Sound Off: How is your MLB.tv Experience So Far?

by
April 10, 2015

We’re five days into the MLB season, which means we’re five days into our use of MLB.tv. So far, I find the streaming service to be pretty dang solid, at least when compared to what I remember last year. I have noticed that it seems much more “live” when watching through my PS4 than on my Roku streaming stick. However, I imagine that this is more a function of the app than the service.

A few of us have talked about our experiences so far on these electronic pages, but we want to hear from you. How’s it going? Have you noticed a platform (laptop, gaming system, set-top box) that seems to perform better than others? How’s the audio overlay going? Noticing lots of lag?

Sound off in the comments. Make sure to mention your system of choice and any info about your internet package (like a SpeedTest score). Let’s help each other find the best possible way to watch our national pastime.





 

David G. Temple is the Managing Editor of TechGraphs and a contributor to FanGraphs, NotGraphs and The Hardball Times. He hosts the award-eligible podcast Stealing Home. Dayn Perry once called him a "Bible Made of Lasers." Follow him on Twitter @davidgtemple.

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Hogan
9 years ago

It’s been great. It’s much more interactive on Xbox 1 then in years past, quicker loads, easier to back in and out. I found in years past it would pop in and out of HD and pix-elated feeds. So far no issues. Ipad is roughly the same in terms of interactive user friendliness but again, much quicker load times. I’ve always love MLBtv, but so far its been even better!

0
RMR
9 years ago

They still haven’t fixed the issue with the application getting stuck at 33% while loading in Chrome. This has been well documented for years and Adobe has made it abundantly clear that the problem is within the design of the MLB.tv applet, due to technology MLBAM used in its design. It’s a relatively minor issue (I just load it in IE instead), but an annoyance none-the-less.

1
Art Vandelay
9 years ago
Reply to  RMR

I use it in Chrome all the time. It definitely hiccups at 33%, but has never actually gotten stuck.

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Lenard
9 years ago
Reply to  RMR

In order to fix the Chrome issue, If you open up the command box and type “ipconfig/flushdns” (No quotes) it usually will load. You may have to close the stream and reopen after inputting the command.

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Jim
9 years ago

I’ve had problems with the DVR component. While watching, the app will “refresh” and all of a sudden I’ll be watching it Live which kind of sucks.

1
Poor Man's Rick Reed
9 years ago

This is my first year with it and so far so good. Video quality/smoothness is subpar on my Nexus 10 tablet, but looks fantastic through the PS3 hooked to a projector. I wish you could bring up the other games to look around at what the status of the other games is without backing out of the video stream you’re currently watching. I didn’t have a computer handy, but I would have loved to try out Dan Brooks’ script to run a RedZone like MLB.tv experience that he tweeted about.

1
Alexander
9 years ago

My mlb.tv will sometimes go black, show the rotating-circle loading thingy, and then jump ahead maybe 15 seconds or so (I use Chrome in Windows). Other than that it has worked well, but these little jumps often makes me miss important moments like strikeouts or balls in play.

1
Scott
9 years ago

Lot’s of problems. Could not get the Reds – Pirates game to work yesterday. Post a request online and basically got no response. The only question that was asked was the operating system I was using. The technical support call was a nightmare. Had to call 3 times and was on the phone over 90 minutes. The first phone call was that a disaster in that the agent could not get over that there was an old account associated with my phone or physical address. They refused to provide service because I did not have an active account, despite the fact that I was signed on the system and able to watch other games. The agent got frustrated and hung up on me. Then I got disconnected while hold for the second call. On the third call I spent 20 minutes proving to the agent that my TV is a MLB supported device. While on the call the game went into rain delay and could not completely test the connection. For a moment I did see the rain delay screen, that is the best that I able to accomplish. I could watch other games on the TV and my laptop by could not watch the Reds game on the laptop. Today I cannot get sound on the arhived Reds game from yesterday but can see and hear the game on my laptop. My problems are still unresolved after 3 calls, 90 minutes on the phone and 5 different support agents. I also noticed that the MLB has identified my IP address to a zip code that is 140 miles away from me. This is causing blackout problems. My download speed on the TV is 11000 kbps vs the required 3000 kbps. I dread trying to get these resolved, it will a whole day. I subscribed to see the Reds when I have time and lost yesterdays game and ruined my daily schedule. I get blacked out of games that I am 500 miles away from Cincinnati. This is frustrating!

