Let's Talk About MLBTV

LoweTek

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
May 30, 2005
2,183
Central Florida
Main TV has a fairly new Roku Premiere Plus, wired internet. MLB TV works fine. Very rarely pauses, very quick to load and start. Potentially also of note, it's cabled directly to one of the ports on the internet modem/router and not through my 1GB switch.

Secondary TV has a Roku Stick, different story. Much more prone to delays and it is very slow to even reach the game selection menu. Game starts take several seconds longer than the Premiere Plus. Stick is wireless of course.

I have noticed very frequent updates to the MLB TV app in all my portable devices, mostly Android. It seems to be getting an update almost once a week. So I think it's safe to say there are issues out there they are trying to correct.
 

Flunky

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jan 3, 2009
1,918
CT
the picture quality for the stream is way up this year. no new devices but it looks like live tv on all. previously the stream had a movie-like aspect to it.
 

Pearl Wilson

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2003
7,146
Maine
I asked for and got a refund. NESN is available in my area but NESN+ is not. I called and spoke to an actual person (so points to them); I pointed out that I was out-of-market for the Red Sox when they are broadcast on NESN+ and therefore ought to be able to watch on MLBTV. The guy was nice but said he could not do anything to fix my situation.
 

joyofsox

empty, bleak
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
7,552
Vancouver Island
We have an Apple 4K and the option to watch the TV feed while listening to the radio feed is not available. Which I find bizarre.
It does exist if you use a Roku, though it is now hard to find.
 

Flunky

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jan 3, 2009
1,918
CT
I do wish there was like a matrix view of features across the platforms. On the PS4 and Xbone they have feed tagging where you could show events in the game across the playback timeline. So if you had to step away from the game and you came back and it's 4-0, it was easy to go back to the event tags and watch.

It's kind of frustrating how brain-dead the Apple TV app is. I often prefer just to watch on the ipad anyway because you can grab stats and stuff as you watch really easily.
 

cromulence

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 25, 2009
6,699
They updated the PS4 app a week or so ago and it's been much better for me ever since. I also like how it now focuses more on the team you select as your favorite and gives you highlights and interviews on the front page.
 

OurF'ingCity

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 22, 2016
8,469
New York City
I do wish there was like a matrix view of features across the platforms. On the PS4 and Xbone they have feed tagging where you could show events in the game across the playback timeline. So if you had to step away from the game and you came back and it's 4-0, it was easy to go back to the event tags and watch.

It's kind of frustrating how brain-dead the Apple TV app is. I often prefer just to watch on the ipad anyway because you can grab stats and stuff as you watch really easily.
This is by far my biggest gripe with MLB.TV - what other app has significantly different interfaces and features depending on what platform you are using it on? It's bizarre and frustrating if, like me, you like certain features from various of the platforms. For example, I like the feed tagging feature on the PS4 app, but I also like the "catch-up" option on the Apple TV app which, unless I'm mistaken, doesn't exist on any other platforms (maybe the Roku? I don't have one). Same thing with the radio feed option - it's not available on the Apple TV app or the iPad app (so far as I can tell), and while it is available on the PS4 I find it makes the stream lag like crazy, so if I want to use that feature I basically have to watch on my computer.

These are all minor complaints to be sure and I think the overall stream quality has definitely improved across devices, but it's frustrating when you discover a cool feature only to later realize when watching on a different platform that that feature is nowhere to be found.
 

glennhoffmania

meat puppet
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 25, 2005
8,411,586
NY
I've had an issue all season with the app. After midnight every day, the scoreboard stops updating. If i tap a game the updated box score comes up but the scoreboard is frozen until the games starts the next day. Anyone else have this issue?
 

DrBlinky

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 18, 2002
825
Cranston, RI
The annual Father's Day sale has been going on this week. $49.99 for rest of season. This is typically when I jump on board each year. (I make sure to use a temp credit card number set to expire in a couple months when I make the purchase so the auto renew doesn't go through the next year.)
 

