I think I am going to go get a prepaid Visa and give this thing a shot. It's the DVR and on-demand nature of it which really seals it for me. I loved the VLC streams last year, and Kudos to the people who got that going, but I could only watch it as it was streaming, and not record it to watch later. I pretty much have to be able to watch these things later. So yeah, if the quality is as good as is being claimed, and it works reliably and whenever we want to watch, including archived games, then five bucks a month is a risk worth taking as far as I am concerned. And of course the side benefit is that the five bucks goes into the pockets of NEITHER SIDE IN THIS STUPID GREED-WAR THESE D-BAGS ARE INVOLVED WITH. I am not going to be collateral damage in their war.
The large credit card providers have programs like Bank of America Shopsafe (https://www.bankofamerica.com/privacy/accounts-cards/shopsafe.go) that will issue a temporary credit card number with a hard limit on-demand. Essentially an instant prepaid card. That's how I paid for Ballstreams.
by the way, what video player you used to watch the steams? I tested VLC for android and it plays the stream but with full of blocks. BSPlayer(free) works fine with both SD and HD.
Two questions for Mr. Dominant or whoever else can answer: 1) When signing up for BallstreamS.com, do you have to give any name information or just choose a username and password? (I mean if you are using a prepaid card, what all information does Ballstreams.com want to sign up for an account? name, address, phone, etc....any of that required?) 2) I have actually never bought or used a prepaid card. If you get one at Walmart as some have suggested, how do you use it to pay for something when most CC payments ask for name and address to verify you have authority to use the card? I mean if I have to give that information, even though it's prepaid, all it's doing is just making sure Ballstreams.com can't continue to charge my account illegally by it being limited to how much I have on the card; but I'm not interested in that because my bank is pretty damn good about charges that I don't authorize. I'm more concerned about how to hide my identity and still pay for the service and get a valid username and password that I can sign in with to watch the games anytime I like from anywhere I like. Oh, also Mr. Dominant, I think you mentioned something to the effect that when you sign in that you can only stream the video to other devices on your network, but is that tracked by IP address or what? I mean if I am logging in from different IP address because I'm using a VPN or just plain traveling, will that affect my ability to view ballstreams.com because I am using different IP addresses at different times? Or, does it only matter that I have my username and password and once I am logged in, that my info can't be used to log in from another IP address or location at the same exact time? Thanks to anyone that can answer these questions. It's highly appreciated.
I tested all Players I have, found MX player and BSplayer are better than VLC. I also want to know which one is better, but so far I don't know.
They do ask for name info but not Sure if they will verify against your credit card. You can watch games from other IP so long as games are watched from one IP. You can also watch as many games you want from different devices at the same time as long as your bandwidth can afford.. Not sure how their Servers go in terms of live Feeds, crossing my fingers. worst case is I can watch the archives once the games are finished,
anyone have any idea how bad the lag is in terms of real time? I can set it up to xbox and thats it? 720 ? that simple?
IF that ever happens, we'll have to wait at least until this 2013-2014 season is over. Shouldn't someone have done it by now for their NHL streams? Just a thought.
Video is streamed based on your internet connection. The maximum bitrate for their streams is 3200Kbps (3.2MB/s), and the minimum is 800Kbps (0.8MB/s). General lag time is 0-3 seconds from LIVE. (As stated from their site.)
All right since it seems a lot of CFers are getting in this deal I am probably gonna bite too. It's only $60 and if it works it's a great deal because I get to see all the other games too. If it gets shut down, at least I am going down with a few more CFers, we can get screwed of our $60 together.
1. Just username and password, and your first and last name, nothing else. I don't think they care if you use your real name or not. 2. Not sure how you could hide your identity, but why not just use PayPal? You do have PayPal, right? I personally think that would be just as safe and less hectic than going to get a prepaid Visa card. 3. You can stream as many games on as many devices as your internet speed can handle on ONE network only. I asked the admin a question just now, my question was: "Let's say I keep myself logged into BallStreams in multiple locations: my house, my friends house, my dorm, my neighbors house, my friends house in a different state, etc. And then let's say I start watching a stream at my house, and then while I'm streaming, my friend tries to stream a game from his house with my account because it's still logged in, will it let him? What will happen? Will my account be logged out at his house because I'm already streaming game at my house, or your system just won't let him stream a game because I already started streaming a game? The second I close all my streams at MY house, will my friend be able to open a stream and watch at HIS house with my account?" And the Admin's reply was: "If you're watching a stream, and your friend tries to watch a stream, the system will kick you out of your stream. If you then refresh, the system will kick your friend out - it will keep doing this until only one user is watching."
Thanks for the reply and answers. I didn't want to use Paypal because it can be tracked by the NBA just like your credit card can; if they wanted to pursue subscribers, which I don't think they ever would. I have Uverse, and hope that a deal can be made before the regular season starts with the new bankruptcy filing, albeit still probably highly unlikely. But even if I got CSN on Uverse, I might still pay the $60 for ballstreams.com just so that I can watch it how I want to watch it from my computer when traveling...all teams including the Rockets with instant archieves instead of waiting 24 to 48 hours on LP. If I miss a game on a given date because I am out late, I want to be able to watch it instantly when I get in and not 2 days later after I have read about everything already here on Clutchfans!
NBA is not like the NHL, the entire season will probably be a cat and mouse game of IP blocking and domain shifting to watch the games this way very much like sopcast.
I think I'm going with the NBA LP Broadband 5 team option. Obviously Rockets. Probably Heat and OKC. What should be my other two teams? I'm thinking Indy to give me another East team, but the west is tough: Clips, Spurs, GS, Memphis?
Okay I've been on the fence about this, but with the deadline to get the 60 dollar price being in a couple days, it's decision time. 1) I don't live in Houston (never even been) so Comcast isn't an option, deal or not. 2) I'm not worried about identity theft with the Paypal option. 3) I'm not worried about the site getting shut down due to their NHL track record (yes I know the NBA is a different animal but I feel MUCH better than if they had no cred at all). 4) I'm not worried about losing 60 dollars because the admins say they'd refund our money (prorated) if that were to happen, and even if they don't, it's 60 dollars. 5) I am slightly worried about the NBA going after subscribers (as it's the only risk) but I think it's highly unlikely and if they do they might let you go with a warning as you could claim ignorance saying that you paid for it and assumed everything was legal and legitimate as was claimed. You researched, know about their history with the NHL and assumed everything was on the up and up. 6) In the super unlikely event that they get caught, get shut down, go after subscribers, and don't let them off with a cease and desist or warning (which anything more might be bad press for them considering they'd be punishing fans who thought they were supporting their product on a site that LOOKED legit...I know, I know... But it could be spun)- in the event of ALL that- at least we're in it together. I'm in.
For me, in Thailand, the price difference with international LP is just 30$... but in the end I guess I'll do the Ballstream for the extra options available Also freezing the account until first Rockets preseason game so I can still get a refund in case the streaming isn't good enough here.
If you don't live in Houston, why don't you just go with league pass and then you wouldn't have to worry about anything?
