SHOUTBOX MONSTER! Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 I signed up for this late last year and recently renewed for this season. First off, I love the fact that they archived all the 2008 games and allow you to watch them in addition to all of this year's games. I typically go out to a bar to watch the Bills live, but this allows me to watch other games that I missed or maybe even re-watch a Bills game if I missed something. The quality of the video is absolutely awesome. It can get grainy at times (usually when your video is just starting or if you jump to a new spot,) but usually is damn close to the "HD-quality" that they state on the site. One drawback is the quality of the multiple game viewing. The games that you don't have pulled up on the main screen are WAY to small to watch. You can basically see who's playing the game and that's it. Hopefully, they can improve it. Overall, it's worth the price to me and I recommend it. If you can stand not watching the game live and waiting 'til midnight EST, then it's highly worth it.
Ramius Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 I watched a game on it last year with the weekly pass (i had missed the denver game). I didn't have any problems with it. Video quality was good, minimal buffering issues, etc. Last season the games weren't posted until 24 hours after completion but it looks as if they've changed that. For $40 bucks i may sign up in the event i need to miss a handful of games.
CodeMonkey Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 Hooking a computer to the TV isn't always feasible - it's not in my case, since my PC weighs about 50 pounds If you wanted to save even more money, you could just watch NFL Network during the week -- I believe they're still doing the "Short cuts," where they cut the games down to 30 minutes by removing huddles and commercials? Or buy a laptop with a HDMI out and watch on your nice new LED TV
Cornerville Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 Definitely think this is cool, but I'd rather see something like what MLB.tv does - where they can broadcast the game "live" over the internet. My big thing is that I'd rather see/listen to it live than wait until later that night to watch what happened. I'm definitely going to know the result by that time, anyway. To me watching a game 'live' is an individual experience: If the Bills play at 1PM and you start watching the game at 3PM, and have ZERO knowledge of what is going on ANYWHERE in the NFL, to me it is a live game. EDIT: I think this $40.00 deal is great for those like me on the West Coast, or other different time zones
MikeSpeed Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 I signed up for this late last year and recently renewed for this season. First off, I love the fact that they archived all the 2008 games and allow you to watch them in addition to all of this year's games. I typically go out to a bar to watch the Bills live, but this allows me to watch other games that I missed or maybe even re-watch a Bills game if I missed something. The quality of the video is absolutely awesome. It can get grainy at times (usually when your video is just starting or if you jump to a new spot,) but usually is damn close to the "HD-quality" that they state on the site. One drawback is the quality of the multiple game viewing. The games that you don't have pulled up on the main screen are WAY to small to watch. You can basically see who's playing the game and that's it. Hopefully, they can improve it. Overall, it's worth the price to me and I recommend it. If you can stand not watching the game live and waiting 'til midnight EST, then it's highly worth it. I tried the "View Demo", downloaded and installed the software, but all I get is a screen that has the play controls, but nothing happens. Any suggestions?
Marv Levy Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 I say that's a good deal. Listen, the ONLY reason to get DirectTV is for NFL Sunday Ticket. Other than that, its a total waste because your local cable company gets all the same channels anyway. Remember when having a dish the size of a small tool shed in your backyard was really having "satelite" TV?? You used to be able to get all kinds of channels from Europe etc. Now, its the same as digital cable...WTF?? But I digress. So this sounds like a good deal, although you have to really avoid any contact info about the games. I hate knowing the outcome before the game is over. But since I live in Vegas, I'll just go to the sportsbook/bar and watch the Bills anytime. The commercials are getting really outta hand though with the NFL. 3.5 hrs for a game is a joke!! On a side note, NHL CenterICE is the best and you don't need a damn dish. $129.00 for the entire season and I can watch every Sabre game. But I'm a hockey fan first, football fan second - thats just me. Thanks for the info on this. GO BILLS - they need a miracle this year!!
