MLB.TV Blackouts Discussion 2017

[fatcowxlive]

I've sincerely had opposite experiences with MLB.tv. Constantly freezes and hiccups with my s***** internet. For some reason SN NOW doesn't.

 

Huh that's odd. I would like to say that that's because SN Now had less "moving pieces"; it's a player that takes the live feed from SN. MLB.tv has multiple streams, has the gameday overlay, has to fetch ads to show you between innings, I could definitely see some machines having issues with MLB.tv actually, understandably it requires more to get going. Thankfully I haven't had any!

[Laika]

It's the PS4 app that is the worst for MLB.tv. It's a bit better on my Macbook, but still not smooth all of the time. Some games are.

[fatcowxlive]

I'm going to ask some dumb dinosaur questions...

 

If you're streaming sports off the internet - do you get it in HD? (I'm assuming Sportsnet NOW and MLB TV both are).

 

I think I pay like $180 a month (taxes incl.). I don't have unlimited internet, but I have 2 young kids and a wife who doesn't have a data on her phone (uses our wifi) and I don't go over monthly. I also have HD/PRV with the VIP package and get damn near ever channel except the movie channels. Finally, in true dinosaur style - we still have a home phone with unlimited long distance calling.

 

I'm trying to convince the wife to dump the home phone (which is like $35-$40 a month I think).

 

Obviously I could get Netflix for $10/month, which would cover most of the sitcoms we watch (+ add some movies), but I can't imagine watching sports in regular def - or having it buffer and lag. I'd go insane. I'd also have to pay more for internet to go to unlimited.

 

I also watch a ton of Food and HGTV shows when I'm just vegging and killing time. No idea if those shows are on Netflix - I assume they are.

 

Anyone want to guess how much $ I'm wasting per month?

 

I kind of thought if I dump the home phone, the bill is down to $140 a month. Unlimited internet might cost $75? Netflix's for $10/month + something like MLB TV or the NFL package for $30/month is like $115.....am I in the ballpark? It's costing me like $25-$30/month to simply watch TV the way I always have? A buck a day?

 

Well damn. Let me break down the situation at our household (between me and my parents):

 

No home phone

No cable

Bell Fibe 50 down + Unlimted download ($70/month)

IPTV channels (Canadian, American, Sports & Middle Eastern channels; 95% not HD): $15

MLB.tv: $8-10/month ($100 or $120 for the year I don't remember)

Netflix: $10/month

VPN: $4/month ($50 for the year)

 

So that's like $110/month? Also yes MLB.tv depending on your speed can get 1080p HD at 60 frames per second so it's silky smooth (smoother than cable channels)

[fatcowxlive]

It's the PS4 app that is the worst for MLB.tv. It's a bit better on my Macbook, but still not smooth all of the time. Some games are.

 

Huh that's super interesting. PS4 app for me was very smooth, maybe crashes out once every 6 games but after restarting it's fine. Are you able to watch SN Now on PS4? That's the big advantage of MLB.tv, it supports more devices

[LGBJ29]

I'm going to ask some dumb dinosaur questions...

 

If you're streaming sports off the internet - do you get it in HD? (I'm assuming Sportsnet NOW and MLB TV both are).

 

I think I pay like $180 a month (taxes incl.). I don't have unlimited internet, but I have 2 young kids and a wife who doesn't have a data on her phone (uses our wifi) and I don't go over monthly. I also have HD/PRV with the VIP package and get damn near ever channel except the movie channels. Finally, in true dinosaur style - we still have a home phone with unlimited long distance calling.

 

I'm trying to convince the wife to dump the home phone (which is like $35-$40 a month I think).

 

Obviously I could get Netflix for $10/month, which would cover most of the sitcoms we watch (+ add some movies), but I can't imagine watching sports in regular def - or having it buffer and lag. I'd go insane. I'd also have to pay more for internet to go to unlimited.

 

I also watch a ton of Food and HGTV shows when I'm just vegging and killing time. No idea if those shows are on Netflix - I assume they are.

 

Anyone want to guess how much $ I'm wasting per month?

 

I kind of thought if I dump the home phone, the bill is down to $140 a month. Unlimited internet might cost $75? Netflix's for $10/month + something like MLB TV or the NFL package for $30/month is like $115.....am I in the ballpark? It's costing me like $25-$30/month to simply watch TV the way I always have? A buck a day?

 

Yeah I honestly think you're spending too much. Like I said we're paying 99/mo for internet and TV with the NHL package included.

