Author Topic: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?  (Read 12370 times)

FrugalRubles

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NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« on: August 25, 2015, 06:55:09 AM »
Hello All,
With the dawn of a new football season upon us, I wanted to see how many of you handle getting your fix at a low cost.

I am moving to a new apartment (based primarily on how this site / forum affected my thinking) and want to avoid signing up for TV in the new apartment. I previously have Verizon Fios in my old place, but cut the TV portion 2 months ago. We currently have internet only (25 mbps) and have an appointment to transfer that internet only account over. I have Amazon Fire stick and Google Chromecast.

I am a bit of a die hard and ideally would be able to watch the following, and on an HDTV.

1. CBS / FOX
2. NBC (Sunday Night Football)
3. ESPN (Monday Night Football)
4. NFL Network (Thursday Night Football)

1 & 2 - I purchased a MoHu Leaf Metro Indoor Antenna, which I will set up this weekend (upon moving in). I am on the 2nd floor of building with no major impediments outside my building. I believe this should provide me with CBS / FOX / NBC, which cancels out #1 and #2.

3. ESPN - through the Watch ESPN app, I should be able to use my Google Chromecast or Amazon Fire TV to access / project onto my TV.

4. This is where it gets a little more difficult. Through my Verizon wireless plan, I have access to NFL Mobile app. This gives me access to NFL Network (and any / all live games on all of the above networks). This currently appears to only work on smartphones, but there doesn't appear to be any easy way to mirror / output this to a TV. Any suggestions?

How does the rest of this sound? Has anyone watched using the above options in lieu of a TV subscription?

Thanks!







boarder42

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #1 on: August 25, 2015, 08:00:51 AM »
you should be able to use a chromecast app on your phone to mirror your whole phone screen to the TV.  Your phone will have to be on the entire time though. 

Rollin

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #2 on: August 25, 2015, 08:15:00 AM »
I'm in a similar boat, but looking to watch college games.  I cannot seem to get to a good (and legal) solution, as everything points to having to get "cable."  I have not had that for years and don't want to pay $50/month just to watch.

Any suggestions?

FrugalRubles

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #3 on: August 25, 2015, 08:21:04 AM »
you should be able to use a chromecast app on your phone to mirror your whole phone screen to the TV.  Your phone will have to be on the entire time though. 

Have you been able to use the Chromecast app to mirror another app? I have used it to mirror what's in Chrome browser, but not within a separate app.

I'm in a similar boat, but looking to watch college games.  I cannot seem to get to a good (and legal) solution, as everything points to having to get "cable."  I have not had that for years and don't want to pay $50/month just to watch.

Any suggestions?

Have you used ESPN's watch app? Did you look into an antenna like the Mohu? I was counting on those for my college fix.

Louis the Cat

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2015, 09:35:14 AM »
This is what I do but it's probably not what you want to hear because it's all over the air:

1. Record every game that's broadcast OTA, which is usually 4-6 games a week, mostly on Sundays. This allows me to start watching after the game has been going for an hour or so and skip all commercials and half time nonsense. This lets me watch a 3+ hour broadcast in 1.5 hours.

2. Get REALLY excited when my local team plays on Thursday or Monday because then those go OTA, too. This probably happens for my local team more than most because it's the Broncos and the networks LOVE Peyton. (Me, too, for that matter.)

3. Get REALLY REALLY excited when the Browns play a team that's doing well because then sometimes I get to watch them get shellacked instead of just seeing the highlights before the Sunday evening game.

This gets me between 6 and 9 hours (at my commercial-skipping pace) of football a week which I've found is more than enough. By December, I'm just praying for it to end. It helps that by then, the Browns have already sucked so much by that point that all hope is lost for yet another season.

AZDude

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #5 on: August 25, 2015, 09:43:55 AM »
Football is the easiest sport to watch for free. All local NFL games are on OTA TV. Plenty of college games as well. Plus, any major football game will be on at every bar and restaurant in the area. Try getting the local pizza join to turn on a random baseball game is harder than climbing Mount Everest.

Anyway, for me:

OTA antenna, so I get CBS/Fox/NBC and some random college games on some of the other channels. I found a local channel that carries SEC games, for example, that I did not even know existed. I have a Sling TV subscription($20/month, you get ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS, and like 15 other mostly crap channels). After that, if there is a specific game that I cannot get, I either head over to see friends/family or I seek out a questionably legal broadcast on the internet and project it onto my HD.


Workingmomsaves

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #6 on: August 25, 2015, 09:50:22 AM »
Football is the easiest sport to watch for free. All local NFL games are on OTA TV. Plenty of college games as well. Plus, any major football game will be on at every bar and restaurant in the area. Try getting the local pizza join to turn on a random baseball game is harder than climbing Mount Everest.

