Welcome to Hockey Hype Australia’s review of the New AIHL.TV App. On 8 June 2024 the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) officially launched its new AIHL.TV app on both Apple iOS and Google Android platforms.

This was welcome news for fans across the league who had been casting from internet browsers to TVs prior to this with varying degrees of success.

As my team was playing at home in a double header on the first weekend the app was available, I did not give it a try until this past weekend.

Setup & Install

Finding and installing the app was a doddle on the Play Store and signing in was a breeze. No issues, no complaints, just easy.

Interface

The app interface is very similar to the web version so that made it easier and quicker to understand.

However, the app navigation is simplified compared to the web version. Upcoming games and replays available on the home tab and a live tab available that lists all the upcoming game schedule with dates and times for their live broadcast.

The interface is intuitive and easy to use. The limited options make the app interface clean and efficient, a major bonus for people who are less tech savvy.

Functionality

The major functionality of the app is the ability to easily cast games to your big TV. This was the major issue the app was created to solve.

On this front, I have had a seamless experience with multiple games over two days. You click on the game you want to watch, on the game screen at the top right there is the ChromeCast symbol, click on that and select your TV or casting device, voila, AIHL on the big screen.

I have found the casting experience to be easy, quick and reliable. There have been no issues getting any game cast to my Samsung TV through my Nvidia Shield or directly onto my Sony TV, which has Chromecast built in.

I enjoy the game controls provided in the app, which mirror the web version. Including the ability to pause and rewind games. I even like the button to switch orientation of the stream on your phone from portrait to landscape without me needing to rotate my phone first. It’s a small thing but I like it.

I would however love if there was a full screen option and ability to manually adjust picture quality added in the future.

Another small function that I have found useful is the ability to be able to share a game link to others easily from the app to any variety of messaging apps and email. From the game screen just click on the share button and you can share the stream link to others.

Streaming performance

I had no issues streaming on my phone through the app. When casting, it was almost always flawless too. The only issue I encountered over the weekend was one game where the audio and video was slightly out of sync, meaning the commentator would call a goal and then a second later I would see it. It was annoying but at this stage seemed a one-off issue.

Otherwise, I had no other issues, video quality looked great, audio was clear, the production companies doing a good job. Most importantly to me I had no looping issues, which I suffered sometimes this season using Chrome web browser to cast from my phone to the TV. Two big thumbs up from me on not having that issue anymore.

Improvements I want to see in future updates and releases

As mentioned, I would love to see some functionality improvements in the future. This includes relatively simple improvements like full screen and manual picture quality adjustments.

Other larger functionality changes I would like to see more long term include a chat function. It would be fun having fans engage live during broadcasts. Also, key highlight markers added to the game time tracker bar, like what NHL GameCentre Live had back in the day. These are useful for replays and catching up on key moments if joining late.

On an accessibility front, it would be great to get the app into different native TV app stores, such as Google TV Play Store, Samsung, LG etc. Making it easier and easier for people to watch is important.

Overall impressions

It’s still early days for the app. I do wish the AIHL.TV app had been developed early and available from day dot this season. However, despite the tardiness in its release, we now have it and that is a good thing.

It’s easy to get and use and it is working well. Making AIHL accessible and easy to watch is massively important and the app is helping to deliver this.

It’s solved a major problem with the roll-out service this year. Hopefully it will lead to less technical issues in the future with a more stable environment. It’s a big step forward, and I look forward to minor improvements and enhancements as time goes on.

This AIHL.TV user is very happy with the launch of the app and its performance so far. Hopefully it goes from strength to strength.

I hope this review of the new AIHL.TV app has been useful and/or insightful. For more stories, news and analysis from the AIHL, please check out Hockey Hype Australia’s AIHL News section.