InsideTheParker

persists in error
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
40,371
Pioneer Valley
Thanks, Dr., I had forgotten.
A question for anyone. I am watching a game on my phone. Whenever I switch to anything else for a second, the game transmission stops. Is this normal? ( I am watching thru AtBat.)
 
Last edited:

DrBlinky

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 18, 2002
825
Cranston, RI
Thanks, Dr., I had forgotten.
A question for anyone. I am watching a game on my phone. Whenever I switch to anything else for a second, the game transmission stops. Is this normal? ( I am watching thru AtBat.)
I'm using AtBat on an Android (Google Pixel) and one of the controls on the screen as I'm watching basically does picture-in-picture with the game action continuing in a smaller window.
 

CarolinaBeerGuy

Don't know him from Adam
SoSH Member
Mar 14, 2006
9,419
Kernersville, NC
Apparently the blackout maps have been updated recently. I've been blacked out of Washington and Baltimore all season like it has been the past two seasons, but now they've added Cincinnati and Atlanta to my blackout area.This is new and has been confirmed to be correct. I can understand Baltimore/Washington/Atlanta, but Cincinnati is nowhere near the Triad area of North Carolina. I hate blackouts. Off to Reddit for streams...
 

AB in DC

OG Football Writing
SoSH Member
Jul 10, 2002
13,616
Springfield, VA
Haven't seen too many good MLB.TV discounts this year, but the price just went down to $29.99 for the rest of the season / $19.99 for a single-team package. Not bad for the last 1/3 of the season.

Sale ends tomorrow.
 

Marceline

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2002
6,441
Canton, MA
This is great, I just checked a couple days ago and was bummed to see it was still $83.

Given recent events, you could have used better phrasing than "Sale ends tomorrow" though...
 

MakeMineMoxie

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
722
The floor of Punter's Pub
A question for those with MLBTV. I have been getting MLB Extra Innings for the past few years but I'm looking for a cheaper alternative for 2019 & I think the MLB app on my Samsung TV will work.

We usually let the game record for about an hour so we can speed through the commercials & save time. What happens to MLBTV between innings? Can you start watching on a delayed basis & skip through the ads?
 

swiftaw

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 31, 2009
3,434
A question for those with MLBTV. I have been getting MLB Extra Innings for the past few years but I'm looking for a cheaper alternative for 2019 & I think the MLB app on my Samsung TV will work.

We usually let the game record for about an hour so we can speed through the commercials & save time. What happens to MLBTV between innings? Can you start watching on a delayed basis & skip through the ads?
Whenever I watch a game already in process it gives me 3 options:

Watch from beginning

Watch live

Show highlights then watch live

(My wording might be off but those are the options I usually have)
 

Rasputin

Will outlive SeanBerry
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Oct 4, 2001
29,416
Not here
You gotta make sure your internet is pretty good. We tried to do what you do a few years ago and it was a goddamn nightmare. Every time the game buffered it would go back to live and when you were on live play you couldn't go back to a specific inning let alone play so you'd have to guess how far back to go.
 

h8mfy

New Member
Jul 15, 2005
336
Orange County, CA
This year, MLB declined to make a version of the app that would work on my older Samsung Smart TV - so make sure you check your model before switching. I haven’t had much luck with any DVR-style controls on any streaming service since you can’t really watch the video while it advances like on a cable box. I haven’t looked but a Roku with an HDD like a STB would be really useful for live streams.

To answer your question, during ads they usually just put up a slate saying “commercial break” (or something to that effect) but sometimes you’ll see an ad. I’ve basically just accepted that I have to pay attention to the streamed game as it happens live, like the olden days. But there are definitely advantages like being able to watch outside the home, etc. that a cable package doesn’t allow.
 

MakeMineMoxie

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
722
The floor of Punter's Pub
This year, MLB declined to make a version of the app that would work on my older Samsung Smart TV - so make sure you check your model before switching. I haven’t had much luck with any DVR-style controls on any streaming service since you can’t really watch the video while it advances like on a cable box. I haven’t looked but a Roku with an HDD like a STB would be really useful for live streams.

