NHL Center Ice - Worth It?

HomeBrew1901

Has Season 1 of "Manimal" on Blu Ray
SoSH Member
For the most part I only watch the Bruins and now that I'm living out of state and in Penguins and Capitals Territory I'm considering buying it for the season.

It is worth the $160 or are there other alternatives?
 

FL4WL3SS

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2006
14,913
Andy Brickley's potty mouth
Unfortunately it does not allow multiple people to be logged in with the same user ID, otherwise I'd offer to split it with you.
 
It is very much worth it, however.
 
EDIT: Ignore me, was thinking Gamecenter not Center Ice. Get Gamecenter.
 

LogansDad

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
29,152
Alamogordo
Absolutely worth it.... way more worth the money than the NFL package, IMO. 
 
That said, I watch a lot more hockey than just the Bruins, so the value of it for you may vary.
 

Monbo Jumbo

Hates the crockpot
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 5, 2003
25,231
the other Athens
Vote hockeystreams.com.
 
However, they've closed to new registrations. But you can perhaps get in with a referral. 
 
 
 
We're about 20 days away from the pre-season, and here's what you can expect for the upcoming year.

- 100% Home and Away feeds (up from about 40% last season)
- Home and Away archives
- True Live, zero-delay feeds, on both home and away
- NHL, AHL, OHL, QMJHL, WHL, WORLD JUNIORS, and more
- Further enhanced delivery networks (up about 500% in resources from last season, where we had the best year ever in terms of quality and reviews)
- Chromecast supportnnPricing will remain the same as last year! (Yay to no price hikes!)

1 Day - $7.49
1 Week - $12.99
1 Month - $17.99
3 Months - $47.99
6 Months - $69.99
1 Year - $109.99

There is an early bird special running NOW until September 13th, 1 year for $99.99 - See more at: http://www6.hockeystreams.com/support/categories/1/announcements/8453/20142015+Season#sthash.Vyr5rNqc.dpuf
 
It looks like if you ask them for an invite, you can get in. I've have it for about 5 seasons now. Their feeds are as good or better than NHLs
 
edit - they have an app for tablet watching. 
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
I don't get CI, but do have a Gamecenter, which is the NHL streaming service. IIRC it's a little cheaper, and as of a few years ago CI didn't have every game in HD which was the big drawback at the time. I would assume that has changed, but I've just stuck with the Gamecenter product. I love it, and usually stream games through my AppleTV or PS3 and haven't had any problems at all.
 

Nuf Ced

stupidity monitor
SoSH Member
Jul 27, 2001
9,716
Cape Ann
The NHL Gamecenter Live version is worth it if you are out-of-market. 
 
What it has that Center Ice does not:
 
Always HD quality
Live streaming on a PC, smartphone, tablet, or internet streaming device like XBox 360 or AppleTV
Post-game replays when it is convenient for you
Classic games
Choice of home or away broadcast (not always given a choice on CI)
Ability to watch several games at once in multigame view.
 

McDrew

Set Adrift on Memory Bliss
SoSH Member
Apr 11, 2006
4,060
Portland, OR
IF they remove the local blackout restrictions (MLB is doing that in 2015), I'll cut the cable and just get my Bruins that way.  (I can get everything else I watch for free online). 
 

TFP

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Dec 10, 2007
20,380
Gamecenter is absolutely worth it, moreso than Center Ice if you have a way to stream to your TV (Roku, AppleTV, etc). All the things Nuf Ced mentioned apply, and having it on an iPad or iPhone full time on the road is awesome. Well worth the money it costs.
 

The Napkin

wise ass al kaprielian
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 13, 2002
28,535
right here
Okay, so talk to me like I'm an idiot.
I have my old PS3 gathering dust. I can hook it up to our router then hook it to the tv and watch any game I want to? There's an app or something on the PS?
On the main tv it'd be wired directly to the airport rather than wireless so the connection should be pretty good?
And I can also log on on my ipad anytime I want?
What if someone wants to watch a game in the bedroom and someone wants to watch a different game in the living room or ipad or whatever?
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
1. Yes, there is an app with the ps3. Buy subscription, download free app, watch any NHL game you want.

2. Not sure, sounds right.

3. Yep. I've had a game on my computer and a game on my TV at the same time using one subscription.
 

semsox

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 14, 2004
1,742
Charlottesville
Also, regarding blackouts, there are numerous services that allow you to relatively cheaply bypass them. I cut cable about 3 years ago, and have combined MLB.tv and NHL Gamecenter with a DNS re-router service so that no blackouts (local or national) affect me. I personally use unblock-us ($5/month), but others are also available. Additionally, I know google chrome has a similar free app for browser watching that will do the same thing. 
 

Spacemans Bong

chapeau rose
SoSH Member
Yeah yeah yeah.
 
Actually, this would make me choose for one or the other.
 
1) Does GCL carry French streams? I'd rather sit there with a dictionary of French hockey terms than listen to Steigerwald and Errey.
 
2) Does hockeystreams carry intermission stuff? Not that I must have it...but you kinda feel second-class when Cherry is ranting about whatever, everybody's tweeting about it, and you've got a blank screen because Gamecenter doesn't carry that crap.
 
