Blades Player

[blade67]

Can anyone advise on what this service offers.

Looking on the OS, it looks like it costs around £4.50 a month and for that you get

- player and manager videos
- live radio commenrtary? Not sure this adds much value to me as radio sheffield usually cover away games and I'm watching the home games
- highlight of games - 20 minutes highlight package - Is this every game? TBH it's this bit that is tempting me.

- they also seem to show full replays of games - is that all game as well

Is that a decent summary of what is on offer?

Are the highlights any good or does it look like they've filmed it from behind a fence?

Any info greatly appreciated

 

[Bath Blade]

I've had it years but have never watched any player interviews or match highlights. As an exile, the match commentary is worth every penny, but if I could receive Radio Sheffield then I wouldn't bother with Blades Player.

 

[Bartleby]

Can anyone advise on what this service offers.
Looking on the OS, it looks like it costs around £4.50 a month

bit cheaper at £38 a year if you go for direct debit

- live radio commenrtary? Not sure this adds much value to me as radio sheffield usually cover away games and I'm watching the home games

If you live within Radio Sheffield coverage area then no not much value to you, but good for those who don't as you can't get the live commentaries on the net

- highlight of games - 20 minutes highlight package - Is this every game? TBH it's this bit that is tempting me.

not 20 minutes, highlights tend to be about 10 minutes

- they also seem to show full replays of games - is that all game as well

yes

Are the highlights any good or does it look like they've filmed it from behind a fence?

the quality's not bad, not HD that's for sure - it's the same quality as the clips they put on youtube

 

[The_Green_Man]

I am a season ticket holder and I do try and get to as many away games as I can but inevitably I do miss about a quarter of the games every season due to work and stuff and for this reason Blades Player has been a great resource for me.

Live commentary wise you are basically paying for the Radio Sheffield coverage. I listen to it on my phone when I am working and can't get the match via normal FM and it is useful for me.

The main reason I buy it though is for the full 90 minute match video. These are available to watch the day after the game and I usually always watch it again regardless of the scoreline to see if I see things in a different light, or if I haven't been able to attend the game due to work then I watch the game in full to see what I missed etc.

As for everything else....The match interviews and stuff are ok but bare in mind compressed versions of these are available via the Youtube channel.

Pros and cons really.

 

[Cyprus Blade]

I use BP to listen to the matches (can't get RS) but also watch every game afterwards ( even the Gillingham one ). It is different this season (supposedly improved) although last season you were able to select other matches and pick up commentary on those - which I found useful in the latter stages of the season. From what I see this season you only get access to the SUFC matches now.

 

[blade67]

many thanks to you all for taking the trouble

I think I'll invest in a couple of months to see if it's for me or not

 

[Bartleby]

actually you can go on it ( http://www.player.sufc.co.uk/ ) and have a browse around without signing in just to see what is on there - have a look on the All Content bit on the right of the menu

 

[DaddyDozy]

blade67 Did you find bladesplayer to be worth the money? As an exile I'm also considering investing for this coming season (but want to make sure its worth the money since I'm on a student budget!). As most of the games are played at 2am in the morning here I'm more interested in the match highlights than the radio coverage. Do they still put full match highlights from all the games up? Cheers!

 

[Bartleby]

Do they still put full match highlights from all the games up? Cheers!

they do, they're usually put on a day or two after the game.

 

[DaddyDozy]

they do, they're usually put on a day or two after the game.

Will give it a go then! Cheers WincobankBlade

 

[Bartleby]

Will give it a go then! Cheers WincobankBlade

if you're wanting to be cautious you could go for the monthly option and cancel if you don't like it, but it worked out cheaper for me to do the yearly direct debit thing. The video quality of the Derby friendly was awful but apparently that wasn't the proper cameras being used for that one.

 

[Kentblade]

if you're wanting to be cautious you could go for the monthly option and cancel if you don't like it, but it worked out cheaper for me to do the yearly direct debit thing. The video quality of the Derby friendly was awful but apparently that wasn't the proper cameras being used for that one.

Would be lost without it living a round trip of 420 miles away.
UTB

 

[Bartleby]

Would be lost without it living a round trip of 420 miles away.
UTB

it's a good deal I reckon, I sometimes watch games I've been to on it as well - usually when we've won ;-) I do like having sound (crowd etc) but no commentary.

 

[blade67]

blade67 Did you find bladesplayer to be worth the money? As an exile I'm also considering investing for this coming season (but want to make sure its worth the money since I'm on a student budget!). As most of the games are played at 2am in the morning here I'm more interested in the match highlights than the radio coverage. Do they still put full match highlights from all the games up? Cheers!

sorry, having said I would, my tight Yorkshire side cut in and I didn't. Still telling myself I'll do it though

 

[Bartleby]

sorry, having said I would, my tight Yorkshire side cut in and I didn't. Still telling myself I'll do it though

was wondering if you'd gone for it. Must admit, if we have a really shit season (unlikely methinks) I'd probably not use it much - there were some games last season I couldn't bear to watch even though it does go against my Yorkshire side to get my money's worth.