 

We just had a Rogers rep show up at our house and offer this deal to us. 500 mb/s is some of the fastest internet you're ever gonna find right now, and its unlimited which is awesome never having to worry about overage charges.

We get just about every channel too with an HD PVR. You get to choose for the most part which channels you want in certain packages and the all the TSN and sportsnet channels are easy to get. Then each additional receiver is only $5/month so we got 2 more of those as well. And we're just students, but splitting it 3 ways is really cheap for us.

I would just call and ask about this deal because Bell came around and tried to beat Rogers price once they found out what we had and what we paid. Our Rogers rep also said if you call and threaten to cancel or switch to bell saying you've got a deal like the one I just mentioned they match it every time. They never want to lose your business.

 

We dont have home phone or anything like that, but nobody really uses that anymore.

 

If you want netflix too that only like another 10 bucks like you mentioned. You really shouldn't have to pay more than 120/mo. with just about everything you'd ever want included. Just give them a call and tell them you're paying too much.

[Brownie19]

Well damn. Let me break down the situation at our household (between me and my parents):

 

No home phone

No cable

Bell Fibe 50 down + Unlimted download ($70/month)

IPTV channels (Canadian, American, Sports & Middle Eastern channels; 95% not HD): $15

MLB.tv: $8-10/month ($100 or $120 for the year I don't remember)

Netflix: $10/month

VPN: $4/month ($50 for the year)

 

So that's like $110/month? Also yes MLB.tv depending on your speed can get 1080p HD at 60 frames per second so it's silky smooth (smoother than cable channels)

 

Interesting. When you say you get "sports" through IPTV - what sports? I mean in addition to baseball, I want to watch the NBA, NFL + golf (could do without NHL, soccer, etc.). Under your setup, would I have to get additional sports packages? If so, it's getting a lot closer to a wash (all while I get all channels in HD).

[Laika]

Huh that's super interesting. PS4 app for me was very smooth, maybe crashes out once every 6 games but after restarting it's fine. Are you able to watch SN Now on PS4? That's the big advantage of MLB.tv, it supports more devices

 

Nope. And that is annoying. It's been on XBONE for months apparently, but still no PS4 support.

[Brownie19]

Yeah I honestly think you're spending too much. Like I said we're paying 99/mo for internet and TV with the NHL package included.

 

We just had a Rogers rep show up at our house and offer this deal to us. 500 mb/s is some of the fastest internet you're ever gonna find right now, and its unlimited which is awesome never having to worry about overage charges.

We get just about every channel too with an HD PVR. You get to choose for the most part which channels you want in certain packages and the all the TSN and sportsnet channels are easy to get. Then each additional receiver is only $5/month so we got 2 more of those as well. And we're just students, but splitting it 3 ways is really cheap for us.

I would just call and ask about this deal because Bell came around and tried to beat Rogers price once they found out what we had and what we paid. Our Rogers rep also said if you call and threaten to cancel or switch to bell saying you've got a deal like the one I just mentioned they match it every time. They never want to lose your business.

 

We dont have home phone or anything like that, but nobody really uses that anymore.

 

If you want netflix too that only like another 10 bucks like you mentioned. You really shouldn't have to pay more than 120/mo. with just about everything you'd ever want included. Just give them a call and tell them you're paying too much.

 

Yeah I phone and complain I'm paying too much about once a year....although I will note that Rogers actually calls me from time to time to see if they can adjust my service and if there's any offers out there that would lower my bills. I think if I remove the home phone, I'm down to about $140 a month - which isn't far off what you're suggesting.

 

 

What I was really trying to gather is should I make the leap to eliminate cable altogether and stream my TV off the internet like you youngsters. Based on fatcow's breakdown - it looks like I could save some money - but not a significant amount (I was thinking I'd be able to save $60+ a month).

[george09]

[Spanky99]

 

Hah!

[The Cats Ass]

Yeah I honestly think you're spending too much. Like I said we're paying 99/mo for internet and TV with the NHL package included.

 

We just had a Rogers rep show up at our house and offer this deal to us. 500 mb/s is some of the fastest internet you're ever gonna find right now, and its unlimited which is awesome never having to worry about overage charges.

We get just about every channel too with an HD PVR. You get to choose for the most part which channels you want in certain packages and the all the TSN and sportsnet channels are easy to get. Then each additional receiver is only $5/month so we got 2 more of those as well. And we're just students, but splitting it 3 ways is really cheap for us.

