Watch Hockey & Live Sports in 4K with IPTV in Canada
Hockey night is the toughest test for any streaming setup: fast skating, a small puck, and everyone in the country watching at the same time. Here is what you need so games play smoothly over IPTV, from the NHL to the CFL, the NBA and MLS.
The basics
- Speed: about 10 Mbps for each screen in HD and 25 Mbps for each screen in 4K.
- Device: a 4K stick or box, such as a Fire TV Stick 4K Max, a Google TV device or an Nvidia Shield.
- TV: a 4K HDMI port (often labelled HDCP 2.2) and a good HDMI cable.
- Player: TiviMate or IPTV Smarters Pro, see which player fits you.
Settings for fast action
Turn on frame-rate matching on your device so 60 fps games are shown at 60 fps. On a Fire TV this is Match Original Frame Rate, explained in our Firestick guide. On the TV, use the Sport or Standard picture mode, and lower strong motion smoothing if the puck leaves a trail.
Game-night checklist
- Restart the device before the game.
- Use a cable or 5 GHz Wi-Fi.
- Open the channel 15 minutes before puck drop.
- Pause big downloads and other streams at home.
- If the picture stutters, go through the buffering steps.
Time zones and start times
A game that starts at 7 p.m. in Toronto starts at 4 p.m. in Vancouver. Make sure your device uses your local time zone, so the TV guide shows the right start time. The EPG guide explains how to fix a guide that is shifted by a few hours.
More than one game at once
Every screen that plays at the same time needs its own connection. For a game on the TV and another on a tablet, choose a two-device plan or more on the plans page.
Availability
Broadcast rights in Canada are sold by league, season and region. Which games you can watch, and how, depends on how they are licensed. Check before the playoffs and ask our support if you are unsure.