The Venting Spot

[IPv6Freely 2093]

7 minutes ago, chippa13 said:

In short, it is ok to pirate if you personally feel the going rate is too high. Got it.

That's not at all what I said. 

[psulion22 402]

On 10/23/2017 at 2:31 PM, IPv6Freely said:

I disagree with your second sentence. I have always said piracy is best combated by two things: affordability and accessibility. Give me an option to stream what I want, when I want, for a decent price and it's not worth the effort to pirate. 

Eg. Yes sure I can go ahead and hit /r/NHLstreams to watch every game, but the NHL.tv package is more convenient and not that expensive so I don't bother. Of course this has worked even better in the music and movie world. Spotify and Apple Music have made it so I can listen to ALMOST anything I could possibly want, any time I want, for a very low price. I haven't pirated music in years at this point. Heck, I'm at a point where it's so rare that I can't get what I need that I will actually shell out money for an album if that does happen.

Movies have it figured out for the most part with things like Netflix and Amazon. And even renting a movie on iTunes is affordable. I haven't pirated a movie in a long time.

TV has started to get it figured out but there's so many sources it makes it difficult. Hulu and HBO for example are great but I hate paying for both (but still do). They're getting there. I still pirate some TV shows here and there, usually because I don't want commercials (why do I get commercials for a service I'm paying for) because it kills the mood of the show when there's loud, annoying commercials right in the middle of a tense scene.

I've been a cord-cutter for years now (I haven't had cable since... 2010?) and at first I had to search for and download a LOT of stuff. Now, almost nothing. Heck, you know things have become more affordable and accessible when I get emails from my private trackers warning me that I haven't logged in in 90+ days. 

The second part of what you said is true to a point for sure but I like to think (hope?) that content creators are seeing the writing on the wall and instead of trying their best to screw their consumers, they should be finding new ways for people to obtain that content in accessible and affordable ways. 

To tie this back to sports, I can only hope that at SOME point the "TV deals" that are such big business stop being so lucrative. The concept of a blackout in 2017 is a bit ridiculous. If they need to up the price of NHL.tv to make up for the loss of revenue from NOT watching on TV because they don't have cable, then so be it. I just hope it eventually sorts itself out. 

I'm not necessarily talking about piracy.  I'm talking about things like sports highlights, or Hulu/Netflix, or youtube.  As was posted in this thread - why pay to watch an NHL game when you can get highlights for free online?  Why pay for cable when you can pay a fraction to get a streaming service?  As the owners of the content lose revenue they will start getting it elsewhere.  That means no more free highlights, or third party content on streaming services.  If you want NBC content, you're going to either use an over air antenna or pay for NBC's streaming service.  By the time you add up the cost of all of the individual services, you're going to have been close to better off sticking with cable.  And cable rates will go down, possibly to include streaming only service, to make sure that's true.

Heavy users like you may find ways around it.  But for the average consumer who has cut the cord because the cost has outweighed the difficulty finding and compiling content, the total cost for all the a la carte services will exceed the cost of the package they were getting before.

Edited October 25, 2017 by psulion22

[IPv6Freely 2093]

3 hours ago, psulion22 said:

I'm not necessarily talking about piracy.  I'm talking about things like sports highlights, or Hulu/Netflix, or youtube.  As was posted in this thread - why pay to watch an NHL game when you can get highlights for free online?  Why pay for cable when you can pay a fraction to get a streaming service?  As the owners of the content lose revenue they will start getting it elsewhere.  That means no more free highlights, or third party content on streaming services.  If you want NBC content, you're going to either use an over air antenna or pay for NBC's streaming service.  By the time you add up the cost of all of the individual services, you're going to have been close to better off sticking with cable.  And cable rates will go down, possibly to include streaming only service, to make sure that's true.

Heavy users like you may find ways around it.  But for the average consumer who has cut the cord because the cost has outweighed the difficulty finding and compiling content, the total cost for all the a la carte services will exceed the cost of the package they were getting before.

Sorry when I read “getting it free elsewhere” I assumed you meant grey area methods. 

[strosedefence34 175]

I think as more and more people are cutting the cord the price of internet services will go up since the cable companies need to get theirs, and people need internet in this day.  One thing I would like to see is something similar to sling tv except I get to choose which channels I want.  I can see it being a flat fee of say $20 a month for 5 networks add an extra few bucks for premium cable.  Realistically people with cable watch the same 5-10 channels and the rest is all just there and unneeded.  Or the other thing that might happen is as internet service prices go up they may include an option for logging into the network streams like they offer now.  

