I need help! UNC game on Saturday

[jay]

I have questions about WatchESPN...

I'm booked on a cross country flight this Saturday night...gah! It's bad enough to have to sit in coach for 5 hours, but to sit in coach for 5 hours knowing that our boys in blue are descending into hell?? Inconceivable.

I have Comcast with Xfinity, which I understand is an approved provider for Watch ESPN.

My question is, if I buy the wireless internet on the plane, will I still be able to watch the game on my laptop on the plane through WatchESPN?

[Native]

I have questions about WatchESPN...

I'm booked on a cross country flight this Saturday night...gah! It's bad enough to have to sit in coach for 5 hours, but to sit in coach for 5 hours knowing that our boys in blue are descending into hell?? Inconceivable.

I have Comcast with Xfinity, which I understand is an approved provider for Watch ESPN.

My question is, if I buy the wireless internet on the plane, will I still be able to watch the game on my laptop on the plane through WatchESPN?

I think so. I have Time Warner and they give you a redirect to log-in with your account information through your service provider. I've had no issues with logging in on Duke's wireless network, anyway.

Hope things work out for you!

[Duvall]

I have questions about WatchESPN...

I'm booked on a cross country flight this Saturday night...gah! It's bad enough to have to sit in coach for 5 hours, but to sit in coach for 5 hours knowing that our boys in blue are descending into hell?? Inconceivable.

I have Comcast with Xfinity, which I understand is an approved provider for Watch ESPN.

My question is, if I buy the wireless internet on the plane, will I still be able to watch the game on my laptop on the plane through WatchESPN?

Maybe, maybe not. Some airline wireless providers ban data-heavy sites like WatchESPN.

[hurleyfor3]

Some carriers have onboard satellite teevee which get pretty much every channel. On United, the legacy Continental planes (mostly 737s) have this but the legacy UA planes (Airbus and larger Boeings) don't. On the ground, teevee is free until pushback. This is how I watched the end of last year's Lehigh game. It's around $12 to buy the teevee inflight in coach and free in first class.

[jay]

Some carriers have onboard satellite teevee which get pretty much every channel. On United, the legacy Continental planes (mostly 737s) have this but the legacy UA planes (Airbus and larger Boeings) don't. On the ground, teevee is free until pushback. This is how I watched the end of last year's Lehigh game. It's around $12 to buy the teevee inflight in coach and free in first class.

Hmmm...I just looked it up (flying Southwest) and it appears they offer some sort of live TV service with your internet, but ESPN is not on the list of sports channels.

I don't know if that precludes watching streamed content such as WatchESPN, though. There is a small disclaimer on the website that says "Please note the speed for viewing and downloading high-bandwidth content, such as high-quality streaming media or large-file downloads will vary."

So that's promising.

[hurleyfor3]

A five-hour flight on Southwest... ugh.

I believe JetBlue and Virgin America have satellite teevee, if the situation arises again.

[pfrduke]

Most in-flight wifi either does not support streaming content or, if it does, supports it so poorly that it's impossible to watch. I don't have first-hand experience with Southwest's in-flight wifi, but I would be extremely surprised if you are able to access anything more than an unwatchable, blurry mess.

[bluesin]

It might not be enough to stream video but you could very well get the audio feed from ESPN (it's happened to me in the past when my internet connection on my phone wasn't great) or you could simply find the radio feed streaming on the internet. Unfortunately, I think you'll have the UNC announcers whom I personally find nearly impossible to listen to - they lack a clear understanding of the rules of basketball and seem to engage in what would charitably be called a biased commentary. I suppose that's to be expected since they are supposed to appeal to the average UNC fan, but I'd almost rather stick a fork in my ear than listen to them. On the upside there is always the chance you get to hear them quickly devolve into panic and desperation should we be winning/win.

[Native]

There's also thefirstrow.eu. First Row Sports — they'll have it, but beware of viruses. Pretty much a last resort for poor college students studying for midterms, but it comes through in a pinch. Just don't click anything that says "Download here".

[Dev11]

You can always pony up for Go Duke Inside Access and get Bob Harris. It requires Flash but I imagine it takes less bandwidth than streaming audio.

[pamtar]

If all else fails, and the plane's wifi is decent, you can always join the crew at Section 21 for chat. There's always someone willing to post continuous updates. If I'm there I'll be glad to do it

[TruBlu]

There's also thefirstrow.eu. First Row Sports — they'll have it, but beware of viruses. Pretty much a last resort for poor college students studying for midterms, but it comes through in a pinch. Just don't click anything that says "Download here".

Seconded on the "beware of viruses" with First Row Sports. If you do click on anything, be prepared to set the laptop on fire and burn it (just wait til you get off the plane).

[gus]

I have questions about WatchESPN...

I'm booked on a cross country flight this Saturday night...gah! It's bad enough to have to sit in coach for 5 hours, but to sit in coach for 5 hours knowing that our boys in blue are descending into hell?? Inconceivable.

I have Comcast with Xfinity, which I understand is an approved provider for Watch ESPN.

My question is, if I buy the wireless internet on the plane, will I still be able to watch the game on my laptop on the plane through WatchESPN?

If none of those solutions work, just cue up the watchespn app and start watching the replay after you land. "plausibly live"