Watching the rugby on TV

[barbarian]

Good people of G&GR,

I'm moving house, and seriously considering ditching the Foxtel for a cheaper option.

I'm currently on the sport HD package, which sets me back roughly $70 a month.

Does anyone have any experience with Foxtel Now? I like the cheaper price tag but I worry about streaming on the TV and the drop in quality you may experience.

Or is there another option I'm missing?

All I want to do is watch the rugby on TV, without paying through the nose. Is it that hard?

 

[Slim 293]

Ever since they updated from Foxtel Play to Foxtel Now with the HD quality the service is much improved............

The old service would be extremely problematic with drop outs and the app crashing if you tried to cycle through it too quickly.

I don't have the sport option, but I use it mostly for Showtime/HBO and movie channels and have not had many issues with it since the change.

I would definitely recommend giving it a try - I'm pretty sure you can still trial the first two weeks for free.

 

[2bluesfan]

Look at Rugbypass. You'll need to use a VPN. $USD20 per month but you get a lot of matches. Excellent stream quality.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Look at Rugbypass. You'll need to use a VPN. $USD20 per month but you get a lot of matches. Excellent stream quality.

But you'd have to use a VPN to view from within Australia, right? Otherwise why the hell am I spending the better part of $40 a month on Foxtel Now.

 

[Mr Wobbly]

I moved house and ditched Foxtel for a cheaper option

I was paying $100 per month for the Platinum pack in SD. I'm now paying $44.00/month for Foxtel Now. They make you buy one of their packs and then add on sport - which is a complete scam BTW. A bit like saying, you can get a hamburger but only if you first buy a hotdog - I don't want a friggin' hotdog though...

Anyway, Foxtel Now streams well on my 50Mbit NBN connection. I Chromecast it to the TV. You can't record games but they're available on demand within a day or so. I'd say take out the free trial and give it a go.

There's no contract so you can dump it any time, which I will do as soon as the November tests are finished and pick it up again when Super Rugby starts next year..

 

[Mr Wobbly]

But you'd have to use a VPN to view from within Australia, right? Otherwise why the hell am I spending the better part of $40 a month on Foxtel Now.

Yeah but - $20US is about $30AUS. If you don't already have a VPN and you need one just for Rugbypass you'll probably be up for another $10US/month. Pretty close to the same price per month. Of course you would get a lot more stuff to watch for the money.

 

[Brumby Runner]

Barb, I have FoxtelNow and run it off my phone when I'm travelling which I've been doing a bit of in a caravan over the past twelve months. Set the phone up as a hot spot (on Telstra unlimited download), and wifi to the computer which I connect to the TV via a HDMI cable. Works very good most of the time. No buffering as a rule.

At home, just connect the laptop via the HDMI cable direct to the TV. Surprisingly good quality. Sure, can't record, but good access to games On Demand after the event.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Yeah but - $20US is about $30AUS. If you don't already have a VPN and you need one just for Rugbypass you'll probably be up for another $10US/month. Pretty close to the same price per month. Of course you would get a lot more stuff to watch for the money.

Yeah but I really don't watch anything but sport.

 

[Mr Wobbly]

Yeah but I really don't watch anything but sport.

Me too but I do watch some sport other than rugby, a bit of cricket, a bit of golf etc. It makes the Foxtel Now cost a bit more palatable.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Me too but I do watch some sport other than rugby, a bit of cricket, a bit of golf etc. It makes the Foxtel Now cost a bit more palatable.

I watch Cricket and American Football. Which it is good for but unless GoT is showing I'm not overly interested in their other offerings you have to bundle it with.

 

[Ignoto]

For those with FoxtelNow, if you're 10 minutes late home to watch the game, are you able to start from the kick off or can you only pick up on where the stream is currently up to?

I'm off contract with Foxtel now, was paying I think $40-50 for sport in HD but that offer has expired. So I'm in a similar position to Barb. But, if I can't start the stream when I want, I think I'll just haggle Foxtel to drop the price down again.

 

[Slim 293]

For those with FoxtelNow, if you're 10 minutes late home to watch the game, are you able to start from the kick off or can you only pick up on where the stream is currently up to?

I'm off contract with Foxtel now, was paying I think $40-50 for sport in HD but that offer has expired. So I'm in a similar position to Barb. But, if I can't start the stream when I want, I think I'll just haggle Foxtel to drop the price down again.

You can take any live channel back 30 mins.........

 

[Ignoto]

Barba - I just gave Foxtel a call, mentioned the rugby is all but over for the year and what can Foxtel do to keep me for the off-season.

They knocked off 50% on the sports package + free HD. So, paying $40 a month for the next 12 months. That's good enough for me considering I tape the midnight games, the cycling and F1 overnight and watch it the next day, so Foxtel Now wouldn't quite work for me.

 

[barbarian]

Really? I might try that. Thanks!

 

[Derpus]

Good people of G&GR,

I'm moving house, and seriously considering ditching the Foxtel for a cheaper option.

I'm currently on the sport HD package, which sets me back roughly $70 a month.

Does anyone have any experience with Foxtel Now? I like the cheaper price tag but I worry about streaming on the TV and the drop in quality you may experience.

Or is there another option I'm missing?

All I want to do is watch the rugby on TV, without paying through the nose. Is it that hard?

Yes, have you not been paying attention to that Super Rugby thread full of raving lunatics complaining about everything?

Just hit up your old man (or friend or whoever has foxtel) for access to Foxtel Go and watch rugby on your computer. I think it's 5 devices per account or something.

Certainly not HD quality but free is free. It's what i do.

 

[Slim 293]

Certainly not HD quality but free is free. It's what i do.

It went HD when it changed from Foxtel Play to Foxtel Now..........

 

[Derpus]

Yeah but - $20US is about $30AUS. If you don't already have a VPN and you need one just for Rugbypass you'll probably be up for another $10US/month. Pretty close to the same price per month. Of course you would get a lot more stuff to watch for the money.

There are plenty of free VPNs that would be able to dodge the geoblocking

 

[Derpus]

It went HD when it changed from Foxtel Play to Foxtel Now....

Really? maybe im using a dated app or something.......

 

[Slim 293]

Really? maybe im using a dated app or something...

It's possible that the Foxtel Play app is still functioning on some devices, but it was upgraded last year when they rebranded.

 

[Derpus]

It's possible that the Foxtel Play app is still functioning on some devices, but it was upgraded last year when they rebranded.

The attached image is what i have.

Edit: the new version wants me to install Chrome which is terribly terrible. I'll just wait till they completely switch off Go.