I cut the cord a few years ago, but I cheated since my Dad can't live without 1,000 channels I have a login to his Verizon FiOS account and still can watch live tv through various Apple TV apps.  With that being said I could use MSG GO to watch the Islanders, Devils and Rangers.  I also log into NBCSN.  I still choose to pay for the NHL package for the sear convenience of having the NHL TV app on my Apple TV.  Maybe if MSG GO comes out with an app for the Apple TV I won't renew my NHL package.  I do like being able to watch random games though.  I also agree blackouts in 2017 are dumb.  I'd gladly pay an extra few dollars for the NHL package if it excluded all blackouts including things on NBCSN and NHL Network.

[psulion22 402]

17 hours ago, IPv6Freely said:

Sorry when I read “getting it free elsewhere” I assumed you meant grey area methods. 

Yeah, I figured.  No worries, that's why I clarified it.

1 hour ago, strosedefence34 said:

I think as more and more people are cutting the cord the price of internet services will go up since the cable companies need to get theirs, and people need internet in this day.  One thing I would like to see is something similar to sling tv except I get to choose which channels I want.  I can see it being a flat fee of say $20 a month for 5 networks add an extra few bucks for premium cable.  Realistically people with cable watch the same 5-10 channels and the rest is all just there and unneeded.  Or the other thing that might happen is as internet service prices go up they may include an option for logging into the network streams like they offer now.  

I cut the cord a few years ago, but I cheated since my Dad can't live without 1,000 channels I have a login to his Verizon FiOS account and still can watch live tv through various Apple TV apps.  With that being said I could use MSG GO to watch the Islanders, Devils and Rangers.  I also log into NBCSN.  I still choose to pay for the NHL package for the sear convenience of having the NHL TV app on my Apple TV.  Maybe if MSG GO comes out with an app for the Apple TV I won't renew my NHL package.  I do like being able to watch random games though.  I also agree blackouts in 2017 are dumb.  I'd gladly pay an extra few dollars for the NHL package if it excluded all blackouts including things on NBCSN and NHL Network.

This is exactly where I'm at.  I watch maybe 20-25 channels, plus the movie channels.  I would very happily stop paying $200+ a month to drop the 500+ channels I don't watch and go to streaming services.  But I'm a browser, I just flip on the guide and find something that I want to watch.  Mostly, I don't want to have to invest my attention or time into something either.  I watch a lot of syndicated sitcoms and Food/Cooking network because it's mindless entertainment.  As it stands right now, there is no way I know of to compile the content from all of the various streaming services into one menu.  I have less than zero interest in having to go in and out of each individual service app to have to pick something.  I currently have subscriptions to Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon and don't use them because the process of filtering through everything is tedious.  When AppleTV can pull all of the content out of the apps and put it in one list for me to scroll through, and all of those apps possibly add live tv streaming, I'll cut the cord.  Until then, I'm stuck paying for satellite.

[IPv6Freely 2093]

34 minutes ago, psulion22 said:

Yeah, I figured.  No worries, that's why I clarified it.

This is exactly where I'm at.  I watch maybe 20-25 channels, plus the movie channels.  I would very happily stop paying $200+ a month to drop the 500+ channels I don't watch and go to streaming services.  But I'm a browser, I just flip on the guide and find something that I want to watch.  Mostly, I don't want to have to invest my attention or time into something either.  I watch a lot of syndicated sitcoms and Food/Cooking network because it's mindless entertainment.  As it stands right now, there is no way I know of to compile the content from all of the various streaming services into one menu.  I have less than zero interest in having to go in and out of each individual service app to have to pick something.  I currently have subscriptions to Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon and don't use them because the process of filtering through everything is tedious.  When AppleTV can pull all of the content out of the apps and put it in one list for me to scroll through, and all of those apps possibly add live tv streaming, I'll cut the cord.  Until then, I'm stuck paying for satellite.

You know the AppleTV does this, right? 

[psulion22 402]

Just now, IPv6Freely said:

You know the AppleTV does this, right? 

It does?  I asked the people at the Apple Store and they said not yet.

[IPv6Freely 2093]

Just now, psulion22 said:

It does?  I asked the people at the Apple Store and they said not yet.

The 'TV' app pulls from everything else eg. Hulu, Netflix, iTunes, etc etc. 

However, still waiting for Amazon app. They said its coming but it's not out yet. 

[psulion22 402]

18 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

The 'TV' app pulls from everything else eg. Hulu, Netflix, iTunes, etc etc. 

However, still waiting for Amazon app. They said its coming but it's not out yet. 

Awesome, thanks!  It's not perfect yet, because a lot of the content still requires a tv provider.  But I'm sure it will get there sooner or later.