Fezmid Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 I say that's a good deal. Listen, the ONLY reason to get DirectTV is for NFL Sunday Ticket. Other than that, its a total waste because your local cable company gets all the same channels anyway. That's not true at all. Time Warner doesn't have NFL Network, for example. And DirecTV has, by far, more regular HD channels than any cable company I've ever seen. Not to mention the customer service is much better than my experiences with cable. Plus, it has better hardware/software than most cable companies I've seen. With my HD DVR, I can add a larger hard drive to increase my recording time -- can't do that with cable. Can you stream shows you have recorded on your DVR onto a PC in your house? DirecTV has that functionality. Can you tell your DVR to record something from your cell phone? DirecTV has way more than just Sunday TIcket going for it -- although I will agree that the service is their crown jewel. That's not all they have though.
Acantha Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 To me watching a game 'live' is an individual experience: If the Bills play at 1PM and you start watching the game at 3PM, and have ZERO knowledge of what is going on ANYWHERE in the NFL, to me it is a live game. EDIT: I think this $40.00 deal is great for those like me on the West Coast, or other different time zones Yep, this is the perfect situation for me (thanks for bringing it to our attention SDS)! I usually spend all day Saturday inside watching college ball, so Sunday is my day out to do things. This is perfect as I will finally be able to watch all the Bills games, and they will be ready at 6pm.
Marv Levy Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 That's not true at all. Time Warner doesn't have NFL Network, for example. And DirecTV has, by far, more regular HD channels than any cable company I've ever seen. Not to mention the customer service is much better than my experiences with cable. Plus, it has better hardware/software than most cable companies I've seen. With my HD DVR, I can add a larger hard drive to increase my recording time -- can't do that with cable. Can you stream shows you have recorded on your DVR onto a PC in your house? DirecTV has that functionality. Can you tell your DVR to record something from your cell phone? DirecTV has way more than just Sunday TIcket going for it -- although I will agree that the service is their crown jewel. That's not all they have though. I disagree. I have COX Communications here in Vegas. We have NFL and NHL network on digital cable. Over 50 stations in HD offered. I can add a hard drive bought at any electronics store for more storage. Apple TV on Mac can download all the shows thru my wireless router. No, I can't program the DVR from my cell phone, but I have a life and I really don't care about that anyway. So in my opinion, the only thing Direct TV is good for is NFL Sunday Ticket.
bills_fan_in_raleigh Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 I synch the radio broadcast on sirius with DTV broadcast all the time. Having to wait to watch a game till midnight or later should be free. I would hardly classify this as a great alternative pay the 15$ a month for sirius and at least listen to the radio feed.
Acantha Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 I synch the radio broadcast on sirius with DTV broadcast all the time. Having to wait to watch a game till midnight or later should be free. I would hardly classify this as a great alternative pay the 15$ a month for sirius and at least listen to the radio feed. But it's not free, so "should" doesn't really take you very far. I've listened to the broadcast for years, and it's just not close to watching the game. Personally I don't think paying $2.50 per game to be able to watch every game whenever you want to be a ripoff (and that's only considering the Bills). It's almost worth it even if you could watch every game live, just to have the archive.
DieHardFan Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 the entire season: $40 https://gamerewind.nfl.com/nflgr/secure/registerform Games available after 1 hour of game ending. Commercial-free about 3 hours after the game is over. Sync up with the local radio broadcast, have integrated stats... Considering I watch the games on TiVo anyway, so I can skip the commercials (and make the 3.5 hour ordeal only a 90 minute ordeal) - this may be the way to go on my 24" iMac. Anyone have any opinions on this? Sounds like a great deal to me. Theoretically of course, if you had a mod who happened to capture all games anyways and he burned an ISO right after each Qtr and FTP'd it to a server somewhere you'd get the games virtually free and much faster. Of course you'd have to FF through the commercials yourself and you'd be denying the poor NFL their $40 so the tradeoff may not be worth it to you. Or if this same theoretical mod had a HD slingbox ...
