In order to use online streaming safely, and to reduce the hassle involved, I’ve compiled a list of useful resources for you.
Adblocker – use uBlock Origin. Many streaming sites are plastered with annoying ads. Block them with this software. Free and Open Source.
Livestreamer software. Instead of watching in your browser, you can instead stream to VLC or other media players of your choice. This is for more advanced users, involves using a command line. Free and open source.
I use NordVPN (disclosure: affiliate link, please consider using this link if you find this guide useful, thank you!) More information regarding how they keep your data private from their FAQ.
Acestream is a P2P application so I would advise you use a VPN, my recommendation is Cyberghost VPN. You can currently get 70% off by purchasing 12 months for $21/€14.99, regular price is $69.99/€49.99
Streaming Software
Sopcast(Windows, OS X, Ubuntu) – popular p2p desktop streaming software Website
Canada– All Sportsnet channels broadcast schedule (for some reason the soccer specific schedule does not include EPL games. All of these channels but SN world and SN one are free)
Install them, then go to reddit soccerstreams, choose the match you want to watch, check the comments, and enjoy your game!
Depending on which software is needed to watch the stream, there are usually two routes:
Sopcast – link starts with sop:// – your browser will ask you how to handle this link, choose sopcast. It will open and try to connect to the stream. After it’s buffered it will start playing. It’s usually choppy and not the best looking, so that’s why I use VLC. In Sopcast, go to options, set extrenal player to vlc and every time you connect to a stream you can pause the sopcast playback and then click on the left button [63] – your stream will start playing in VLC, where you can set up filters, deinterlacing, resize window and have a better looking picture overall.
ACE Stream – link starts with acestream:// which opens a player similar to VLC and starts playing or it can be a web page with a flash window similar to firstrow, except it uses acestream browser player and the quality is much higher.
Flash videos play directly in the browser. Quality is often lower, and the sites are often filled with ads, so this should be your last resort.
How to Watch the Rugby World Cup Online – Essential Software
Use a VPN – Streaming is a legal grey area in some countries. Many of the links above are restricted based on geography (meaning you can only watch ITV within the UK, for example). I recommend Cyberghost VPN to protect your privacy and get around geo-restrictions. It’s a premium service that is well worth paying for.
Adblocker – I recommend uBlock Origin. Many streaming sites are plastered with annoying ads. Block them with this software. Free.
Livestreamer software. Instead of watching in your browser, you can instead stream to VLC or other media players of your choice. This is for more advanced users, involves using a command line. Free and open source.
Here is a complete list of everything you need to set up Acestream on Mac: where to find good streams, how to correctly copy and paste acestream links and how to fix lagging and buffering.
Use Acestream Securely
Acestream involves using peer-to-peer (P2P) services. Sometimes these are a legal grey area depending on your geographic location.
I use NordVPN (disclosure: affiliate link, please consider using this link if you find this guide useful, thank you!) More information regarding how they keep your data private from their FAQ.
Acestream is designed for Windows, so it requires some workarounds to getting it working on a Mac. Luckily, you can follow this fairly straightforward guide in the video below.
Update December 2015: added video
It involves installing a media centre application called Kodi, which acts as a front end interface for Acestream, which is the software that does that actual streaming.
Where to Find Rugby Acestream Links (or any sport)
No, this isn’t actually rugby.
Once you have Kodi downloaded and installed, it’s time to find some live streams!
I am a rugby fan, but you can use this tip for almost any sport you like to watch (e.g. football, tennis, NFL…).
Step 1: check the rugby match thread on reddit (available on the day of the game). You may find an acestream link there, posted by a user. If not, go to step 2.
Step 2: Go to Flashscore rugby to find which TV channels are showing the game. Hover over the TV icon on the right to see which channels are showing the game:
When you have your preferred channel in mind, go to step 3.
Step 3: find your TV channel on this website. Post any links you find in the Reddit match thread, it’s nice to be nice.
Tip 1: If you speak a language other than English, sometimes you can get a better stream, as English streams are often in high demand.
Tip 2: If your stream is giving trouble, look for a stream with a lower bitrate (the number listed in Kbps on the link in step 3.) Higher bitrate, e.g. 3000Kbps = crystal clear HD, but you need a fast internet connection to handle that action! I find lower bitrates perfectly watchable, they are usually ~720p quality.
Correct Format for Acestream Links
Make sure you copy and paste the entire acestream link as highlighted below (if you copy only part of the link, it will most likely not work).
How to Open an Acestream Link in Kodi
Fix AceStream Buffering on Mac
Open Kodi.