[strosedefence34 175]

1 hour ago, IPv6Freely said:

You know the AppleTV does this, right? 

 

1 hour ago, psulion22 said:

It does?  I asked the people at the Apple Store and they said not yet.

As a former Apple employee, I can tell you about 85% of the people on the floor don't know anything.  Yes Apple TV does have the TV app and it will remember shows you watch on primetime and Netflix etc and pull them up.  I was like you where I would pop on the guide check what was on and scroll until I found something.  Once I cut the cord I had to find a different way of doing this.  Now, for the most part, I know when I come home from work what is going to be on each app at that time.  On the weekends is usually when I am searching for something.  As of late though I have been working on my house so no time to watch tv on the weekends.  Its an adjustment for sure, but it's nice not having that $200 a month bill.  I would try looking into SlingTV its almost like baby steps into cutting the cord.  We were going to do that until we realized I could just use my dad's login for everything.  I also like the options of getting the East and West time zones on the different apps.

[WaukeshaTG 2]

Hip pain for about 2 years now.  Only when laying on my back, putting my knees up and letting my leg fall to the side.  Finally asked the doc about it he he suggested PT.  4 weeks of PT made it feel terrible, not just laying down, but all the time.  X-ray confirmed pretty bad hip impingements on both hips, pincer and cam on both sides.  Difference was, my left hip labrum stretches, my right one didn't.  Severely torn labrum, significant lack of cartilage.  Trying a shot first, otherwise surgery to file down femoral head and attempt to repair labrum.  Only option on the labrum would be to use cadaver parts, as mine basically has no chance of holding stitches/sutures by itself.  

 

I turn 35 on Sunday, so not that old!  My kids just moved up to Mites this year, so plenty of skating ahead of me as well.  I hope the shot works get me back to how I was prior to PT - I can live with that!  

[IPv6Freely 2093]

2 hours ago, psulion22 said:

Awesome, thanks!  It's not perfect yet, because a lot of the content still requires a tv provider.  But I'm sure it will get there sooner or later.

Yeah, we have a Cox account for a bunch of it. The DVR is still in the box. So I guess not technically cord-cutters. However, we're on the lowest plan possible though just for smaller things that don't have their own individual subscriptions, like HGTV (Fixer Upper!), CBS (Star Trek!), and FX (Archer!). 

So definitely a ways to go, but still a whole hell of a lot easier than torrenting them all (especially on private trackers where you have to worry about your ratio and such). It's just a matter of time.

37 minutes ago, strosedefence34 said:

As a former Apple employee, I can tell you about 85% of the people on the floor don't know anything.  Yes Apple TV does have the TV app and it will remember shows you watch on primetime and Netflix etc and pull them up.  I was like you where I would pop on the guide check what was on and scroll until I found something.  Once I cut the cord I had to find a different way of doing this.  Now, for the most part, I know when I come home from work what is going to be on each app at that time.  On the weekends is usually when I am searching for something.  As of late though I have been working on my house so no time to watch tv on the weekends.  Its an adjustment for sure, but it's nice not having that $200 a month bill.  I would try looking into SlingTV its almost like baby steps into cutting the cord.  We were going to do that until we realized I could just use my dad's login for everything.  I also like the options of getting the East and West time zones on the different apps.

I was never a channel surfer so luckily that hasn't been an issue for me. I watch a couple specific shows, and that's it. If I don't feel like using my brain while watching TV, its either HGTV or random YouTube stuff. SlingTV looks like it could be a solution but I'll have to take a look to see if it has what I need.

Funny that Sling has gone into streaming. I still have the ORIGINAL slingbox that connected to my mom's cable back in Canada so I could watch hockey down here back in 2006 or so. Obviously it's not useful anymore but its interesting to see where Sling has taken things over time. 

Somebody mentioned that the price of all these streaming services adds up to more than the cost of cable. Maybe true. Depends what you buy. If you buy a cable package and add on HBO, Showtime, Starz and other stuff its expensive. Am I paying more right now for my Cox account + NHL.tv + all the various streaming services than I would have if I just had a full cable subscription? Maybe I am. But I'm also willing to do so in the hopes that these services advance (and the fact that the convenience factor of an AppleTV is huge for me). It's already come a LONG way. 

[strosedefence34 175]

7 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

Yeah, we have a Cox account for a bunch of it. The DVR is still in the box. So I guess not technically cord-cutters. However, we're on the lowest plan possible though just for smaller things that don't have their own individual subscriptions, like HGTV (Fixer Upper!), CBS (Star Trek!), and FX (Archer!). 

