NBA League Pass

This is another instance where the app on the Fire TV is inferior to the respective app on the Roku (and in this case the Apple TV).  For the other instances, see The CW (10/1/16) and ESPN (10/22/16).

I heard that there's currently a freeview to NBA League Pass at the start of the season.  So I signed on to nba.com and signed up for the free preview.

Then I logged into the NBA app on the Fire TV, waited for the Utah-Portland game to start (after the Knicks-Cavaliers game on TNT) and tried to watch.  No video stream showed up and it said you can watch it on League Pass.

What gives?  Maybe the free preview doesn't work on the streaming boxes?

So I switched to my Roku.  Installed the NBA channel.  Logged into my account.  Accessed the game.  You can choose either the home feed or the away feed.  Both worked.

OK how about the Apple TV?  Hooked up my Apple TV.  Started up the NBA app.  Didn't even have to log in, it remembered it from last season.  Head to the game.  Choose the video stream.  And after a worrisome pause of nothing happening (I have only a 4 mbps DSL connection), the video stream of the game played.

So yep, I guess I'd have to blame the Fire TV app.

Strike three.

***

Decided to install it on my Fire tablet.  Did it on the website, but after I started up the tablet, I didn't see the app.

Went to the app store.  Searched for NBA.  Is it NBA Game Time?  Yep, that's the one because I see it downloading.

OK sign in.  Try to access the Utah-Portland game (the only game currently playing on League Pass).  Stream currently not available.

OK, maybe it's an Amazon problem, not necessarily just a Fire TV problem.

I'll check tomorrow when more games are on.

***

OK playing some more.  It worked on the iPad mini.  But then the Apple TV locked up.  Then the iPad mini locked up.  It worked again after restarting.

It's pretty neat when it works.  Watching the Knicks-Nets preseason game.  Was kind of unusual to see five white guys on the court for the Nets toward the end of the first quarter.  And I noticed that Kurt Rambis shaves, so he doesn't look like Phil Jackson so much any more.

*** [10/26/16]

Saw that the app for the Fire tablet was updated, so tried again.  Nope still didn't work.

Then saw this comment that uninstalling and reinstalling worked.  So I uninstalled that app and reinstalled it.

Hey it works now.

Then I noticed the comment was actually for the app for Fire TV, not the Fire tablet.  So even though the app said it hadn't been updated, I tried uninstalling and reinstalling.

And it worked.

I guess I'm happy.  Or happier than before.  But the app for the Fire TV is still inferior to its counterparts on the Roku and Apple TV because it doesn't support fast forward/rewind on archived games.

[10/27/16]

Experimenting further as the Wizards-Hawks game is on.  The Roku app is not able to rewind the live game, but on the Apple TV, I can rewind to whenever I want.  So I rank the Apple TV as the best app of the three.

... Later that day ...

More experimenting as the Clippers-Blazers game is now playing on TNT.  Normally League Pass doesn't carry TNT games live, but interestingly the Roku app allowed me to view the game via the TNT Overtime feeds (with your choice of view).  This is not supported on the Apple TV or Fire TV.

Then I tried to access the Spurs-Kings game which is now playing, but is blacked out in my area.  I wasn't able to access it when I tried on the Roku or Fire TV, but when I tried to access the video feed on the Apple TV, I got the audio (radio) feed!

So the Roku actually has the most coverage as it covers TNT games.  But the Apple TV has the advantage of rewinding live games and giving access to the radio feed for games blacked out in your area.

[11/1/16]

Noticed that the app was updated today.  From the website:

What's new in version 2016.1.3

TNT Overtime: watch enhanced live coverage of NBA on TNT games for free
Navigation updates
Bug fixes and performance enhancements.
Navigation updates?  Maybe FF/REW now work?

OK, hook up the Fire TV.  Run the app.  All games now say "this game has just ended / please check back later for game recap."

Uninstall, remove from cloud, reinstall.

OK, the app now works.  FF/REW now work for archived games, but not for live games.

Will have to wait Thursday until I can test the TNT Overtime feature.

[11/3/16]

Yep, TNT Overtime works on the Fire TV.  It's free.  You don't have to be an NBA League Pass subscriber.  In fact, it worked without me even being logged into my account.  So this puts the app right up there with the Roku app.

However, I don't see the great attraction of the Overtime views if you're used to the view of the standard telecast.  It's an interesting to watch for a while, but what I miss most is that none of the views display the score along with the feed.  But I guess it's better than nothing if you don't have access to the regular TNT feed.

[12/28/16] Not really NBA League Pass entry, but it's an NBA entry so I'll put it here.

Noticed that the NBC Sports app on the Roku currently has three NBA games playing.  Kings vs. Trail Blazers on CSN California, Raptors vs. Warriors on CSN Bay Area, and Nets vs. Bull on CSN Chicago.  I want to see if I can catch any of them on the Hawaiian Telcom account.

OK, activated.  Let's see if I get any results.

I guess not.  There's a message saying: Restricted Content  The current program is not available in your region due to local blackout restrictions.  And now that I'm logged in, none of the games show up on the screen.  Oh well, I tried..

Looking at the activation screen, it says "You have access to NBC Sports video from the following networks: NBCSN. CNBC, USA, Golf Channel, NBC.  No Prime Ticket, which makes sense since Hawaiian Telcom doesn't carry Prime Ticket.  Wait, never mind.  Prime Ticket is a Fox channel.

Go home and try activate the Roku app with Oceanic.  [what 52pickup not working?  try Keith.]   OK, logged in, but as expected no NBA.