Anyway, for me:

OTA antenna, so I get CBS/Fox/NBC and some random college games on some of the other channels. I found a local channel that carries SEC games, for example, that I did not even know existed. I have a Sling TV subscription($20/month, you get ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS, and like 15 other mostly crap channels). After that, if there is a specific game that I cannot get, I either head over to see friends/family or I seek out a questionably legal broadcast on the internet and project it onto my HD.



Sorry to get sidetracked.  AZDude, do you like slingTv?  Hubs and I are thinking about trying it.  We still have DTv, ugh.

FLBiker

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #7 on: August 25, 2015, 09:55:23 AM »
I've got an antenna, so I just watch CBS, NBC and Fox.

I've got a 4 mos old, so I'm not so worried about missing Monday Night.  And the NFL network games tend to be pretty lousy.

I thought the Watch ESPN app was only valid w/ cable.  Can you get it stand alone?  And I'm also interested in learning more about SlingTV, if it includes ESPN.

As other folks have said, though, I tend to get more than enough football OTA.  And I kind of like that it's restricted to just one day, instead of bleeding into Monday and Thursday.

FrugalRubles

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #8 on: August 25, 2015, 09:59:34 AM »
This is what I do but it's probably not what you want to hear because it's all over the air:

1. Record every game that's broadcast OTA, which is usually 4-6 games a week, mostly on Sundays. This allows me to start watching after the game has been going for an hour or so and skip all commercials and half time nonsense. This lets me watch a 3+ hour broadcast in 1.5 hours.

2. Get REALLY excited when my local team plays on Thursday or Monday because then those go OTA, too. This probably happens for my local team more than most because it's the Broncos and the networks LOVE Peyton. (Me, too, for that matter.)

3. Get REALLY REALLY excited when the Browns play a team that's doing well because then sometimes I get to watch them get shellacked instead of just seeing the highlights before the Sunday evening game.

This gets me between 6 and 9 hours (at my commercial-skipping pace) of football a week which I've found is more than enough. By December, I'm just praying for it to end. It helps that by then, the Browns have already sucked so much by that point that all hope is lost for yet another season.

Seems like a good solution for everything other than ESPN / NFL Network. Everyone does love Peyton. I haven't set up a DVR (without cable) as of yet, but it is a nice option. I used to just watch Red Zone channel when Giants weren't on, so I am hoping to get the Verizon App to work on a TV.

Football is the easiest sport to watch for free. All local NFL games are on OTA TV. Plenty of college games as well. Plus, any major football game will be on at every bar and restaurant in the area. Try getting the local pizza join to turn on a random baseball game is harder than climbing Mount Everest.

Anyway, for me:

OTA antenna, so I get CBS/Fox/NBC and some random college games on some of the other channels. I found a local channel that carries SEC games, for example, that I did not even know existed. I have a Sling TV subscription($20/month, you get ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS, and like 15 other mostly crap channels). After that, if there is a specific game that I cannot get, I either head over to see friends/family or I seek out a questionably legal broadcast on the internet and project it onto my HD.



Completely agree. I wanted to ensure I could get all the games from home, which usually leads to less expense each weekend when eating & drinking out, plus easy selling point for my friends that live a bit of a commute away. Sling TV seems like it's a worthwhile option, especially for NBA season with TNT.

As you mention, the questionable legal broadcasts tend to satisfy all of my buddies who love the EPL. If I can find one for Red Zone and project that onto my TV, seems like it will solve it all.

Thanks.

I've got an antenna, so I just watch CBS, NBC and Fox.

I've got a 4 mos old, so I'm not so worried about missing Monday Night.  And the NFL network games tend to be pretty lousy.

I thought the Watch ESPN app was only valid w/ cable.  Can you get it stand alone?  And I'm also interested in learning more about SlingTV, if it includes ESPN.

As other folks have said, though, I tend to get more than enough football OTA.  And I kind of like that it's restricted to just one day, instead of bleeding into Monday and Thursday.

Congrats on the new addition. I tend to watch Sundays and MNF. Thursdays - I rarely watch.

Watch ESPN is only valid with cable, but you can sometimes get an account from friends. Sling TV does seem like a good option to keep all above board.

Agreed on the amount of watching can definitely take over. My lady certainly has feelings on that...haha.

boarder42

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #9 on: August 25, 2015, 10:00:40 AM »
https://support.google.com/chromecast/answer/6059461?hl=en


how to mirror what ever is on your phone with chromecast.

