romba
Registered User
So the stream(s) I use all stopped allowing the playback feature which I heavily used. Was nothing better than after feeding and getting the kids to bed, bathing the baby, doing some housework, going out and shopping after the long workday, to sit down and enjoy the game on my own schedule without commercials and not needing to burn 2.5 hours of my night for it. I looked into other options to simply stream all the games at a minor but not insubstantial cost, but there was no single option for a chord cutter like myself and I really didn't want to have to purchase multiple apps to do this. Maybe someone knows a solution that I haven't found, but below is a workaround I've discovered.
First, I saw VLC suggested here to use as a streaming viewer platform but that didn't work for any of the streams. Downloaded the latest (beta) VLC but still, no go.
I finally came upon an ok solution, it just requires a stable stream. Microsoft has a built in recorder (meant for gaming but records video just fine), so once I get a stable stream going, I turn on the recorder and then take care of what I have to irl with the game running on my laptop. The issues are a few. If the stream stops then I need to notice it and reload it without looking at the score which means somewhat frequent peeking in to see if the colors on my laptop are changing aka the stream is running. For more stable streams this really isn't much of an issue, but even the most stable of streams will once in a while have a hitch and require a reload. The other issues are that sometimes the sound doesn't come through (don't really care so much about this), and one time the output file was incorrect. The last issue is the limit is 4 hours which for reg season is fine, but playoffs might become a problem. Similarly, if it goes to double OT in the POs, then when I peek in at 10:30 and see the game still going (don't see the score of course) I'll know due to the later hour it was tied at regulation which will be pretty annoying for me when I watch the game from the beginning. So I might have to let it go for all 4 hours, not peek in, and then just watch it in the AM if I really want to be in the dark about OT vs. No OT.
It's definitely a bit of a pain and not perfect by any means, but worth it for me as watching the games at a later time without commercials is extremely important for me and I don't want to pay a monthly fee for 3 different apps. Hope this helps anyone else who might be having the same issues.
EDIT: Just reading tonight's GDT about all the complaining regarding NYR black outs/not being covered by certain services confirms my choices.
First, I saw VLC suggested here to use as a streaming viewer platform but that didn't work for any of the streams. Downloaded the latest (beta) VLC but still, no go.
I finally came upon an ok solution, it just requires a stable stream. Microsoft has a built in recorder (meant for gaming but records video just fine), so once I get a stable stream going, I turn on the recorder and then take care of what I have to irl with the game running on my laptop. The issues are a few. If the stream stops then I need to notice it and reload it without looking at the score which means somewhat frequent peeking in to see if the colors on my laptop are changing aka the stream is running. For more stable streams this really isn't much of an issue, but even the most stable of streams will once in a while have a hitch and require a reload. The other issues are that sometimes the sound doesn't come through (don't really care so much about this), and one time the output file was incorrect. The last issue is the limit is 4 hours which for reg season is fine, but playoffs might become a problem. Similarly, if it goes to double OT in the POs, then when I peek in at 10:30 and see the game still going (don't see the score of course) I'll know due to the later hour it was tied at regulation which will be pretty annoying for me when I watch the game from the beginning. So I might have to let it go for all 4 hours, not peek in, and then just watch it in the AM if I really want to be in the dark about OT vs. No OT.
It's definitely a bit of a pain and not perfect by any means, but worth it for me as watching the games at a later time without commercials is extremely important for me and I don't want to pay a monthly fee for 3 different apps. Hope this helps anyone else who might be having the same issues.
EDIT: Just reading tonight's GDT about all the complaining regarding NYR black outs/not being covered by certain services confirms my choices.
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