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Scott
9 years ago

Support will be even more interesting after they startup HBO later this month!

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Deelron
9 years ago
Reply to  Scott

It’s already up.

-1
bill
9 years ago

I’m watching on a FireTV or PS3. It’s been a typical opening week mixed bag

– The FireTV app doesn’t have ‘skip to inning’ functionality, but…
– Skipping to a given inning on PS3 is unreliable. I’ve had the stream start me up with 2 outs already in the inning.
– (PS3) I could only watch a game live on the second day, so while I got home in the middle of a game and wanted to watch it from the beginning, that functionality didn’t work at all. Archived games were still fine. They fixed this issue by Wednesday.
– The picture has been variable. I’ve got 11mbps down and the picture has fluctuated in-game from being perfect HD to a pixelated mess. Having subscribed for several years now, I’m aware that this problem will fade as people lose interest with the start of the season and the traffic starts to drop.
– Blackouts still suck. I’m in Hawaii and can’t watch any game featuring a West Coast team, even though in at least one case (Mariners), there is absolutely no way for me to get their games via an RSN here. Despite the Mariners considering Hawaii their market, DirecTV doesn’t, so while I can get their RSN through an add-on package, I can’t actually watch the games on it. For that I have to add MLB Extra Innings. So, to recap, MLB considers me in the Mariners home territory for online broadcast purposes but doesn’t for their TV-based package offering. It’s a joke.

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Hank G.
9 years ago

I’m using it with my TiVo. I have two issues, one technical and one esthetic. I like to watch some games on a delayed basis, so that I can skip the dead time between innings. But, when the menu shows the games available, it shows the current score! I’d like to be able to watch the game without already knowing what happened.

The technical problem: nearly every game at some point when I use the fast forward button, the feed freezes, forcing me to have to reload MLB.TV and try to get back to where I was in the game.

If they don’t fix these issues, I probably won’t renew next year.

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fromthemachine
9 years ago
Reply to  Hank G.

Hank, I’ve used the app on several devices. Typically there is an option in the settings menu to hide today’s scores.

Hope this helps.

0
runfolk
9 years ago

Watching on roku, microsoft surface, and android phone. Roku is perfect, android is great (I’m also not getting blacked out), although it’s a mild annoyance to have to pick the game again if i change apps during a commercial. Surface blows, it constantly freezes and there doesn’t seem to be any fine-tune FF/REV/jump-to-inning feature.

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Hank G.
9 years ago

Okay, I did a little more exploring, and there is a way to hide the scores. So, I am down to one problem.

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Matt
9 years ago

It uses Shockwave, which eats RAM,is slow, and crashes all the time. If this can we resolved, please let me.

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terracool
9 years ago

Anyone able to throw from Chrome browser on laptop to Chromecast? I can’t figure out how. Regular Chrome browser has the little Chromecast icon that you use to kick the feed to Chromecast. But MLB.tv appears in a pop-up window rather than in the browser, so there’s no icon to click.

I can use the Chrome beta option to cast the whole screen rather than just one browser tab – this at least lets me see the pop-up window on my big screen. But then the sound comes out of both laptop and tv speakers, totally unsynched, and it’s unwatchable.

Responses greatly appreciated.

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James
9 years ago
Reply to  terracool

If you right click on the top bar of the pop-up window, there will be an option that says something like “open as browser tab”. Click on that and you’ll be able to cast from the browser.

0
terracool
9 years ago
Reply to  James

Thanks so much for the help. I’d given up watching on the big TV.

0
Khaos
9 years ago

PS4 is great but wish it had the pop up on the side for other games rather than having to exit back. PC sucks. Constant lag. Flash is terrible and I wish they would stop using it.

0
pcclancy
9 years ago

The Xbox 360 app is still awful and a miserable viewing experience. Forced to sit at my desk to watch baseball for another year. The browser based player works great, especially if you use the old player and disable NextDef.

0
Theebigjuan
9 years ago

I was looking into mlb tv but I don’t subscribe to any cable or satellite. The blackout rules are a joke as I can’t get the games unless I pay for another service, then have to pay more to get this? Stupid and I will not buy.

0
Scott
9 years ago

I was using chrome on my computer and technical told I would get better results with internet explorer. Changing the browser did not help with my problems.