I would just call and ask about this deal because Bell came around and tried to beat Rogers price once they found out what we had and what we paid. Our Rogers rep also said if you call and threaten to cancel or switch to bell saying you've got a deal like the one I just mentioned they match it every time. They never want to lose your business.

 

We dont have home phone or anything like that, but nobody really uses that anymore.

 

If you want netflix too that only like another 10 bucks like you mentioned. You really shouldn't have to pay more than 120/mo. with just about everything you'd ever want included. Just give them a call and tell them you're paying too much.

 

But what does that $99 turn into after the first few months. Usually that introductory price is only for limited time.

[burlingtonbandit]

Makes sense to back it out. They've left a ton of money on the table by letting people get MLBTV to watch the games.

[Spanky99]

Makes sense to back it out. They've left a ton of money on the table by letting people get MLBTV to watch the games.

 

Blacking out a Country, never makes sense? If they were to blackout the GTA I'd understand.

[guylaroche5]

Blacking out a Country, never makes sense? If they were to blackout the GTA I'd understand.

 

But this is Canada's team remember? Red jerseys every Sunday, big ass maple leaves plastered all over the place. Josh Donaldson is an MVP cuz he plays like a hockey player etc

 

#RiseAndCumTogether

#LoveThisCountry

[Spanky99]

But this is Canada's team remember? Red jerseys every Sunday, big ass maple leaves plastered all over the place. Josh Donaldson is an MVP cuz he plays like a hockey player etc

 

#RiseAndCumTogether

#LoveThisCountry

 

I don't get the snark? That's what I'm agreeing with. It's Toronto's team, if they don't sell out, tough titties for them, the rest of the Country shouldn't suffer.

[guylaroche5]

I don't get the snark? That's what I'm agreeing with. It's Toronto's team, if they don't sell out, tough titties for them, the rest of the Country shouldn't suffer.

 

I wasn't trying to be snarky, I was agreeing with you. It's typical Rogers using nationalism to increase their market size.

[Spanky99]

I wasn't trying to be snarky, I was agreeing with you. It's typical Rogers using nationalism to increase their market size.

 

Oh, no this would be an MLB/Ownership decision.

[Bobthe4th]

Yeah I phone and complain I'm paying too much about once a year....although I will note that Rogers actually calls me from time to time to see if they can adjust my service and if there's any offers out there that would lower my bills. I think if I remove the home phone, I'm down to about $140 a month - which isn't far off what you're suggesting.

 

 

What I was really trying to gather is should I make the leap to eliminate cable altogether and stream my TV off the internet like you youngsters. Based on fatcow's breakdown - it looks like I could save some money - but not a significant amount (I was thinking I'd be able to save $60+ a month).

 

Mate it's just a balancing act between convenience and cost.

 

For me I pay the equivalent of $50 p/m for unlimited 50gb internet. I can stream anything with little lag.

 

For baseball it's very easy to find solid streams usually in HD. But you have to accept that sometimes the stream will die part way through, and you need to find another one. Other sports that aren't played every day suffer a bit more from streams getting shut down (soccer especially) so you sometimes have to be patient.

 

You can also stream tv shows / movies etc simply by googling watch title online free. You'll often need to spend 10 minutes to find a working stream though.

 

You also need to have an adblocker active at all times, but otherwise it's fine.

 

However, I also pay for Netflix as it's more convenient even though every single show on there I could watch for free if I wanted to.

 

If I lived in Canada I'd probably consider MLB.tv (it's much more expensive over here because of additional taxes, and because of the time difference I can't watch most games live anyway) but not cable tv.

 

If you watch a lot then maybe cable/MLB.tv is worth it to you. But it's perfectly possible to pay nothing other than your internet.

[Rusty_Savage]

Yeah I phone and complain I'm paying too much about once a year....although I will note that Rogers actually calls me from time to time to see if they can adjust my service and if there's any offers out there that would lower my bills. I think if I remove the home phone, I'm down to about $140 a month - which isn't far off what you're suggesting.

 

 

What I was really trying to gather is should I make the leap to eliminate cable altogether and stream my TV off the internet like you youngsters. Based on fatcow's breakdown - it looks like I could save some money - but not a significant amount (I was thinking I'd be able to save $60+ a month).

 

I live in a rural area and we can only get bell. Internet and satellite was running us around 200/month combined so we cancelled our satellite and bought an android box. Three months later (last June) a rep from bell stopped in and offered us some sort of deal. Long story short is we get a home phone, internet and he pvr for 95/month. It's only fir a year so we will see what happens

[Slade]

That same chick who posted about the blackout claims she was contacted by some in the blue jays organization and by MLB.tv to confirm there will be no blackouts.