Right-click the menu item for AceStream in the menu bar at the top of your screen, click “Options”.
Set the live buffer to 30 seconds. This means that our stream is 30 seconds behind the live broadcast. If our connection is poor, the buffer will run out and our stream will lag. If you still have problems with lagging, increase the buffer. If you have a very fast connection, you can try decreasing it so you are closer to the live broadcast.
Disk cache- I set mine to 3 (meaning 3Gb). This is the maximum size that you want Acestream to store the live video on your hard drive.
Go to Advanced settings. Set total maximum connections to 500.
The steps above are highlighted here:
Done!
Use Acestream Securely
Acestream involves using peer-to-peer (P2P) services. Sometimes these are a legal grey area depending on your geographic location.
I use NordVPN (disclosure: affiliate link, please consider using this link if you find this guide useful, thank you!) More information regarding how they keep your data private from their FAQ.
First of all, this guide was posted originally on /r/rugbyunion wiki by user RodzillaPT. All credit goes to him.
He is a rugby fan in Brazil who can’t watch rugby as it is often not shown on local TV.
You can use this guide to watch almost any sport online – Premier league football, rugby, NFL, NBA, NHL, you name it!
Use Acestream Securely
Acestream involves using peer-to-peer (P2P) services. Sometimes these are a legal grey area depending on your geographic location.
I use NordVPN (disclosure: affiliate link, please consider using this link if you find this guide useful, thank you!) More information regarding how they keep your data private from their FAQ.
Streaming HD Sports Online with Torrents – The Complete Guide
So, the way to a good stream is not through flash streams on website. The proper way is torrenting streams.
First, you’ve got to download your client. I’m not aware of other softwares, perhaps they are out there, but I use AcePlayer.
After you’ve downloaded and installed it, head to the windows toolbar (1). Right click on (2), and pick ‘options’ (3).
Set the main settings somewhat like this. The live buffer time is a real important deal. I think most guides will tell you to use 10, but I like to go with 30. This time is very important. You see, these streams are really high quality. usually ranging from 900kbps to 2000kbps. If you have a bad peak on the internet and a low buffer time, it might stutter and the fun is ruined. Using a high timer like 30 seconds in a buffer, allows for a bigger margin of error. Play with numbers and pick the one that seems the best to you.
After that, pick ‘advanced’, just like the picture shows you.
In this last screen, try to leave it somewhat like this. Ok in both screens and close the settings.
The software is ready to be used. Now, we need to find us a stream. The site Wizwig does a great job at that. Not only they display browser streams, but they also display AceStream streams. They also state the bitratio of each stream, helping you to pick the best without trial and error. The site also syncs with your timezone, so you don’t have to do weird math to find out when each match will be.
Everyday, the available matches for that day will be displayed in this screen. Today (Sunday night) there are no Rugby Streams available so they show none. For the sake of teaching, I’ll be using another sport.
Not many matches on right now, so I headed over to the Live Sports section and started to look for a match. I got lucky with a NHL match, so I clicked ‘Live’. (please, take notice that the site clock is synched with mine).
The match screen. It shows a couple of streams for the match, the channel that’s being streamed and their bitrate. I pick the AceStream one. the top link. The bottom one leads to some russian weird stuff. 4000kbps is way too much for me to handle (Damn Norwegians and your top quality internet!), but let’s open it anyway (I’ve never seen a 4000kbps Rugby stream. so, this most likely won’t be a problem).
After I click on “Play Now!”, a blank page appears.Please look at the url. This page will activate the AcePlayer,which will start buffering as soon as it’s open. If it doesn’t, something is off. Worry not. If your match is about to start, don’t try any harder. You can open the AcePlayer yourself, press ctrl + T, and add the Stream ID manually.The ID is basically the blank page URL without the “acestream://” bit.
After a couple of seconds buffering, your match will be on. If everything is fine, and your internet cooperates, you’ll be able to enjoy a stutterless match in pretty good quality.
Please, be aware of this:
This won’t be available for every match, but it’s always worth the shot. There has been some regular broadcast of Super Rugby matches, at least. I’ve watched the Rebels x Crusaders match on a 900kbps stream. I’ve also watched a couple of Six Nations matches in it.
Use Acestream Securely
Acestream involves using peer-to-peer (P2P) services. Sometimes these are a legal grey area depending on your geographic location.
I use NordVPN (disclosure: affiliate link, please consider using this link if you find this guide useful, thank you!) More information regarding how they keep your data private from their FAQ.