So definitely a ways to go, but still a whole hell of a lot easier than torrenting them all (especially on private trackers where you have to worry about your ratio and such). It's just a matter of time.

I was never a channel surfer so luckily that hasn't been an issue for me. I watch a couple specific shows, and that's it. If I don't feel like using my brain while watching TV, its either HGTV or random YouTube stuff. SlingTV looks like it could be a solution but I'll have to take a look to see if it has what I need.

Funny that Sling has gone into streaming. I still have the ORIGINAL slingbox that connected to my mom's cable back in Canada so I could watch hockey down here back in 2006 or so. Obviously it's not useful anymore but its interesting to see where Sling has taken things over time. 

Somebody mentioned that the price of all these streaming services adds up to more than the cost of cable. Maybe true. Depends what you buy. If you buy a cable package and add on HBO, Showtime, Starz and other stuff its expensive. Am I paying more right now for my Cox account + NHL.tv + all the various streaming services than I would have if I just had a full cable subscription? Maybe I am. But I'm also willing to do so in the hopes that these services advance (and the fact that the convenience factor of an AppleTV is huge for me). It's already come a LONG way. 

I totally agree.  Apple made a huge improvement with the 4th gen apple tv.  Like I stated earlier i use my dads cable login for most of the stuff (HGTV is one of them the wife and I are pretty sad fixer upper is going away).  I also use my brothers netflix account.  It's not that the wife and I can't afford the $10 a month it's more why should we if someone is offering it to us for free.  Realistically the only thing I pay for besides the internet is NHL.  We have prime and our tv supports prime but i'm waiting for the prime app.  We don't have much interest in hulu.  If everything went away I would just subscribe to sling.  Its cheaper than a cable plan anyway.

[IPv6Freely 2093]

Our league is so ridiculous that every team has a losing record except the top team. 

[IPv6Freely 2093]

7 minutes ago, strosedefence34 said:

I totally agree.  Apple made a huge improvement with the 4th gen apple tv.  Like I stated earlier i use my dads cable login for most of the stuff (HGTV is one of them the wife and I are pretty sad fixer upper is going away).  I also use my brothers netflix account.  It's not that the wife and I can't afford the $10 a month it's more why should we if someone is offering it to us for free.  Realistically the only thing I pay for besides the internet is NHL.  We have prime and our tv supports prime but i'm waiting for the prime app.  We don't have much interest in hulu.  If everything went away I would just subscribe to sling.  Its cheaper than a cable plan anyway.

We have a couple Hulu shows we watch. Brooklyn 99, Fresh of the Boat, and Lucifer. 

I don't care much about prime except for The Grand Tour (and I guess I'll start using them for movies?)

Definitely need to look into Sling. 

[JR Boucicaut 3802]

I’m on DirecTV Now because I get a $25 credit through AT&T, and since I’m an early adopter, HBO’s free. Comes out to $10 a month, and with Apple TV, I have access to the channel apps through my login. 

I don’t watch much TV, but E is pretty satisfied with it. 

[beerleaguecaptain 999]

On 10/26/2017 at 2:33 PM, WaukeshaTG said:

Hip pain for about 2 years now.  Only when laying on my back, putting my knees up and letting my leg fall to the side.  Finally asked the doc about it he he suggested PT.  4 weeks of PT made it feel terrible, not just laying down, but all the time.  X-ray confirmed pretty bad hip impingements on both hips, pincer and cam on both sides.  Difference was, my left hip labrum stretches, my right one didn't.  Severely torn labrum, significant lack of cartilage.  Trying a shot first, otherwise surgery to file down femoral head and attempt to repair labrum.  Only option on the labrum would be to use cadaver parts, as mine basically has no chance of holding stitches/sutures by itself.  

 

I turn 35 on Sunday, so not that old!  My kids just moved up to Mites this year, so plenty of skating ahead of me as well.  I hope the shot works get me back to how I was prior to PT - I can live with that!  

I had surgery for my FAI and had great results.  I was 45.  @Wolfpack_1986 also had the surgery.  My experience tells me that the shot will not help you.  I tried it too.  Find the best doc you can.  Phillipon in Colorado and Kelly in NYC are the 2 best. I have a guy on LI who is also excellent thank God...  Good luck

[WaukeshaTG 2]

22 hours ago, dkmiller3356 said:

I had surgery for my FAI and had great results.  I was 45.  @Wolfpack_1986 also had the surgery.  My experience tells me that the shot will not help you.  I tried it too.  Find the best doc you can.  Phillipon in Colorado and Kelly in NYC are the 2 best. I have a guy on LI who is also excellent thank God...  Good luck

Good to hear!  How long were you out?  The first doctor I met with indicated 6-8 weeks on crutches and 8-10 months to return to competitive hockey.  I play B level hockey, so a decent pace of play.  I've been given some names of doctors here in Milwaukee, so if the shot doesn't work I'm going to meet with a few other doctors within my health insurance network to get more opinions.  