0
JNC
9 years ago

Xbox 360: app is still atrocious on the 360. Not smooth- hiccups every 5-10 seconds for the duration of game. I will keep it, because being out of market I will never see my team otherwise. I would rather have a 2-outta-10 viewing experience than no experience at all. Still, if you own a 360 and you’re on the fence… Save your cheddah!

0
Fletch
9 years ago
Reply to  JNC

I have the same issue watching mlb.tv on my xbox 360. This wasn’t a problem for me last year. Thankfully I can use my PS3 instead, which does not have this hitching issue. Other than that I’m noticing a bit more buffering and pixelated picture issues than last year, but I think I can attribute that to higher traffic during opening week (it’s not my connection, I get 22 mbps download speeds according to speedtest.net when these buffering issues are occurring).

0
Kevin
9 years ago

Getting incredibly frustrated with mlbtv experience on my Roku 3. I constantly get buffering issues even though I’m consistently getting speeds of 26-29 Mbs.

-1
Casey
9 years ago

I watch mostly on my PS4 and its been great, much improved over last year.

0
Well-Beered Englishman
9 years ago

Last night the Dodgers game (NOT in my market area) was greyed out on my TV menu. I tried clicking and it said “No feeds available for this game. Please try again another day.” I’ve never seen that one before.

0
Bob
8 years ago
Reply to  Well-Beered Englishman

Maybe it was because of the drought.

0
Michael
9 years ago

MLB.tv? It was OK for the first 18 innings, but then suddenly broke off in the 19th inning. 🙁

0
Bob
9 years ago

Crap. It seems to stream okay from my Android phone and PS4, but whenever I stream from Chrome it has a variety of issues. Jumping to live when I’m watching DVR, skipping and freezing, and sometimes only taking up 2/3 of the screen when I hit full screen. Also the PS4 wouldn’t let me sign in to my account one night when it when the Dodgers were in extra innings.

0
Scott
9 years ago
Reply to  Bob

I really love the “COMMERICAL BREAK IN PROGRESS” screen!

0
Kevin
9 years ago

I have a windows 8 laptop and am using the windows 8 app. It’s been great for me so far this year. Last year I had an issue where if I was jumping around to different games it would tell me my account had had too many login attempts and lock me out. I would have to go through IE (had other issues on chrome, but I can’t remember exactly). I haven’t had that issue so far and everything has been incredibly smooth.

0
Brian
9 years ago

10 year MLB TV customer. 360 was and has always been terrible. Currently I use my Surface Pro 3 to project on the 360. Ridiculous but it works great. Upgrading to XBox 1 soon and hoping for better results.

0
Mark
9 years ago

I watch in Safari. I’m enjoying it for the most part, but the commercials have their own volume which overrides the volume I have chosen. That is to say, if I have the stream very quiet (virtually zero on the slider) or muted (speaker with the X through it) when commercial break occurs the commercials come through at maximum volume. Very annoying as it is probably very quiet or muted for a reason.

0
Michael
9 years ago

The viewing experience itself has been fine so far for me. I especially like the return of the alternate audio overlay. That didn’t work for me for the last couple of years, and now I know what I missed out on. A pretty neat feature, that is.
I’m usually watching via Chrome, but I’ve also tried the Win8 app for the first time this year, mainly when I hook my laptop up to my TV, because it’s a lot easier to navigate just using a mouse and no keyboard. But unfortunately the app apparently isn’t able to remember my account credentials, so I have to log in again every time after the laptop was turned off. This seems kinda stupid, because it ruins the “intuitive & easy access” thing. But once I’m in, it works like a charm. Switching between games actually works a lot smoother than on the browser version. So for a relaxed night of just watching a single game the Win8 app is perfect for me. Of course it doesn’t have highlight replays or PiP, but that’s nothing I would need in these situations.
Strangely, I can’t install the app on my other computer because it’s apparently been removed from the Windows store, at least in Germany: A search doesn’t bring it up, and clicking on the “download app” link on mlb.com just leads me to the Store start page…

0
Richard
9 years ago

In the PS4 app, park sounds will work for a while, maybe an inning or two, then slip into the TV feed. This happened for me a lot when I watched games last year on Safari/Mac, and happened in the first few games this season when I watched on PS4. Just today with the park sounds overlay on, the Baltimore feed would come on after any hiccup, and the application crashed twice. Make that thrice. That combined with the inning seeking going too far ahead (at least one batter into the inning), and let’s just say I’m looking forward to the update to the PS4 app.