And 3) Anybody else have Roku? Does hockeystreams work on Roku?
 

savage362

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 16, 2003
1,389
Vermont
I just jumped on the hockeystreams bandwagon and froze the account until the start of the regular season. I had previously relied on my slingbox and other free streams but the quality isn't what I'd like it to be.
 

ngruz25

Bibby
SoSH Member
Sep 20, 2005
18,976
Pittsburgh, PA
I tried hockeystreams a couple years ago but ditched it for GameCenter - the quality was subpar and it buffered on me alllllllll the time. Maybe the streams have gotten better, and the minor league games are a definite plus, but the service as a whole didn't come close to matching GameCenter's quality, especially for in-game highlights and whatnot. I never have time to watch a full game, so the ability to jump around to important parts of the game is key to me.
 

Nomar813

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
7,843
RSN Diaspora said:
Does GameCenter keep pace with live TV? If not, how far off is it?
Following along with game threads, I think Gamecenter is about 30 seconds behind live, and about 1:30 behind if you're using a Roku or Playstation. The picture quality and stream speed/connection are great. I love the availability of several full seasons of archives and classic games. I think it's the best service available from any of the four leagues.
 

Murby

New Member
Mar 16, 2006
1,790
Boston Metro
I just got NHL15 from EA Sports this week and it cam with a code for $25 off NHL Game Center Live. 
 
Here's the code, first one to redeem it wins (I only need Bruins games and I live in market, so...): B3RGMMF4FRJE
 
Enjoy.
 

MoGator71

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
5,117
What's the deal with hockeystreams, is it legit/legal? I don't object to watching an illegal stream but I'll be damned if I'll pay for one.
 
I think I might do GC this year, if it will work on my tablet (a Playbook) or if I decide to pull the trigger on a PS3. 
 

RoyalOrange

New Member
Jul 24, 2009
172
Can someone with hockeystreams experience enlighten me:
 
I live in Tennessee, so no issues with local blackouts or anything.
I'm really only interested in watching Bruins games. By my count we have 55 NESN-only games, 18 on NBC/NBCSports, and 9 on NHL Network.
I do not have cable. I have a PS3 for one TV, an AppleTV for another TV, and one more Smart TV.
I've used GameCenter in the past, I'm just trying to determine if hockeystreams would be a better or worse option. 
If I remember correctly, GameCenter will not stream the 27 NBC + NHL Network games. I know I can stream the NBC ones on the NBCSports app, but the NHL Network games may be an issue.
How well does hockeystreams work through my PS3? I read on their site that you can do it, but it requires an additional program, so I wanted to hear how well that worked.
How well does it work through an iPhone or iPad? I read on their site that it is also iOS compatible, but I wanted to hear from somebody with experience on a mobile Apple device how well it worked.
Can I use it through my AppleTV? I figured you probably could if it could be used on an iPhone or iPad through mirroring or something, just wanted to hear about the quality from someone with experience again.
Will I will be able to watch all 82 games with hockeystreams?
 
Thanks in advance for any help, sorry to sound noobish, just want to figure out the best way to watch the Bruins out of market.
 

MoGator71

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
5,117
MoGator71 said:
What's the deal with hockeystreams, is it legit/legal? I don't object to watching an illegal stream but I'll be damned if I'll pay for one.
 
I think I might do GC this year, if it will work on my tablet (a Playbook) or if I decide to pull the trigger on a PS3. 
Took a peek at hockeystreams. Close registration = sketchy, and calling my subscription a "donation" = very sketchy. Think I'll stick with GCL.
 

savage362

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 16, 2003
1,389
Vermont
I took a chance with hockeystreams this season. I watched the last preseason game and had a jumpy stream which almost made me cancel my "subscription" but I had watched another game without any issues. So far, the first three games of the regular season have been perfect. Perfect picture quality (so much that my girlfriend even say, "This looks a lot clearer than usual") and I've only had 1 or 2 instances where the stream got stuck for a couple of seconds before catching up.
 
While the who thing does seem a bit suspect with having to pay for "illegal" streams, I'm quite satisfied. It's become my go-to over the slingbox I have. 
 

knuck

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 15, 2010
148
Austin, TX
Has anyone had any luck with NHL Gamecenter? Would I be able to use the same account on multiple devices at the same time?
 
I've had great success with mlb.tv sharing the account across devices, just curious if it works the same for.
 

Catcher Block

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 7, 2006
5,826
St. Louis
My wife and I have successfully used it on two devices at home at the same time (Apple TV and an iPad), so you shouldn't have a problem there.
 

MiracleOfO2704

not AWOL
SoSH Member
Jul 12, 2005
9,528
The Island
I have it on a small army of devices, both in the US and Canada. Once in a while, I'd get some squawk on my XBox, but otherwise it runs just fine on multiple devices.

I'll look to test this in the US, but while in Nova Scotia last week, I was able to get both in-market and out-of-market games via GCL. If that's the new rule of the land, it's so insanely worth it.
 

ajml

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2005
441
Was trying to decide between GameCenter and Cente Ice. The free trial is enough to turn me off Center Ice (pretty ridiculous Comcast shows ONE HD game). Does anyone know what TV brands have apps for GameCenter? For example with MLB TV my Samsung tvs had an app to get it without another device but my Sonys didn't.