[beerleaguecaptain 999]

5 hours ago, WaukeshaTG said:

Good to hear!  How long were you out?  The first doctor I met with indicated 6-8 weeks on crutches and 8-10 months to return to competitive hockey.  I play B level hockey, so a decent pace of play.  I've been given some names of doctors here in Milwaukee, so if the shot doesn't work I'm going to meet with a few other doctors within my health insurance network to get more opinions.  

My recovery was quicker and perhaps my issues less complicated.  I was skating in circles at 4 months.  Playing at 6 months and I'd say 100% at i year.  If you really have no cartilage left he might be considering microfracture surgery.  That's a hole 'nother kettle of fish!!!  Make sure your doc has lots of experience with this and has been a team orthopedic surgeon.

[JoeyJ0506 192]

Went back to play a puck in the corner last night and my left skate got caught in a rut. Well, my foot stopped moving, but everything above it didn't. Ankle twisted awkwardly under me, immediately knew I sprained it. Was "okay" the rest of the game, just laced up the last eyelet and tightened down for some extra stability. But, per usual with these things, my ankle blew up the second I took my boot off and it is a pretty shade of purple this morning. Probably will be off the ice for a week or so.

[stick9 892]

Rebirth Sports

 Back about mid-august I started searching for places to have some jerseys made. Kicked plenty of tires and eventually settled on Rebirth Sports, good reviews, their work looked very good & the prices were hard to beat. I sent off my artwork files (which they graciously tweaked). After a few days I had a nice mock up to pass around. Everyone liked it, so it was game on. Come early September (September 9^th), we’re ready to officially place the order. We get all the details sorted out, receive a quote and off goes a cashier’s check, paid in full. A few days later some questions about the proper colors come up. They are quick to reach out and work though it with me over the phone. I’m thinking great, they had a question and they called. I’m feeling pretty good about the whole thing.

 A few weeks later (September 20^th) I message them (Facebook messenger is the most effective method) asking for an update. They respond quickly and tell me it’s way too early for any sort of update and say they will update me when info comes in. At this point I think nothing of it. Fast forward to October 13^th. It’s now getting close to the 4 week lead time they originally quoted. I take to FB messenger again and ask for an update. Again, they are quick to respond to me. This time saying it’s usually about a 5 week lead time and my order didn’t reach the supplier until September 18^th. They again assure me, that as soon as they are given a status up date, they will pass the info along. I’m like fair enough. It is their busy season after all.

October 28th, a month since I last contacted them. I'm getting harrassed by the guys about our uniforms. This time I contact the owner directly via email. I ask for an update and finalized version of my artwork. The artwork comes pretty quickly but no update. I figure, I will give it a day or so and try to get them on messenger. Yesterday, October 31^st, I get a message asking for the best number to reach me...this is never good news, but hey maybe they need a shipping address. They call shortly after letting me know they are having issues with their supplier and orders are taking twice as long as quoted and my order could take as long as another 4-6 weeks. They are very apologetic. No point in losing my shit on this poor woman, not really my style anyway. I tell her, before I can make sort of call on this, I need a real-time status report, i.e. how far along are they and a solid answer as to when it would be completed. She was very nice and said she’d call me back later that day with the info and we would go from there. When she called back, she said that the supplier was nowhere close to completing our order and didn’t really trust what the supplier told her because he didn’t want to lose the job, and that Rebirth was canceling the order and refunding my payment in full.

Here I am, 7 weeks after submitting and paying for my order and I am being told it’s been canceled…. 

[IPv6Freely 2093]

That sucks. Time for them to find a new supplier. I've had orders take as little as 4 weeks and as long as 12 depending on time of year but they've always been pretty accurate on the timeline up front. 

[chippa13 1844]

On 10/26/2017 at 3:02 PM, IPv6Freely said:

Our league is so ridiculous that every team has a losing record except the top team. 

Wouldn't that be mathematically impossible?

[Stewie 721]

29 minutes ago, chippa13 said:

Wouldn't that be mathematically impossible?

Nope, one team a team 9-0 can be in a league with three teams at 3-6 (18 total wins and losses) indicating the bottom three teams are balanced butthe top isn’t. 

[IPv6Freely 2093]

3 hours ago, chippa13 said:

Wouldn't that be mathematically impossible?

No.