FrugalRubles

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #10 on: August 25, 2015, 10:28:10 AM »
https://support.google.com/chromecast/answer/6059461?hl=en


how to mirror what ever is on your phone with chromecast.

Thanks. This looks very interesting. I don't have an Android phone, but do have an old Nexus tablet lying around.
Will have to play around with this tonight.

AZDude

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #11 on: August 25, 2015, 10:48:21 AM »
Football is the easiest sport to watch for free. All local NFL games are on OTA TV. Plenty of college games as well. Plus, any major football game will be on at every bar and restaurant in the area. Try getting the local pizza join to turn on a random baseball game is harder than climbing Mount Everest.

Anyway, for me:

OTA antenna, so I get CBS/Fox/NBC and some random college games on some of the other channels. I found a local channel that carries SEC games, for example, that I did not even know existed. I have a Sling TV subscription($20/month, you get ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS, and like 15 other mostly crap channels). After that, if there is a specific game that I cannot get, I either head over to see friends/family or I seek out a questionably legal broadcast on the internet and project it onto my HD.



Sorry to get sidetracked.  AZDude, do you like slingTv?  Hubs and I are thinking about trying it.  We still have DTv, ugh.

Its the best "cable" option out there. If you have a roku or other device you can watch on your big screen with no issues. It does drop the picture sometimes, requiring you to restart the app. If you are cool with something that works good, but not perfect, and you like college football and NBA basketball, then its good. If you expect it to work just like a cable box, you will be disappointed.

The full list of channels can be found online, but its ESPN, ESPN2, CNN, TNT, TBS, Disney Channel, AMC, HGTV, Travel, Food Network, and a few others. I only ever watch ESPN and TNT/TBS, but the rest is there. Combined with OTA, you get like 80 channels of programming for $20/month. If that is not enough, then you watch too much TV.

The only downside is that right now, you do not regional sports networks like Fox Sports (your area). This means no local baseball, basketball, etc... There is talk of adding those as an option, but it hasn't happened yet.

Overall, its kind of a waste of money during the summer, at least for me, but for football season and NBA its great.

FrugalRubles

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #12 on: August 25, 2015, 10:55:03 AM »
Football is the easiest sport to watch for free. All local NFL games are on OTA TV. Plenty of college games as well. Plus, any major football game will be on at every bar and restaurant in the area. Try getting the local pizza join to turn on a random baseball game is harder than climbing Mount Everest.

Anyway, for me:

OTA antenna, so I get CBS/Fox/NBC and some random college games on some of the other channels. I found a local channel that carries SEC games, for example, that I did not even know existed. I have a Sling TV subscription($20/month, you get ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS, and like 15 other mostly crap channels). After that, if there is a specific game that I cannot get, I either head over to see friends/family or I seek out a questionably legal broadcast on the internet and project it onto my HD.



Sorry to get sidetracked.  AZDude, do you like slingTv?  Hubs and I are thinking about trying it.  We still have DTv, ugh.

Its the best "cable" option out there. If you have a roku or other device you can watch on your big screen with no issues. It does drop the picture sometimes, requiring you to restart the app. If you are cool with something that works good, but not perfect, and you like college football and NBA basketball, then its good. If you expect it to work just like a cable box, you will be disappointed.

The full list of channels can be found online, but its ESPN, ESPN2, CNN, TNT, TBS, Disney Channel, AMC, HGTV, Travel, Food Network, and a few others. I only ever watch ESPN and TNT/TBS, but the rest is there. Combined with OTA, you get like 80 channels of programming for $20/month. If that is not enough, then you watch too much TV.

The only downside is that right now, you do not regional sports networks like Fox Sports (your area). This means no local baseball, basketball, etc... There is talk of adding those as an option, but it hasn't happened yet.

Overall, its kind of a waste of money during the summer, at least for me, but for football season and NBA its great.

I had been hearing that Apple TV was going to release a similar 25 channel line up sometime 4Q this year, so I had been holding off on making any other purchases. The OTA antenna really is a game changer. I found myself pitching it to some other buddies who haven't cut the cord, but they end up watching a ton of other TV. Appreciate the feedback, I had written down to use the SlingTV free trial when the season started if the Watch ESPN doesn't work as advertised.

Roboturner

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #13 on: August 25, 2015, 10:55:33 AM »
you should be able to use a chromecast app on your phone to mirror your whole phone screen to the TV.  Your phone will have to be on the entire time though.

NFL mobile disables casting from phone, b/c reasons (mostly corrupt I imagine)

AZDude

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #14 on: August 25, 2015, 11:01:49 AM »
Can't you get a converter that will let you plug your phone into your HDMI port on your TV? I've never tried it, but I have heard other people do it.

