MLB.tv

[Dreamscape]

I have yet to purchase this program. Most I did was get MLB Radio. But I am very, very tempted this year. I believe my internet connection will finally use it and I miss watching the games. If I go for it, it will be for premium to get the extra options.

Subscribers, what are the pluses and cons?

[Hobbes]

I subscribed to Premium last year and it really slowed down my computer (a laptop). I had problems with smooth playing also. My computer is getting pretty long in the tooth, so it may not be a problem with newer hardware. But I do have a decent bit of RAM and a fast connection, so I don't know what the problem was. Regardless, I'll be sticking with the standard version this year.

[OF&S]

I tested it a couple of years back when it first came out, and had streaming issues. It could have been partly to blame on my service (have had Comcast issues from time to time over the years), possibly that MLB.TV hadn't worked out the kinks at that point, and probably that my old laptop was on it's last leg.

I went the MLB Extra Innings package the next year, and that was great, though costly, and I haven't subscribed since. I get all the Braves games on top of the Fox, ESPN & MLB Network games. If I can't get my fill of baseball with that, then too bad for me.

[Lauren T.]

I use a friend's subscription occasionally (with her permission), and it works great on my home laptop (wireless mid-speed DSL, new Toshiba laptop, Firefox, no hiccups) but not so great on my work laptop (office wired internet, Dell laptop full of security and firewalls and files, using IE+7, lots of problems with streaming). If I was out of market, I would definitely purchase it but wouldn't hold my breath with trying to watch archived games at work. ;) At home, no issues at all.

[Middle Man]

Have had standard version the last two years with no major problems, only occasional chopiness. I've had occasional problems logging in - appeared to be caused by my Firefox adblocker - when I temporarily disabled the adblocker, it worked. It seemed like it may have been a problem when MLB switched to new ads, but that might have just been my imagination.

[Devil Wears Prado]

It sounds like some of you guys are suggesting the standard is the best way to go instead of the Premium (which lags you)?

[Lauren T.]

My friend's subscription is Premium.

[JanShan12]

I subscribed to Premium last year and just renewed my subscription today. When the games are in HD, the quality is great. I bought a HDMI cord to connect my computer to my HDtv so I can watch the games in HD from the couch. :) It's wonderful, especially considering I live in St. Louis and it's my only way to see the games.

[Agent-X-]

I subscribed to Premium last year and just renewed my subscription today. When the games are in HD, the quality is great. I bought a HDMI cord to connect my computer to my HDtv so I can watch the games in HD from the couch. :) It's wonderful, especially considering I live in St. Louis and it's my only way to see the games.

I second this notion. I'm a premium subscriber who subscribed for part of last season, too. The games look great in HD on an HDTV. I'm very happy with the service.

The only issue I've had was at work on my work laptop. I tried watching the game in HD and it was choppy with graphical artifacts. If this happens to anyone else, I have a hunch there is a software issue. The hardware is good enough to support it.

My suggestion is to do a bandwidth test. I think you want at least a 3 Mbps connection. I have 10 Mbps and at times it lags to below 5 Mbps. If it lags too much, obviously there will be hiccups in frame rate.

I LOVE being able to watch archived games, though. I never have to miss another game... Oh, and I caught some of yesterday's game while at work... TOTALLY makes my work days more enjoyable!

[Devil Wears Prado]

Not hearing good reviews on MLB.tv from some guys. They're saying that it's not working so well with Windows 7, and since I'll be buying a laptop with Windows 7 on it, I think this might be a bad sign. Anyone care to give some feedback on it?

[JanShan12]

Not clue about Windows 7...

but I wanted to add that this year's version of mlb.tv premium is better than last year's. For some reason, it is running much more smoothly and I have had no lag at all.

[Devil Wears Prado]

Before the free MLB Extra Innings trial runs out with my DirecTV, I'm going to buy MLB.tv, but I'm just trying to see how it is first... Is it possible to watch a game just to test it? Or is there no trials/testing? And is there really a difference between Premium and regular in terms of streaming (faster, slower, etc.)?

[Dreamscape]

I have Win7 Ultimate and it has worked fine on my computer. My connection isn't the best so I can lag and can't watch it at HD level, but that's fine. I'm merely happy to be watching baseball. Watched last night's game with no problem.

[Devil Wears Prado]

I have Win7 Ultimate and it has worked fine on my computer. My connection isn't the best so I can lag and can't watch it at HD level, but that's fine. I'm merely happy to be watching baseball. Watched last night's game with no problem.

