Isn't it frustrating with the major TV channels decide not to broadcast a game that you are interested in watching and you know your favorite team is playing but it is not being broadcasted on any channels from your cable provider. This was my experience last spring during the NCAA regional and super regional rounds leading up to the College World Series. I started looking into satellite TV, but the equipment and installation cost plus the $25+ per month subscription fee was making me think twice. I then started experimenting with Internet TV.
Internet TV
Many website already offer highlight clips and short segments of their broadcast, but I was looking for broadcast feeds of complete games. I found a couple of websites and open source program that had live TV feeds, but they did not offer the programming that I wanted. I finally settled for purchasing ISoftwareTV for about $35 because it offers ESPN, CBS, ABC, NBC, and FOX national programming along with many US major city affiliate channels. It currently offers over 3,000 channels in 37 languages, which is up from 2,500+ channels last spring.
Last summer during the 2008 Beijing Olympic games, I was able to watch non-prime time(1) programming and US and non-US targeted television that met my interest. The Games of the XXIX Olympiad consisted of over 300 events with multiple qualifying and championship games. There was no way the "official" Olympic network was going to be able to offer me the programming I wanted. I fired up ISoftwareTV and got to watch many of "my" events that were not broadcast on the major US networks. Some Internet events were broadcast "live" while others were delayed a few hours. One example, I watch the Japan softball team motor down their opponents on the Japan channel broadcast in Japanese so I knew going into the championship game, Team USA would have to play flawless softball if they wanted the gold medal.
This past weekend, the Old Spice Classic basketball tournament championship game from Orlando, Florida was being broadcast on ESPN2. Gonzaga (#10) was playing Tennesse (#12). It was going to be a good game I did not want to miss. Unfortunately, I was not able to be near a TV, but I still saw the game broadcast over the Internet on the ESPN channel.
Time and time again, I have found that my purchase of the ISoftwareTV program has given me access to more of the sports programming that I want to watch.
Expectations
While Internet TV is still an emerging technology and business, I have found on multiple occasions that it provides me with the programming I want to watch but cannot get in my area because the viewership is not large enough for the local TV network to justify the expense of carrying the program. But since it is emerging technology, realistic expectations need to be set for the user experience.
First, even though ISoftwareTV has over 3000 channels, it still might not carry the programming you want to watch. Over the past few months, I have been disappointed on a couple occasions because I could not find the sporting event I was looking for on either the US or non-US based channels. Fortunately, I have found the desired event enough times that I typically check channels and when it is available, put me feet up and enjoy the competition.
Second, this is Internet based video transmission. This means a broadband connection is required (ie., ADSL or cable). Even with my 1+Mbps ADSL connection, I will still experience a few pauses during the playback. It is the Internet. Also, since it is the Internet, the video feeds are not proprietary to the software program. They are available for free, but you have to find them. I choose what I believe to be the most efficient route and paid a small one-time fee for someone else to continuously monitor for new channels and bring them to my PC.
Finally, the ISoftwareTV check out takes you to a credit card clearing house, ClickBank based in Boise, Idaho, that has the US government required privacy, security, and DMCA policies in place. ISoftwareTV do not process the payment at their site. I have purchased several digital products through ClickBank without any problems and, if you choose to purchase this product, I believe ClickBank wants you will have the same positive experience.
Summary
Want to watch games that are not broadcasted by your local TV stations? Internet TV is a good alternative. Initially, I google'd to find Internet TV, but found the experience laborious and frustrating. Finally, I found ISoftwareTV and paid a small one-time fee to get someone else to do the tedious searching for the TV feeds. The program offers a clean and easy to navigate user-interface so I can spend just a couple of minutes looking for the game I want to watch.
(1) Olympic prime time events were block by the network until after they were shown between 8pm and midnight.
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