Tyler

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #15 on: August 25, 2015, 11:50:28 AM »
An OTA antenna is best for local games.  For out of market, if you're willing to wait and not watch them live then Game Pass is a decent option (although I liked it a lot better when they called it Game Rewind and charged a lot less).

http://www.cutcabletoday.com/nfl-game-pass/

ReadySetMillionaire

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #16 on: August 25, 2015, 12:02:13 PM »
I'm going to be a bit anti-Mustachian here and say if you love sports, cutting cable isn't worth it. I tried last fall and I lasted about two weeks into the soccer season.

Here's a breakdown of sports by TV:

Baseball: local cable (STO, Root Sports, or Fox), FOX, TBS/TNT, ESPN
Basketball: local Fox Sports affiliate, ABC, ESPN, and TNT
Soccer (EPL): NBC Sports Network, NBC, USA
Soccer (Champions League): FS1, FS2, FOX
Hockey: local Fox Sports affiliate, NBC Sports Network, NBC
College Football: All Networks, All ESPNs, SEC Network, B1G Network, P12 Network, FS1, NBCSN
NFL: All Networks, ESPN, NFL Network

My favorite sports are as follows: (1) college football (Ohio State); (2) NFL (Browns); (3) MLB (Indians); (4) English Premier League (Chelsea).

I need cable for college football, EPL, and MLB. If you're just an NFL fanatic, then you're lucky because that's mostly local OTA TV. But for ESPN and NFL Network, OP is mistaken because those apps will (a) take you to a screen requiring you to log in from a valid cable subscription and (b) won't let you stream live events to your TV (even now, with a DirecTV subscription, I cannot stream live events from my phone to my TV).

As an anecdotal example, last fall, I signed up for sling TV (for $20/month) and bought an HDTV antenna ($50), and also bothered my law school roommate for his DirectTV password (so I could watch the EPL). This resulted in two really aggravating things--it was very frustrating streaming games I actually cared about (there's nothing like lag on a key third down play in the 4th quarter) and, more importantly, when I really wanted to see a game that I couldn't watch at home, I ended up going to a bar and spending $15 on two beers and a sandwich anyway.

Bottom line was that cutting the chord meant that I was jumping through a ton of hoops and spending pretty much the same amount of money but just via different mediums. It was similar to my Pittsburgh friend who "cut the chord," but had Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Sling TV (more expensive than my cable package). He also has a premium internet plan so he can stream on multiple TVs.

Meanwhile, DirecTV's Xtra package is $30/month for the first year and admittedly $48 after all the charges ($576/year). It includes all the ESPNs, all the networks, NBCSN, FS1, BTN, etc. When that runs out I will cancel it and put it in my GF's name. That's not much more than Sling TV ($240/year), a good antenna ($50), going out a bunch to watch games you can't watch (cost undetermined), and high cost technology upgrades to be able to stream games (if possible).

The TL;DR is this: I've relentlessly cut a lot of expenses--still driving a 2007 Ford Focus (no payment), lowered my car insurance, lowered my cell phone payment, buy smarter at the grocery store, etc. And I've found that simply paying $48/month for DirecTV so I can watch sports is (a) about the same as Sling TV/antenna/going out to watch games and (b) is way less of a hassle.
« Last Edit: August 25, 2015, 12:09:04 PM by ReadySetMillionaire »

boarder42

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #17 on: August 25, 2015, 12:05:03 PM »
Just use a VPN and MLB.TV to get all the MLB games you want.  find 3 friends and share it and the cost is like 40 bucks a year for all your games.

FrugalRubles

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #18 on: August 25, 2015, 12:18:15 PM »
Can't you get a converter that will let you plug your phone into your HDMI port on your TV? I've never tried it, but I have heard other people do it.

Not sure on this. I have heard about it, but never seen it done.

An OTA antenna is best for local games.  For out of market, if you're willing to wait and not watch them live then Game Pass is a decent option (although I liked it a lot better when they called it Game Rewind and charged a lot less).

http://www.cutcabletoday.com/nfl-game-pass/

For me, I like watching live and love live sports in conjunction with Twitter reactions. I looked into Game Pass but the delay isn't worth it to me.

I'm going to be a bit anti-Mustachian here and say if you love sports, cutting cable isn't worth it. I tried last fall and I lasted about two weeks into the soccer season.

