I figured this is the case as well, however a few things don't add up: 1. NBA feeds are all 24 fps and these feeds are undoubtedly 60 fps. 2. Their feeds include pregame, halftime and commercials. From what I've seen, LP blocks these and shows you box scores instead. 3. There is a 0-3 sec delay in their feed vs. nearly 30-90 sec in LP. I don't think they are simply rebroadcasting... its something more sinister...
So someone want to walk me through the best way to utilize this service on your tv? For hypothetical discussion's sake, nothing more. Is Roku, PS3, DTV box, etc? The best method? Easiest to setup? Best quality?
The instructions on the ballstreams web site is pretty good on walking you through. I downloaded the plex server on my computer then added the ballstreams file as a channel. I think Roku has a plex channel or app you can add, and my PS3 is able to see the plex media server on my computer and once you have added the ballstreams channel manually, it shows up and you can view either the live or archived game. Its really cool and is a great quality feed. Not quite live TV good, but good enough.
As far as Roku: Only tried to watch it live once, and it was bad. But they said they were having problems and that it has since been fixed. So can't say with certainty. On viewing previously aired games, it is fantastic. The free Roku app is pretty easy to use. I went with the Roku instead of XBox because that way I can do a wired connection. Also, feedback on their site suggested the XBox setup was difficult. Have yet to try Chromecast, but I'm told it works well.
No, they're rebroadcasting. The League puts a limit on FPS on their web application. Don't believe me? Take a look at an Apple TV running league pass when the season starts. It's hands down the best quality on any device you can run it on. It looks rather similar to whatever Ballstreams is using. Also, ILP does have commercials. There were definitely commercials in all of the M3U8 VLC links that were passed around last season. However, sometimes it does block commercials. My guess is that Neulion has another vulnerability.
Is anyone experiencing major lag on ballstreams when trying to stream HD quality game on to your TV? I tried the following options and experienced lag on all of them: 1) Chromecast - This will only work on your laptop or desktop and not tablet. Even from my destop, I'm still getting slow lag output to chromecast/TV. 2) PS3 using Serviio media server - I'm able to set this up but again I'm getting major lag. 3) Connecting wire from desktop to TV - HD quality is still laggy over a wired connection. Only switching to low quality allows me to watch a live steram with no lag. 4) Watching directly on my desktop: Even HD live stream will skip very 7 or 8 sec. Switching to low quality has no lag. I really don't get it. My wifi works fine but streaming to a TV without lag seems unavoidable.
Yeah, it's an older HP dimension desktop. I am considering just getting a newer desktop. Another thing could be my router, which is quite old too. Of the two, which should I replace first?
If his WiFi is truly fine, this is the likely issue. There is no reason why the live stream should be skipping every 7-8sec on your desktop. dmenacela, did you do a speed test? Also, do you have these issues regardless of which server you choose? Regarding your other post Scionxa, I think you are probably correct about there being another exploit in neulion. However, I am not sure about this Apple TV thing. According to their website, it is limited to 30fps (still an increase over the 24fps by online lp). Have you seen one of these 60fps feeds? It is incredible.
So I went all in and bought six months of Ballstreams. I tried it for a week and was pretty impressed. Crossing my fingers that it doesn't get shut down. One problem though, my laptop has decent but outdated specs. And streaming HD for the entirity of an NBA game has been pushing it to its limits. I have a Chromecast, but there's just too much lag when using it w/ Ballstreams, I guess my laptop just can't pull the load. So now I'm looking for a better way to stream. I was leaning towards getting an Apple TV and using AirPlay, but I'm intrigued by the Roku now. I'd like to see if anyone has had better results than Haymitch with it. For general streaming purposes I'd rather have Apple TV, but for Ballstreams it looks like the Roku is better. And I question whether my WIFI could handle streaming HD to my phone then re-streaming it again in HD to the Apple TV using AirPlay. With the Roku I could go with a wired connection, which I always prefer. Edit: Looks like I just typed out my entire decision making process, I'm going to buy a Roku 3 when I get off today.
Thanks ShastaRocket. Where would I go to perform the speed test and what benchmark should I use to know that it's my desktop and not wifi? I have switched servers (I'm in LA so I use the West servers) before but the lag is still present.
If you're using WiFi to stream to PS3 or other devices you'll most likely have lag. They recommend to used a wired-in connection anyway.