 

[gruber92]

Yeah I phone and complain I'm paying too much about once a year....although I will note that Rogers actually calls me from time to time to see if they can adjust my service and if there's any offers out there that would lower my bills. I think if I remove the home phone, I'm down to about $140 a month - which isn't far off what you're suggesting.

 

 

What I was really trying to gather is should I make the leap to eliminate cable altogether and stream my TV off the internet like you youngsters. Based on fatcow's breakdown - it looks like I could save some money - but not a significant amount (I was thinking I'd be able to save $60+ a month).

 

It's really not worth having to deal with headaches and inferior picture quality for a measly $60/month, especially if watching the Jays and sports/TV in general is relevant to you and your family. Seriously though, $60/month is nothing. There are probably other ways of shaving off monthly expenses that are less relevant.

[FrozenRopes]

I was told today that there will be no black outs for Jays games for those in Canada. I have two other locations I work out of and teams I follow closely and every year they say the same thing and it never comes to fruition. Also, the MLBStreams can be found online (even though I still pay for MLB TV).

[Spanky99]

I just see every game period, so I don't care. Well... for now.

[Sorrow]

Well, sorry for the misleading information everyone. It seems that I have been corrected. Please feel free to delete and/or lock the thread mods. I'm glad that it seems that everyone will still be able to enjoy MLB.TV.

[Spanky99]

Well, sorry for the misleading information everyone. It seems that I have been corrected. Please feel free to delete and/or lock the thread mods. I'm glad that it seems that everyone will still be able to enjoy MLB.TV.

 

Has it... dun...dun...duh!

[o2cui2i]

https://twitter.com/lesley_mak/status/842381749954961408

 

Two tweets there saying that last year they did not and this year Rogers is enforcing the blackout, which is not at all a surprise with the NEXT/NEST/NOW or whatever Rogers put out last year.

 

If you have MLB.TV specifically for the Jays it might be worth contacting MLB.TV in regards to that.

 

American dollar already caused me to re-evaluate the purchase. First time since MLB.tv came into being I wont be getting it.

 

I'm hoping I can find the games I have time for live and maybe a few torrents for games I can't get in. I'm getting old and this staying up all night for sports really isn't good for me. If I only had a little discipline... lol

[FrozenRopes]

American dollar already caused me to re-evaluate the purchase. First time since MLB.tv came into being I wont be getting it.

 

I'm hoping I can find the games I have time for live and maybe a few torrents for games I can't get in. I'm getting old and this staying up all night for sports really isn't good for me. If I only had a little discipline... lol

 

Not sure if it's allowed here but there are MLBStreams on Reddit.

[Pendleton]

Hey, do you guys remember that time Sorrow told us all a blatant lie?

[BTS]

Hey, do you guys remember that time Sorrow told us all a blatant lie?

 

I don't really see how any less than a permaban is justifiable here.

[fatcowxlive]

Interesting. When you say you get "sports" through IPTV - what sports? I mean in addition to baseball, I want to watch the NBA, NFL + golf (could do without NHL, soccer, etc.). Under your setup, would I have to get additional sports packages? If so, it's getting a lot closer to a wash (all while I get all channels in HD).

 

Think of IPTV like this: you're streaming channels online from a dude who has cable essentially. So it is channels it's not like searching links for events. For example I can get the SN channels, TSN channels, NBCSN, FOX Sports, MLB Network, BeIN Sports, NFL Network, Sky, and that's just some sports channels off the top of my head. Lots of local channels like CP24, CBC, CTV, City, movie channels like Sky Movies, Encore, HBO, and a bunch of other channels etc. Basically like cable but it doesn't guarantee constant uptime/smoothness, but this is comparable to a $80/month package + channels that you can't even get in Canada so worth it to me.

 

Also in terms of it being a wash, it depends on how you look at it. IMO I'm getting much more content than you (like I mentioned it's like having the top of the line cable package + international channels), plus my internet package is much above average for internet speeds (Bell's Fiber-To-The-Home service is the best in Canada bar none) and I have unlimited usage so I don't worry about going over.

 

HOWEVER

 

I get that there is a degree of uncertainty with IPTV. I also know that there is a lot of people who don't have time and just want a solution that "just works" - and that's exactly why cable will always be around. If the extra ~$70 is negligible to you then your setup is definitely the best way to go about it. It's more of a "what rocks your boat" thing!