To answer your question, during ads they usually just put up a slate saying “commercial break” (or something to that effect) but sometimes you’ll see an ad. I’ve basically just accepted that I have to pay attention to the streamed game as it happens live, like the olden days. But there are definitely advantages like being able to watch outside the home, etc. that a cable package doesn’t allow.
Thanks, H8, I think I'll be OK since my TV is only a year old & I did try going onto the app, just couldn't access a game since I hadn't subscribed. Who knows what will happen next year, though.
 

LoweTek

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
May 30, 2005
2,183
Central Florida
I use a Roku. When you select the game, start about 20 minutes late. You can select 'Jump to Inning.' Go to top of the first inning. As commercials start, fast forward approximately two minutes, (the time shows on the play line). You won't be gamethreading anyway. The feed is around 15-20 seconds behind the 'live' NESN feed.

The only time I don't do this is if I'm returning from dinner or something and have been watching on my phone.
 

cromulence

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 25, 2009
6,699
On top of being something worth supporting, I really value being able to easily watch on my phone. Not that I do that for a whole game, but if I'm out somewhere and there's a big AB, it's nice to be able to jump in and watch it.
 

uncannymanny

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 12, 2007
9,078
It’s really reasonably priced. Other leagues charge multiple times what MLB charges for half or less games. At the start of every season I forget that it isn’t free.
 

B H Kim

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Oct 24, 2003
5,719
Washington, DC
Just went to open the app on my TiVo for the first time this year, only to discover that they have discontinued the app. I can still access it on my Apple TV, but the TiVo has always been much more convenient. I’m not sure why they would choose to discontinue the TiVo app, but it’s incredibly annoying.
 

LoweTek

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
May 30, 2005
2,183
Central Florida
I had to uninstall and re-install the MLB At Bat app on all my devices before it would work. There is apparently a new version for 2019.
 

brs3

sings praises of pinstripes
SoSH Member
May 20, 2008
5,200
Jackson Heights, NYC
I live in NYC. For Spring Training games, I can watch the MFY and Mets without issue(this is relevant because I watched Red Sox/MFY no problem the other day). Once the season starts, this ends. Does MLB look at ST as free period where blackouts don't matter? Blackouts are the dumbest thing remaining with MLB.tv, and MLB seems to acknowledge as much during ST.

I pray often for the end of the regional blackouts for MLB.tv
 

Congo

New Member
Aug 4, 2010
37
I just got the latest update for my Firestick. Last year's version was utterly unusable. I couldn't go a half inning without it starting the rebuffering routine every 10 seconds. This year I was able to get through the entire game without a hitch. It seems they've done a lot of work on that particular version of the app.
 

Margo McCready

New Member
Dec 23, 2008
158
I live in NYC. For Spring Training games, I can watch the MFY and Mets without issue(this is relevant because I watched Red Sox/MFY no problem the other day). Once the season starts, this ends. Does MLB look at ST as free period where blackouts don't matter? Blackouts are the dumbest thing remaining with MLB.tv, and MLB seems to acknowledge as much during ST.

I pray often for the end of the regional blackouts for MLB.tv
You may already know this, but you can circumvent the blackout with a VPN.
 

Marceline

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2002
6,441
Canton, MA
Loads of T-mobile people that don't care about baseball sell the mlb.tv accounts for pretty cheap. Going rate last year was around $5.
 

Flunky

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jan 3, 2009
1,918
CT
It's a hassle when I want to just turn a game on my TV app. I have to VPN then stream from my laptop to my TV. They could just do us a favor and drop the charade.
you could get a vpn capable router...
 

Wake49

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 11, 2016
507
I was pleasantly surprised to find out the other week that season ticket holders were given an mlb.tv subscription for free. I believe MFY STHs got it as well, not sure about other teams.