SDS Posted August 26, 2009 Author Posted August 26, 2009 I synch the radio broadcast on sirius with DTV broadcast all the time. Having to wait to watch a game till midnight or later should be free. I would hardly classify this as a great alternative pay the 15$ a month for sirius and at least listen to the radio feed. Oh super. The peanut gallery is here. Are you going to tell us that we aren't real fans now? I'll tell you what, I'll consume my entertainment the way I want to - and you can enjoy your entertainment the way you want to. In the meantime, it appears that I've alerted several people to a valuable service despite what you proclaim.
Captain Caveman Posted August 26, 2009 Posted August 26, 2009 I disagree. I have COX Communications here in Vegas. We have NFL and NHL network on digital cable. Over 50 stations in HD offered. I can add a hard drive bought at any electronics store for more storage. Apple TV on Mac can download all the shows thru my wireless router. No, I can't program the DVR from my cell phone, but I have a life and I really don't care about that anyway. So in my opinion, the only thing Direct TV is good for is NFL Sunday Ticket. In your area, maybe the cable company is the better option. It's not that way for everyone. And it's nice that most people now have an alternative. In my last apartment, I had DirecTV and it was great. Great service, more channels than my local cable company, and very similar in price. And the option to have Sunday Ticket, yes.
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted August 26, 2009 Posted August 26, 2009 So if you had this last year, how long did it take to watch the entire replay of the game without the commercials? Were they only available after midnight EST? I signed up for this late last year and recently renewed for this season. First off, I love the fact that they archived all the 2008 games and allow you to watch them in addition to all of this year's games. I typically go out to a bar to watch the Bills live, but this allows me to watch other games that I missed or maybe even re-watch a Bills game if I missed something. The quality of the video is absolutely awesome. It can get grainy at times (usually when your video is just starting or if you jump to a new spot,) but usually is damn close to the "HD-quality" that they state on the site. One drawback is the quality of the multiple game viewing. The games that you don't have pulled up on the main screen are WAY to small to watch. You can basically see who's playing the game and that's it. Hopefully, they can improve it. Overall, it's worth the price to me and I recommend it. If you can stand not watching the game live and waiting 'til midnight EST, then it's highly worth it.
Endless Ike Posted August 26, 2009 Posted August 26, 2009 Even if this is the case, I'm definitely considering it, especially since my landlord won't let me get DirecTV. That's what I get for living in a "historical district." It's probably not up to your landlord, most historic districts have some kind of preservation board that will actually fine homeowners for modifying the exterior of their buildings to something that is not historically accurate. I've actually known someone who got fined for running a cable about 5 feet from the roof to the top story, and for replacing their windows with non-authentic energy efficient windows. The trade-off is usually some kind of tax credit or something of that ilk
Captain Caveman Posted August 26, 2009 Posted August 26, 2009 It's probably not up to your landlord, most historic districts have some kind of preservation board that will actually fine homeowners for modifying the exterior of their buildings to something that is not historically accurate. I've actually known someone who got fined for running a cable about 5 feet from the roof to the top story, and for replacing their windows with non-authentic energy efficient windows. The trade-off is usually some kind of tax credit or something of that ilk That's the gist(sp?) of it yes. It could probably be done in a way that would pass muster with the board, but the landlord didn't want to deal with it, and it being his building, I'm ok with that. Like I said, they've been really good to us and it's just not worth fighting over.
Buftex Posted August 26, 2009 Posted August 26, 2009 I'm in! I love going to the bar to watch the Bills games on Sunday, but, truth be told, you can miss a lot... I can't tell you how many times I have wanted to see Bills games over, during the week. Without Direct TV, that is impossible, living outside of WNY. I don't particularly enjoy watching things on my computer, but this would be worth it! Plus, the option to watch other games? For $40? That is outstanding!
Thurman#1 Posted August 26, 2009 Posted August 26, 2009 NOTE: It's only available in the U.S., so that leaves a lot of us out, including me.
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