Fans angry at video feeds

UCLA fans will get a freebie Friday night after complaints about video feeds of two exhibition games.

The exhibition games were not on broadcast television, and neither will be the home opener Friday against Portland State. Fans who couldn’t attend but wanted to see the debut of second-ranked UCLA and its highly touted freshman center Kevin Love resorted to paying $9.95 a game for a CSTV video feed on their computers for the Azusa Pacific and Chico State exhibition games.

It hasn’t gone well.

Several fans have angrily written on UCLA message boards complaining about an unwatchable choppy feed or getting totally blank screens, even after logging in with passwords.

CSTV spokesman Alex Riethmiller says the problem is with a firewall that UCLA has to protect its Internet service.

“We know it’s unacceptable,” Riethmiller said Tuesday. “It’s a technical issue that we can work out. By Friday the situation will be fixed.”

CSTV officials said later Tuesday that Friday’s Portland State game would be free to anyone who logs on to CSTV.com and clicks on the “live games” tab.

Riethmiller said CSTV, which broadcasts nearly 25,000 college sporting events online, usually picks up a television feed. But in cases where the game isn’t broadcast by live television, CSTV uses the video feed from the two or three cameras in an arena the team uses to make game tape. Then CSTV tries to synchronize the video with a local radio broadcast.

As far as Friday’s game, UCLA Coach Ben Howland says he still considers point guard Darren Collison doubtful and forward Josh Shipp probable. Collison, who sprained his left knee last Friday, will also wear a brace for two weeks after he returns. Shipp has a sprained right thumb and Howland hopes that when the Bruins return to practice today that Shipp will be ready to go.

Love was hard on himself Tuesday after he missed three of his 12 free-throw attempts against Chico State. “I’m a little surprised I missed three,” Love said.

“I’ve been working on them a lot,” said Love who shot 83% (186 of 225) from the line last year at Lake Oswego High. Love said he has been tutored by Rob Closs, who is the Oregon Ducks’ career leader in free-throw percentage (86.8%).

“Rob lived in Lake Oswego like I did,” Love said. “He taught me to do the same thing every time. He told me I have a natural knack for free-throw shooting.”

Love said his goal is to make 90% this season.

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diane.pucin@latimes.com