[Nick]

Warning: Indecipherable MLB black-out rules a real "gotcha"

I signed up for mlb.tv so I could watch Atlanta Braves games on my Roku box without having to suffer the pia of searching for sporadic game broadcasts all over the tv "dial". Come to find out too late that, due to inscrutable Major League Baseball blackout rules, I cannot watch ANY Braves games on mlb.tv, although I am located about 300 miles from Atlanta in SE Georgia. To say I am profoundly disappointed would be an understatement, and with no refunds, I feel I have been defrauded by mlb.tv from the get-go.

Here are the problems I have with mlb.tv:

• favorite team (Braves) blacked-out

• no up-front way to pre-qualify for favorite team by IP or zip code. (qualifier box buried in fine print)

• bad PQ, worse than SD

• little or no access to special features

• slow operation

• between innings, only a slate is shown, no video or audio feed during commercial breaks

• absolutely no refund of the $129 annual 'premium' membership fee

• mandatory annual "auto-renewal", no user option.

I am (and have been) very angry with the strangle-hold Major League Baseball has on baseball fans, and now I am extremely upset that mlb.tv's unfair (dishonest) rules have cheated me out of watching the Atlanta Braves and has flat-out robbed me of $129!

A version of this rant was posted on iptvconnection.com

 

[joshjr]

Warning: Indecipherable MLB black-out rules a real "gotcha"

I signed up for mlb.tv so I could watch Atlanta Braves games on my Roku box without having to suffer the pia of searching for sporadic game broadcasts all over the tv "dial". Come to find out too late that, due to inscrutable Major League Baseball blackout rules, I cannot watch ANY Braves games on mlb.tv, although I am located about 300 miles from Atlanta in SE Georgia. To say I am profoundly disappointed would be an understatement, and with no refunds, I feel I have been defrauded by mlb.tv from the get-go.

Here are the problems I have with mlb.tv:

• favorite team (Braves) blacked-out

• no up-front way to pre-qualify for favorite team by IP or zip code. (qualifier box buried in fine print)

• bad PQ, worse than SD

• little or no access to special features

• slow operation

• between innings, only a slate is shown, no video or audio feed during commercial breaks

• absolutely no refund of the $129 annual 'premium' membership fee

• mandatory annual "auto-renewal", no user option.

I am (and have been) very angry with the strangle-hold Major League Baseball has on baseball fans, and now I am extremely upset that mlb.tv's unfair (dishonest) rules have cheated me out of watching the Atlanta Braves and has flat-out robbed me of $129!

A version of this rant was posted on iptvconnection.com

I was able to find a number to the MLB office in NY last year and they were able to refund me instantly. This should not be a problem. When I get home tonight I will reply with that number for their Customer Service. Dont even try to call the Customer Service for MLB.TV they are a joke and can not help.

 

[sigma1914]

I'm sorry for what happened, but you could have asked here about the product and you would've been made aware of a lot of your issues. There's also a 5 day window to try the service and can cancel.

I do a little research before spending $100, but that's just me.

 

[joshjr]

I'm sorry for what happened, but you could have asked here about the product and you would've been made aware of a lot of your issues. There's also a 5 day window to try the service and can cancel.

I do a little research before spending $100, but that's just me.

If he paid via PayPal he can cancel the payment. Probably an option with other payment methods as well.

 

[Stuart Sweet]

I did MLB.tv this year and it's been pretty good. My favorite team is out-of-market anyway so that wasn't an issue.

So far the video quality has been good, most of the time. When it steps down, my samsung TV puts up a big pop-up telling me it's optimizing. I don't like that. My AppleTV doesn't do that.

I decided to go month-to-month, I know it's a little more expensive if I do decide to go all season, but if my team tanks, then I can drop it.

 

[Garyunc]

Just to clarify. MLB extra innings has the same blackout rules as MLB.TV. For me being able to watch baseball anywhere I am is a bargain at $129.

 

[Pete K.]

MLB's blackout rules are beyond absurd. Just ask folks in Iowa who are blacked out by six teams, or Hawaii, where all of the California teams claim the Aloha State. In Canada, no one from coast to coast can watch the Blue Jays on MLB.TV, or EI! I am happy with the picture quality. I haven't had any issues with slow operation, only occasional buffering. I don't care for the blank slate between innings. I haven't had any problem getting a refund from MLB.TV in past years and I did see a "box" that I could uncheck to avoid automatic renewals. I am using a "workaround" to watch the Braves but in keeping with forum rules, won't discuss that here.

 

[joshjr]

I did MLB.tv this year and it's been pretty good. My favorite team is out-of-market anyway so that wasn't an issue.

So far the video quality has been good, most of the time. When it steps down, my samsung TV puts up a big pop-up telling me it's optimizing. I don't like that. My AppleTV doesn't do that.

