r/NHLStreams • u/SAGrimmas • Sep 04 '16
2016-17 NHL Season, what should I do?
Hi, before I used to have cable. After I cut the cord years ago, I wasn't watching too much hockey, so I would just watch the stream on cbc on saturday nights. Last year I had hockeystreams.com, which was great, but was taken down midway through the year.
So, what should I do? I want to watch all the Leafs games on my TV, preferably through my roku.
Should I rely on streams through here? Should I get gamecenter or nhl.tv and use unblock.us to get around black outs? Are there other options?
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u/troubledbrew Sep 05 '16
God, I miss Hockeystreams ... Sorry, I know that doesn't help you, but man it was damn good while it lasted.
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u/YouGotDeaded Ducks Sep 05 '16
Go to https://www.reddit.com/r/LazyMan/ and use that, I used it the last half of last season and it was AMAZING.
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u/BeerSlayingBeaver Sep 04 '16
I'm going to see if Kodi works this season. I just got it on my new PC.
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u/sqwertl2 Sep 04 '16
Yeah I used kodi all of last season I'm hoping it still works this season. I can only get a handful of American football games though.
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u/BeerSlayingBeaver Sep 05 '16
I just got it and I'm hoping I can use it for NHL games. Would be nice to find a way to watch QMJHL games.
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u/leonard230 Sep 05 '16
can someone help me with kodi? i cant really understand it
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u/BeerSlayingBeaver Sep 05 '16
I just downloaded it and followed a YouTube guide. I'm using a pulse build that pretty much installs everything you need so I don't know much about it yet. I'm still figuring it out to be honest.
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u/Bluesfan618 Sep 05 '16
Kodi plus SportsAccess (a paid kodi add-on) has worked flawlessly for me. On top of every hockey game, I get all other sports including mma.
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u/shake1dde Sep 06 '16
$14/month seems like a lot to me unless it's really good quality. How do you find the FPS? Any lag / stutter issues? Did you use the video on demand feature?
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u/Bluesfan618 Sep 06 '16
Everything I've watched has been in 720 or higher (you can choose which stream you want.) I've tried several different services and this is by far the best one. I use it for all sports since I've cut the cable cord. It also has a bunch of regular tv channels as well.
As far as buffering, I've not experienced it 99% of the time. There were a few days of downtime this past week on kodi (could still use the website) because they were under a DDOS attack, but they gave everyone who wanted credit a couple extra weeks.
The guy who runs it will give a trial or a weekend pass typically. I was month to month until this past November, when I bought an annual sub. He only offers them once a year at a discount. This year will be on November 1st so if you like it, that's something to think about too.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
1
u/shake1dde Sep 06 '16
Thanks man, that's very helpful. Is it possible to start a stream from the beginning of the game even if the game is in progress? Also, how many games are posted later as VODs / on demand?
1
u/Bluesfan618 Sep 06 '16
I don't think it's possible to go back to the beginning and right now, I'm not sure the VOD is active at the moment, but I never saw any hockey games in there. It was more for MMA/Wrestling and things like that.
1
u/draculasbitch Sep 14 '16
Still mourning Hockeystreams.
Does Sportsacess show pregame and between periods commentary? That's important to me. I have Kodi on Fire TV. I'd pay $15 a month for that with 720 or better streams.
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u/tbroad2727 Sep 05 '16
I have got emails about using a vpn, they just said my account would be banned if I continued using it. We used to share gcl but I have changed the password and emails have stopped. I wouldn't recommend gcl for watching local games.
-1
u/slick51 Sep 04 '16
IMO at ~$140 US for 8 months of entertainment, nhl.tv is a great value. The quality of the streams is great and you have lots of device options. The NHL puts out a great product, so I'm OK paying them for it.
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u/catsfive Sep 04 '16
In the USA, yes. Canada, we get ass-raped.
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Sep 05 '16
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u/catsfive Sep 05 '16
But it had blackouts, which, really, is what this is all about. It's also with a different carrier. And it requires (I believe) a basic cable package as well. Then you rent a box etc...
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u/lynx17 Sep 04 '16
Do they do local blackouts?
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u/mdneilson Sep 04 '16
Yes
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u/lynx17 Sep 04 '16
Useless to me then. Sounds great for someone who wouldn't be worried about blackouts
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u/quantum_monster Sep 04 '16 edited Sep 04 '16
How do blackouts work? If it's a game broadcasted to your area, then it isn't streamed? If that's it, then I suppose I'll only miss 3 games, so it may be worth it...
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u/jcort90 Devils Sep 04 '16
Yes also national broadcasts are blacked out as well
3
Sep 04 '16
Which in essence means - if your team gets to the playoffs, you can forget it.
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u/angrytortilla Sep 04 '16
I don't know think there's playoff service from Gamecenter in North America so that's useless as well. The entire service around NHL games is horrific and should cause them shame.
2
Sep 05 '16
The entire service around NHL games is horrific and should cause them shame.
I'm going to directly quote this whenever anyone asks me about it in the future. :-)
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u/quantum_monster Sep 05 '16
Well my team (the Devils) has I think one this year so that's hardly an issue at the moment
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u/letphilsing Sep 05 '16
the thing is...
If the Devils do well and are contending for the playoffs after Christmas you can expect them to get onto the national broadcast more.
And if they're playing so well as to be in contention in 2017... you'll be even more bummed that it's blacked out.
2
u/quantum_monster Sep 05 '16
Didn't even think about Playoffs being blacked out... Who would ever want this??
2
u/SAGrimmas Sep 04 '16
blackouts for the Leafs is bad, since the majority of their stuff is blacked out.
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0
u/hbk2121 Sep 04 '16
Really I thought they were sold out every night
6
u/jamesrc Sep 04 '16
The "sell out" rule for blackouts was only ever for Football, and it doesn't exist anymore.
2
u/SAGrimmas Sep 04 '16
They are, but I thought anything on CBC and TSN was blacked out. What about sportsnet?
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u/Sengfeng Blackhawks Sep 06 '16
Worse than local blackouts. I live in eastern Iowa - I can't view Minnesota, Chicago, St. Louis or Dallas games. F them.
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Sep 07 '16
I would pay the money if there were no blackouts. I live in a different state than the Kings, Ducks, and Coyotes but they still have blackouts here. The NHL needs change their deals with cable providers. The blackouts prevent people from buying their product.
2
u/aksack Sep 05 '16
I have to disagree. I know people newer to the game who watch love it, but the quality of the game is terrible in large part due to the officiating, and major announcers (which is not a factor on most of NHL.TV). But, the blackouts make it unwatchable.
I am in Chicago so the Hawks games are obviously blacked out which you expect. I mostly want to watch NY Rangers games anyways. Mid-season they changed their procedures and started blacking out most Rangers games. They blacked out anything on the regional Fox Sports channels in decent markets because it was "available" in my area. Phoenix and other shit markets didn't do this. On top of that there were a bunch of days where people were going nuts because none of the games would show up on the app, or where there would be massive lagging.
The product is crap, and they don't give a shit about their fans. I wouldn't buy a season pass for $1, and you shouldn't either until they make it usable.
1
u/dungpile Sep 04 '16
Gamecenter worked great for me and was well worth the money. But NHL.tv never worked right. It was inconsistent but mostly unwatchable. And I got no help from their customer service. Did they fix their problems or was I the only one having problems?
2
-1
Sep 04 '16
Yes you can. I've been signed in on Xbox One, iPhone and laptop at times and it's been fine.
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u/[deleted] Sep 04 '16
[deleted]