Thanks. I don't even know what Nexdef does. Does it let you watch HD and use the DVR features? I'm like you. I'm happy to just see all the Braves games, but it'd be cool if I can watch it on HD or decent quality on my decent connection and slick Samsung monitor. :cool:

[Agent-X-]

I also have Win 7 Ultimate and have had no issues watching games in HD. The hardware requirements might be a bit higher for Windows 7 users.

I believe there is an MLB.tv test page to test your setup. I remember doing the video playback test. I believe it's there on MLB's website somewhere... last year's test was from the previous world series.

[Devil Wears Prado]

Anyone know how to watch condensed games?

[GeneGarberForPrez]

I would seriously consider getting a subscription, but I would much rather watch it on my TV than on my computer. I have a WDTV Live unit, which streams video from a computer, across a wireless network, to my TV, but it does not support mlb.tv on its own. There is software called playon.tv which might help bridge this gap, but I am unclear whether it supports mlb.tv. Is anybody doing anything close to this, and if you are, are you happy with the results?

[JanShan12]

To watch it on my TV, I purchased an HDMI cable so I can watch the games in HD from my couch. :) Not what you're trying to accomplish, I know.

[Devil Wears Prado]

Why no more weekend games? WTF..

[Hobbes]

All Saturday afternoon games are blacked out on MLB.TV, and always have been. FOX has the exclusive rights to these games.

[Agent-X-]

That's okay. Weekends are too wonderful to waste watching the Braves. I'll come back and catch the game when I have nothing else to do. :)

[Chris_Moderato]

That's okay. Weekends are too wonderful to waste watching the Braves. I'll come back and catch the game when I have nothing else to do. :)

Blasphemy!

[absintheofmalaise]

I have a laptop with 7 Home premium and MLBTV and it works great on it. I think the nexdef thing is still not working. I also picked up a Roku player so I could stream it to the TV. It works either wired or wireless and fully supports MLBTV. You can also use it to stream Netflix, amazon movies and other video streaming services. The model I bought was $100 with free shipping. I'm using this instead of EI and figure it will pay for itself in 2 seasons.

[Hobbes]

I also picked up a Roku player so I could stream it to the TV. It works either wired or wireless and fully supports MLBTV. You can also use it to stream Netflix, amazon movies and other video streaming services. The model I bought was $100 with free shipping. I'm using this instead of EI and figure it will pay for itself in 2 seasons.
How is the quality of the picture on the TV with that setup? Are you getting the MLB.TV premium feed or the standard feed?

[JanShan12]

I don't know if any of you have a PS3, but MLB.TV has just worked out a deal with them to stream games live through it if you currently subscribe. My PS3 is wireless and the games are amazing in HD on my 47 inch tv. If you have a PS3, this is definitely the way to watch games with MLB.TV.

[Devil Wears Prado]

Does anyone have any experience with MLB.tv and Macs? Im thinking about purchasing a Macbook Pro for college, and I was just wondering how MLB.tv is with Macs.... I'm nervous because I'm comfortable with Windows but I'm heavily leaning on Mac because of the quality and what not... But I'm worried most of my programs will not work with Macs - especially MLB.tv! So I'm just wondering what you guys think (those who've experienced it)... thanks.

[Gman]

Not clue about Windows 7...

but I wanted to add that this year's version of mlb.tv premium is better than last year's. For some reason, it is running much more smoothly and I have had no lag at all.

I've experienced the same great quality. I've had MLBtv premium for the last 4 years and each year it gets better. They been continually getting better at the lag issue and this year hardly any lags at all. There's also no freeze ups which were pretty frequent a few years ago. Voice stays going even when there are tiny lags. I like it. I was tempted to just go with the extra innings package on Time Warner cable but I really like the ability to catch a game when I'm traveling. Plus now that mlb's tv network does great game coverage all night I can watch the Braves on my laptop while seeing what my fantasy studs are doing during MLB's nightly tv coverage (since I'm in 1st place they are officially "studs"). They still have a ways to go to get that "multi-game view" on premium working consistently.

[Devil Wears Prado]

MLB.tv is not working for me. For some reason it says it can't determine whether or not I'm in a restricted area. I check my laptop's internet signal and it's full bars. It's not working on my desktop either. I live in CT. Is this happening to anyone else or is it just me? Thanks.

[Lauren T.]

Here's the MLB.tv blackout map (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/MLB_Blackout_Areas.png), but it looks like CT should only have Boston and NY games should be blacked out. Maybe a problem with your ISP?