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MLB.TV Review?

MLB.TV -- yay or nay?

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So, I'm an Indians fan in Illinois. I got Gameday Audio at the beginning of the season (which is great, BTW), but I want to SEE the Indians too. When I still lived in Ohio (a scant two years ago), I knew all the Indians players by sight; I am sorry to say that no longer applies. So, I ask you, the LGT crowd, is it worthwhile picking up MLB.TV? I got it when it first came out, and it was awful. The feed was really unstable, the picture terrible, and the sound tinny. I've heard good things about it, especially the condensed games, but I wanted to see what the general opinion was. Thanks, folks!

Poll
Should I get MLB.TV?
Absolutely.
27 votes
It's a waste of money.
0 votes
It's okay, but not great.
8 votes

35 votes | Poll has closed

Comment 15 comments  |  0 recs  | 

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Re: MLB.TV Review?
I am slightly biased in that I don't have cable or anything, so I'm used to getting cruddy reception via rabbit ears. Still, I'm on year two of watching the Indians via mlb.tv and I give it a thumbs-up. The new 700k stream they have this year is really an acceptable quality, I haven't had any issues with instability in the network, and when I get bored & am jonesing for baseball, I can watch any archived game or highlights or anything.

Downsides? Well, it is streaming video, so it's somewhat pixellated (I watched a game at a friend's house in HD the other day, which made me think the mlb.tv stream is that much worse). The TV feed is always the home team's feed, so you get to listen to annoying out-of-town announcers (see the Tigers' thread last night for complaints about that). You can listen to the radio feed while watching the video, but they're out of synch, so it's somewhat of a pain. The video is roughly a pitch or so (maybe 45 seconds?) behind realtime, which means that if you follow the game threads you may get the time machine effect as someone posts about something you have yet to see.

For the cost, though, I'd say it's worth it if you're a big enough fan to want to watch the games. You can even just buy it month-to-month at $20 a pop (I think), if you want to try it out.

by zempf on Jul 4, 2007 4:55 PM EDT reply actions  

Re: MLB.TV Review?
It works great on PCs.  I use it on a Mac, and while it isn't terrible (using firefox), I'm not sure I'd  recommend spending money on it.  That said, it sure as hell beats not watching the games.  Overall, I'm satisfied.  

If you use a PC, it's not even a question - do it!

- Jake

by jakesinger777 on Jul 4, 2007 4:57 PM EDT reply actions  

Re: MLB.TV Review?
I have used it with relatively great success from both California and now in Mexico city.  You need a good connection, so it is worth evaluating your experience before commiting.

On the Mac, Mosaic works pretty well, but the generic stream you launch of the Gameday interface is not too good.  So I either go Mosaic or run Windows on my Mac when watching games.

I don't really care for what Mosaic offers, but the video streaming is done differently and better.

by haymister on Jul 4, 2007 5:04 PM EDT reply actions  

Re: MLB.TV Review?
I tried mlb.tv a few years ago and didn't like it.  This year I have mlb.tv premium and Extra Innings.  I prefer to watch the games live on cable but the mlb.tv 700k is pretty good, a lot better than it was; and you can watch the archived games that you missed live, even replay stuff in slow mo, see if Sheffield was really safe at the plate or not, for example.  I'd say it is an acceptable product, whether it's worth the price depends on your priorities.

by plato on Jul 4, 2007 6:53 PM EDT reply actions  

Re: MLB.TV Review?
My review is:  It costs $15 to try it for one month.

by Jay on Jul 5, 2007 12:39 AM EDT reply actions  

Re: MLB.TV Review?
+1

Sure beats watching a computer graphic update every 30 seconds. I watch MLB.TV down here in New Zealand and have experienced no problems.

by new zealand tribe fan on Jul 5, 2007 3:49 AM EDT up reply actions  

Re: MLB.TV Review?
I agree. I keep the Gameday graphics in one corner, the video in another and LGT open in the background. It's the next best thing to being at the game since I can add my two cents to the LGT thread too!

by TribeLoverInNewYork on Jul 5, 2007 7:44 AM EDT up reply actions  

Re: MLB.TV Review?
It is very much an at-the-bar experience, only with better access to information ... and I don't think the bar exists with this many truly knowledgable fans weighing in.

Look -- there's Erik over in the corner, drinking his wine coolers and Zima as usual.

by Jay on Jul 5, 2007 11:00 AM EDT up reply actions  

Re: MLB.TV Review?
Yeah seriously I can't say enough about how much my experience on this site has made me more into the Indians this year than anytime before. My daily Indians fix has gone from 3 hours during the game in years past, to pretty much an entire day check of this site to see whether anyone has had anything insightful/funny to say.

And it forces you to be constantly on top of your game. At the bar or with friends you can usually get away with making uninsightful comments with little substance that no one will call you on because they don't know any better. No such luck around here, and I'm happy for it.

by supermarioelia on Jul 5, 2007 10:39 PM EDT up reply actions  

Re: MLB.TV Review?
Just curious, do you hang out with Super Luigi at these "bars" of which you speak?
-Erik

by drerikbrady on Jul 11, 2007 8:06 AM EDT up reply actions  

Re: MLB.TV Review?
Yeah, where is Erik?  Has he gone on another Zima-bender?

by homelytourist on Jul 6, 2007 12:11 AM EDT up reply actions  

Re: MLB.TV Review?
Hmm, I've never tried Zima.  Or wine coolers for that matter.  Have any sweetened tea?  Or ice cream?
-Erik

by drerikbrady on Jul 11, 2007 8:05 AM EDT up reply actions  

Re: MLB.TV Review?
I'm not sure how I lived without it.  

by mkwng @ Let's Go Tribe! on Jul 5, 2007 11:35 AM EDT reply actions  

Re: MLB.TV Review?
I'd be lost without it over here, but it is a little patchy in parts. From what was said above it might be because I'm using a Mac.

Give it a go....do it

by Luis (Tribe Fan in London) on Jul 6, 2007 3:40 AM EDT reply actions  

Re: MLB.TV Review?
Thanks for all the reviews! It's definitely something I'll take a look at now.
Tribe fan trapped in Illinois

by Avindian on Jul 6, 2007 3:54 PM EDT reply actions  

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