Here's a breakdown of sports by TV:

Baseball: local cable (STO, Root Sports, or Fox), FOX, TBS/TNT, ESPN
Basketball: local Fox Sports affiliate, ABC, ESPN, and TNT
Soccer (EPL): NBC Sports Network, NBC, USA
Soccer (Champions League): FS1, FS2, FOX
Hockey: local Fox Sports affiliate, NBC Sports Network, NBC
College Football: All Networks, All ESPNs, SEC Network, B1G Network, P12 Network, FS1, NBCSN
NFL: All Networks, ESPN, NFL Network

My favorite sports are as follows: (1) college football (Ohio State); (2) NFL (Browns); (3) MLB (Indians); (4) English Premier League (Chelsea).

I need cable for college football, EPL, and MLB. If you're just an NFL fanatic, then you're lucky because that's mostly local OTA TV. But for ESPN and NFL Network, OP is mistaken because those apps will (a) take you to a screen requiring you to log in from a valid cable subscription and (b) won't let you stream to your TV (or make it very difficult and ruin the viewing experience).

As an anecdotal example, last fall, I signed up for sling TV (for $20/month) and bought an HDTV antenna ($50), and also bothered my law school roommate for his DirectTV password (so I could watch the EPL). This resulted in two really aggravating things--it was very frustrating streaming games I actually cared about (there's nothing like lag on a key third down play in the 4th quarter) and, more importantly, when I really wanted to see a game that I couldn't watch at home, I ended up going to a bar and spending $15 on two beers and a sandwich anyway.

Bottom line was that cutting the chord meant that I was jumping through a ton of hoops and spending pretty much the same amount of money but just via different mediums. It was similar to my Pittsburgh friend who "cut the chord," but had Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Sling TV (more expensive than my cable package).

Meanwhile, DirecTV's Xtra package is $30/month for the first year ($360/year). It includes all the ESPNs, all the networks, NBCSN, FS1, BTN, etc. When that runs out I will cancel it and put it in my GF's name. That's not much more than Sling TV ($240/year) plus a good antenna ($50, so $290 total), but it saves you all the technological aggravation.

The TL;DR is this: I've relentlessly cut a lot of expenses--still driving a 2007 Ford Focus (no payment), lowered my car insurance, lowered my cell phone payment, buy smarter at the grocery store, etc. And I've found that simply paying $30/month for DirecTV so I can watch sports is (a) about the same as Sling TV/antenna/going out to watch games and (b) is way less of a hassle.

Appreciate the feedback here (and congrats to your buckeyes). You touch on most of my biggest fears....cutting out in the middle of a key drive.

I focus mostly on NFL / NBA, so for other sports, I am happy to catch the "bigger" network games.

Assuming I can "get access" to a valid cable subscription, that solves the issue for ESPN, plus I believe I can use the Watch ESPN app in conjunction with Amazon Fire stick so it's directly on HDTV. I am less worried about NFL Network / Red Zone, but they would be nice to have. From what I can tell on NFL Mobile, I can stream to my phone, but not necessarily to a tablet (will have to check that out). If I can get the local games on my HDTV and Red Zone on my tablet, I can deal with that. As you mention, I am prepared to head out to a friends or bar for some weekends, plus will travel for some, so I am OK with some of the inconveniences.

I really enjoyed DirecTV and their customer service was always top notch (it helps when you live with friends and have 5-6 "season passes.") In my new place, I am limited to Fios (internet works great, TV is ehhh, they also don't value existing customers as much as new ones, IMO).

Just use a VPN and MLB.TV to get all the MLB games you want.  find 3 friends and share it and the cost is like 40 bucks a year for all your games.

Excellent point. MLB is the best for digital everything and has been light years ahead of the other leagues.

« Last Edit: August 25, 2015, 12:38:10 PM by FrugalRubles »

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #19 on: August 25, 2015, 12:19:35 PM »
Sling looks like a low budget way to get to the college games I want (Go Blue!).  Not ready to get cable at $50/month for just that though.  Having cable also changes the way the family interacts and I can't stand the thought of the kids or DW hitting the average American's TV hours per day of what 5/day now?

I'm probably just going to do it the way I always have and that is to ride the electric bike down t the local pub for two great local brews and a pizza.  Maybe one game every two weeks, as hard for me to sit through 3 hours of anything on a screen.

ReadySetMillionaire

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #20 on: August 25, 2015, 12:48:31 PM »
Appreciate the feedback here (and congrats to your buckeyes). You touch on most of my biggest fears....cutting out in the middle of a key drive.

I focus mostly on NFL / NBA, so for other sports, I am happy to catch the "bigger" network games.

Assuming I can "get access" to a valid cable subscription, that solves the issue for ESPN, plus I believe I can use the Watch ESPN app in conjunction with Amazon Fire stick so it's directly on HDTV. I am less worried about NFL Network / Red Zone, but they would be nice to have. From what I can tell on NFL Mobile, I can stream to my phone, but not necessarily to a tablet (will have to check that out). If I can get the local games on my HDTV and Red Zone on my tablet, I can deal with that. As you mention, I am prepared to head out to a friends or bar for some weekends, plus will travel for some, so I am OK with some of the inconveniences.

