I should be able to watch most games that are on abc or espn, still not BTN on my directv package.

Lac55

August 16th, 2011 at 4:08 PM ^

I live in Alabama and I was desperately looking for a way to watch the games that don't come on ESPN network. I do have the big ten network but Im worried about games like vs. Eastern & Western Michigan.

ManiacalWolverine

August 16th, 2011 at 4:18 PM ^

  I now live in south carolina so I generally just watch the games on whatever stream I can find but most of the time the streams are unreliable at best! I have ESPN 3 on my X-box but I still miss about three or so games a year and that makes me a very sad panda. In other words, count me in!

Alibaba

August 16th, 2011 at 4:43 PM ^

PLEASE! I am always scanning the blog and other sites online trying to find the game. Quality is spotty and very inconsistent. This would be a huge help!

a non emu

August 16th, 2011 at 6:08 PM ^

Only for BTN games. I have RCN in Boston, and for some reason they don't carry BTN yet. So I am really hoping for some quality stream to watch the ones that end up on BTN. I wish BTN would just let you buy an online stream, but of course that will never happen.

karpodiem

August 18th, 2011 at 9:51 AM ^

Hey guys,

So based on the feedback I received, I think I'm going to write a tutorial on how to setup OpenVPN on Amazon EC2 availability zones in US West/Europe. There's a few reasons why I think this route would be best  (although I understand that not everyone's needs will be met by this, I think it's the optimal solution)

1) You'll be watching the games on ESPN3. Every Michigan game will be available then if you're using a West Coast/EU VPN. Even if you live in Michigan and are under the blackout, you'd be able sidestep it with this

2) For games on the BTN, I believe you can stream these games with their new BTN2Go service. You'd need to connect to the EU zone.

More details coming in the next few days.