Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
How do you do it? What are my options for being able to follow the games. I could get the MLB.tv video package, but that seems pretty spendy. Is the streaming radio any good? Do we always get Hammy, or is it the same as with the streaming video of the games where you get the home team's announcers no matter what?
My dad seems to think I should get satellite radio and listen to that, but I'm not sure I'd use it for anything outside of baseball, and so the expenditure seems excessive, but I would be able to listen to baseball in the car on the rare times that happened, which is a plus.
This is my first year trying to follow the team from out of Ohio and I'm already worried I won't be able to pull it off.
What do you recommend for someone trying to watch the team from out of area who doesn't have a lot of extra cash lying around?
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by drerikbrady on Jan 25, 2008 11:20 AM EST 0 recs
Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
I split the cost with someone and it was well worth it. The quality is great, the commercials were repetitive, and
XM is another good option, the programming is worth just the baseball, but there is also plenty of other good stuff to listen to on there. Usually they only play the home team radio for games.
by curly1229 on Jan 25, 2008 11:22 AM EST 0 recs
Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by AngG on
Jan 25, 2008 11:42 AM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
I did get the MLBtv.com package last year. It was pretty good - I am hoping my cable system goes to the Extra Innings package this year. If not, I have no issue re-upping with mlbtv.com this year.
I do have XM Radio as well. You get the home team announcers only. I find myself listening less and less to XM other than for the Indians. And once I got mlbtv.com, even less.
Unfortunately, I don't know how you do it for less than the mlbtv.com cost unless you can pick up 1100 on the radio or want to spend all your time in a sports bar that has Extra Innings.
by IndyDave on Jan 25, 2008 11:25 AM EST 0 recs
Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by AngG on
Jan 25, 2008 11:34 AM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by fleerdon on
Jan 25, 2008 12:22 PM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
Of course the radio I pick it up on is about 40 years old - an inheritance from my grandfather. A good old portable radio. Usually comes in good in the car, although there are a few dead spots around town. My son and I were listening to the Cavs last night, both in the car and at home.
My son can pick it up every so often on his newer "boom box" style radio. Usually works best when the radio is near the window
There is a daytime only station that broadcasts on 1100 out of Franklin, Tennessee - just north of Nashville. It must be a directional signal, because sometimes right after sunrise or right before sunset, it comes booming into Indy.
by IndyDave on
Jan 26, 2008 5:56 AM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
Similarly, I was listening (at least trying to) WKNR2 1540 Wednesday morning, and it wasn't quite light out yet. depending on where i was driving, it was switching back and forth between WKNR2's broadcast, and a station based out of Waterloo/Cedar Falls... freakin' Iowa!
by rolub on
Jan 25, 2008 11:56 AM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by jdudas on Jan 25, 2008 11:30 AM EST 0 recs
Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by AngG on
Jan 25, 2008 11:41 AM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by dvd1204 on
Jan 25, 2008 6:17 PM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
I got one of those portable XM radios - you know it's about the size of a Walkman. It's $330 - ouch. And then it's ~$14 a month. Spendy. But here's the thing: it's also an MP3 player, you can rig it to transmit to your car radio and with 150+ channels on XM you're bound to find something you like to listen to. I know I have. The blues station is great, you get BBC News, the alt country station is excellent - lotsa good content.
Bottom line: $500 the first year. You can go cheaper - they make a $59 unit for just your car and no MP3 player. Anyway I've grown to love it.
by mauichuck on Jan 25, 2008 11:31 AM EST 0 recs
Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by AngG on
Jan 25, 2008 11:40 AM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
Plus you get Opie & Anthony uncensored if you're into that sort of thing.
by Harry Doyle on
Jan 25, 2008 12:21 PM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by talonk on
Jan 25, 2008 12:45 PM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
99.3 in NYC.
They got a pamphlet with the unused frequencies/areas that's pretty much nuts-on.
by mauichuck on
Jan 25, 2008 1:01 PM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by talonk on
Jan 25, 2008 1:16 PM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by drerikbrady on
Jan 25, 2008 1:19 PM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
How much is the MLB.tv package?
by Turkmenbashi on Jan 25, 2008 11:55 AM EST 0 recs
Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
i'm hoping my cable provider has EI again (they added it mid-season last year after all that direct tv thing played out). but i don't remember what the status was going to be on that this season...
by Brick. on Jan 25, 2008 11:59 AM EST 0 recs
Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
I live in Chicago and most of the time, I can't get WTAM, for whatever reason. Good luck to you in the Hoosier state.
by zigsmom on Jan 25, 2008 12:06 PM EST 0 recs
Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by Thommy on
Jan 25, 2008 12:13 PM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by nctribe on Jan 25, 2008 12:07 PM EST 0 recs
Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
I got a Pioneer Inno for XM - it's great not only for baseball. Threre's a lot of good programing. The Inno is pricey - about $300, but it is portable and gets a good signal outside as long as you point it toward the satellite. It also has an MP3 player and lets you record songs when you hear them on XM.
I justified the subscription price as about equal to the EI package.
The only problem with XM is that you only get the home team's radio feed (until the WS), so you only hear Hammy half the time.
Since the window in my old office faced due North, I couldn't pick up the signal there. I found two ways to solve this. I bought the audio package on mlb.com. It's about $15.00 for the season. That gives you both the home and away radio feeds for every game. I also changed jobs, and now my window gets a signal - but listening to Indians games was not a big part of that decision.
