center ice vs game center live

does anyone use the NHL game center live? was wondering how much it cost and if it was worth getting. also if you could compare that to Comcast's Center Ice.. my roommate has a HUGE tv and might just spend the money on the center ice package if its the same price. Thanks

almost 2 years ago Pavelskinator 12 comments 0 recs |

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Center Ice is definitely more than GameCenter Live. I guess it comes down to:

a) How much you want to spend
b) If you think you’d enjoy watching games on your computer rather than on a giant TV, though you could easily hook your computer up to your TV if it came down to it
c) Do you have DVR? If not, the DVR features of GameCenter may make that the more appealing choice

I’ve been weighing the two myself for the past week, because I plan on investing in Center Ice this coming season for the first time and I wanted to be sure it was the right choice for me too.

..:Fear The Fin:..
The artist formerly known as cyoung

by OtherKid on Jul 20, 2010 9:08 PM PDT reply actions

Oh, and multiple games at once with GCL is also a pretty sweet feature. It’s definitely more interactive than CI.

..:Fear The Fin:..
The artist formerly known as cyoung

by OtherKid on Jul 20, 2010 9:10 PM PDT up reply actions

the multiple games at once is what i’m liking the most. I dont think i’ll have a DVR, but who knows. I’m a poor college kid so idk what my roommate will be willing to go for. also its an old tv, not one of the crazy new plasma ones, its a rear projection one, im not even sure of the quality of it so games could look like shit on it lol.

I appreciate the reply!

"Don’t fuck around with Marleau. He’s like an incredibly awkward Jedi master." -adingoatemyname

by Pavelskinator on Jul 20, 2010 9:58 PM PDT up reply actions

The problem with Center Ice is that most games are broadcast in standard definition. I’m on Verizon FioS and last year we only had 1 HD channel and 14 SD channels for hockey with CI. Which meant most of the time I’m watching games in blurry vision.

The plus side to CI is that it is going straight to you TV and you don’t have to hook your PC up to it to watch it on there (also, even in SD the quality was higher on CI than on GC for me). We also tend to get the SJ feed a lot more on CI than they do on GC as well.

"Douglas Murray is a humongous human being." – Drew Remenda

by Evilducks on Jul 21, 2010 1:39 AM PDT up reply actions

Thanks for the reply! I will be in Chico which does get the local feed for sharks games. I just want to be a lazy ass and watch hockey all the time lol. If the TV can be hooked up to a cpu then I’ll probably end up with game center since it seems to be cheaper and since the quality will roughly be the same it makes sense. Plus I won’t be able to be on the TV whenever I want so I could watch in my room or in the library lol.

"Don’t fuck around with Marleau. He’s like an incredibly awkward Jedi master." -adingoatemyname

by Pavelskinator on Jul 21, 2010 11:55 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions

Hey Dylwaffle.

I have NHL Game Center Live right now from last season. We bought it because none of us wanted to pay for cable in Berkeley. If you want to check it out, email me from someone’s computer when you can and I can let you sign into it and you can check out the Archive of last season’s games to get a feel for it.

I will say this though, the downside is that because of Versus and the crappy way NHL GCL handles local games, there is the chance that you won’t be able to watch Sharks games live from Chico. If you’re near the local team and the games are being broadcast on local cable or whatnot, you can’t use GCL to watch the game live online. You have to wait like 3 days after the game to see it. So basically I had to watch the entire Playoffs on atdhe.net after paying for the damn GCL. =/ Also, you need pretty legit internet speed to get the games really clear with their Neulion player.

So your main concern should be figuring out whether or not Chico is far enough away to be able to watch games live on it. If you aren’t able to, then it’s a waste.

by coleman89 on Jul 21, 2010 12:26 AM PDT reply actions

im assuming this is Chris lol?

I will be getting the sharks games locally in chico. Or should be anyway. Pretty sure it comes with standard local cable from comcast. Its pretty much so I can be hella lazy and watch hockey all day everyday (probably not smart with potentially 19 units and work) but yea. Email it to me at dcarmor927@gmail.com. Oh and hurry back from china dude. I think I’m missing INO as bad as you are now lol.

"Don’t fuck around with Marleau. He’s like an incredibly awkward Jedi master." -adingoatemyname

by Pavelskinator on Jul 21, 2010 11:50 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions

Yee yee.

I sent you an email, so you should be able to check it out when you’re at your computer next. Make sure you have a quick internet connection, otherwise you might be disappointed if the game gets choppy. The quality can be amazing though if its fast.

I think you might have a problem with watching games live on it if you are in fact getting the games in Chico. I would ask around and see if it will affect you. Because like I said, if they don’t play the Sharks games live for you, it’s pretty much a waste of money unless you’re using it to watch tons of other teams. Hayden got to watch the Sens and Edgar watched the Kings, so it worked out for them. I got screwed though because of the cable contracts =/

We bought access to it I think like a month before Playoffs started so it only cost about $100 then. I think for the whole season it will be pretty expensive. But it looks hella nice when you connect your computer to a TV lol. And trust me, I’m dying to get home. It’s so effin’ hot here, it makes the time we worked at Larry’s feel like we were in Tahoe. And I don’t know if I told you yet, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to live at home/Anna’s house next year and commute. Our apartment plans fell through so we all split. Which is ironic as shit because you’re leaving this year… fail. Oh well lol.

by coleman89 on Jul 21, 2010 7:01 PM PDT up reply actions

P.S.

Lovin’ your username, haha. :P

by coleman89 on Jul 21, 2010 7:02 PM PDT up reply actions

Also how much was it?

"Don’t fuck around with Marleau. He’s like an incredibly awkward Jedi master." -adingoatemyname

by Pavelskinator on Jul 21, 2010 12:00 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions

I had Gamecenter Live for most of the year before I had unrelated issues with my credit card being cancelled. I had no way of getting Center Ice, since I lived in a dorm and didn’t own a TV.

From my experience, Gamecenter Live is worth it. I loved the DVR feature after having to deal with the ATDHE live streams, and the ability to watch archived games was awesome. I watched Game 5 against Dallas and the busting of schnides against Calgary so many times. Watching other teams is also a perk – it’s fun hearing about some sort of special moment happening and then being able to watch it.

The bad parts about it – if you live within a team’s territory, you are blacked out of all those games. For me, I lived in the LA area, so 12 games per season were blocked out. If you live in an area that the NHL considers Sharks territory (which is quite a bit of California), all the games will be blacked out. Also, if you’re a fan of Randy and Drew, through the first 56 games last season, they went with the Sharks broadcast only 10 times. Listening to other teams’ broadcasts makes you realize how lucky we are.

"I think I realized after the second or third punch, I should have taken his helmet off sooner." - Ryane Clowe
Proud member of the "Doug Wilson for Governor" Club
Fools and Sages

by mymclife on Jul 21, 2010 9:32 PM PDT reply actions

Thanks for the reply! i will be able to get the Sharks coverage since ill still be in CA. Thankfully Chico is considered Shark’s Territory lol. (i have the sign in my apartment window there lol) its mostly just for watching other out of market games. for no reason at all i like the hurricanes in the east and there is no way here in CA to get those games really.

"Don’t fuck around with Marleau. He’s like an incredibly awkward Jedi master." -adingoatemyname

by Pavelskinator on Jul 22, 2010 1:41 PM PDT up reply actions