[IronGooseOkeechobee]

I just saw a topic on PC World that said, "Super Bowl 2012 Will be Steamed Live". I am wanting to have a Super Bowl party at our church and we do not have any TV service to the building. We do have DSL service and several PCs plus a projector. I was wondering how to do the whole deal. Is it as simple as getting on the internet and going to NFL.com the day of the game and finding a link that says "live streaming" then connecting the projector to the PC and then the game is projected on a large screen and the party is now good to go?? I would like a little bit more details. I am a PC consultant and recently completed the Computer A+ certification courses at a local college so I understand most of this but it is something new that I have never attempted. Hate to have 35 people show up that day and I can't make it happen!!

[LincolnSpector]

Hooking a PC to the DSL and the projector should do the trick. I'm not sure what the URL is, but you can search for that as well as I can.

My one concern would be image quality. They promised to stream it, but they didn't promise to stream it in HD. It could be a very low-rez image that will look awful on a big screen.

Lincoln

[LiveBrianD]

LincolnSpector, on 13 January 2012 - 09:08 AM, said:

Hooking a PC to the DSL and the projector should do the trick. I'm not sure what the URL is, but you can search for that as well as I can.

My one concern would be image quality. They promised to stream it, but they didn't promise to stream it in HD. It could be a very low-rez image that will look awful on a big screen.

Lincoln

I wouldn't be surprised about that - for instance, you can watch PBS shows live Nova on their website, but it's only in 360p or something like that. My only way to get their shows in 1080p on my pc seems to be to torrent them or record them off the air via a DVR and then transfer them to the PC. Rather annoying, given that they get a lot of donations and such.

[LincolnSpector]

LiveBrianD, on 13 January 2012 - 03:53 PM, said:

I wouldn't be surprised about that - for instance, you can watch PBS shows live Nova on their website, but it's only in 360p or something like that. My only way to get their shows in 1080p on my pc seems to be to torrent them or record them off the air via a DVR and then transfer them to the PC. Rather annoying, given that they get a lot of donations and such.

Most PBS stations are hurting pretty badly these days. They quite likely figure that free high-def streaming will cut into their home video sales, which I suspect have become an important revenue stream. A lot of these shows become available for high-def streaming off Netflix and/or Hulu Plus. Unfortunately, Hulu inserts commercials into PBS programs, which I find extremely annoying.

Lincoln

[LiveBrianD]

LincolnSpector, on 15 January 2012 - 10:56 AM, said:

LiveBrianD, on 13 January 2012 - 03:53 PM, said:

I wouldn't be surprised about that - for instance, you can watch PBS shows live Nova on their website, but it's only in 360p or something like that. My only way to get their shows in 1080p on my pc seems to be to torrent them or record them off the air via a DVR and then transfer them to the PC. Rather annoying, given that they get a lot of donations and such.

Most PBS stations are hurting pretty badly these days. They quite likely figure that free high-def streaming will cut into their home video sales, which I suspect have become an important revenue stream. A lot of these shows become available for high-def streaming off Netflix and/or Hulu Plus. Unfortunately, Hulu inserts commercials into PBS programs, which I find extremely annoying.

Lincoln

True - in a bad economy, you're probably scrambling to pay the bills, so where's the money to donate? And meanwhile of course, there are even more people who want donations. Apparently pbs is on hulu free, and it's 480p (better than pbs's, which has a crappy player and is probably lower res, though that lacks ads I think). Right now, they have 50 episodes of nova posted (with other things, it's just 5) The thing is, I don't mind a few ads like hulu has (though I DO mind several minute long ad breaks like you get on tv) if that means the content is free. Oh btw I think PBS stuff has ads on over-the-air broadcasts, though I'm not sure about cable. It's rather annoying that PBS is one of those things that's suffering budget-wise, when their stuff is some of the only stuff that's worth watching (my dad cancelled the cable a few years ago, and I don't miss it one bit as most of the stuff is crap anyway, except discovery channel which I can get off netflix if I wait a little while).

[LincolnSpector]

LiveBrianD, on 15 January 2012 - 12:02 PM, said:

True - in a bad economy, you're probably scrambling to pay the bills, so where's the money to donate? And meanwhile of course, there are even more people who want donations. Apparently pbs is on hulu free, and it's 480p (better than pbs's, which has a crappy player and is probably lower res, though that lacks ads I think). Right now, they have 50 episodes of nova posted (with other things, it's just 5) The thing is, I don't mind a few ads like hulu has (though I DO mind several minute long ad breaks like you get on tv) if that means the content is free. Oh btw I think PBS stuff has ads on over-the-air broadcasts, though I'm not sure about cable. It's rather annoying that PBS is one of those things that's suffering budget-wise, when their stuff is some of the only stuff that's worth watching (my dad cancelled the cable a few years ago, and I don't miss it one bit as most of the stuff is crap anyway, except discovery channel which I can get off netflix if I wait a little while).

PBS has ads at the beginning of a show, but doesn't interrupt for them. Hulu Plus inserts ads--I think every 10 minutes. And no one takes the time to find the right place to insert them. I've seen them happen in the middle of a sentence.

Lincoln

[LincolnSpector]

btw, getting back to the original point of this thread: Iron Goose asking about playing the Superbowl in his church.

Yesterday, I received a private email from a reader asking about plugging his Mac into his HDTV so that the whole family could gather in the living room and watch his church's live-streamed services.

Interesting, and cool, how these things work both ways. My synagogue has had movie nights (using DVDs, I believe, not streaming), and has streamed bar mitzvahs for grandparents unable to be there in person.

Lincoln

[LiveBrianD]

LincolnSpector, on 16 January 2012 - 08:23 AM, said:

LiveBrianD, on 15 January 2012 - 12:02 PM, said:

True - in a bad economy, you're probably scrambling to pay the bills, so where's the money to donate? And meanwhile of course, there are even more people who want donations. Apparently pbs is on hulu free, and it's 480p (better than pbs's, which has a crappy player and is probably lower res, though that lacks ads I think). Right now, they have 50 episodes of nova posted (with other things, it's just 5) The thing is, I don't mind a few ads like hulu has (though I DO mind several minute long ad breaks like you get on tv) if that means the content is free. Oh btw I think PBS stuff has ads on over-the-air broadcasts, though I'm not sure about cable. It's rather annoying that PBS is one of those things that's suffering budget-wise, when their stuff is some of the only stuff that's worth watching (my dad cancelled the cable a few years ago, and I don't miss it one bit as most of the stuff is crap anyway, except discovery channel which I can get off netflix if I wait a little while).

PBS has ads at the beginning of a show, but doesn't interrupt for them. Hulu Plus inserts ads--I think every 10 minutes. And no one takes the time to find the right place to insert them. I've seen them happen in the middle of a sentence.

Lincoln

And on the other hand, when I'm watching mythbusters (discovery channel) on Netflix, it's annoying how they stop right before they blow something up (3. 2. 1. aww dang it space for an ad break!), clearly where an ad could be inserted, and then reintroduce the entire explosion they're doing right before showing it. Yes, I know the idea is to keep me watching it because I don't want to miss the explosion. Still irritating...

edit: Just saw your second post, lol... How about an 11th commandment - "if thou dares to use streaming over the internet to watch things from their church, they must do it in HD."

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 16 January 2012 - 10:51 AM

[LiveBrianD]

@mrbig
What's with all that blank space?