MLB.tv Quality?

[machpost]

Is the video HD for baseball? I want to get the year subscription, but if it isn't HD or it is choppy, I am not interested. I was thinking of waiting until the regular season when they are in the big parks with all the regular HD cameras. Is there a free trial during the regular season to see if you are OK with the quality?

The video is HD quality for games that are broadcast in HD, which these days is nearly all of them during the regular season. It's not quite as good as HD on broadcast or cable, but it's pretty close. I was impressed.

MLB used to offer a free week of MLB.tv at the beginning of the season, but I haven't seen them do that in a few years. If you want to test it out, you can get a month of the standard service for $19.95, or premium for $24.99. The premium level offers the ability to watch either home or away feeds of the games, but I'm pretty sure you can only watch the home feed on the Apple TV, so it's probably not worth the extra dough if you aren't going to watch on your computer.

My Apple TV is connected to my network via 802.11G and I have no problems streaming HD here.

 

[RunawayTruck]

Is the video HD for baseball? I want to get the year subscription, but if it isn't HD or it is choppy, I am not interested. I was thinking of waiting until the regular season when they are in the big parks with all the regular HD cameras. Is there a free trial during the regular season to see if you are OK with the quality?

I believe I have read about a 5 day cancellation policy. So, if you want to wait until the regular season begins you can order and then test it out for 5 days to decide if you want it.

Don't quote me exactly on that yet. I will look up to see where I found that when I get home to see if that is actually what it is or not.

 

[jas1973]

right now they have a free spring training game preview. not all the games but a few games per day are being broadcast and you can sample the quality now before the season, once the season starts i think it is only a couple games through out the season that they offer a free preview of.

st least last season i remember seeing free preview game on my iphone ap once or twice through out the season.

 

[RunawayTruck]

The video is HD quality for games that are broadcast in HD, which these days is nearly all of them during the regular season. It's not quite as good as HD on broadcast or cable, but it's pretty close. I was impressed.

MLB used to offer a free week of MLB.tv at the beginning of the season, but I haven't seen them do that in a few years. If you want to test it out, you can get a month of the standard service for $19.95, or premium for $24.99. The premium level offers the ability to watch either home or away feeds of the games, but I'm pretty sure you can only watch the home feed on the Apple TV, so it's probably not worth the extra dough if you aren't going to watch on your computer.

My Apple TV is connected to my network via 802.11G and I have no problems streaming HD here.

If you have a chance could you check out an Indians stream sometime? The network they use is Sports Time Ohio and all of the games they broadcast are in HD (even the spring training ones.) I'm just curious how good the quality is, as since they are in HD now, the quality should be the same in spring training as it will be in the regular season.

I know they have done a couple of spring training games, because I've watched the delayed video on MLB Network. Its absolutely no big deal if you can't....just thought I would ask and see.


Also, according to this page on the MLB website (linked below), you DO have the ability to get both home and road broadcasts via the Apple TV. That's only if you are a premium subscriber, but as far as I can tell it IS a feature offered on the Apple TV.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/subscriptions/appletv.jsp?&affiliateId=MLBTVDEVICES

 

[RunawayTruck]

I went ahead and checked on the cancellation issue for whoever asked. This comes straight from the MLB official site.

Will I be charged a cancellation fee? Will I get a refund?

There are no cancellation fees. You will not be charged any subscription fees after your cancellation date. There are no refunds for partial months or unused portions of annual subscriptions. Any subscription related charges made to your account prior to cancellation are non-refundable, unless you cancel within 5 days of your initial purchase or the applicable annual automatic renewal date during a subsequent MLB season.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/help/faq_billing_info.jsp#q5

So, it sounds to me like you have 5 days from the time you purchase it to decide if you really like it or not. Hope that helps!

 

[machpost]

If you have a chance could you check out an Indians stream sometime? The network they use is Sports Time Ohio and all of the games they broadcast are in HD (even the spring training ones.) I'm just curious how good the quality is, as since they are in HD now, the quality should be the same in spring training as it will be in the regular season.

I know they have done a couple of spring training games, because I've watched the delayed video on MLB Network. Its absolutely no big deal if you can't....just thought I would ask and see.

Actually, the first game that I sampled was the A's @ Indians on STO Monday afternoon. The HD quality was terrific, in my opinion. This game was also being simulcast by MLB Network, which made it easy to compare the two. The feed from MLB Network obviously looked better, but the MLB.tv version on the Apple TV was still crisp and clear. The only time you really see artifacting is when they switch to a different shot, and even then it is very brief.

Also, according to this page on the MLB website (linked below), you DO have the ability to get both home and road broadcasts via the Apple TV. That's only if you are a premium subscriber, but as far as I can tell it IS a feature offered on the Apple TV.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/subscriptions/appletv.jsp?&affiliateId=MLBTVDEVICES

That is good to hear. I suppose I haven't noticed that yet because Spring Training games are so rarely produced by both teams' networks at the same time.

 

[nioted]

if they monitor your region by IP address, why dont you just get a VPN for like Alaska or Hawaii, then you can watch all the games with no blackouts.

 

[RunawayTruck]

Actually, the first game that I sampled was the A's @ Indians on STO Monday afternoon. The HD quality was terrific, in my opinion. This game was also being simulcast by MLB Network, which made it easy to compare the two. The feed from MLB Network obviously looked better, but the MLB.tv version on the Apple TV was still crisp and clear. The only time you really see artifacting is when they switch to a different shot, and even then it is very brief.

Thanks a lot. I realize the feed won't be as nice as regular HD from your cable company. But, anything close to that is awesome to me. I probably don't have as high of standards as the other people when it comes to this. As long as it looks clear the majority of the time and it doesn't buffer all the time, that's enough for me.

 

[jlasoon]

Thanks a lot. I realize the feed won't be as nice as regular HD from your cable company. But, anything close to that is awesome to me. I probably don't have as high of standards as the other people when it comes to this. As long as it looks clear the majority of the time and it doesn't buffer all the time, that's enough for me.

You can always let the game buffer for a few minutes before you start playing it. just hit pause. I have a fast Internet connection (40mbps) and I still let the games buffer a minute or two before I start it. Plays fine throughout.

 

[DNAppleGold]

No NBA fans here?

Huge NBA fan here - your not alone. I have a LP through direct TV so I have not tried the full games. I have had issues with NBA highlight/re-caps which seem very slow to download (2-3 minutes for even short clips) and are of mediocre quality. I have not an issue with download speeds for Netflix or YouTube. Sounds like others are not having an issue.