Wasn't sure whether to put this in here or in Internet & Computers, but here goes.
Does anyone here subscribe to MLB.TV? If you do, what's the quality of the picture like (I've got a 2MB DSL connection) and what sort of coverage do you get - is it feeds direct from FSN / ESPN etc. or do MLB do commentary 'in-house'?
Strongly thinking about subscribing as I'm a huge baseball fan, but the only channel in the UK that offers anything like decent MLB coverage has just jacked up their subscription costs by a stupid amount and this looks like my only alternative.
I've gotten it the past two seasons and, overall, like it.
The games are direct feed from one of the networks carrying the game. I generally only watch the Red Sox and 9 times out of 10 its NESN. I'm not exactly sure how they decide what network you watch, but its the real deal, not something piped in by MLB There's about a one minute delay from real time which can be annoying if you're talking to someone who's watching it on the tube. And you have to deal with the occasional blackouts. But the quality is is near pefect and you gett to see almost every single game played. Heck, for the price they charge, it's worth it even if you only follow one team (like I do).
I have bought a month here and a month there for the hotel rooms. (Cause I have MLB extra innings at home). Works pretty good. You get one of the two announce teams, I think it's the home team. Mostly impressed.
We'll be back right after order has been restored here in the Omni Center.
How much does it cost for the season? Right now they're selling a package for $9.95 for the WBC and last year's stuff, but I can't find what they are charging for the coming season.
I am also guessing if you have DirecTV's Extra Innings package that you probably don't need this, correct?
Originally posted by piemanHow much does it cost for the season? Right now they're selling a package for $9.95 for the WBC and last year's stuff, but I can't find what they are charging for the coming season.
I am also guessing if you have DirecTV's Extra Innings package that you probably don't need this, correct?
I'm gone about 2/3rds of the time, so I get a month if it's looking interesting, cubs-wise. As I recall, it was like $80 for last season, or $14 a month.
We'll be back right after order has been restored here in the Omni Center.
Originally posted by piemanHow much does it cost for the season? Right now they're selling a package for $9.95 for the WBC and last year's stuff, but I can't find what they are charging for the coming season.
I e-mailed MLB on this very point last week and they said they haven't decided on the pricing for the 2006 season yet but will release it shortly.
If it stays at about the price AWArulz said last season was, I'd be happy paying that.
I've used it before and been pretty impressed with it on the whole. You will need tons of bandwidth to watch it at home, though, but I'm sure you're aware of that.
Personally speaking, I go with Gamday Audio, since it's cheaper, requires less bandwidth, and I can get feeds from both teams (i.e., I can avoid announcing teams I really dislike).
A friend of a friend ordered it and I got the password. I am pretty sure that it allows two people from different locations to use one account, but no more than that.
With a cable internet, the quality is good and slowdown is rare. Luckily, nearly all the slowdown was in between pitches.
I had it last season and enjoyed it. There were some glitches here and there, but that has more to do with my home network than anything. Even though I get 140 Padre games each season, it's nice to get the out of market stuff. MLB.tv got some serious abuse on my PC during the pennant races.
"If you can't believe what you read in the comic books, what can you believe?" -- Bullwinkle
Thank you very much guys - you've convinced me that this is the right option for me to go for.
And to make it even better, just checked out the MLB website and found they've just released their prices and they are the same as last year - $79.95 for the season inc. free spring training (or $14.95 per month).
This works out at less than half of what I had been paying for NASN in the UK, plus I get to choose which games *I* want, not what they pick for me, so I'm well happy. The only downside is I don't get to watch Baseball Tonight or PTI any more, but I can live with that.
Originally posted by ShotGunShepI'm curious Canard. Are you an American living in the UK? I ask because I am curious of the level of interest in baseball in Europe.
(edited by ShotGunShep on 28.2.06 1457)
As was I. All the Brits I ran into on chat rooms a few years back, hated the game; said it a ripoff of rounders, which they of course invented, but only women play, so its a "sissy" sport to them.
Which all adds up since only women play soccer in North America.
While I always liked baseball (first got into it as a kid after playing Hardball on my Commodore 64), I never really followed it with any great devotion until about six years ago when I started going out with my wife.
She was a major fan and always watched the one game that gets shown each week on TV in the UK, normally on tape delay in the early hours of the morning, so she'd video it and watch it the next day. Watching those games with her really got me back into it, so much so that we subscribed to a cable channel specialising in US sports (NASN as mentioned previously) just so we could watch a game every night - and sometimes in primetime too!
Since then we've started to make a habit of going to a live game every time we're in the States - because of the great way we were treated at Petco, I'm now a closet Padres fan.
I'll admit there's not a huge call for baseball in the UK, but there is still enough of a following to make coverage of it profitable for certain TV stations I suppose.
I did the radio deal last year, and I thought that was a good deal if you are not looking to spend a lot ... only 14.95 a season. You get home and away broadcasts and it's only about one minute behind at the most. I thought about upgrading this year, but my Mariners are just going to be bad bad bad.
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As a Mets fan I must say I actually LIKE Bernie Williams, which of course is not anything I can say about any other Yankee. As much as I hate him he's always been a good guy and very professional (yeah I know so has Jeter, but I hate him anyway).
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