I really enjoyed DirecTV and their customer service was always top notch (it helps when you live with friends and have 5-6 "season passes.") In my new place, I am limited to Fios (internet works great, TV is ehhh, they also don't value existing customers as much as new ones, IMO).

This is the difference between NFL and college football fans, haha. Cable has me by the balls. For Ohio State's schedule alone, minimum of three games will be on BTN, the non-national ones will be on ESPN, and only a 1-2 will be on ABC. So it's ESPN or bust, and like I pointed out above, the cost of getting all that is pretty much equal to DirecTV.

AlwaysLearningToSave

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #21 on: August 25, 2015, 12:49:18 PM »
Football is the easiest sport to watch for free. All local NFL games are on OTA TV. Plenty of college games as well. Plus, any major football game will be on at every bar and restaurant in the area. Try getting the local pizza join to turn on a random baseball game is harder than climbing Mount Everest.

Anyway, for me:

OTA antenna, so I get CBS/Fox/NBC and some random college games on some of the other channels. I found a local channel that carries SEC games, for example, that I did not even know existed. I have a Sling TV subscription($20/month, you get ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS, and like 15 other mostly crap channels). After that, if there is a specific game that I cannot get, I either head over to see friends/family or I seek out a questionably legal broadcast on the internet and project it onto my HD.



Sorry to get sidetracked.  AZDude, do you like slingTv?  Hubs and I are thinking about trying it.  We still have DTv, ugh.

Its the best "cable" option out there. If you have a roku or other device you can watch on your big screen with no issues. It does drop the picture sometimes, requiring you to restart the app. If you are cool with something that works good, but not perfect, and you like college football and NBA basketball, then its good. If you expect it to work just like a cable box, you will be disappointed.

The full list of channels can be found online, but its ESPN, ESPN2, CNN, TNT, TBS, Disney Channel, AMC, HGTV, Travel, Food Network, and a few others. I only ever watch ESPN and TNT/TBS, but the rest is there. Combined with OTA, you get like 80 channels of programming for $20/month. If that is not enough, then you watch too much TV.

The only downside is that right now, you do not regional sports networks like Fox Sports (your area). This means no local baseball, basketball, etc... There is talk of adding those as an option, but it hasn't happened yet.

Overall, its kind of a waste of money during the summer, at least for me, but for football season and NBA its great.

I agree.  Sling TV is great for access to ESPN and ESPN2.  We also watch a lot of Food Network on Sling, which helps us avoid the restaurant habit by helping us improve our own cooking.

For those who have not cut the cable and are skeptical of over-the-air antennas, don't be.  We installed a whole-house antenna and get all the local networks.  The picture quality is at least as good as, if not better than, the HD satellite service we used to pay an arm and a leg for.  I anticipate very few problems getting access to college football this fall. 


Rollin

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #22 on: August 25, 2015, 01:25:27 PM »
 I anticipate very few problems getting access to college football this fall.

Using Sling TV, or the OTA antenna?

ReadySetMillionaire

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #23 on: August 25, 2015, 01:31:31 PM »
I anticipate very few problems getting access to college football this fall.

Using Sling TV, or the OTA antenna?
Ya, this was kinda my point for my really long post--you need Sling or a valid cable subscription to watch college. You won't be able to watch more than half the games. Heck, just look at Week 1's Top 25 games that are at least worth checking into.

Michigan at Utah (FS1)
TCU at Minnesota (ESPN)
Michigan State at Western Mich. (ESPNU)
Baylor at SMU (ESPN)
Washington at Boise State (ESPN)
Stanford at Northwestern (ESPN)
Virginia at UCLA (FOX)
Louisville vs. Auburn (CBS)
AZ State vs. A&M (ESPN)
Texas at Notre Dame (NBC)
Wisconsin vs. Alabama (ABC)
Ohio State at VaTech (ESPN)

So basically you can watch Virginia at UCLA, Louisville v. Auburn, Texas at Notre Dame, and Wisconsin vs. Bama. Those are good games but you're missing more than half the other ones that might be worth watching.

And that's actually a decent lineup, because when you go deeper in the season, conference matchups get logjammed, more games get pushed to cable, and you miss even more.
« Last Edit: August 25, 2015, 01:34:17 PM by ReadySetMillionaire »

AlwaysLearningToSave

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #24 on: August 25, 2015, 01:50:49 PM »
I anticipate very few problems getting access to college football this fall.