0
Richard
9 years ago
Reply to  Richard

There’s an update to the MLB.TV PS4 app today. I came in late to the Red Sox-Nationals game and seeking backwards every half-inning got me right to the start of the first batter, not the second batter like before. I also had park sounds on for about an inning without any issues. I’ll need more time with it to know if it’s fixed, but I’m encouraged by the fact that there’s an update this early in the season.

0
Fish
9 years ago

I have had MLB TV for years and am still having issues. During ST there seemed to be more games without live video than with it. The apps on my smart TV, iPad and Blue-ray have been buggy. When I get frustrated trying to get those to work and break out my laptop, the DVR function keeps stopping fast forwarding to live feed.

It is still a nice service, but it would be nice if they would either fix these issues or reduce the price to compensate for the fact we cannot see the number of games advertised.

0
Alex
9 years ago

I tried watching the Jays Orioles game today with the radio commentary and it crashed at least 10 times. I’m on Firefox.

I think the issue is to do with going to full screen when already on the radio commentary, I tried going full screen then choosing radio and it was better.

0
Mac
9 years ago

So, not a specific MLB TV complaint, but felt the need to grumble about blackout restrictions. I live in Oregon and follow the A’s. Well it’s Oakland vs. Seattle this weekend and I cant’ watch because I live 250 miles from Seattle and don’t have a TV subscription.

0
Mike
9 years ago

I use my ps4 or chrome to watch primarily the Yankees games but I also tune in to others. Has been very good for me so far.

0
Gary Hodge
9 years ago

I use a Roku3 and have had a number of problems so far. About 1/2 of the games I try to watch hang up at about 33% loaded. Typically, this is both feeds (home and away) of the same game. Other games load and play with no difficulty. This problem is new this year, last year, using the same device, I never had this occur.

0
joe
9 years ago

i’m a busy med student, so i only watch the 9th innings of games via Roku after they’ve concluded.

Annoyance: I have to click “down” 18 times (1 for each half inning), to get to the 9th inning of each game.

Solution: Change the roku app, so i can press “up” at the top menu item and “wrap-around” to the bottom item on each menu

0
Evo
9 years ago

My 2 cents: loading games on Roku has been much better this year than last year. Still not perfect, of course. Very disappointed in the lack of features in the Roku app. Been using it for 4 years, and it is still totally barebones. No access to stats, player tracking, or any of the things fans most want.

0
Brett
9 years ago

I use Roku and it is great. A late spring training software update caused older Roku hardware to not function but that got fixed before opening day. Sometimes when I select local radio for Giants games it will give me Tito Fuentes and the Spanish broadcast instead of Jon Miller and Dave Flemming on the KNBR feed. Sometimes the ballpark audio doesn’t work which is my default when I want to put some random game on in the background. I wish Roku had a button to quick jump to the next half inning but after a year and a half of the platform I know the exact fast forward technique (fast forward button 2 times and count 3-4 “ticks” of the progress bar)

0
Michael
9 years ago

Has anyone had trouble getting around the blackout s with a proxy? When I click on the “what games will be blacked out” I see Florida, but it still blacks out my bay area games. It worked fine last year.

0
peter
9 years ago

xbox 360 is still AIDS

using it on my laptop then hooking up to big screen also AIDS since the full screen mode is cropped horribly (picture just sits in upper left of my screen) but randomly it will actually go to full screen every once in a while which is nice when it happens i guess

0
Alec
9 years ago

PS4 Works the best, biggest issue is that when I try to change the audio to the radio feed while watching the tv feed it works for about 60 seconds then crashes the whole app. And I sure would like to not have to listen to Joe Simpson and Chip Caray, it would be incredible.

My Samsung T.V. app is just not working, I suspect that’s Samsung’s fault since they’re discontinuing service to my particular make.

0
Jason
9 years ago

I use a Roku 3 and it has been mostly fine. I’ve gotten a few loading pauses, even with sufficient bandwidth and an ethernet connection to my router. MLB.tv seems to be limited to 3 Mb/s (300KB/s) on my computer, but I get double that on my Roku so the picture looks way better. For the blackouts, just pay for a service like adfreetime at $2 a month.