Between all this - and a trusty am radio when it's dark so WTAM's signal carries to the East coast, I didn't miss many games.
by Harry Doyle on Jan 25, 2008 12:20 PM EST 0 recs
Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
Also, the big advantage MLB.tv has over EI, in my opinion, is that you can watch archived games and condensed games whenever you want -- which is really great if, say, you wanted to watch Phil Hughes's first MLB start or something. With EI (and satellite radio) you just get the live games.
by mrich on Jan 25, 2008 1:26 PM EST 0 recs
Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
- XM Radio. Subscription is around $13/month plus tax plus the radio. Pros are all the other great programming (seriously, I can't tell you how great the music is) and the ability to listen in the car or on the go with certain radios. Cons are having to listen to other announcers, no internet stream for games, and occasional reception issues.
- MLB Radio. $15/yr last season. Best deal in town, easy to use even w/dial-up. WTAM always available. But you have to be at a computer to listen.
- MLB.TV. For the premium stream, $20/mo or $120/yr last season. Includes MLB online radio free. The premium stream required a 1.5 Mbps connection to effectively use its coolest feature, the Mosaic player. Reviewed by Disappointment Zone here, I will say that once they got the bugs worked out this was the coolest thing around. Cons are bugginess (again, this got MUCH better, but was a colossal pain at the start of the season), mediocre picture sometimes, and all the road announcers. Subject to stupid FOX blackouts, too. Also requires high speed connection, but a 3 Mbps dry loop DSL line from AT&T is only $25/month.
- Extra Innings. Somewhere around $160 for the year. Requires cable or satellite. Again, FOX blackouts and lots of road announcers. Only way to get HD broadcasts, though.
by mkwng on Jan 25, 2008 2:42 PM EST 0 recs
Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by Denver Tribe Fan on
Jan 25, 2008 7:49 PM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
I just moved to Portland in December from Kent, (hence my new tag) and have not met many baseball fans. Would you like get a beer sometime and talk tribe?
by pdx on Jan 25, 2008 2:59 PM EST 0 recs
Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
Email me or vice versa and we'll get the thing planned.
by talonk on
Jan 25, 2008 3:09 PM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
Good luck on the househunting. It's tough finding your moneys worth out here.
by pdx on
Jan 26, 2008 3:13 PM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
There might be some foks on here who are more technically inclined that can direct you through the ins and outs.
Just a thought.
by Cactus Jack on Jan 25, 2008 4:17 PM EST 0 recs
Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by fwembt on
Jan 26, 2008 7:03 PM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
This year, which I wish I would've done last year, I will be registering with an overseas credit card. I believe they black out based on your location, so hopefully this will help me get around that.
Does anyone have any experience with that?
by gte619n on Jan 25, 2008 4:41 PM EST 0 recs
Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by zempf on
Jan 28, 2008 10:06 AM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by JulioBernazard on Jan 25, 2008 5:44 PM EST 0 recs
Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
The picture/streaming quality has improved significantly from a couple years ago. I rarely ran into connection issues during games (I have a DSL connection).
I agree, it is a bit pricey, but as someone who will watch 75-85% of the games, I think it's worth it. I believe the radio station is included with the tv package. It comes down to a matter of preference, if you feel like the radio broadcast would be adequate for what you're looking for. They're both solid options, but I prefer being able to watch the games.
by Pronk33 on Jan 25, 2008 10:09 PM EST 0 recs
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by Pronk33 on
Jan 25, 2008 10:11 PM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by Gradyforpresident on Jan 26, 2008 12:56 PM EST 0 recs
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by drerikbrady on Jan 26, 2008 2:12 PM EST 0 recs
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by mkwng on
Jan 26, 2008 2:17 PM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by drerikbrady on
Jan 26, 2008 2:21 PM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
I went through 2006 with MLB.tv rather than EI and wasn't thrilled with the situation. The picture quality is not remotely comparable -- not even with the "enhanced" version -- and the experience of watching on your computer is also not comparable to putting it up on your TV. HD or no HD, a cable or satellite TV picture is just much higher quality than streaming web video -- not to mention the constant disruption of latency and buffering.
So to me, the extra $30-60 and the loss of portability (can't get it at the office) were worth the tradeoff of being able to watch a good picture reliably and comfortably in my own living room, where I watch perhaps 70-80 games. (It also helps that I can work from home whenever I want, so I often can arrange to be at home for weekday afternoon games.)
I supplement with the Sprint MLB package, which costs just $36 for the whole season and provides home + away + Esp radio broadcasts of every single game. Better even than XM -- which has only one broadcast per game -- it's "Ham-on-demand." I just made a conscious choice to be Zen-like about the blackouts and the times I can't be at home for a game. Rather than grouse about them, I just take the opportunity to listen to Ham rather than watch a grainy web video and pay a lot more money for it.
It helps of course that I have an unlimited Sprint data package, and there are only a handful of games all year that I would want to listen to that wouldn't fall under "nights and weekends," which for me begin at 7:00 EST. So it all works out pretty well.
That's my story. I look forward to HD but basically won't buy the TV until at least a couple Indians games a week are available in HD. TV's keep getting better and cheaper, so I figure time is on my side. But I won't go back to web video if I can possibly help it. The savings over cable is maybe two bucks a week, and it's just not worth it.
by Jay on Jan 26, 2008 2:26 PM EST 0 recs
Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by Denver Tribe Fan on
Jan 26, 2008 6:54 PM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
by Jay on
Jan 26, 2008 10:10 PM EST
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Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
I also got the Mosaic version for $10 at the end of the year last year and really liked it. Great for watching the Playoff races. Just my $.02 worth.
by Chris on Jan 27, 2008 1:42 PM EST 0 recs
Re: Fans from out of the Indians' Viewing Area...
I will probably go with mlb.tv if they don't - although I am strongly considering DIRECTV to be able to get EI.
by IndyDave on Jan 27, 2008 2:28 PM EST 0 recs
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by Jay on
Jan 28, 2008 9:20 AM EST
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