 

[Dkc]

Pay monthly via Paypal, you can easily cancel anytime by just blocking the recurring payment

 

[Bladeaway]

Living overseas I find it useful, good to watch highlights and games and invaluable for live commentary! With the app you can stream the commentary live whilst you're out and about, I often have the evening games on whilst I'm driving to work in the morning.

I dream of one day match videos being live streamed for us exiles. This year in Australia every single premier league game is available with an online subscription to one of the big mobile networks. Fingers crossed I'll be signing up for that in a few years (ha!)

In the meantime, blades player is all we've got.
The video quality isn't brilliant, and as anyone whose watched any highlights from bramall lane in the past 5 years will notice, the cameraman likes to zoom in far past what is necessary when the ball gets into the box, and as a result, half the time the camera is chasing the ball around and you can't tell what's going on.

Also the full game video often doesn't appear for a day or two after the match.
But if you can't get to games and want to keep up with how everyone is playing and just generally still feel in touch with the lane, there isn't anything better.

I rarely watch any interviews, but they post several a week if you're into that.

Oh, and last year we were enthralled by the weekly pitch upgrade time lapse videos in pre-season.

 

[Dkc]

I have an on-off relationship with BP. It's no secret that the radio commentaries are often re-broadcast and accessible for free to exiles. So what else do you get? Interviews, and the full match, with amateurish camera work without commentary, put up 1-2 days after the game ends. To me, it's worth it if we are playing well and winning games. Last season, I don't think I watched a single full 90 mins on BP as we were so shit.

If we could watch games live it would be a different story, and I think most exiles would pay 20-25 quid a month. However, this must be balanced with the corresponding loss of revenue from the game leaking online.

They should at least experiment with this idea - but are unable to do so, I imagine, for contract-related reasons.

 

[Bartleby]

and the full match, with amateurish camera work without commentary

I actually prefer it with background sound and no commentary.

To me, it's worth it if we are playing well and winning games. Last season, I don't think I watched a single full 90 mins on BP as we were so shit.

I was a bit like that last season. Forced myself to watch the Burton home game though just to see if we were as bad as people on here were saying. I did watch the Walsall and Oldham home games right through though, even though I'd been to the games

 

[Dkc]

I actually prefer it with background sound and no commentary.

Same here. I could be wrong, but I think that in the 80's and 90's commentators on live games didn't feel obliged to talk all the time, and you could go for minutes without hearing the commentator utter a word. There weren't that many pundits either.

 

[Bartleby]

Same here. I could be wrong, but I think that in the 80's and 90's commentators on live games didn't feel obliged to talk all the time, and you could go for minutes without hearing the commentator utter a word. There weren't that many pundits either.

I had ITV digital for a while, when we were in the old second division and once they put a game on (might have been us v Portsmouth?) with sound and no commentary by accident/technical fault. It got to half time before I noticed and realised I preferred it.

 

[ben1987]

Ive got it. I think it's worth the 4 quid odd a month. I like the interviews and the extended highlights. The commentary is good too if you have to miss a game for whatever reason.

I would not reccomend it for highlights alone though. The goals can always be watched via the Sheffield United YouTube channel.

 

[Bartleby]

Ive got it. I think it's worth the 4 quid odd a month. I like the interviews and the extended highlights. The commentary is good too if you have to miss a game for whatever reason.

I would not recomend it for highlights alone though. The goals can always be watched via the Sheffield United YouTube channel.

that's right if you just want the goals no point. I do enjoy watching a game right through, esp if it's one we played well in, say on a Monday evening. Great way to keep up if you can't get to all the games, and great also to watch a game you went to again IMO, see it from a different perspective etc

 

[Dkc]

How difficult would it be for them to upload the game within, say, half an hour of the final whistle?

If they did that, I might be tempted to avoid the result and watch the full game. But it's impossible to ignore the result for 48 hrs.

 

[ben1987]

How difficult would it be for them to upload the game within, say, half an hour of the final whistle?

If they did that, I might be tempted to avoid the result and watch the full game. But it's impossible to ignore the result for 48 hrs.

I guess if they do it too soon then they could be negatively impacting ticket sales - a few tight arses may stay at home and watch it for £4 a month rather than £400 a year.

It could affect sky and bt sport subscriptions too.

 

[Dkc]

Last time the Blades were on TV every week was when we were in the PL. We were always on live, even if it was just a foreign stream. In that season our average attendance was over 30,000

 

[ben1987]

Can't compare flying in the premier league with all the feel good factor in the world to festering like a rotten turd in league one.

People are far more likely to look for an excuse not to show up in league 1 over the premier league - IMO ofc.

 

[Bergen Blade]

Normally the full match videos are available the day after, but there's nothing so far. I asked them about it on twitter, but they've not replied.

 

[shrubbery]

I've just signed up to trial it for a month. I live locally so can get the Radio Sheff commentary of the away games but fancied highlights that stretch a little further than simply showing the goals.

Will be interesting to see how many games I end up watching in full.

At least the price doesn't seem to be taking the piss.

 

[Bartleby]

It could affect sky and bt sport subscriptions too.

couldn't give a fuck if it did, but how would it? We're only on there once or twice a year these days.