0
Jorge Fabregas
9 years ago

Including Spring Training, I’ve watched on Roku HD (2500R), iPad 2, Android Lollipop/Moto G, and Mac desktop. All have worked well. I’ve only watched live, though, and many of the issues seem to be related to time shifted watching of an in-progress game. I have a cable ISP which is purported to be 100 mbps, but in practice is more like 40 mbps even when hard wired. All of the above devices connect wirelessly via a b/g/n (not ac) router.

0
JW
9 years ago

On a good night I love it. Works great on Roku and iPhone but mixed on PC or Mac. Love the Roku features, would like to have the option for radio audio overlay on other platforms.

Biggest complaints:
1. Some games, it just isn’t happening. Usually the free game of the day or an especially good matchup just can’t buffer and it’s too choppy to watch. They really need to deal with capacity issues.
2. Blackouts, of course – I’m in North Carolina, five hours from Washington yet considered in Baltimore and Washington territory. Exacerbated by a cable dispute so there isn’t even the fallback “just watch them on TV” option.

0
Bill
9 years ago

New mlbtv customer. Chromecast from iPad. Non stop buffering ..unwatchable at times. Plenty of bandwith can’t take this much longer

0
Mike
8 years ago

Having problem with mlb.tv app on my t.v. It loads the app, shows the game schedule, lets me choose the game and feed, then brings up a blank screen with a box that says “close”. No actual error message or explanation. Click on the “close” button and I am left with the black screen. Have tried reloading the app, resetting the smart hub, rebooting the router, hard booting t.v., nothing works. Any ideas?

0
Mark
8 years ago
Reply to  Mike

Any luck at all ? I have the same problem.

0
Hank G.
8 years ago

I got so fed up with the freezing on my Tivo that I cancelled my subscription. I don’t think I made it through a single game without one, usually more freezes that necessitated reloading the app and having to fast forward to the point I was in the game.

I asked for a refund, but of course they denied it. That gives me incentive to complain all season on social media about the quality of my experience.

0
Chris
8 years ago
Reply to  Hank G.

As a consumer you are protected – contact them and let them know you’ll seek legal action. They can’t deny there are issues because they are plastered all over the web. You’ll win in court – it’s without question. They can’t charge you for a product and advertise features and then have them not work.

0
Leisa
8 years ago

I cannot get premium features when I use Chrome. I am not able to overlay the audio broadcast onto the tv feed. The option doesn’t even appear. I am given the choice of watching the tv feed or listening to audio. For example. I can’t watch the FoxSportsWisconsin broadcast while listening to WTMJ radio.

It works in Firefox, but I Chrome is the browser I use for everything else.

It worked last year.

0
Dennis C
8 years ago

Well, besides the slow buffering, some idiot now decided to put a line score box at the bottom of the screen. Hey stupid, the expand window does not work now because one of your programmers put the line score box in the window. Who needs a line score when the score is on the screen? Idiots, try using your product once in a while to see how bad it is.

0
Will
8 years ago

Been a MLB.tv subscriber for years! And this year, the buffering seem to been the worse I have dealt with in a good while. I even updated the internet speed with my ISP and I am getting about 30 mbps and the game still buffers whether it’s hardwired or wifi. Funny thing is, I was trying to watch the Mariners/Red Sox game this weekend and it kept buffering but when I turned on the Dodgers/Rockies or the Marlins/Braves game, it did not. Hopefully this issue will be resolved soon. But viewing other websites, I’m not the only one experiencing this issue. The only common thing is I watch my games at two different locations but they both are running off AT&T U-Verse. With one being a PS3 and the other being a Sony Blu-Ray player with built in Wi-Fi. Using Wi-Fi with the PS3 and Cat 5e Ethernet cable with the Blu-Ray Player. Love the app but hate the issues.

0
Dan
8 years ago

Freezes constantly on my PS4 and I have to close the app and reload it only to have it freeze again in 10 minutes.

0
jeff
8 years ago

Almost unwatchable this year on xbox one. …loses the feed 2 to 3 times per half inning. lots and lots of buffering. Have 28 To 30 mbps download. It’s the bottom of the 9th giants at rockies and I’m counting. …12 times the screen froze. .12!!!!. 7 of those times it sent me back to the home screen where i had to pick the game again. 2 times gave me am error message and the other 3 it just was buffering between 1 and 15 seconds. ….this sucks! !!won’t get it next year unless they fix it! !!

1