I decided to go month-to-month, I know it's a little more expensive if I do decide to go all season, but if my team tanks, then I can drop it.

I have not used my PS3 to try streaming it yet this year. I too am on a monthly basis $24.99 but have only used it on my phone so far this year. I would say the PQ on my iPhone 4 is better this year. I been using EI at home for the free trial. Its nice to use on the HR34. If D* had a mobile version like the NBA & NFL packages do then I probably would of chose EI.

 

[djlong]

Those of you having PQ problems - what kind of performance are you getting from your broadband? I reliably get 33Mbps on my fiber connection and I'm considering MLB.TV - but not if it won't come through at a respectable rate.

 

[joshjr]

Those of you having PQ problems - what kind of performance are you getting from your broadband? I reliably get 33Mbps on my fiber connection and I'm considering MLB.TV - but not if it won't come through at a respectable rate.

I believe on the MLB site it says to get the HD quality feed you need 3meg. I know last year when I used this I had the same 10 meg I have this year and had very few issues. The PQ was good most of the time. I have not tried it this year but will tonight and update the status of my findings.

 

[Stuart Sweet]

Those of you having PQ problems - what kind of performance are you getting from your broadband? I reliably get 33Mbps on my fiber connection and I'm considering MLB.TV - but not if it won't come through at a respectable rate.

I have 15Mbit down, MLB.tv web site says that you need 3Mbit down for reliable HD. I think the congestion is coming from them not me... as I can stream other video at the same time with no disruption in their HD feed.

 

[MikeW]

I did MLB.tv this year and it's been pretty good. My favorite team is out-of-market anyway so that wasn't an issue.

So far the video quality has been good, most of the time. When it steps down, my samsung TV puts up a big pop-up telling me it's optimizing. I don't like that. My AppleTV doesn't do that.

I decided to go month-to-month, I know it's a little more expensive if I do decide to go all season, but if my team tanks, then I can drop it.

I really don't understand why they use that huge banner. Last season, it seemed to pop up quite frequently. This year, I've seen it appear two or three times at the start of the stream but then it seems to stablize. I really don't see the need for any on-screen message and especially one that takes nearly 1/5 of the screen.

 

[MikeW]

Those of you having PQ problems - what kind of performance are you getting from your broadband? I reliably get 33Mbps on my fiber connection and I'm considering MLB.TV - but not if it won't come through at a respectable rate.

There is usually a "free game of the day" listed. I don't know if it applies to "connected devices", but this would give you a good sampling of the PQ available to you.

 

[dualsub2006]

There is usually a "free game of the day" listed. I don't know if it applies to "connected devices", but this would give you a good sampling of the PQ available to you.

The free game of the day is available on the Roku. Today's game is the A's vs Royals at 7 Pacific.

 

[joshjr]

I was able to find a number to the MLB office in NY last year and they were able to refund me instantly. This should not be a problem. When I get home tonight I will reply with that number for their Customer Service. Dont even try to call the Customer Service for MLB.TV they are a joke and can not help.

The number to call is 212-485-3444. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[djlong]

Well, I didn't want to wait until 10PM Eastern Time - since I have to be up by 5 to get to work.

I took a chance and signed up from my Xbox 360.

The PQ is a TAD below what I'd like but it's certainly acceptable. There's too much pixellation on sweeps and the ball has that "strobing" effect - at least on the 2 games I watched (NY/TB from last year's Game 162 & PIT/LA live).

I'm going to need SOMETHING to make up for the lack of professional baseball being played in Boston.

 

[Bobmu]

MLB.TV on iPAD2;
The MLB.TV mobile application MLB.com At Bat* works great on my iPAD2.
My Internet speed is 18MBPS down. The MLB.TV baseball video HD PQ is great on my iPAD2 or with the iPAD2 HDMI connected to my 50” HD TV.

MLB.com At Bat* - The #1 sports app of all-time and Hall of Fame
inductee for iPhone, iPad and Macworld, MLB.com At Bat is the official
app of Major League Baseball.

MLB.TV on Roku;
The Roku MLB.TV video streaming HD PQ is great using the HDMI input to my 50” HD TV. The Roku remote is handy when watching baseball on the large
screen. You can fast forward any time ie between innings, etc. When
watching games I allow for a startup time. Since all games are archived
there is no need to record anything. Selecting and watching games is great.

MLB.TV Games Streamed;
Watch all 2,430 regular season games online (subject to blackout
restrictions). Almost 100 games are streamed LIVE each week.

MLB blackouts;
My favorite teams are out-of-market so the only games blacked-out occur
within the Saturday startup window.

Annual renewal;
As a loyal customer, your subscription is priced at the same, regular
yearly price as last year .
No big deal ($5 saving).