i switched cable providers so i could get access to center ice. living about as far away from Boston as you can get (Canuck land) seemed like the only logical thing to do. cant wait for October 6th
I don't have $13 a month for Sirius plus the Center Ice package -- would that I did, because living in Boston means a lot of team 990, AM 640 online and , thankfully, Murph's "inside Hockey"/NEHJ progams on weekends, that's it -- but over the entire NHL regular season, as well as most of the playoffs, Center Ice is well worth the investment.
Having grown up in the Detroit area and watching HNIC throughtout my '70s youth, enjoying same every Staturday night , and now TSN/Rogers too, is great for a stateside fan with great fondness for Canada, Canadians, and the way same cover the game.
Beyond this, parity/quality of play within the NHL post-lockout is truly, truly heartening for hard core NHL fans; better sports entertainment value for the price -- 40 or so games from around the league every week through the long winter months into the spring -- can't be had.
Wish we had the NHL channel here,
GH
It is absolutely the best $ 150 I have ever spent in my life.
It will be particularly handy to have Center Ice during October when the Bruins will be playing way too infrequently to satisfy your hockey cravings. I mean, c'mon...Thursday, Saturday, Thursday, Saturday, Thursday, Saturday? NOT ENOUGH.
i realllllly want to get it but i dont have digital cable and that costs an extra 15 bucks a month plus the 150...i am trying to pay for law school i am very poor but i wanna get it very badly so i can watch the bruins!!!
If I had it when I was in law school, I probably wouldn't have graduated and may not have passed the bar. Like everyone has said, it's awesome and totally worth the money. But, it's likely to cost you serious study time. If you're in your first year: Don't do it. Go into Bruins purgatory and deny yourself for a couple of years. After you pass the bar and get a job, it'll have been well worth it.
It will be particularly handy to have Center Ice during October when the Bruins will be playing way too infrequently to satisfy your hockey cravings. I mean, c'mon...Thursday, Saturday, Thursday, Saturday, Thursday, Saturday? NOT ENOUGH.
I totally agree those 3 and 4 day gaps are unacceptable for me. I'll have to watch the habs lose or something.. maybe watch Gil and Rayzor get schooled to bide my time while waiting in between games.
Now, once regular season starts the live NHL broadcasts are blocked, but not the replays. With a dual DVR, I was able to record many replays and watch them at my leisure.
But at $12.00 a month through the entire season, it really doesn't make much sense to get it again. Unless I was interested in watching college lacrosse from Arizona or something like that.
Not that there's anything wrong with college lacrosse. ;-).
It's only slightly more for Center Ice, but you get a lot more games. And I can watch them Live (was avoiding sports broadcasts all last year as to not see the scores of games I recorded at 2am).
So it's going to be Center Ice this year . Discounted rate is offered right up till opening night.
Now my problem with the Plasma purchase is this:
I don't mind spending the money if HD broadcasts of NHL games is frequent enough. That would tip the scales for me even if the majority of other programming (sitcoms/primetime/cablenetworks etc etc) wasn't in HD.
But when searching the listing for HD games on Center Ice (on DirecTV) I get this:
You'll notice that no games are listed on HD channels. Nor do I see any games on HD channels for the next few months. I don't know if this means that the regular channels are not broadcasting in HD. Or just that no HD specific channels are carrying games.
Can games be broadcast in HD while not being on HD specific channels?
When I research NHL on HD I get these two subscription services:
So there's the cost of the TV itself. The cost of upgrading to the HD Boxes and the hassle of moving the analog boxes to the bedrooms (which I'll do myself but they need additional cables) and possibly an additional cost of leasing another dish if the there's not enough LNB's on my present dish to support more HD channels. Add to that the rates of Center Ice, Versus, or HD.net (if any are even offered on DirecTV).
I dont' mind spending the money it's the results are what I want. I've heard a lot of new TV owners (freinds) who are dissapointed in the frequency of HD broadcasts . I don't want to be one of those. I purposely switched over from Comcast to DirecTV because of cost and future HD availability. Which at the time SAT. had the definate edge.
Has anyone else sorted this all out, or have some advice to point in the right direction? Pitfalls? Good experiences or bad?
Thanks in advance to anyone willing to read all this and reply.
Oh, God, yes! Early last season, I got a free preview and each night I was bouncing around four or five games, catching tight finishes, OT's, shootouts, etc. That did it for me, and I signed up. A favorite feature is the late HNIC game, which I've relied on for years because most Saturday evenings I'm either on Causeway St. or Commonwealth Avenue. It's great to come home late and click on Flames-Oilers.
You just have to remember one thing when ordering Center Ice through DirecTV. If for some reason you don't want it next year(my wife thought we weren't going to get it this year, I have no idea why) you have to call them & tell them not to bill you for it. If they don't hear from you, they will assume you want it again & sign you up automatically.
Needless to say, my wife was quite surprised & very angry at me when we got the bill a few days ago. When I told her that I didn't re-order it, she called DirecTV and found out the real reason. After they have billed you, I guess they can't take it off. So I get Center Ice again this year!
Question: The HNIC coverage. When does the feed get turned off? At the end of the second game? If so that would bite as I always look forward to After Hours.
Question: The HNIC coverage. When does the feed get turned off? At the end of the second game? If so that would bite as I always look forward to After Hours.
From what I remember last year most of the time the feed is cut at the end of the game. However, on occasion the feed doesn't get cut off in time (probably the person responsible to do it is half-asleep). Generally speaking though most feeds get cut within 5 minutes of the game end.
$140.00 for the entire season...and worth every penny of it.
Bruins games are a gimmie, but I also follow the flames as well, so that is even more of a reason to do it...every game, every night, and it keeps me sane.
Question: The HNIC coverage. When does the feed get turned off? At the end of the second game? If so that would bite as I always look forward to After Hours.
If I remember right, 2 seasons (3 years) ago, they would usually cut off shortly after the 2nd game. Last year, they would show the complete After Hours package, except maybe once or twice when they must have messed up. In fact, they gave HNIC more focus, as there was at least one early game televised from the Canadian crew. In previous years, if a major team like the Rangers were in town, they would have the NYR telecast instead, so only about half the HNIC telecast were shown. That was a shame because Coach's Corner and Satellite Hotstove are usually interesting segments.
Well, I re-ordered today since Comcast doesn't automatically renew. The price on their website was $189 but the girl gave me the correct price of $149 (in 4 equal payments). However, she charged me an extra $1.99 fee for turning the service on
You'll notice that no games are listed on HD channels. Nor do I see any games on HD channels for the next few months. I don't know if this means that the regular channels are not broadcasting in HD. Or just that no HD specific channels are carrying games.
Disfigured- go ahead & buy the tv if you have a good deal on it- in 2009 all tv signals will be in HD. I'm studying plasma tvs myself, my present tv is 19 years old.
It works great but I know one day soon it will probably just up & die on me.
Well, I re-ordered today since Comcast doesn't automatically renew. The price on their website was $189 but the girl gave me the correct price of $149 (in 4 equal payments). However, she charged me an extra $1.99 fee for turning the service on
I got the same deal when I called last night. I asked her to keep it on in the offseason so I could save the 2 bucks next year, but I don't think it will work. Thanks to everyone for bumping this thread, I would have forgot to order until opening night and would have shelled out $189.
but the girl gave me the correct price of $149 (in 4 equal payments). However, she charged me an extra $1.99 fee for turning the service on 
