Considering NBA League Pass

[Andrew]

I'm looking at getting rid of Foxtel at the end of this season, as streaming services like NBA League Pass are a much cheaper option while offering a lot more content. As it stands, I'd be saving around $800 a year by cancelling Foxtel in favour of a League Pass subscription, and I wouldn't be paying for content that I'm not interested in.

Basically, I'm just wondering who else around these parts has a subscription at the moment and could vouch for its quality (or warn me of any issues). What are your experiences with it?

[[Q]]

Honestly from the first time I got League Pass (around 2006/7) to now, there have been huge improvements. Before it was cable only and all standard definition but now you get internet & mobile feeds which is awesome. You also get radio broadcasts (for when you're driving and can't watch) and it works right into your NBA Gametime app. My only HUGE drawback which you won't run into is the local blackouts. I choose not to have cable anymore, so I get burned on all Clippers AND Lakers games. Also, the price point is a bit high. In 2006, it was $160 for the season if you get it before the season but I tihnk it's more now. But for you, it should be perfect.

[Andrew]

Yeah, compared to what I'm paying per year at the moment, I'd be saving a lot of money while getting deeper content.

What about technical issues? Any common annoyances or glitches?

[[Q]]

Streams are pretty solid for the most part. Not a whole lot of lag/buffering but it does take a minute to load the game once you pick one. It gets annoying at times when I'm watching a game (I think you can watch up to 4 at a time online) and then 7/7:30pm comes around and there's a few close games I switch to and with the load time it might get you in just after that last play or a big moment. but all you have to do is just load the game up beforehand if you think you might want to watch it. Oh I'm not sure if they blackout national games for you, but I didn't get to watch TNT or ESPN games on there either.

[Andrew]

Cool, good to know. Thanks for the info!

[NovU]

The only reason why I didn't get the league pass was because it discriminates.

Playoff games are excluded for Canadians at the same price. It felt like a rip off so I didn't get it. I will consider it again next year though I really want playoff games.

The best part about league pass is that you can watch from the tablet. So I still have my 2 monitor desktop setup running while watching from the tablet. It's just nice when your job makes you sit in front of the comp 24/7.

Andrew, I suggest you try out first. They gave us 2 weeks free trial period for last few seasons for a limited time. I think they will do that again.

[Andrew]

That's definitely an option I'll consider, though the packages they're offering to Australian subscribers are pretty fair, especially compared to what I'm paying for a pay TV subscription as I mentioned. But yeah, definitely a good suggestion to keep in mind.

[[Q]]

There's no playoff games here either. Those are all nationally televised games

[Andrew]

The Australian packages do have Playoff games, so that wouldn't be an issue. They do have a cheaper Playoffs only pack that I'm thinking of getting as a test run, as well as a backup plan should ESPN Australia's coverage leave something to be desired (and it often does).

[The X]

Makes sense for you to get League Pass since you're a Bulls' fan so you can watch all/most of their games plus marquee games.

Quality can vary a little depending on popularity of the games and your internet speed. From what I've heard watching Finals live isn't great & better to watch it later on replay.

[Andrew]

I've got a pretty good connection these days, so I'm guessing I shouldn't have too many issues there (at least from my end).

I vaguely recall some folks talking about issues with being logged out and whatnot while streaming games. Are issues like that common, or has that stuff been cleaned up?

[The X]

I haven't really noticed it but in popular live games there can be bandwidth problems that are annoying. I think for Finals I'll just avoid scores/net & watch replays that night.

Bandwidth problems are obviously at their end. It was worse when they did the free trials. I'm at a steady 25MBps on NBN so it's likely not my end that could be issue.

[Andrew]

I figured as much, but for the savings and content that's available, I'm definitely willing to look into it.

I've actually been able to stream some games through the NBA Australia portal recently. For all the bad things I've heard about Sportal, it's been relatively issue-free. However, one game a week probably isn't going to cut it; I'm guessing they won't be offering much more than that even during the Playoffs, or doing something like offering the entire NBA Finals live.

[The X]

There's a NBA Australia sportal? Didn't even know

[Andrew]

NBA.com should redirect there automatically now. They're streaming one live game per week, every Friday.

[Cartar]

I haven't really noticed it but in popular live games there can be bandwidth problems that are annoying. I think for Finals I'll just avoid scores/net & watch replays that night.

Bandwidth problems are obviously at their end. It was worse when they did the free trials. I'm at a steady 25MBps on NBN so it's likely not my end that could be issue.

That's usually the biggest problem, otherwise I've had a fairly good experience so far. Other than that I can't remember any other problems (third year using it). Switching games takes some time, but usually it doesn't go over 30 seconds. As long as you have decent internet connection, you can easily get a nice picture (including full HD).

[Andrew]

That's not too bad then. I guess it comes down to not switching between games haphazardly, which I probably won't be doing if the game I'm watching is an exciting one. Appreciate all the insights!

[NovU]

I got this in the e-mail

Free Trial and NBA LEAGUE PASS special Playoffs price‏

FREE TRIAL
APRIL 19-20

The 2014 NBA Playoffs are here, and you can watch every second of the excitement live and on demand on your computer, mobile or tablet with NBA LEAGUE PASS, now at a new special Playoffs price!

Free Trial
First, check out a free trial of NBA LEAGUE PASS this weekend, on April 19th and 20th, and catch all the action from the opening weekend of the 2014 NBA Playoffs.

Special Playoffs price
Then, purchase NBA LEAGUE PASS so you can see every game of the 2014 NBA Playoffs, including the Finals, live and on demand on any of your devices!

Act fast so you don't miss a shot! To register for the Free Trial or to purchase NBA LEAGUE PASS, please visit nba.com/leaguepass.

[erudain]

I have league pass and I can't complain about it.
I'm constantly getting 1600-3000kbs quality, which of course depends on how good your internet is.

Also, depending where you are from you can get great plans/subscriptions. Luckily for me, it seems this part of the wolrd is not a great market, so they are trying to get customers with great deals.
I paid back in august 2013 $89 for the whole 2013-14 regular season for the 30 teams + playoffs.
There was the premium option for $40 more but it was a waste (basically the same stuff + the option to switch between home & away broadcast).

I've talked with friends in Chicago, and they don't have anything no-where near that great deal. Their packages are either for regular season or playoffs, and they have to chooce 1 team, 4-5 teams or the 30 teams.

The only downside of league pass is the ping/latency if you're far away from the U.S. (lol not much different of what we suffer with online gaming 24/07).
I've checked it with ESPN/TNT games we get on TV. Stream is usually 15-20secs delayed compared to live feed.

[erudain]

oohh and they have a free tryout this weekend for the start of the playoffs......you can check it out this saturday/sunday

[Alpha_]

oohh and they have a free tryout this weekend for the start of the playoffs......you can check it out this saturday/sunday

Wow, I'll check it out.