Using Sling TV, or the OTA antenna?

Using both.  The games I am interest in so far are available on either ESPN (Sling) or ABC (Antenna). 

Some of the less important games I am interested in are available on Big Ten Network and BTN2go.  Those games I will need to figure out a way to get.  I'm sure there are myriad ways I can get legal and inexpensive access to them.   

FLBiker

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #25 on: September 10, 2015, 04:47:45 AM »
Any recommendations for a DVR to use with an antenna?  I've never owned a DVR, but I like the idea of recording the OTA games so that I can skip the commercials.

Edit: I just found this: http://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-HW180STB-HomeWorx-Converter-Recording/dp/B00IYETYX8/

You can put a USB stick in the back to record live TV.  Anyone use anything like this?
« Last Edit: September 10, 2015, 04:51:42 AM by FLBiker »

Drew664

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #26 on: September 10, 2015, 05:20:05 AM »
We bought a Home Worx brand DVR/converter but haven't used that function. Love the performance though. Amazon has a good return policy - go for it after reading enough reviews for your needs.

Can't Wait

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #27 on: September 10, 2015, 07:35:39 AM »
I used to use firstrowsports.com to stream NFL games and such. The site was/is filled with adware/malware so I used an older laptop that wasn't used for anything else to do the streaming.

fitfrugalfab

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #28 on: September 10, 2015, 07:40:48 AM »
You could always go to local bar to catch games like Buffalo Wild Wings.

acroy

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #29 on: September 10, 2015, 07:42:31 AM »
Step 1 - think about watching it
Step 2 - realize you're watching a gang of overpaid guys in tights fight each other over a ball. Go play with your kids instead :)

UnleashHell

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #30 on: September 10, 2015, 08:26:44 AM »


Soccer (EPL): NBC Sports Network, NBC, USA
.

This is the one I'm struggling with. you can watch nbcsn anywhere - if you have a subscription through a cable provider!!
I want to junk the provider!

I'd like NBCSN to do a sling type device so I can just pay for that - I don;t have an issue paying them - but I do have an issue with having to pay for everything else as well.

If I could get NBCSN legit them I'd be happy with that, netflix and OTA. throw in all the free streaming you can get and I'm sorted.

Dear NBC - sort your life out.


Roboturner

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #31 on: September 10, 2015, 08:40:06 AM »
Step 1 - think about watching it
Step 2 - realize you're watching a gang of overpaid guys in tights fight each other over a ball. Go play with your kids instead :)

i'd like to think of myself as part of the enlightened intelligentsia ;), but ONE cliche I fully intend on perpetrating is 'being the dad with a beer in his hand and the game on in his underwear' on Sundays when I have kids

Rollin

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #32 on: September 10, 2015, 08:40:32 AM »
Step 1 - think about watching it
Step 2 - realize you're watching a gang of overpaid guys in tights fight each other over a ball. Go play with your kids instead :)

I rarely watch NFL - and go walk the dog or do something with the kids instead.  When I do get to watch one I rarely make it past the 2nd quarter.  It can get out of hand.  I saw a map the other day that showed the highest paid individuals in the state and the vast majority of the US were sports coaches.

I stick with a few college games each year, even though their coaches are overpaid as well.

MgoSam

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #33 on: September 10, 2015, 08:58:02 AM »
Here's what I am doing to watch football. I have a Chromecast and a Roku, local channels on my TV only. My coworker has Comcast Xfinity and has given me his password, through it I am able to watch FS1 (on my laptop and cast) and I have the Watch ESPN app through my Roku. I am not a huge fan of casting from Chrome as it tends to stream irregularly.

I would like NFL Network, but I don't care too much. I tend to be busy on Thursday evenings and don't need the encouragement to stay in and not be social. Plus the Thursday night games suck compared to MNF and SNF. SNF are generally my favorite games.

I haven't tried the Big 10 Network yet, but should so that I can watch Michigan play.

I'm trying to convince myself that I don't need to spend my weekends watching football. Thus far, I have not been anywhere close to successful :-).

That said, I watch enough TV as it is and so I hope to find other engaging activities to do. Now that winter is coming (Minnesota), I'm less likely to be outside with friends, but right now it is fall and it is beautiful outside!

AZDude

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #34 on: September 10, 2015, 09:58:17 AM »
Mustachian way is to accept that you can watch 50-75% of games for free, and that is good enough. No need to pay $80 in cable fees per month to catch 6 games on NFL network.

OTA antenna plus slingTV, $20 a month, and you get the vast majority of games. That should be enough. Or just OTA antenna, where you get a good portion of the big games. Football is the easiest sport to watch without cable.


MgoSam

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #35 on: September 10, 2015, 10:00:38 AM »
Mustachian way is to accept that you can watch 50-75% of games for free, and that is good enough.

Agreed! On Sundays there will be a game on FOX and CBS at both noon and at 3:30 and then there will be a night game on NBC. I think there is a NBC app on Roku, I'm hoping there is as for some reason my antenna can't pull up NBC.

I'm a red panda

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #36 on: September 10, 2015, 10:09:44 AM »
Do you have to watch all the games?

They are on broadcast (free) TV weekly.  Watch those ones.


pdxvandal

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #37 on: September 10, 2015, 10:36:59 AM »
I signed up for the free Sling TV trial last week and was generally impressed. Clunky interface, but I was able to have access to MORE games than with my old DirecTV package, especially through ESPN3 via my Roku. Plus, no BS contracts.

I canceled Sling on day 7, but will re-up in a few weeks once I get back from a short vacation.

I also have a digital antenna to get all the local networks, so I can watch most NFL games.

I'm trying to reduce TV watching time overall AND save money and this has been a good solution.

In a few years, most of the civilized world will be watching TV via the internet.

MRae99

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #38 on: September 10, 2015, 11:41:49 AM »
So, my husband handled all of this stuff, but we have Sling TV, got an antenna for local games, and then were able to somehow purchase NFL Network with all of the games and NFL Redzone for just over $100 for the whole season. We were able to set it up in an app through our Amazon Fire on the TV and can now watch all the games. We are big into Fantasy Football, and "our" team is not broadcast through the local stations (we moved across the country last year). So it was a bit of a non-negotiable. I'm not sure how my husband figured it out, but we are totally covered! I wish I could give more details about how he figured out the NFL Network stuff, but I really don't know!

AlwaysLearningToSave

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #39 on: September 10, 2015, 12:12:56 PM »
I'm not sure how my husband figured it out, but we are totally covered! I wish I could give more details about how he figured out the NFL Network stuff, but I really don't know!

Sounds like you need to bring your husband to the forum for a guest posting.

robartsd

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #40 on: September 10, 2015, 12:46:09 PM »
To me, it seems that live sports are the primary sales driver of cable/satelite TV services. Anyone subscribing to such a service that does not care about the sports is wasting money (they can get the content cheaper some other way). The most frugal method of watching live sports that are not broadcast OTA is probably getting together with friends to watch the game (either their house or as a designated driver at the sports bar). Some cord cutting sports fans balance the lack of catching as many games at home with actually attending a few games a year in person - and find that this ultimately is more fulfilling to them (and consumes less time and money).

I like baseball and catch the SF Giants whenever they are OTA and sometimes watch whatever game FOX shows on Saturday. Other than that, I tune in to the Giants on the radio to follow more games (sometimes use radio along side SF Giants games on FOX).

I happened to get a computer with a TV tuner at a thrift store for about $100 about four years ago (purchased because software I wanted to run required newer processor than I had). Added a $30 flat antenna from Costco and had a DVR for the first time (originally WMC in Vista, recently switched to MythTV on Debian). Upgraded from 15" monitor to 22" HDTV (used as monitor most of the time) and added a 3TB external hard disk (each purchase was also around $100). This system let me record all the OTA coverage of the 2014 Olympics.

MustardTiger

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #41 on: September 10, 2015, 01:53:11 PM »
I'm in a similar boat, but looking to watch college games.  I cannot seem to get to a good (and legal) solution, as everything points to having to get "cable."  I have not had that for years and don't want to pay $50/month just to watch.

Any suggestions?

As an NFL and college football addict who wanted to compromise, I have an attic antenna and SlingTV.  The antenna gets great quality hd for the broadcast channels.  Sling has a sports package for 25$/month that gets you ESPN along with the SEC network (Go Aggies!) and some other smaller channels.  My plan is to cancel sling after football season so really just 125$/year.

Bettis

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Re: NFL - Best Ways to Watch in a Mustachian Manner?
« Reply #42 on: September 15, 2015, 10:44:24 AM »
I have OTA so I typically get two 1pm games and one 4pm game on Sunday... however, if you are fortunate to get two cities worth of OTA like me (Providence/Boston), a few times a year, I'll end up with another game to flip around to.  Consult the506.com to check out the NFL Maps.

I also have a friend who has the red zone channel so I invite him over, make some hot dogs, and we have red zone going on the tablet while we flip around on the big tv for the OTA games.  That might be way too ADD for some people but it's a blast, especially since we each have fantasy teams to keep tabs on.

Mondays and Thursdays are typically radio only for me (if I care enough about the game).  You should be able to get a station that broadcasts those games.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!